NEW YORK, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the purchasers of the securities of 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD), between May 6, 2020 and March 1, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for 3D Systems investors under the federal securities laws. To join the 3D Systems class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2049.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) 3D Systems lacked proper internal controls over financial reporting; and (2) as a result, 3D Systems' public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 8, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2049.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim, Esq. of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected]. NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. AN INVESTOR'S ABILITY TO SHARE IN ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE RECOVERY IS NOT DEPENDENT UPON SERVING AS LEAD PLAINTIFF. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm. Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm's attorneys are ranked and recognized by numerous independent and respected sources. Rosen Law Firm has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Related Links www.rosenlegal.com Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Rain showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. NEW YORK MILLS, N.Y. --- A New York Mills man is accused of assaulting a 67-year-old man during a home invasion on Thursday. State Police say New York Mills Police responded to reports of a home invasion at a home on Maple Street in the village. Police say 31-year-old Zachary Wojcik of New York Mills broke into the home and then attacked the 67-year-old homeowner. Police said Wojcik caused injuries to the man's face and a severe laceration to the man's leg. Police said Wojcik then went to a home on Main Street in the village and assaulted a man barbecuing in his back yard. He was taken into custody by New York Mills Police. The case was then turned over to the State Police Criminal Investigation Unit in Marcy. The 67-year-old man was transported to St. Elizabeth's Hospital and then transferred to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse for further treatment. Wojcik is charged with Burglary 1st degree, a class B felony, and Assault 3rd degree, a class A misdemeanor. Wojcik was processed in the Oneida County Jail where he awaits centralized arraignment. Samsung has come up with an innovative idea that is developed to attract iPhone users in buying their products. Apparently, as per a report by MacRumors (via The Verge), Samsung has released a new website that gives iPhone users a first-hand experience on its Android world. Moreover, iPhone users need not install any application in order to enjoy Samsungs world of Android. In fact, this can be done simply from the mobile browser on iPhone. Samsung is calling this website Samsung iTest and it is meant to give iPhone users A little taste of Samsung. When you open this website, it states a message which says, Youre really close to being able to sample the other side. Advertisement Notably, Samsung has created this test website to allow iPhone users to experience the open-source nature of the Android world and that too of Samsungs. When the website is visited on an iPhone, it prompts the user to add it to their home screen. After this, the shortcut then runs a Samsung Galaxy device simulation within the browser itself. As noted by MacRumors, this website seems to be the work of Samsung New Zealand. Advertisement Though the experience is limited, it is a brilliant piece of marketing If you are thinking to experience a full-blown Samsung Android set of features, then hold your horses! The website is designed to market all the goodies Samsung packs on its Android devices and make it reach iPhone users. Personally, I am quite impressed by this brilliant piece of marketing from Samsung. Opening the camera app on the website using an iPhone, automatically plays a video. Here, influencer Logan Dodds describes the Samsung camera app features in the interface. Similarly, opening other apps on the home screen markets Samsung phones features to the iPhone user. To top all this off, there are text messages and even fake phone call features. Advertisement A couple of Easter Eggs are also hidden if you dig deeper within the website. There is a Friends with kids contact inside the text message app, which sends back a gibberish message whenever you send a message. It gets a bit interesting and under the Settings menu, Samsung has taken a dig at Apple. Opening the Settings app shows a tooltip message that reads, Weve simplified the settings menu experience, just so our developer could have a lunch break. While the website is directly accessible on the iPhone, if you visit the Samsung iTest website, it shows you a QR Code to scan with your iPhone. The topic of the countys vaccine inquiry did come up at the March 4 Board of Supervisors meeting. Ramos asked Tran if the county had done an internal investigation of what had happened with her Jan. 20 vaccination. In terms of an investigation, I would say no. In terms of a very quick half-a-day, I have asked staff to check to see what happened. And yes, a preliminary look has been conducted just very quickly, Tran responded. But since then, "folks have been approached" and suggestions made that "there are more details to be added," he told supervisors. Tran didnt share the vaccine inquiry at the March 4 meeting and no one asked him for the results. Ramos said she later asked for a copy and was given the redacted version. Asked Thursday about Ramos claim he withheld material information on March 4, Tran had no comment in light of the ongoing third-party probe of county vaccine processes. Whitneys inquiry results are six paragraphs over about a page. Among other things, it says when the left-over vaccine was offered to Ramos, someone the names are blacked out urged that the vaccination not be publicized. Ramos said Thursday she was asked not to publicize the vaccination and she complied. Iran on Saturday began enforcing tightened COVID restrictions nationwide as the number of coronavirus cases surged. Driving the news: The country on Friday recorded 22,478 coronavirus cases, its highest single-day total, according to Al Jazeera. Health officials confirmed more than 19,660 cases on Saturday, as the surge in new infections follows last month's Iranian holiday celebrations. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised address on Saturday that the primary driver of the fourth wave is the more contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in the U.K., per Al Jazeera. He also attributed the rise in infections to shopping activity before Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, and other holiday celebrations. Details: Regions across Iran face fresh restrictions to varying degrees depending on how they're classified in the country's color-coded system, Al Jazeera reported. In Tehran and 250 other cities classified as "red-zones," which have the highest positivity rates, most non-essential services must close. Travel throughout "red-zone" areas is prohibited, and a curfew for private vehicles is in place between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. The new restrictions are expected to last at least 10 days. Yes, but: "Authorities have done little to enforce lockdown restrictions and originally resisted a nationwide lockdown to salvage an economy already devastated by tough U.S. sanctions," AP noted. The big picture: Iran has experienced one of worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the Middle East. Fewer than 320,000 vaccine doses had been administered in the country of about 83 million as of April 5, according to the World Health Organization. The country has recorded more than 2 million COVID-19 cases and 64,200 deaths since the pandemic began, semi-official Fars News Agency reported, quoting health officials. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. VALLETTA -- Aiming to revive its tourism industry and get ahead of rival destinations, Malta plans to offer foreign visitors a handout of up to 200 euros ($238.1) each if they stay at least three days on the Mediterranean island this summer. Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced the scheme on Friday, saying that with most COVID restrictions expected to be lifted by June 1, tourists booking summer holidays directly through local hotels would receive the handout. World Travel and Tourism Council data show the tourist industry directly and indirectly accounts for more than 27 percent of Maltas economy, but the sector has been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country attracted more than 2.7 million foreign visitors in 2019 but figures have fallen by more than 80 percent since the virus was detected in March 2020. Bartolo said tourists booking accommodation at a five-star hotel will get 100 euros from Maltas Tourism Authority, which will be matched by the hotel for a total of 200 euros. In a similar arrangement, those opting for a four-star hotel will receive a total of 150 euros and those booking a three-star hotel will receive 100 euros. The grant grows by 10 percent when bookings are made with hotels on the smaller Maltese island of Gozo, three kilometres (two miles) north of the mainland. The scheme is aimed at putting Maltas hotels in a very competitive position as international tourism restarts, Bartolo said. It is expected to benefit some 35,000 visitors. Malta has the highest virus vaccination rate in the European Union, having given at least one dose to 42 percent of adults. It has seen a sharp drop in new COVID-19 cases, with the positivity rate - the percentage of tests that show a positive result - down to 2.6 percent, and the government has been urging the EU to introduce vaccine passports to facilitate travel. Bartolo said he was also having talks to encourage travel between Malta and Britain, whose inhabitants account for a third of tourists in the former British colony. ($1 = 0.8400 euros) MARKHAM, ON, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Hyundai Canada is making a bold and powerful commitment to Georgian and the Automotive Business School of Canada (ABSC) by investing more than $250,000 over seven years to support Black and Indigenous automotive students. This fall, they will begin giving entrance awards to eligible students via the Hyundai Canada Entrance Award Suite. Hyundai Logo (CNW Group/Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.) The partnership aligns with Hyundai's continued efforts to tackle underrepresentation of Black and Indigenous individuals in the automotive industry, and with Georgian's ongoing work to seek out and welcome diversity across the college. This donation will fuel an innovative and critical initiative designed to grow the number of students in this demographic studying the automotive industry and who will later join the sector's workforce. The announcement was made by Don Romano, President and CEO, Hyundai Canada at a special event last evening. The event Auto Connect: Opportunities for Black Youth featured Romano as the keynote speaker, as well as Oumar Dicko, Chief Economist, Canadian Automobile Dealers Association and Joe Lauzon, Marketing Officer, ABSC. Joyce Tshiamala, District Customer Service Manager, Hyundai, moderated a panel of three industry professionals who represent different sectors of the industry. "It is our duty as industry leaders to build a successful path for our future generations in the automotive industry. Our partnership with Georgian College is an important investment to help form an automotive business community that attracts a pool of talent reflective of Canada's diversity," said Don Romano, President and CEO of Hyundai Canada. "Facilitating ways to ensure equal opportunity and equitable representation in the industry is a collective effort, and we are very proud to be part of the solution with Georgian College." The Hyundai Canada Entrance Award Suite will offer $1,000 renewable entrance awards that will be given to each student who self-identifies as Black or of Indigenous ancestry and is accepted into the Automotive Business (co-op) diploma program or the Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (Automotive Management) (co-op) program. The $1,000 award is renewable for each year of their program. Story continues The award will directly help increase the opportunity for Black and Indigenous students to access a quality education studying automotive business at Georgian. "This partnership strongly aligns with Georgian's continued efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion and will augment the good work we're already doing and re-affirm our commitment about the type of organization we are striving to be," said Dr. MaryLynn West-Moynes, President and CEO of Georgian College. "It's incredibly important to have awards for underrepresented groups and it's wonderful to have corporate donors such as Hyundai Canada supporting our students in this way." Georgian recently announced it will create a Centre for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to help identify and overcome systemic barriers that impede the career advancement, recruitment and retention of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. The partnership builds on past collaboration between Georgian and Hyundai that includes hiring co-op students, sponsoring and participating in the Georgian Auto Show, and funding other innovative scholarships for Georgian students, including the Hyundai Canada Diversity Scholarship and Women in Automotive Scholarship. About Georgian College Georgian is MORE than an education it's an experience. The college offers 130+ market-driven programs, from degrees and diplomas, to certificates, apprenticeships, corporate training and more. A recognized leader in co-operative education, we have one of the highest graduate employment rates among Ontario colleges. We're the first and only college in Canada designated a changemaker college by Ashoka U for our role as a leader in social innovation and changemaking in higher education. GeorgianCollege.ca. For more information about Georgian College, please contact: Elaine Murray, Communications Specialist, Office: 705.728.1968, ext. 1003, Email: elaine.murray@georgiancollege.ca About Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. Hyundai Auto Canada, established in 1983 and headquartered in Markham, Ontario, is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout Canada by Hyundai Auto Canada and are sold and serviced through more than 221 dealerships nationwide. Hyundai is also the first to offer a second-generation zero-emissions Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle to Canadian customers, called the NEXO. More information about Hyundai and its vehicles can be found at www.HyundaiCanada.com. For more information about Hyundai and its products, please visit www.hyundainews.ca or contact: Mohga Hassib, Public Relations Coordinator, Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., Office: (905) 948-6882, Email: mhassib@hyundaicanada.com SOURCE Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/09/c1943.html The groundbreaking of a new, modified home for Sue Downes, Cpl., U.S. Army Retired, in the peaceful, serene setting of the Towne Lake Community Sunset Harbor is a far cry from the war-stricken area of Afghanistan some 8,000 miles away where her life was changed forever. Under the beautiful blue sky of the Texas Gulf Coast, Downes looked on as her congressman, U.S. Senator, political activists, family, and her new neighbors welcomed her to the Lone Star State and the loving community in Towne Lake with a celebratory ceremony praising her service and heroism in the face of the enemy back in 2006. On HoustonChronicle.com: Operation FINALLY HOME, partners break ground on new home for Cypress soldier Meredith Iler, chairman emeritus for Helping A Hero, was ecstatic since it was the first groundbreaking for the charity since the onset of the pandemic. Downes was treated like a celebrity with a pleasant ride on a boat across the lake before arriving at the location of her groundbreaking. She was welcomed by a throng of neighbors, Towne Lake Heritage Veterans, and staff members for the principals responsible for the new home. Following her recovery and an extended stay in Walter Reed Hospital, Downes moved to Texas where she met one of her first benefactors, Malcolm Stuart, president and chief operating officer of Camden Homes. She has been living in a two-bedroom apartment donated by Camden Homes, including a parking space and electricity, also paid for by Camden for the last year. The donation, Iler said, was approximately $40,000. On HoustonChronicle.com: McNair family, Texans make playground possible with donation to Houston-area shelter We have freedom because of people like Sue that lay their life on the line and sacrificed limbs, time with family, and so much for our freedom and our liberty, Iler said. The chairman emeritus said she took Downes on a trip around the area to seven different subdivisions but when they drove through Towne Lake, she said, Thats home. She liked so much about it, seeing people walking their dogs, willing to stop and talk and they were so welcoming and inviting, Iler said. Iler said she has called on her friend Fred Caldwell several times to help with donating the lots for other projects, but this was the first one that they donated both the home and the lot. Were so grateful to Caldwell Homes for making this a reality, she said. Caldwell spent some time chatting with Downes privately and was impressed with her sacrifice. To live in a country where we can do these types of things (building communities). When you think about around the world, how different it is for us in the U.S., its because of people that have paid the price for helping us have freedom. Sue, we thank you so much for your service to the country and your perseverance to get to this point. Were thankful you chose Towne Lake, Caldwell said. We pray that you and your son, Austin, are enriched because of all these people that live here who will love you and care for you, he said. Downes walked through several model homes and found one was already accommodating for her situation. Her new home will be a replica of the model home but with few tweaks. It already had wider doors, flush thresholds, and a large shower. Weve made the fewest changes to this home floorplan than any others prior, Iler said. Her new congressman, Michael McCaul of Cypress, extolled her praises for her service. My own father served on a B-17 as a bombardier in 32 bombing missions of the Nazis to secure our freedom, he said. He was also a part of the D-Day campaign and lived in what has been called the great generation. Sues generation is the next great generation. What she did in Afghanistan and Iraq, under very difficult circumstances (was remarkable), he said as he shook his head. From the bottom of my heart and a grateful nation Sue, we say thank you. Iler also gave praise to legendary philanthropist, talk show host, and political activist Joanne King Herring. Iler said it was Herring and a lot of her friends who stepped up to donate to help fund the home. Wayne Beaumier from the Rotary Club of Cypress-Fairbanks made Downes an Honorary Member of the Club. The Rotary Club pin has 24 teeth on the outside and six spokes within. Those 24 represent us doing something once an hour for mankind, Beaumier said. He was joined by fellow Rotarian and former District Governor Sunny Sharma who inducted Downes as a Paul Harris Fellow. With this medal it signifies someone gave $1,000 in your name to become a Paul Harris Fellow, but with a ruby stone added as this one has, it means a $5,000 donation was given, Sharma said. Iler pointed out that the Rotary Clubs in Houston were the first ones to help purchase a home with Helping A Hero and have donated more than $500,000 for homes over the last 10 years. Following the presentation, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz offered his thanks and appreciation for her. Words like bravery and courage get tossed around. We use them in all sorts of consequences. All those instances pale compared to the real heroes amongst us. The heroes who answer the call. All our liberties depend upon the hero, he told the crowd gathered for the ceremony. Cruz retold the story of how they had come to this point in the life of Downes. In late Nov. 2006, Cpl. Sue Downes volunteered to bring food to a remote village in the mountains of Afghanistan where she was shot in the hip. The Humvee she was in hit IEDs and land mines. In the explosion, she was thrown from the Humvee and two people in the vehicle died including her best friend. The blast resulted in Cpl. Downes losing both of her legs. She also sustained injuries to her internal organs as well as a traumatic brain injury. All of this happened in the mountains of Afghanistan in late November when it was cold and snowing. Because of the snow, she had to wait there for hours for help to come. And when it did come, she had to be driven to a hospital 8 hours away. During those long hours, she nearly lost her life. She had serious wounds and was losing a lot of blood. She even flatlined three times. What kept her going was a mothers love for her children. At home, she had two young children who depended on her. After several grueling months, she relearned how to walk again. She was awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for her incredible service to our nation. Cruz paused and looked at Downes and the crowd. Through the Helping A Hero organization, the Downes family will now have a place to call home and abundant proof of the love there is for her in this community and all across the state of Texas, the senator said. Cruz handed the microphone to Downes who wanted to express her appreciation. Ive been through a lot of things and finally got to the point where I really wanted to be better and heal from the PTSD and TBI and just accept the person I was now. I kept holding on to the little girl I was before, but shes gone. Ive accepted this is who I am now and Im proud of that now more than ever, she said. With people who support me and always believed in me, Ive always tried to do the best for my kids, she said. She made the life change and moved to Texas two years ago. I cant wait to be a part of this community, she told the crowd as they gave her thunderous applause. Moments later the ceremony ended with the turning of the dirt. This is special dirt, Iler said, because its the turnover of your new life. dtaylor@hcnonline.com remaining of Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe. Already have a paid subscription? Sign in China slapped a record 18 billion yuan (2billion) fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Saturday, after an anti-monopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. The fine, about 4 per cent of Alibaba's 2019 domestic revenues, comes amid a crackdown on technology conglomerates and indicates China's antitrust enforcement on internet platforms has entered a new era after years of a laissez-faire approach. The Alibaba business empire has come under intense scrutiny in China since billionaire founder Jack Ma's stinging public criticism of the country's regulatory system in October. Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma has lost his title as China's richest man, a list published today showed, after he angered Beijing and his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced its antitrust probe into the company in December The clampdown on ecommerce giant Alibaba saw the one-time darling of China's entrepreneurs fall down the pecking order A month later, authorities scuttled a planned 27billion IPO by Ant Group, Alibaba's internet finance arm, which was set to be the world's biggest ever. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced its antitrust probe into the company in December. While the fine brings Alibaba a step closer to resolving its antitrust woes, Ant still needs to agree to a regulatory-driven revamp that is expected to sharply cut its valuations and rein in some of its freewheeling businesses. 'This penalty will be viewed as a closure to the anti-monopoly case for now by the market. It's indeed the highest-profile anti-monopoly case in China,' said Hong Hao, head of research BOCOM International in Hong Kong. Who is Jack Ma and what caused his downfall? Jack Ma is a former English teacher. He cofounded Alilibaba Group which is one of the world's largest e-commerce businesses. Ma and his family had held the top spot for China's richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019. But now they trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding's Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo's Collin Huang, the latest list showed. Ma's recent woes were triggered by an October 24 speech in which he blasted China's regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group's $37 billion IPO just days before the fintech giant's public listing. Regulators have since tightened anti-trust scrutiny on the country's tech sector, with ecommerce giant Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official anti-trust probe into Alibaba in December. The clampdown on the company saw the one-time darling of China's entrepreneurs fall down the pecking order. Chinese regulators also began to tighten their grip on the fintech sector and have asked Ant to fold some of its businesses into a financial holding company to be regulated like traditional financial firms. Ma, who is not known for shying away from the limelight, then disappeared from the public eye for about three months, triggering frenzied speculation about his whereabouts. He re-emerged in January with a 50-second video appearance. Advertisement 'The market has been anticipating some sort of penalty for some time ... but people need to pay attention to the measures beyond the anti-monopoly investigation.' The SAMR said it had determined that Alibaba, which is listed in New York and Hong Kong, had been 'abusing market dominance' since 2015 by preventing its merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms. The practice, which the SAMR has previously spelt out as illegal, violates China's antimonopoly law by hindering the free circulation of goods and infringing on the business interests of merchants, the regulator added. Besides imposing the fine, which ranks among the highest ever antitrust penalties globally, the regulator ordered Alibaba to make 'thorough rectifications' to strengthen internal compliance and protect consumer rights. Alibaba said in a statement that it accepts the penalty and 'will ensure its compliance with determination'. The company will hold a conference call on Monday to discuss the penalty. 'We will tackle it openly and work through it together,' CEO Daniel Zhang said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters. 'Let's improve ourselves and start again together as one.' The fine is more than double the $975 million paid in China by Qualcomm, the world's biggest supplier of mobile phone chips, in 2015 for anticompetitive practices. 'There has been weakness in China's big tech stocks and I think this fine will be seen as a benchmark for any other penalties which could be applied to the other companies,' said Louis Tse, managing director at Wealthy Securities in Hong Kong. The hefty penalty on Alibaba also comes against the backdrop of regulators globally, including in the United States and Europe, carrying out tougher antitrust reviews of tech giants such as Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc. With the fine on one of its most successful private enterprises, Beijing is making good on threats to clamp down on the 'platform economy' and rein in the behemoths that play a dominant role in the country's consumer sector. 'What comes after Alibaba's fine is the likelihood that there will be damage to China's other internet giants,' said Francis Lun, CEO of GEO Securities, Hong Kong. 'Their growth has been enormous, and the government has turned a blind eye and allowed them to carry out uncompetitive practices. They can no longer do that.' China's big technology firms have been stepping up hiring of legal and compliance experts and setting aside funds for potential fines, amid the antitrust and data privacy crackdown by regulators, Reuters reported in February. Chinese official media hailed the penalty imposed on Alibaba, saying it would set an example and bolster awareness about anti-monopolistic practices and the need to adhere to related laws. The fine has released a 'clear policy signal', Shi Jianzhong, antitrust consultant committee member of the State Council and professor of China University of Political Science and Law, wrote in the state-backed Economic Times. Wium Malan, an analyst at Propitious Research in Cape Town, who publishes on the Smartkarma platform, echoed the sentiment, describing the fine as a 'clear statement of intent'. For Alibaba, Malan said, the fine was 'affordable' but that the market was still 'waiting to see what the ultimate impact would be from the Ant Group restructuring, which still leaves a lot of uncertainty'. NEW YORK, April 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018 and 2019 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating Frank's International N.V. ("FI" or the "Company") (FI) relating to its proposed acquisition by Expro Group. Under the terms of the agreement, Expro shareholders will receive 7.272 shares of FI per share they own. The investigation focuses on whether Frank's International N.V. and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, and 2) whether the transaction is properly valued. Click here for more information : https://www.monteverdelaw.com/case/franks-international-nv. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. About Monteverde & Associates PC We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018 and 2019 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2019 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, in 2019 we recovered or secured six cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases. If you own common stock in Frank's International N.V. and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America [email protected] Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2021 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. SOURCE Monteverde & Associates PC Related Links http://www.monteverdelaw.com A 'jealous and controlling' husband who stabbed his Asda worker wife hundreds of times in an 'episode of unspeakable and barbaric savagery' has been jailed for 18 years. George Leather, 60, pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife Paula, 56, at Liverpool Crown Court this week. The victim was found with up to 100 wounds to her face and neck and between 200 and 300 injuries on her body when emergency services were called to her home in Prescot, Merseyside, in the early hours of November 16. A post-mortem found she died from stab wounds to the head and had to be identified by a tattoo on her arm due to the 'mutilation' of her face. Leather used three knives to murder his wife and then went upstairs to have a hot shower. Yesterday, Judge Andrew Menary, QC, branded the killing 'an episode of unspeakable and barbaric savagery' as he jailed Leather for life, with a minimum of 18 years behind bars before he can apply for parole. Paula's three children Jason, Jessica and Matthew told the court how their father was a vile bully who subjected their mother to a cycle of abuse over two decades. George Leather, 60, pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife Paula, 56, at Liverpool Crown Court The family have now launched a bid to help other women escape violent and controlling partners. Posting a message on a Justgiving page, aiming to raise money for the organisation Refuge, the family said: 'In November we lost our lovely Mum/ Friend/ Relative/ Nanny Paula to domestic violence. We will miss her beautiful smile and kindness that showed no bounds. 'Paula was devoted to her family and fiercely loyal to her friends and spread love to anyone she met. She will be missed beyond words and all we can hope is that your donations help someone in her situation to escape and find a safe space. 'One in four women will experience domestic violence at some point in their lifetime and two women are killed each week in England and Wales by a current or former partner. 'Refuge supports around 6,000 women & children on any given day, experiencing domestic and sexual violence, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, trafficking, prostitution & so-called 'honour' based violence. 'By kindly donating today you are helping to save and change the lives of thousands of women and children escaping domestic violence.' Speaking on behalf of Mrs Leather's family, Detective Chief Inspector Helen Bennett described the circumstances surrounding her death as 'horrific.' She said: 'This was truly a horrific and violent assault which resulted in a devoted mum and nan losing her life at the hands of her husband. 'Mrs Leather's three children, Jason, Jessica and Matthew, have been devastated by their loss and have struggled to come to terms with the brutal manner in which she died.' DCI Bennett described Leather as a 'jealous and controlling man'. She said: 'This was not a one-off violent attack. 'George Leather was an unjustifiably jealous and controlling man and while there were no previous reports to police, the family believe that Paula had been in an abusive and controlling relationship with her husband for a number of years. 'Together with Merseyside Police, they want to raise awareness of the support that is available to anyone who is or has experienced domestic abuse or has been affected by it in order that nobody else has to suffer or silence or go through what they have been through. 'For anyone who is in a controlling relationship with an abusive partner but financially tied through a mortgage or tenancy, there are confidential support services available to help you and their children. 'If home is not a safe place for you then we want you to know that you are not alone and you do not have to stay at home if it is not safe to be there.' Paul Leather was discovered fatally injured at the house in Prescot, Merseyside, in the early hours of November 16. Flowers were laid in tribute near the scene, pictured by some police tape Liverpool Crown court heard how Paula Leather had to be identified by a tattoo on her arm due to the 'mutilation' of her face. The killer used three knives to murder his wife and then went upstairs to have a hot shower. DCI Bennett added: 'Merseyside Police is committed to working with our communities and partners to tackle violence against women and girls and will continue to work closely with our local communities and partners to assess how we can work together going forward. 'We will continue to work with women who are subjected to sexual harassment, or physical, or violent abuse so we can identify offenders and make the streets safer for women who live and work in our communities. 'We as a society do need to take a strong stance against such attacks on women and we completely understand the concerns of women who feel vulnerable. 'Women should be empowered to live their lives without fear of sexual objectification, harassment, or physical and mental abuse, but we can only achieve that by working together. 'If you are in immediate danger, always call 999. If you ring 999 and are not in a safe position to speak to us then cough, or tap, the phone and press 55, when prompted. This will alert the operator that you need assistance and we will provide support. 'Alternatively there is a new scheme to help victims called 'Ask for Ani' which gives victims an opportunity to reach out for help at pharmacies, including Boots, without making their situation obvious to other members of the public, or alerting their abuser. 'Victims who ask for Ani I want to appeal to family, friends and neighbours who strongly suspect that someone is being subjected to domestic abuse to tell us, or to urge their loved ones to make the right decision for their own safety and peace of mind. 'Protecting our most vulnerable communities is one of the force's priorities and we realise that being able to support and advise victims of domestic abuse has never been more important that it is now.' About a month after opening Worcesters first economic empowerment cannabis shop, Ross Bradshaw of New Dia announced that hes planning to open a second location just steps away from one of Bostons most iconic landmarks. Bradshaw said hes been quietly working on lining up a Boston location for about two years. The Boston New Dia location is in the basement part of the Cask n Flagon building, right by Fenway Park. Im super excited. I have to pinch myself, Bradshaw said in an interview with MassLive on Friday. Its right smackdown on Lansdowne, right outside Fenway Park, but at the same time it also means that theres a lot of responsibility, making sure that we do this right and that were good neighbors to the Boston Red Sox. Having locations in Boston and Worcester, the two largest cities in New England, will help to put New Dia on the map, Bradshaw said. Because of our background, because of our business model, we were fortunate enough to make it through the process and get a [host community agreement], Bradshaw said. A host community agreement, or HCA, is an agreement between a cannabis company and a municipality thats needed to start the licensure process. It is largely considered the most difficult part of opening a cannabis business in Massachusetts. New Dia received its HCA from Boston in November and now has to go through the state Cannabis Control Commission process for licensure. That made the company the first in Massachusetts to secure an HCA in both Boston and Worcester, Bradshaw said. Mayflower Medicinals, which has a recreational shop already open in Worcester, received an HCA from Boston this month to co-locate adult-use services at its existing medical dispensary in Allston. The company Suns Mass has also received HCAs in both cities. New Dia is part of the CCCs economic empowerment program, which was set up to benefit people and communities disproportionately affected by marijuana prohibition. Last year, Pure Oasis in Boston became the first economic empowerment business to open in the state. Now a month into operations in Worcester, Bradshaw said the employees are settling into a groove and customers are getting into the habit of stopping in on the way home from work or while running errands. New Dias Worcester store is set up to showcase different cannabis brands. The Boston location is much bigger and Bradshaw said the team is determining how to design the store. The Fenway space is 13,000 square feet, Bradshaw said, with a waiting area of about 3,300 square feet, which is about the size of New Dias entire Worcester location. Bradshaw said that the Boston store will look to give back to the communities of Roxbury, Mission Hill and Dorchester and he hopes to hire employees from those areas. He also wants to hire contractors for construction from minority-owned companies in Boston. We can replicate a lot of what weve already done [in Worcester] and have that huge impact in another community, in Boston, Bradshaw said. In addition to being next to Fenway Park, the shop is also right by the House of Blues. Bradshaw said the location comes with a lot of responsibility. It means that we have to be good stewards, we have to be good neighbors, we have to set a good example, Bradshaw said. Thats something we dont take lightly and thats going to be our primary focus, is safety and then also just making sure we represent this industry in the light that we want and that we stay true to our economic empowerment vision. Its tough to predict a timeline for the Boston location, but ideally, Bradshaw said hed like to open around the time of Boston Red Sox opening day in 2022. Related Content: Britain's biggest lenders are gearing up to collect billions of pounds in crisis loans amid rising concerns that firms may be bullied into making repayments. Banks are allocating hundreds of extra staff to spearhead the recovery efforts and bosses have been in regular talks with the Treasury to finalise plans. HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds have all begun dispatching letters to customers to warn them that repayments will soon be expected. Payback time: HSBC and other banks will now charge for loans in scheme set up by Sunak Banks have handed out more than 75billion to 1.6million firms under a number of emergency support schemes set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and backed by the taxpayer. Businesses were granted an interest-free period of a year and are due to start making repayments in as little as two weeks' time. But sources said bankers could be forced to use heavy-handed tactics and risk a painful repeat of the financial crisis when beleaguered firms faced high-pressure debt collection tactics. Small business owners warned that lenders may feel entitled to 'threaten, bully and intimidate' borrowers after a court last month ruled that they do not need to act with 'reasonable care and skill' when recovering debts. Banking sources said they are aware that some companies may still be facing severe financial difficulties. One senior banker warned that small firms many of which have loans of 50,000 or less might even refuse to make repayments because they have mistaken the money for grants or debt that will be written off. The Treasury is believed to be expecting the banks to be 'quite hard' in their recovery efforts. It is understood that banks must exhaust all other options before turning to the taxpayer to recoup the money. Banks have handed out more than 75billion to 1.6million firms under a number of emergency support schemes set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and backed by the taxpayer The banker said: 'At the moment the view is you are going to have to pursue [the loans] quite hard, because people might play awkward and think the banks will just forget about it. 'It will get tricky when you get right down to the wire. And will we go legal on this? [The Treasury] hasn't ruled it out.' Banks are spending millions of pounds on debt recovery. They are required to offer a raft of forbearance measures before calling in the debt. HSBC has allocated 400 staff to its collections team to discuss payment holidays, interest-only repayment periods and extending loan terms. Barclays is sending out letters to inform customers of the measures in place. Metro Bank has hired new staff for a unit to support customers. NatWest will launch a new website dedicated to customers struggling with repayments. It said it will give every customer three months' notice before payments are expected to be received. Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, said: '[If] a business is in default and can't make ends meet, the bank then needs to be very good at setting out the next steps. I should think most businesses will participate in an orderly wind-down. But firms do now have free dispute resolution in the Business Banking Resolution Service. And hopefully the banks will stay proceedings with a business until the case has been resolved in the BBRS. 'I think with all of these measures in place, it is far less likely we will see the abuses of the past take place. Banks will now get caught out if they foreclose on someone unfairly or stick them into a restructuring division without notification.' Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking The ruling by the Court of Appeal decided that banks do not have a duty of care to borrowers who fail to repay. The decision came as part of a tense legal battle between RBS and property tycoon Oliver Morley. Morley claimed bankers forced him to hand over his business in 2010 after he failed to repay a 75million loan. He claimed RBS had breached a duty to provide banking services with reasonable care and skill because it had violated its internal policies in negotiations. But the High Court ruled that bankers only have to comply with regulatory standards, not internal guidelines. The Court of Appeal later said the bank had a duty of care when providing the loan as a banking service, but not in the recovery process. Morley said: 'I fully respect all the decisions handed down by the court. But I am worried about the law. My case highlighted that small firms get no protection whatsoever from our system when banks come knocking. Banks can threaten, bully and intimidate their borrowers using the enormous imbalance of power they have at their disposal.' Union minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy held roadshows in the constituency to campaign for the party candidate Dr P. Ravi Kumar. (Twitter/@kishanreddybjp) Hyderabad: The BJP on Saturday released its manifesto for the April 17 Nagarjunasagar Assembly bypoll, promising to set up a sea airport in the Nagarjunasagar reservoir to operate seaplanes so as to develop it as a world-class tourist destination, thereby providing huge employment opportunities for the locals and unemployed youth. The party promised to set up food courts, hotels and other recreational facilities in Nagarjunasagar which it said will have the potential to create jobs for 50,000 people. For students, the manifesto promised a Kendriya Vidyalaya and gurukul schools in the constituency to be set up using Central funds. For tribal students, the party promised to set up Ekalavya residential schools. The party said it would set up food processing clusters for farmers to make agriculture profitable. The manifesto also promised to upgrade roads from the village to the mandal level with the assistance of Central funds. Meanwhile, Union minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy held roadshows in the constituency to campaign for the party candidate Dr P. Ravi Kumar. He termed the Congress as the B-team of the TRS, because voting for the Congress would be nothing short of voting for the TRS. He demanded that Congress candidate K. Jana Reddy explain how many Congress leaders, who were elected MLAs by the people, were continuing with the party after the 2018 elections. The Congress was becoming non-existent in state politics and termed Jana Reddy as an outdated political leader. Stating that the dynasties of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi were prevailing in the state, Kishan Reddy said only the CM and his family members had benefited from the formation of Telangana state, but not the common people. ADVERTISEMENT A total of 81 students of Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, have graduated with first class degrees in the 2019/2020 academic session. The Vice-Chancellor, Jeremiah Ojediran, said on Saturday during the institutions 12th convocation that they were part of the 1,026 students graduating from the session. Another 450 others graduated with Second Class Upper degrees; 336 with second class lower degrees, 58 with third Ccass, while 101 bagged postgraduate degrees. He said the university applied a robust e-learning platform for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which assisted the institution in the completion of the 2019/2020 academic session. The university is working tirelessly on notable research and improving its facilities as well as infrastructures so as to become a world-class institution. In addition, the management has also provided enabling environment for staff and students to exhibit their potentialities and contributed to national development, he said. The vice-chancellor reiterated the institutions commitment to providing top range societal changes that would contribute to the development of human capital in Nigeria and in the Diaspora. Mr Ojediran congratulated the graduates and urged them to imbibe good attitudes, discipline and make positive changes as well as strive to leave positive legacies behind wherever they went. Meanwhile, a former President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Kola Jamodu, who was conferred with Honorary Doctorate Degree (D.Sc. Honorius Causa), lauded the management of the university. He urged universities to embrace technology to install smooth learning platforms in the country. Mr Jamodu, also a member of the Board of Trustees of the institution, said that there was a need for the country to engage in the mass local manufacture of goods. He said this would create employment opportunities for the youth. He called on the Federal Government to support manufacturers by providing enabling environment through the reduction of tariffs. Mr Jamodu also pledged to continue to contribute to the orderly growth and development of the university. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gbemisola Alimi, a graduate of the Department of Accounting, College of Management Sciences, emerged the best student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.95. (NAN) Amanda Burke covers Pittsfield City Hall for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise. Find her on Twitter at @amandaburkec. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 11:30:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close New Zealand national flags fly at half-mast in front of Beehive, the parliament building of New Zealand, to show condolences over death of Britain's Prince Philip, in Wellington, New Zealand on April 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Lei) AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 10 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday sent her condolence to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family over the death of Prince Philip. "Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the government, I would like to express my sincere condolences to Her Majesty and to all the royal family," Ardern said. "Prince Philip will be fondly remembered for the encouragement he gave to so many young New Zealanders through The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award. In over fifty years of the award in New Zealand, thousands of young people have completed life-changing challenges through the programme." According to the New Zealand government's statement, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied the Queen on her 10 visits to New Zealand. The Duke also held a number of New Zealand honors and appointments. Ardern said she had directed that flags on all government buildings and naval vessels be flown at half-mast. Prince Philip has died at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace announced Friday. Enditem Theres no migrant surge at the U.S. southern border, a Washington Post headline declared on March 25, the report asserting there is neith Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah Asante has advised Members of Parliament (MPs) to be wary of their way of living. He partly blamed the MPs for the insatiable behaviour of the youth to look for quick money, hence seeking money rituals. Dr Asah Asante, speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' in relation to the gruesome murder at Kasoa, explained that the extravagant lifestyles of the Parliamentarians are a causative factor leading children and the youth to search for a shortcut to enrich themselves. He noted that MPs are deemed to be role models, therefore the young ones imitate what they see them do. He expounded that the MPs, in their line of service, end up amassing so much wealth to themselves which sends a bad signal to those looking up to them. ''They are role models. We watch them; we watch them speak in Parliament. As soon as they enter into politics, they return home with huge money and you ask yourself where did they get all this money from," he said. Dr Asah Asante advised the MPs to live an exemplary life. 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 Ransford Gyampo, an associate professor in the political science department of the University of Ghana, Legon, has stressed the need to tackle unemployment in an effort to deal with social vices in the country. Speaking to Kojo Mensah on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday 9 April, Professor Gyampo said Ghana has failed to socialise the youth and inculcate in them the ideals of hard work. I think what happened is sad. It pains me. We should accept it that we have failed as a society and not put a lot of blame on the kids, Professor Gyampo said. We are condemning whatever they did but the point is, as a society, we have failed collectively in not being able to socialise and educate people about the ideals of hard work. He added: And the kids who did this, perhaps they know My senior brother is done with school and he has not found any job, and so you dont see clearly where you are going after school. And if others ahead of you have not found jobs and all that, and you have a lot of advertisements as to how you can make money, then naturally the thinking may be like this. Gyampo blamed the proliferation of juju men on TV and the popularity of get-rich-quick schemes among young Ghanaians on a lack of meaningful jobs. On your Facebook page some will come and advertise that I am Mallam So, So and So: come and see me if you want and all that. My point is, it appears that they dont have work to do. The quickest way to get rich is to either join politics or form a spiritual church or be a juju man or something, and that is how come we have this proliferation. Background Nicholas Kenni and Felix Nyarko are being held on suspicion of killing Ishmael Mensah in Atia Coca-Cola, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region. The two teenagers were arrested over the weekend over the suspected ritual murder. The police said their investigations show that the two teenagers were allegedly acting on the orders of a fetish priest who demanded human parts to perform a money-making ritual for them. Confession According to the police, the duo confessed to killing Mensah on Saturday 3 April in the Coca-Cola suburb, near the Great Lamptey Mills School. The crime is said to have taken place in an uncompleted building. The police said the suspects hit the victim with clubs and building blocks several times, killing him in the process. Source: kasapafmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Duke of Edinburghs children and grandchildren are to rally round the Queen to help her in the wake of his death, in a transition the Royal family has been preparing for years. Plans for the next generation of royals to step up have been in place since before the Dukes retirement, in what was once described by aides as Team Windsor. Significantly derailed by a series of disasters for the institution, including the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan and the stepping back of Prince Andrew, those plans will now see the rest of the family pick up the slack to fill the shoes of the man famous for his dedication to duty. While the Queen is expected to resume royal duties after a period of mourning, she has two generations of family to help her with duties, Credit:Getty Images While the Queen is expected to resume her duties as monarch after a period of mourning, she will be able to lean on two younger generations of working senior royals for a smooth transition long in the planning. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 19:50:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A staff member shows a limited-edition Swiss watch at the Lifestyles exhibition area during the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) While COVID-19 dealt a heavy blow to Swiss watchmakers' export, some luxury watch brands in the country are eyeing the Chinese market, which took in 2.4 billion Swiss francs' worth of Swiss watches last year, 20 percent more than a year earlier. by Martina Fuchs GENEVA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- For centuries, Switzerland has been world-renowned for its cheese, chocolate -- and watches. However, the latest developments in technology coupled with changing consumer demand appear to force the Alpine country's makers of luxury timepieces to reinvent and innovate if they want to stay on top of the market. At this year's digital Geneva edition of "Watches and Wonders" -- a trade show of the international watch and jewelry industry -- 38 of the world's top watchmakers show off their latest and best designs between April 7 and April 13. They include Rolex, TAG Heuer, Cartier and Patek Philippe. IWC Schaffhausen, a leader in luxury watchmaking and a subsidiary of the Richemont Group, is also among them. The company, established in 1868, has just launched a new collection of pilot's watches, which are ultra shock-resistant and engineered for the most extreme conditions. "Our new Big Pilot's Watch Shock Absorber XPL is the first advanced watch that is coming out of our experimental research department," IWC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christoph Grainger-Herr told Xinhua in an interview. "It takes watch engineering to the next level." ANALOG VERSUS DIGITAL Despite the latest tech trends and the dominance of digital solutions - which Switzerland's expert watchmakers are keen to keep abreast of - the classic analog watch will remain a popular choice, Grainger-Herr said. This is true even if the COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted the watch business into a new technological era with the strong growth of e-commerce, the emergence of virtual boutiques and the plethora of online events. "We just launched our IWC app that comes with an augmented reality (AR) 'try-on' function allowing all of the new product content to be fed to our customers' smartphones," he said. Customers can point their camera at their wrist and virtually "try on" the watch. "I think these steps prove that an essentially mechanical and traditional industry and a brand like IWC are still very much empowered and enabled by everything we see in the digital space today," he added. Luxembourgish watchmaker Jean-Claude Biver is a living legend and an avantgarde icon in the global watch business. He was president of LVMH's Watch Division for many years and was responsible for brands such as TAG Heuer, Zenith and Hublot, and also helped Blancpain and Omega to scale new heights. He retired in 2018 after a 43-year career, but he did not leave the industry. Just recently he has launched the historic first Non Fungible Token (NFT) auction of a luxury watch together with Swiss cybersecurity company WISeKey. NFTs are blockchain-based certificates validating that someone owns a piece of digital art. Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, a Swiss luxury watch maker, speaks in an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the virtual Watches and Wonders Geneva 2021, April 8, 2021. (Photo by Martina Fuchs/Xinhua) NEW LEASE OF LIFE Switzerland's watchmaking industry traces its roots back to the mid-16th century and the Reformation in Geneva. It then flourished during the 19th century, and following a crisis in the 1970s and 1980s, the sector found a new lease of life making it one of the jewels in Switzerland's economy today. Today, around 700 watchmaking firms are active in the country. Most of them are based in Geneva and the "Watch Valley" in the Jura Arc - and they all feel the squeeze cased by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, the lockdowns, store closures and restrictions on international tourism have dealt a severe blow to the watchmakers' exports. Last year, the total value of Swiss-made timepieces sold abroad fell to 17 billion Swiss francs (18.4 billion U.S. dollars) compared with 21.7 billion Swiss francs a year earlier, a sharp drop of 21.8 percent. RARE EXCEPTION The rare exception was the Chinese market, which took in 2.4 billion Swiss francs' worth of Swiss watches last year, 20 percent more than a year earlier. "China is ahead of us by far, at least in the digital and online domains," Biver commented. Meanwhile, IWC is also keen to build on its gains in the Chinese market. Grainger-Herr has recently announced his company's plan to open its first and largest flagship boutique in the world in Shanghai later this year. "We haven't done anything like this before," Grainger-Herr said. "It is going to be a big moment for us as a brand later this year. Of course, we are very excited about the opportunities in China going forward." (1 Swiss franc = 1.08 U.S. dollars) Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday wrote to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), alleging "Cold-blooded murder of four and brutal injury of three innocent people by Central Forces." "Today, we write to you with a heavy heart in the wake of the brutal cold-blooded murder of four (4) and brutal injury to three (3) innocent people of Bengal by the bullets fired by Central Armed Police Forces ("CAPF") in AC Sitalkuchi, Coochbehar. The seven (7), whose only mistake was that they wished to participate in this festival of democracy, which is being conducted by you - the Election Commission of India. (ECI)," the letter from TMC read. The party further stated, "Incidentally, the incumbent Superintendent of Police (SP), Coochbehar, under whose supervision the CAPF is deputed in the district, is also a person whom the ECI found to be suitable as a replacement of the erstwhile SP who was removed for reasons best known to the ECI." "In first, second and third phases, we raised 6, 18 and 134 number of complaints, respectively, against the CAPF. However, no action and/or tangible action has been taken against the CAPF personnel and/or their hierarchy thereby emboldening the delinquent personnel. Though, for no apparent reason, from the DGP, WB to ADG -- Law and Order, WB, Director -- Security, ADG -- West Zone, numerous SPs/DCs, have all been removed by the ECI on the pretext of free and fair polls," the letter read. The party further said, "When our Chairperson questioned the conduct of the CAPF, the inaction of the ECI and the need to protest against such acts, she was slapped with a show cause notice as instantaneously as the issue was raised by her." "The conduct of the ECI is such that it appears to be under the command of the BJP. They are facilitating violence sponsored by BJP and executed by CAPF who in turn seem to have been instructed well by the star campaigner of the BJP- the Home Minister, Government of India," the letter read. The TMC raised two questions to the Election Commission. "Under these grave circumstances, we pose the following questions to you today: What action is being contemplated against the errant CAPF, its hierarchy and the SP of Coochbehar (appointed by the ECI)?. What tangible action will be taken against the senior Election Commission of India officials for this act of murder?" the TMC added. on Saturday said Central Forces opened fire twice at polling booths in Cooch Behar where people were casting their votes, killing four party workers. Addressing a press conference, TMC leader Dola Sen said, "In block 1 of Mathabhanga (Cooch Behar) one TMC worker was killed and three were injured after Central Forces opened fire on them, in Sitalkuchi block, three TMC workers were killed and one was injured." She further said that Central Forces were doing injustice to the people and they had crossed limits. Official sources in Cooch Behar said, "As of now, we have information about the death of four people. (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 eighth season of Married At First Sight Australia is on track to become the most complained about season of show. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has received a total of 54 official complaints so far - a record number for the watchdog. 'A significant proportion of the complaints alleged the program included personally abusive interchanges between participants through gaslighting, social, verbal and mental abuse and that the program perpetuated and promoted the theme of domestic abuse,' an ACMA spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph in a statement. Complaints: The eighth season of Married At First Sight Australia is on track to become the most complained about season of show. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has received a total of 54 official complaints so far. Pictured: MAFS star Bryce Ruthven According to a report by The Wash on Monday, many viewers took offence at scenes involving controversial couple Melissa Rawson and Bryce Ruthven. ACMA revealed it had at that time received 14 complaints about this year's season of MAFS, and four of those were about Bryce and Melissa, both 31. 'Under the co-regulatory system, the ACMA will refer complainants to the broadcaster in the first instance,' the media watchdog said. Statement: 'A significant proportion of the complaints alleged the program included personally abusive interchanges between participants through gaslighting, social, verbal and mental abuse and that the program perpetuated and promoted the theme of domestic abuse,' an ACMA spokesperson said in a statement. Pictured: Melissa Rawson and Bryce Ruthven 'If the complainant does not receive a response from the broadcaster within 60 days, or is not satisfied with the response, they may refer their complaint to the ACMA who may choose to investigate.' According to ACMA, many viewers raised 'concerns over the scenes involving Melissa and Bryce'. Additionally, a Change.org petition is demanding Channel Nine issue an apology for airing 'triggering' scenes involving the 'gaslighting' groom and his long-suffering wife. Details: According to a report by The Wash on Monday, many viewers took offence at scenes involving controversial couple Melissa Rawson and Bryce Ruthven, Both pictured The petition, which has already received 2,500 signatures in under 24 hours and now has over 14,000, is also calling for Nine to acknowledge its alleged 'failure of duty of care' towards Melissa. 'This season of Married at First Sight Australia features a couple, Melissa and Bryce, who portray an excessive amount of DV signs which are not being handled by the network appropriately,' the petition states. 'There is a clear failure of duty of care to Melissa during filming of the show, allowing her to remain in a toxic and dangerous environment with her partner for the "benefit" of the network.' Triggered: Additionally, a Change.org petition is demanding Channel Nine issue an apology for airing 'triggering' scenes involving the 'gaslighting' groom and his long-suffering wife Change wanted: The petition, which has already received 2,500 signatures in under 24 hours and now has over 14,000, is also calling for Nine to acknowledge its alleged 'failure of duty of care' towards Melissa 'She is being subject to gaslighting, emotional manipulation, isolation, and countless other textbook signs of a controlling and or abusive relationship,' the petition goes on to claim, adding that the scenes are 'incredibly triggering and stressful to watch'. It continues: 'This petition is for the Nine Network to acknowledge and apologise for letting Melissa go through this and also airing such a horrible relationship on TV without doing anything to showcase that the relationship is clearly not healthy.' It comes as former Married At First Sight star Michael Brunelli, 30, calls out the series for 'gaslighting' in a new interview. Anger: It comes as former Married At First Sight star Michael Brunelli, 30, calls out the series for 'gaslighting' in a new interview. 'Gaslighting is horrible and we've seen first-hand what it does,' Michael told Body and Soul magazine on Saturday. Pictured with Martha Kalifatidis 'Gaslighting is horrible and we've seen first-hand what it does,' Michael told Body and Soul magazine on Saturday. 'I hope that there is a woman or a man, anyone sitting at home watching that, thinking, "I can actually relate to this." 'And it's opening their eyes to see that maybe they're being manipulated, maybe they can take a step back and see their relationship for what it really is and be able to learn from it' he added. Michael starred on season six of the show, and is still in a relationship with his 'wife', Martha Kalifatidis, 32. The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the striking Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) met on Saturday and resolved to continue with their indefinite industrial action that has grounded courts nationwide since Tuesday. The meeting was convened to take a position on Tuesdays appeal by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, for the strike to be suspended. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the union would be holding its NEC meeting this weekend, and subsequently, meet with state governors in a bid to find a solution to the crisis triggered by the workers demand for financial autonomy for the judiciary. Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES at the end of JUSUNs NEC meeting on Saturday, a top officer of the union, Jimoh Musa, said it would be hasty to call off the strike as requested by the CJN, because the state governors had finally scheduled a meeting with the union leadership on how to meet the workers demand. Mr Musa, the National Treasurer of JUSUN, acting for the President of the union, Marwan Adamu, who is recuperating from the injuries he sustained in an auto crash on Tuesday, said the governors might not have any reason to go on with the scheduled meeting if the strike is called off before the consultation. We met and we came up with a resolution appreciating the CJN as a father. We looked into his demand, and we said since the people concerned (the governors) have come out and we have scheduled to have a meeting, it is better to hold the meeting with them first before taking a decision. He (the CJN) should not feel bad that we did not grant his request. If we yield to his request before meeting these people, they may not even meet with us, Mr Musa said. Governors, minister to meet striking workers Mr Musa told PREMIUM TIMES that the meeting with the governors had been scheduled for Wednesday. According to him, the meeting will be attended by the representatives of the governors, parliamentary workers union, and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Akpata, who heads the technical committee for the implementation of the Executive Order 10 signed last year by President Muhammadu Buhari in respect of the matter. He said the governors had promised to present their proposed modality for the implementation of the two arms of government to both the judiciary and parliamentary workers unions at the scheduled meeting. Further appealing to the CJN to be patient with the union, Mr Musa said, we will meet with them, and if we get proper commitment, we will resolve to suspend the strike. He also said the labour minister, Chris Ngige, had invited the union leadership to a meeting on Monday. Only on Thursday, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) decried the seeming silence of the federal government over the crisis. Financial autonomy The workers had on Tuesday embarked on the indefinite nationwide strike in protest against the denial of the judiciary its constitutionally-guaranteed financial autonomy which was also affirmed by a Federal High Court judgment delivered by Adeniyi Ademola, a now retired judge of the court, in January 2014. Under the Nigerian Constitution, the judiciary ought to be in the first line charge of state and national budgets, with the funds standing to the credit of the third arm of government in the budgets released to the various heads of courts through the National Judicial Council (NJC). While this is being complied with at the federal level, it is not so at the various states, where the governors only release funds to the judiciary as they please. But another aspect of the autonomy which is still be infringed upon by both the federal and state governments is the judiciary being able to submit its budget to the National Assembly for passage without routing it through the executive arm of government. ADVERTISEMENT The governors are largely seen as opponents of financial independence of both the judiciary and the legislature at the state levels. They exhibited the trait by filing a suit to challenge the legality of the Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last year for the enforcement of the constitutional provisions on the financial autonomy of both the judiciary and the legislature at the state levels. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Top US health authorities said Friday they have not yet found a "causal" link between Johnson & Johnson's COVID shot and blood clots, as the EU drug regulator probed possible instances among those who have received the vaccine. "At this time, we have not found a causal relationship with vaccination and we are continuing our investigation and assessment of these cases," said a statement from the US Food and Drug Administration. The regulatory agency said it was aware of "a few individuals" in the United States who had suffered clots and low levels of platelets in the blood after receiving J&J's vaccine. "Both conditions can have many different causes," the FDA said. "We will keep the public updated as we learn more." Four cases, one fatal, of rare clots with low blood platelets were reported among those vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson shot, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP Where are Colorado legislators at in passing the state budget? How does Gov. Jared Polis' upcoming election season come into play? And what does any of this have to do with WuTang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G.? The Kansas Legislature has approved a new license plate design with a flag that critics say honors a slave trader and was prominently featured in the U.S. Capitol invasion in January. Sales of the plate will benefit the Kansas State Rifle Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association and the leading gun-rights lobbying group in the Statehouse. The new plate will be designed around the Gadsden Flag, a Revolutionary War banner featuring a coiled rattlesnake and the phrase Dont Tread on Me. The yellow flag was originally a banner of the early U.S. Marines, but more recently has been adopted as a symbol of resistance to the contemporary United States government. Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City and one of only two African-American state senators, objected to having Gadsden Flags decorating Kansas license plates. The flag was designed by Christopher Gadsden, a colonel in the Continental Army who also played a key role in the slave trade. He owned Gadsdens Wharf in Charleston, S.C., where an estimated 100,000 captive Africans entered the country and were auctioned off as slaves. Haley said he reluctantly voted yes on the overall bill, House Bill 2166, to support the five other causes whose custom license plates were included. But For the legacy of this despot (Gadsden) who too will be included, Im ashamed that we have added this to this bill, he said. Why we have to keep this foul piece in is beyond me on something else that is so well-done. The other plates authorized by the bill are: Bradens Hope for Childhood Cancer and the Love, Chloe Foundation, two groups involved in providing support and research in pediatric cancer. Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta, two historically African-American sororities for college women. A plate titled Proud Educator; proceeds to benefit the Kansas Independent College Association. Rep. Blake Carpenter, R-Derby and a chief proponent of the Gadsden Flag plate, said to him and many others, it symbolizes freedom from tyranny. Story continues I think that the Dont Tread on Me slogan is one that a lot of people can identify with and not having the government trample on their rights, he said. When I walk my district, theres a lot of bumper stickers with Gadsden Flag . . . theres a lot of flags flying in the district . . . Theres a lot of our constituents who really will appreciate this license plate. Carpenter said many of the founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are celebrated by Democrats although they owned slaves. He questioned whether Gadsdens role in the slave trade was as direct as some have claimed. Personally, I would like to go look at the history of it, Carpenter said. Did he just build the wharf or was he owner and operator of it? Thats the questions that I would have. He said the Kansas Rifle Association was chosen as the beneficiary because of its role in promoting gun training and ensuring that the next generation of hunters and those folks are prepared and have the ability to hunt, fish, and really have a cornerstone for our rights here in Kansas. Kansas special-interest license plates are usually issued to benefit causes such as veterans, educational institutions and noncontroversial charitable organizations. One recent example is the Wichita flag plate, which generates funds for the city parks foundation. Other special plates that benefit groups include 4H, Special Olympics and the Eisenhower Presidential Library. If Gov. Laura Kelly doesnt veto the bill, the Gadsden Flag plate will be the states first specialty license plate the state has issued specifically for the benefit of a political organization. In 2018, the Legislature authorized a plate bearing the slogan Choose Life, a rally cry of abortion opponents. But that plate had no organizational sponsor and any proceeds would go to the state treasury. The Choose Life plate has not been issued because there arent enough orders for it yet, said Zach Fletcher, spokesman for the Department of Revenue. A provision in HB 2166 will reduce the number of subscribers required to issue the Choose Life plate from 1,000 orders to 100. The Kansas State Rifle Association will get $25 per year for each Gadsden Flag plate sold. The organization does have some apolitical goals, but also routinely lobbies the Legislature for relaxation of gun laws. Its been instrumental in passing several statutes, including: A law guaranteeing the right to carry firearms openly or concealed in most public places. A requirement that state universities allow concealed carry on campuses and in dormitories. A Second Amendment Protection Act that sought to exempt guns and silencers from federal regulation if they were manufactured in Kansas and did not cross state lines. The association also has a political action committee that makes direct donations to lawmakers campaigns, including $1,000 last year to the Senate campaign of. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, who carried the bill on the Senate floor. Claeys did not return a phone call seeking comment. Along with Claeys, Rep. Henry Helgerson, D-Wichita, was one of six members of the conference committee on HB 2166. He said he opposed the bill because of the Gadsden Flags historical ties to the slave trade and its role as a rallying symbol in the Capitol riot, where insurgents sought to derail certification of Joe Bidens victory in last years presidential election. Helgerson also objected to the process. The Gadsen Flag plate was not included in the original draft of the bill that passed the House. It was added later in the Senate Transportation Committee, where Claeys is vice chairman. That path bypassed the regular hearing process in both chambers, Helgerson said. If youre going to have a license tag, you have a hearing about it, so proponents and opponents can have some discussion, Helgerson said. This has not had any discussion in the last several years. Rep. Leo Delperdang, R-Wichita, also a member of the conference committee, said Claeys was the driving force behind the Gadsden flag portion of HB 2166. He said he was more or less indifferent to it. Its not something Id put on my car, he said. Im a gun supporter and regular carrier, but its not something I want to go out and advertise either. The bill passed the Senate 29-5 Thursday afternoon and approved by the House on a vote of 81-41 on Thursday night. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 22:09:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The Capitol and a stop sign are seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China is opposed to the United States including seven Chinese supercomputing entities in its "entity list" for export controls, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Friday. Employing excuses such as "national security" or "military modernization efforts," the United States has repeatedly abused export-control measures and its state power to oppress companies and institutions in other countries, the spokesperson said. Such moves have caused severe damage to the international economic and trade order, and have posed a grave threat to the security of global industrial and supply chains, said the spokesperson, adding that they bring no benefit to China, the United States or the world at large. "China urges the United States to stop its wrongdoing immediately, and it will take any measures necessary to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," the spokesperson said. The Duchess of Sussex will not go to Prince Philips funeral for medical reasons but Prince Harry will definitely attend. Buckingham Palace last night confirmed that Meghan, whose second child, a girl, is due in early summer, will not fly on physicians advice. Sources close to the couple had previously said they were united in grief with the rest of the Royal Family, but added that Meghan, 39, who suffered a miscarriage last year, would seek medical guidance before making the 11-hour flight from California. The Duchess of Sussex will not attend the funeral of Prince Philip alongside her husband The Sussexes have faced criticism for accusing the Royal Family of racism during their controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey interview which aired last month while Prince Philip was in King Edward VIIs hospital in London. Sources say the Duke was briefed about the content of the interview after he left hospital, where he had been treated for a heart condition. The media gathered outside Harry and Meghans 11 million estate in Montecito, a two-hour drive north of Los Angeles, after news of Philips death was announced on Friday. One onlooker said: There have been lots of cars coming and going from their place but no one has seen Prince Harry. Harry, 36, is exempt from Covid quarantine because he is attending a funeral, but will be expected to take a coronavirus test before leaving the US and on the second and fifth day after returning to Britain. It is unclear when he will make his transatlantic flight, but rumours of his imminent departure were rampant. A source said: Everyone expects him to leave by Monday at the latest. There is a private 737 jet at Santa Barbara airport which everyone is watching in case hes taking that. Every hour the word goes out that his departure is imminent but, so far, theyve been false alarms. Last January, it was reported that Prince Philip was deeply disappointed by the couples decision to walk away from the Royal Family and start their new life in the US The jet in question belongs to American self-help guru Tony Robbins, but is available for private charter. Mr Robbins sold his home in Montecito last year. Harry was last photographed with his grandfather in May 2019 shortly after the birth of son Archie, when he and Meghan took the newborn to Buckingham Palace. In an interview with James Corden in February, Harry described Zoom calls with the Queen and Prince Philip during lockdown, but joked that his grandfather was so impatient he would never press the leave meeting key, instead choosing to slam shut his computer to end a call: He just goes doof! Harry enjoyed a close relationship with his grandfather. An aide said: They shared a love of all things military and were extremely close at one stage. An aide has said that Prince Philip and Harry shared a love of the military and were very close 'Whenever you saw Philip and Harry together, they were always laughing. The Duke was very proud of Harrys military service. But last January, it was reported that the Duke was deeply disappointed by the couples decision to walk away from the Royal Family and start their new life in the US. Last night, Meghans estranged father Tom Markle said: I would like to send my condolences and sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen and the British people for the loss of Prince Philip. He was a great example of service to his country and love to his wife. Harrys attendance at Saturdays funeral will be the first time he has been seen in public with his family since the frosty Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in March 2020, when it was said that neither Prince William nor wife Kate spoke to Meghan or Harry. Khartoum, April 10 : The death toll from the recent armed clashes in El Geneina, capital city of Sudan's West Darfur State, has increased to 137, while the number of the injured stood at 221. "The committee counted a new toll of victims, bringing the number of those who were killed so far to 137 and the injured to 221," the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors announced on Friday. The armed clashes broke out on April 3 in El Geneina city between the Al-Massalit and Arab tribes, reports Xinhua news agency. On April 5, Sudan's Security and Defence Council declared a state of emergency in West Darfur state and authorised forces to adopt all necessary measures to end armed clashes. Sudan's Darfur region has been mired in a civil war since 2003. On December 31, 2020, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution that ends the mandate of the UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in the region. The around 16,000 UNAMID soldiers, who have been deployed in Darfur since 2007, are set to complete their exit in July. Meanwhile, a UN Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) will be deployed during 2021 to support the transitional period in the country. The transitional government in Sudan is trying to fill in the security gap in Darfur by forming a special force from the security and military institutions and armed groups which signed a peace agreement with the government in October 2020. Piers Morgan accuses Meghan Markle of telling 'downright lies' over her claim to have been married to Harry three days before their ceremony in Windsor in a new interview. The Mail Online editor-at-large makes the comments in a preview clip of his grilling on Australian television by Karl Stefanovic in a 60 Minutes interview. A clip from what's set to be a compelling interview shows Morgan calling Meghan a liar - and says she even personally complained to his boss before he sensationally quit Good Morning Britain. In the new interview, Morgan also launches a fresh assault on cancel culture after quitting GMB after a live war of words with the show's weatherman Alex Beresford over Harry and Meghan. Now, the bestselling author of 'Wake Up: Why the World has Gone Nuts' has hit back at the couple - and the 'woke' goody two-shoes-types who are in their thrall. Recalling Ms Markle's claim that she and Harry were secretly married three days before the official ceremony, he fires up in the interview: 'They were downright lies. 'I don't believe a word she says. That [ceremony] would make the Archbishop of Canterbury a criminal.' Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) President Rodrigo Dutertes Talk to the People address will resume on Monday, April 12, after a weeklong postponement, according to Malacanang. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Saturday the resumption of the Presidents weekly address. Its usually a pre-recorded footage of Dutertes meeting with government officials on the pandemic response. Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, commander of the Presidential Security Group, told CNN Philippines on Thursday that he recommended the deferment of the Presidents activities for the week due to the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases among PSG personnel. Durante said the PSG reached a peak of 126 active cases over the past week, a figure that went down to 41 on Thursday, noting that most of the infected were assigned to the Palaces gates and are not among the Presidents close-in detail. READ: Not all PSG personnel vaccinated, chief says Still, the President's engagements both in and out of Malacanang were canceled as a precautionary measure, he said, noting the surge in infections in Metro Manila. Duterte's last public address was on March 29. It was a meeting attended by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who confirmed on April 6 that he tested positive for COVID-19. After days of no-show, questions have been raised on the state of the 76-year-old President's health. Administration officials said he is working in Malacanang and not showing any flu like symptoms despite several government officials contracting the coronavirus. Senator Christopher "Bong" Go also released several photos of him and the President to back their claims. READ: Duterte still deciding on new quarantine status for NCR Plus English French TORONTO, April 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued an Order of Interim Suspension of the liquor licence of The South Branch Bistro, located at 15 Clothier Street East in Kemptville, for reasons of public interest and safety. The interim suspension takes effect immediately. At the same time, the Registrar has also issued a Notice of Proposal (NOP) to revoke the establishments liquor licence for infractions of the Liquor Licence Act ( LLA ) , including the requirement that the licence holder act and carry on business in accordance with the law and with honesty and integrity. On April 7, 2021, the AGCO learned that the licence holder was advertising and hosting a No More Lockdown protest rally on its Facebook page. The event was open to the public and scheduled to take place on April 8, 2021, at the licensed premises, in contravention of the Province-Wide Shutdown Order made under the Emergency Management and Public Protection Act. On April 8, 2021, the licence holder held this event on the licensed premises. Officials from the AGCO, the Ontario Provincial Police as well as local public health and by-law enforcement officers visited the premises during the published times of the event. People were observed consuming liquor inside the licensed premises, on the licensed patio, and in the surrounding parking lot. People were not socially distanced and most, including staff and children, were not wearing masks. When the AGCO returned to the establishment on April 9, 2021, it was observed that liquor was being served to patrons on the licensed patio despite the Province-Wide Shutdown Order in effect. Staff were again not wearing masks. Those who hold a licence to sell alcohol are responsible for meeting their obligations under the LLA, and to act with honesty and integrity. The AGCO regularly conducts compliance activities at liquor licensed establishments across the province and commends the vast majority of licensees for operating responsibly. There are consequences for licence holders who do not meet these requirements, including the possibility of an Order of Monetary Penalty, a temporary suspension of the licence, or in the most serious cases a revocation of the licence. An establishment served with an interim suspension or a NOP has the right to appeal the Registrars action to the Licence Appeal Tribunal , which is an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES MEDIA CONTACT Raymond Kahnert Senior Advisor, Communications media@agco.ca 416-326-3202 ABOUT THE AGCO The AGCO is responsible for regulating the alcohol, gaming, horse racing and private cannabis retail sectors in Ontario in accordance with the principles of honesty and integrity, and in the public interest. The AGCO is a regulatory agency with a governing board that reports to the Ministry of the Attorney General. The agency was established on February 23, 1998 under the Alcohol, Cannabis and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act, 1996. Jennifer Garner is known to many fans all over the world for her versatile and dynamic onscreen characters. Garner, who has been acting since the early 90s, has often made headlines for her relationship with her ex-husband Ben Affleck and is widely recognized as one of Hollywoods nicest, most relatable actors. For most of Garners fans, few of her roles are better or more memorable than the one she played in 13 Going on 30, a 2004 romantic comedy. In a recent episode of Hot Ones, Garner talked about the movie, and what special meaning the film still has for her. Jennifer Garner became famous after acting in Alias Jennifer Garner on November 09, 2019, in Culver City, California. | Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic RELATED: Is Jennifer Garner Single? Find Out Who She Is Dating Garner was born in Houston, Texas, in 1972. Raised in a working-class family, Garner developed an early love for acting, and she got involved in theater performing. By the time she reached maturity, Garner knew that she wanted to pursue acting as a career, and began auditioning for parts in film and television. It wasnt long before she started landing roles, with early movies of hers including Pearl Harbor. Garner first rose to fame after her work in the television series Alias, where she played a CIA officer named Sydney Bristow. As Sydney, Garner was required to go through many disguises and intricate plotlines, and critics praised her dedication to character. The young actor became a worldwide celebrity, paving the way to leading roles in big-budget movies including the 2004 film 13 Going on 30, one of Garners first big romantic comedies. Fans love Jennifer Garners work in 13 Going on 30 Jennifer Garner doesn't want to complicate life with love and marriagehttps://t.co/QoElIAinMs pic.twitter.com/0ZatqtrGfl W24.co.za (@W24_SA) March 28, 2021 RELATED: Jennifer Garners Go-To Blush Has Been Her Staple for 20 Years 13 Going on 30 tells the story of a young girl named Jenna, played by Garner, who is a geeky loner in the 80s, longing to be popular. After Jenna makes a tearful wish on her 13th birthday where she expresses her desire to be 30, she wakes up the following morning as a grown woman. Uncertain as to how she got to be 30 all of a sudden, and with no memory of the preceding 17 years, Jenna stumbles through the motions of life as an adult in the early 2000s, all while learning how to make the best of every day. The message of self-empowerment and positivity, as well as the heavy nostalgia factor, helped to make 13 Going on 30 an immediate hit with viewers of all ages. Garners performance, specifically, was given the nod from several major critics, and to this day, it remains one of her most popular roles. 13 Going on 30 has become a cult classic, a movie that still appeals to viewers. What did Jennifer Garner recently say about her role in 13 Going on 30? RELATED: How Did Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Meet? In a recent episode of Hot Ones, host Sean Evans asked Garner why she thinks 13 Going on 30 has remained so perennially popular. Garner admitted that the movie is pure wish-fulfillment fantasy, giving a nod to the films late director, Gary Winick. Garner also admitted that playing the character of Jenna in 13 Going on 30 had so much meaning for her and that while she didnt really carry the films overall theme with her, one thing that has stuck with her over the years is the feeling of playfulness that I had in my body while we made that moviejust the ebullience of that character and that time are all connected in one warm, hazy, fuzzy, rosy glow. 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. Rotunda Rumblings Payback time: Gov. Mike DeWine wants Ohio to use $1.5 billion of the $5 billion-plus its getting from the federal coronavirus relief bill to balance the states unemployment compensation fund. As Andrew Tobias writes, the move would avert planned premium hikes on employers to pay back the money the state borrowed from the feds to pay out jobless claims, and avoid what happened following the Great Recession, when the state spent eight years paying off a similar loan. DeWine said Thursday hes discussed the idea with state legislative leaders, and they were supportive. Stimulus for gambling: With some stimulus cash in hand, overnight curfews lifted and poker rooms reopened, Ohios casino and racino industry smashed records last month. The $215.9 million taken in at the 11 properties combined, after paying out winnings, easily topped the previous mark of $184.2 million set in March 2019, Rich Exner reports. About a third of this money, or about $70 million for last month, will end up in the states hands as fees or taxes. Cases up: The rate of new coronavirus cases in Ohio is now worse than it was a month ago when DeWine announced his plans to eventually lift his health orders amid what was then a fast-shrinking number of cases. The state on Thursday reported a rate of 183.7 cases per 100,000 people with an onset of symptoms over the last two weeks, up from 167.1 a week ago, Exner reports. Variants are blamed for the increase. Meanwhile, 52 counties are now considered on red alert, up from 51 last week. Cases down: The number of coronavirus cases at Ohio nursing homes dipped this week, despite Ohios overall increase in new cases. The state reported late Wednesday 476 current nursing home patient cases, and 329 for staff. Those numbers are down from 528 and 429 a week earlier. They have been dropping throughout this year, Exner reports. Daily report: Laura Hancock has the daily numbers -- 2,742 new coronavirus cases for Thursday well above the 21-day rolling average of 1,801. Michigan vs. Ohio: Why is Michigan a national coronavirus hotspot, but Ohio is not? Julie Washington explores the reasons. A spike in cases among schoolchildren, and the increased spread of highly transmissible COVID-19 variants are major contributing factors, health experts told Washington. School numbers: Ohio reported 635 new weekly coronavirus cases in K-12 students and 119 in staff for the week of March 29, down from the week before, Emily Bamforth reports. Case numbers have not spiked yet in schools, based on weekly increase numbers released from the state since the return-to-buildings deadline of March 1 for schools that received vaccines for staff. Fair-well: For the second straight year, the Ohio State Fair wont be open to the public. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, fair officials said only junior fair competitions with restricted attendance will be held, citing coronavirus and financial concerns. However, a dairy industry spokeswoman said there might still be a butter cow in 2021. Taxing situation: The Buckeye Institute is continuing its legal fight against cities that continue to collect income taxes from former commuters who have been working at home during the pandemic. As Robert Higgs reports, the conservative group on Thursday sued the city of Cleveland on behalf of a doctor who has worked from home in Pennsylvania for more than a year. The group has also filed suit in Franklin, Hamilton and Lucas counties. Masks off: Ashland County Common Pleas Judge Ronald Forsthoefel wrote in an order that the state has no stated or implied authority which authorizes any action to prevent the spread of contagious or infectious disease, meaning it cannot enforce the mask order. However, the ruling is more symbolic, reports Geoff Redick of ABC 6 in Columbus, since his order didnt involve a case against the state. He was ruling in a case brought by Cattlemans Restaurant in the town of Savannah against the Ashland County Health Department. Downward trend: The number of new and ongoing unemployment claims in Ohio each dropped again last week, as did the amount of claims flagged for fraud. As Pelzer writes, the new figures suggest a gradually reviving economy and that state officials are making headway in their months-long struggle against scammers. Help for the homeless: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge on Thursday announced the release of $5 billion in American Rescue Plan money to fight homelessness, Sabrina Eaton reports. That includes $200 million for state and local governments in Ohio. Charging ahead: The Ohio Elections Commission voted Thursday to refer a longstanding campaign-finance case against Newburgh Heights Mayor Trevor Elkins for prosecution. As Tobias reports, Elkins, who holds a position with former state Sen. Nina Turners congressional campaign, has admitted to routinely using his campaign account to cover personal expenses, costing more than $130,000 over three years. But he said he always paid the money back and didnt realize what he was doing was an issue. Elections commissioners said the case is among the most egregious campaign-finance cases theyve seen. Papers please: Generation Now, the nonprofit at the heart of the House Bill 6 corruption scandal, has not answered Cleveland City Council subpoenas for documents regarding FirstEnergys suspected funding of a campaign to discredit Cleveland Public Power. City Council President Kevin Kelley told Higgs that council will now consult lawyers to determine what, if anything, happens next. Buckeye Brain Tease Question: Who was Columbuss first elected mayor? Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter. Thanks to everyone who answered last weeks question: Kentucky is known as the home of the bourbon industry, but what Ohio city is home to a cooperage that produced its 1 millionth bourbon barrel in 2020? Answer: Speyside Cooperage in Jackson, owned by a French company, opened on the site of a former cabinet factory in 2016. Per industry regulations, to be used for proper bourbon, a barrel must be new and made of charred white oak. Among the brands the company has supplied with barrels are Middle West Spirits and Watershed Distillery in Columbus. Capitol Letter reader Joe Rosato, director of government affairs for the Ohio State Medical Association, was the first to respond with the correct answer. Birthdays Friday 4/9: Rachel Coyle, Ohio Senate Democrats campaign director; Haylee Dunahay, director of coalitions for Gov. Mike DeWine; Stephanie Jansky, City Club of Cleveland director of programming; Andrew Shehorn, Summit County Republican Party executive director Saturday 4/10: Madeleine Castle, legislative aide to state Rep. Jena Powell; Jessica Warner, director of legislative affairs, Ohio Right To Life Sunday 4/11: State Rep. Jay Edwards Straight From The Source Quite frankly, I think in the next couple weeks, the variant will be the virus. - Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Ohio Department of Health medical director, explaining how the evidence suggests that coronavirus variants are doubling every nine to 10 days in Ohio. Variants are part of the reason why Cuyahoga and Lucas counties each got an additional 5,000 vaccine shots above their allocation this week. Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free. I will keep talking against the CRPF and BSF as long as they are with the BJP. Otherwise, I will salute them, says Mamata. PTI Kolkata: Indicting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for Model Code of Conduct violations over her continuous tirade against the Central paramilitary forces and her recent diktat to gherao them during the remaining phases of the Assembly elections in the state, the Election Commission severely reprimanded the Trinamul Congress supremo in yet another notice on Thursday night and sought her explanation by 11 am on Saturday. Finding her allegations completely false, provocative and intemperate statements, the EC said Ms Banerjees attacks and attempts to berate and vilify the Central paramilitary forces during the electoral process are causing extreme demoralisation among the rank and file of these forces, who have been rendering yeomans service since the late 1980s in election after election. It also noted that the two-time CM has been consistent in berating and demoralising the Central paramilitary forces Far more discouraging is the fact that Ms Banerjee has been trying to make an emotional pitch for women voters to go to the extent of inciting them to attack the personnel of CPFs. It is extremely unfortunate that political battles are thus sought to be fought in this manner instead of being fought on the campaign trail etc. Ms Banerjee, according to the EC, is perhaps not realising that this kind of statement can create a wedge of distrust between the state police of West Bengal, who are also doing their own duty with the Central forces, instead of complementing each other. In fact, Ms Banerjee is sparing no efforts to ensure that a deep wedge and drift is created amongst them which is bound to have serious consequential damage even after the process of elections is over. Union home minister Amit Shah, who was in the city on Friday for the poll campaign, tore into the TMC chief over her all-out criticism of the Central forces and the accusations against him. Rejecting her claims, he observed that he had never heard of a CM of a state or the head of a political party making attacking comments on the Central forces like Ms Banerjee. Mr Shah urged the TMC chief to apply her common sense, reminding her of the control of the EC, instead of his ministry, on the Central forces during the polls. He also argued that Ms Banerjee has been frustrated, realising that she was facing defeat in the polls, which is reflected in her comments. She should reply to the notice from the EC to her, the Union home minister said. The TMC chief, however, remained defiant despite the massive pressure that is mounting on her since this was the second notice in a gap of 24 hours to her from the EC over her violations of the MCC. I will keep talking against the CRPF and BSF as long as they are with the BJP. Otherwise, I will salute them. I respect and salute the jawans of our country. However, I would not do the same to those who are working on the instructions of Mr Shah. I will better die rather than saluting Mr Shah, she told a TMC rally at Jamalpur in Burdwan East. As the Queen mourns her beloved husband, one of Prince Philips closest friends and confidantes, Penny Brabourne, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, is also grieving. The Countess was a regular visitor at Wood Farm, the cottage on the edge of the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk where the Prince spent much of his time after retiring from public life in August 2017. The pair were firm friends for decades and shared a love for the exhilarating equestrian sport of carriage-driving. Penny Brabourne, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, pictured right, with her husband Norton Knatchbull, left, was a close friend of Prince Philip The pair, pictured, shared a love for the exhilarating equestrian sport of carriage-driving Indeed, the 67-year-old Countess enjoyed such a close bond with the Queen and Philip that Palace staff reportedly nicknamed her and also, because no guest list was considered complete without her. The only daughter of butcher-turned-businessman Reginald Eastwood, she was propelled into the Royal Family through her marriage to Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma. The Earl was a close friend of Prince Charles the pair attended Gordonstoun together and Charles was Nortons best man when he married Penny in 1979. The wedding was delayed for eight weeks because five months earlier, IRA bombers blew up a small boat in the sea off Mullaghmore, County Sligo, killing Nortons grandfather, Lord Mountbatten. Nortons 14-year-old younger brother, Nicholas, his paternal grandmother the Dowager Lady Brabourne, and a local boy who was with the family, also died in the terror attack. Penny is understood to have formed a close friendship with the Queen and Prince Philip after her daughter Leonora contracted liver cancer and died aged five in 1991. Philip taught the Countess carriage-driving in 1994 and she became his regular companion for the sport. Royal insiders say her enthusiasm for carriage-driving is one of the reasons he continued to take the reins into his late 90s. He was pictured carriage-driving in the grounds of Windsor Castle as recently as 2019. The Countesss loss of her daughter was not the only turmoil she endured. In 2010, Lord Brabourne abandoned her and started a new life with another woman in the Bahamas. The affair fizzled out, however, and he returned in 2014 to Broadlands, the home he shares with the Countess. The 60-room Palladian mansion in Hampshire is where the Queen and Philip spent part of their honeymoon. Members of the Royal Family, the Queen in particular, were reportedly full of admiration for the way the Countess insisted that life on the historic estate must go on as normal after her husbands affair. Montreal, April 10 : With a series of regional consultations, the bureaus of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and SBSTTA have agreed that the meetings will be held virtually, beginning on May 3 and continuing until June 13. These meetings are being convened virtually as an exceptional measure due to the conditions imposed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and do not constitute a precedent for the organisation of future meetings under the Convention, said the CBD secretariat on Friday. Dates and modalities have been confirmed for the 24th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), and the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI), two meetings essential to the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be agreed later this year in Kunming in China. The meetings will build upon the work of the informal meetings of the two bodies that were held in February and March. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, CBD Executive Secretary, said: "I want to thank the Parties to the Convention for their flexibility and willingness to find a way to continue our common work during this challenging time. "The agreement to work virtually, on an exceptional basis, will allow us to advance our crucial agenda, including important elements of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. By acting for nature, we can create a fairer, healthier and more sustainable world." As agreed by the COP and SBSTTA bureaus, plenaries will be limited to three hours each day. Each of the meetings will be adjourned at the conclusion of the third plenary session until a later date for the finalisation of the work. These meetings will allow for the timely preparation of COP-15 and related meetings of the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols, being held from October 11-24 in Kunming under the theme, "Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth". The National Weather Service says, 'When thunder roars, go indoors' for a reason. Video posted on the National Weather Service Green Bay Wisconsin Facebook page shows lightning strike a pine tree Thursday. You can see the tree light up down the middle, shatter, and plummet to the ground in pieces. The tree was outside of Wautoma High School in Wautoma. Principal Jennifer Johnson told CNN affiliate WLUK the strike happened just before 8:30 a.m., as ninth and 10th grade students were getting ready to take the ACT Aspire test. She said the students were distracted but excited to see the act of Mother Nature. No one was hurt and there was no damage to the school, Johnson said. Thailand has approved a list of eight Covid-19 vaccine makers, including Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Pfizer Inc., for foreign visitors seeking to shorten a mandatory quarantine on arrival. Visitors to Thailand will need to upload copies of the vaccination certificates on the website of the nations foreign ministry prior to arrival to reduce the quarantine period to seven days. Those without vaccinations will still need to undergo 10 days of isolation and visitors from countries including South Africa will be subject to a two-week quarantine. The list of approved vaccine makers are Sinovac, AstraZeneca Plc, SK Bioscience Co. Ltd., Pfizer, BioNTech SE, Serum Institute of India, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc. and Sinopharm Group Co. Thailand is betting on a return of foreign visitors to rescue its economy from its worst performance in more than two decades. The nation, famous for its palm-fringed beaches, temples and backpacker culture, shortened the quarantine this month after the requirement was seen as the biggest hurdle to potential travelers. Phuket, an resort island, is also working to completely waive the quarantine from July for vaccinated tourists. Foreign visitors will still need to present a certificate of entry, a valid visa, health insurance, Covid-19 test results along with their vaccine certificate, according to the Foreign Ministry rules. Those seeking shorter quarantine should have taken their shots no less than 14 days before travel date. The pandemic has devastated Thailands tourism industry, which provided more than $60 billion in revenue from about 40 million foreign visitors in 2019. While Thailand has been largely successful in containing the outbreak, a fresh wave of infections tied to entertainment venues in Bangkok has prompted authorities to order closure of pubs and bars in the affected areas. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! New Delhi: A 25-year-old girl has accused her father of alleged rape and torture in Ajmer on Monday. The girl said, I have been given death threats. But I am angry, not scared. The girl stated in her complaint that her father was former commissioner of Kumaon region in Uttarakhand. In a similar incident, a minor girl was allegedly raped by four youths in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar last week, and the act was video graphed and later uploaded on social media, a senior police official said on Monday. I have been given death threats. But I am angry, not scared:25-yr-old girl who has alleged rape, torture by her Commissioner (Kumaon) father ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2017 An FIR has been registered against seven persons, including four youths involved in the alleged gangrape, and three others who tried to hush up the incident, MuzaffarpurSenior Superintendent of Police, Vivek Kumar told. Also Read | Haryana: Student allegedly gangraped by school staff in Sonipat For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Audio Attachment: Listen to the interview on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' Inlaks, a leading Information Technology Solutions provider, has donated GHC 40,000 to Kokrokoo Charities Foundation to help purchase incubators for selected hospitals across the country. Emelia Hanson, Head of Human Resource and Administration, said inadequate incubators for the survival of pre-term babies at various hospitals motivated the company to take this step. After watching videos of the plight of such babies, the company took action immediately to help save lives. As a result of that, we decided to support Kokrokoo Charities, She told Kwami Sefa Kayi, Founder of Kokrokoo Charities Foundation and host of the Kokrokoo Morning Show on Peace FM. Joseph Agyeman-Badu, Ag. Head of Financial Business also added that it was part of the companys Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for this year to support such initiatives. We appreciate the good initiatives . . . so we thought it needful to come and support the project, he said. Yacoba Amuah, Ag. Country Manager, said the company renovated a ward at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital as part of its CSR in 2020, so it was necessary to support the incubator project this year to help save the lives of our future leaders. She said the focus of Inlaks is not just about providing IT Solutions but ensuring that the populace is healthy and strong to increase productivity. She added that Inlaks was committed to giving back to society and sought to engage in several interventions as part of its corporate social responsibility this year. Reducing neonatal deaths The initiative, dubbed, 'Project 100', was established by Broadcast Journalist, Kwami Sefa Kayi in 2014 to, among other things, help reduce infant mortality in Ghana. He said the foundation had made significant strides in pursuit of its aspiration as it had so far presented 35 incubators to selected hospitals in the country. About Inlaks Inlaks is a leading system integrator in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company partners with leading OEMs in the technology industry to provide world-class information technology solutions that exceed the needs of its customers. Over the years, Inlaks has built a reputation as the foremost ICT and Infrastructure Solutions Provider, helping customers effectively seize new market and service opportunities. With an impressive customer base that includes six Central Banks in West Africa, 18 of the 24 banks in Nigeria and other major customers in the West African region, Inlaks has become the dominant Information Technology Company in Africa. Inlaks customers cut across various segments including Banking, Telecommunication, Oil/Gas, Power, Utilities and the Distribution sectors of the economy. For more information, please visit www.inlaks.com 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 The Sansha 1 supply ship participates in a joint rescue exercise with Chinese maritime law enforcement ships in the Paracel Islands, June 2017. China is upgrading two of its civilian South China Sea supply ships with new high-tech surveillance equipment to help the vessels track ships from the United States, Vietnam and other foreign countries, new Chinese government procurement documents show. This is just the latest instance of the Chinese government leveraging civilian assets to pursue its national security interests in the South China Sea, a common practice under Chinas strategy of military-civil fusion. The project contract was awarded Thursday to Zhejiang Dali Science and Technology Co. Ltd. by Sansha City, which is responsible for administering Chinas maritime and territorial claims in the South China Sea. Dali, which appears to also work with the Chinese military, is set to provide a pair of its DLS-16T Long-Distance Optoelectronic Monitoring Systems for use on the citys two main supply ships the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 for 3,830,000 yuan ($547,000). Multi-function supply ships The Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 are mainly tasked with supplying Woody Island, which is Chinas largest base in the Paracels and serves as the headquarters for Sansha City. Though the Paracels are claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan as well, only China occupies any features in the archipelago. But both ships have also ventured farther south to the Spratlys, where China is locked in maritime and territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. Automatic identification system data from April 2020 to April 2021 showing the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 operating in the Paracels and Spratlys. [Data: MarineTraffic; Analysis: RFA] The Sansha 1 came into service in January 2015 and the Sansha 2 completed its maiden voyage in August 2019. This allowed the citys older Qiongsha 3 supply ship to focus on supplying Chinas settlements in the Crescent Group in the Paracels, state-run Hainan Daily reported. State-owned CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International, which built the Sansha 2, said the 128-meter ship would integrate transportation and supply, administrative jurisdiction, emergency rescue command, emergency medical assistance and island and reef scientific survey capabilities. The company also stated that the Sansha 2 would play an important role in defending the motherlands southern gate which is how China sometimes refers to its claimed territory in the disputed South China Sea. A satellite image from December 2020 showing the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 docked at Woody Island. [Image: Planet Labs Inc; Analysis: RFA] Defending the motherlands southern gate Once they are outfitted with their new surveillance equipment, the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 will be able to play an even greater role in asserting Chinas claims. According to bidding documents reviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews, the DLS-16T Long-Distance Optoelectronic Monitoring Systems from Dali are intended to allow the supply ships to carry out omnidirectional search, observation, surveillance, and video evidence collection against maritime and aerial targets such as ships, overboard people, objects floating in the sea and aircraft under all weather conditions, 24 hours a day. Sansha City was seeking a tracking system that would integrate visible light imaging, infrared thermal imaging, automatic target tracking, radar, fog penetration, image enhancement, the U.S.-run satellite navigation system GPS, the Chinese equivalent system BeiDou, and other capabilities, the bidding documents show. The software system for the tracking equipment is to be used to detect, identify and track sensitive ships from governments such as the United States, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan, as well as record and display this information in real-time, the documents say. Corporate documents from Dali indicate that the company works closely with state-owned Chinese defense contractors and the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Dali will be obligated to complete its work on the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 within three months of signing its contract with Sansha City, the bidding documents say. Military-civil fusion China has a long track record of utilizing civilian ships like the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 to assert control over the South China Sea. Devin Thorne, a Washington-based analyst, told RFA that there are a few ways that Chinas civilian fleets contribute to national security as part of military-civil fusion, referencing Chinas strategy of synthesizing resources to simultaneously advance both defense and development goals. They help assert Chinas maritime rights by simply being active in disputed areas, they facilitate military power projection and they extend Beijings eyes and ears throughout the near seas, Thorne said. For example, the Chinese government has installed the BeiDou satellite navigation system which has built-in texting capabilities on thousands of fishing boats to enable them to carry out maritime surveillance in the South China Sea, Chinese documents show. On top of leveraging ordinary fishermen, China also deploys professionalized maritime militia forces to monitor contested areas. A satellite image shows Chinese fishing or militia boats at Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands, March 25, 2021. [Planet Labs] A satellite image shows Chinese fishing or militia boats at Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands, March 25, 2021. [Planet Labs] Thorne told RFA that the fishing vessels of the Peoples Armed Forces Maritime Militia are best suited for carrying out reconnaissance missions given their training in intelligence gathering and ability to covertly linger for long periods in disputed maritime spaces. But since at least 2014, some maritime militias have started enlisting heavy industrial vessels as well. Their role appears to be providing logistics support and conducting reconnaissance missions during military operations, Thorne explained. Thorne added that Chinas civilian fleets are also used to apply pressure in territorial disputes and, in some cases, instigate conflict. For instance, the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing or maritime militia ships at Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands sparked a diplomatic showdown between Manila and Beijing in late March, BenarNews reported. Fishing fleets are most frequently at the forefront of this activity. However, during the 2014 HYSY 981 standoff we also saw Chinas state-owned merchant marine chase, ram, and spray Vietnamese ships, Thorne said. I am not aware of another instance in which China has used the merchant marine like this, but the maritime militia and other parts of Chinas armed forces have continued to create linkages with industrial fleets. It could happen again, Thorne said. Come fly with us: Pan Ams famously groomed air stewardesses in the 1960s Such was the life of a Pan Am stewardess in the 1960s. Heres the inside story of what it really took to rule the skies 'Stewardess Wanted. Must Want the World this was the promise of a recruitment advert for Pan Am in 1967. In the 60s, America was in the midst of a golden age of travel with flying at its heart. And the most glamorous carrier of them all was Pan American World Airways Pan Am the truly international American airline, as it flew exclusively international routes. For travellers the holiday began the moment they stepped on to the plane Our passengers are starting out on an adventure and we are helping them to get the feel of it immediately, Pan Am informed its crews and there was a James Bond-style showmanship to the slick on-board experience. Get out of the country, get into this world, went the airlines radio jingle. Pan Am exuded glamour, from its fleet of sleek modern aeroplanes emblazoned with its distinctive blue globe logo to its air stewardesses in their preppy-meets-Navy style uniforms. It was also an elite club to which many women aspired, but few gained entry: only three to five per cent of applicants were successful. In the 60s, the cabin of an international aeroplane was a sought-after workplace for young, unmarried, mostly white women. A decade earlier, solitary international travel was rarely undertaken by a woman. Working as a stewardess gave a woman the ability and freedom to see different places and, for many, this was worth the price of having to be weighed regularly and working in a world where beauty standards were set by men. The Pan Am criteria was strict. Applicants needed to speak a foreign language, and have a zest for travel, femininity and sophistication. A woman didnt have to look like a model, but the job did require her to be born lucky, with symmetrical features, clear skin, height between five foot three inches and five foot nine, and be trim. She couldnt change her hair style or colour without permission, and every six months stewardesses went to their local head office for weigh-ins. If they were over the range dictated for their height, they got a written warning and were told to get weighed monthly. For some, these were never an issue. Others ate hard-boiled eggs and tuna from a can for a month before each check. A Pan Am stewardesss youth and marital status were monitored by rules that allowed for dismissal on a womans 35th birthday or upon her marriage. A married woman, management feared, would miss work, gain weight or have a husband who often called to complain of her absence. But these women were no cliches. They were bright, educated and driven by adventure. Lynne Totten remembers walking down Manhattans Park Avenue in 1966 to the Pan Am Building, an octagonal skyscraper, for her interview. In doing so, she was turning her back on a career in science: shed spent four years in the university lab, the only female biology major in her year. Her parents were disappointed, but Lynne was convinced she could do more in the real world than in a lab. When she arrived, the room was heaving with beautiful, immaculately coiffed and made-up women but Lynne was the one to leave with a formal application form. World class: being a Pan Am air hostess was an elite club only three to five per cent of applicants were successful Norwegian Torild (Tori) Werner was at university and had set her sights on a foreign service career, but the Norwegian Foreign Service Academy had different entry requirements for men and women. The two previous jobs Tori had dreamed of radio operator on a ship and archaeologist both chosen for the travel they entailed, were vetoed by her parents. She initially rejected being a stewardess as not serious enough for her, but the travel it offered proved irresistible. The select few who made it through the recruitment stage had a six-week training course at the airlines Miami school. Seasoned traveller Karen Walker recalls turning up for the course in 1969 and thinking her fellow recruits resembled something like a Mickey Mouse Club for college students. She soon changed her mind. While the grooming lessons took nearly as long as the first aid training, Karen also observed the organisation of her stewardess instructors, who delivered lessons in everything from deftly carving a rack of lamb, preparing fluffy scrambled eggs in a pressurised cabin and mixing the perfect cocktail: stewardesses circled answers on quizzes to prove that they knew what to put into a highball first (liquor, ice or mixer) and how to make a dry martini in flight. They were also instructed in asserting authority during emergency procedures. After theyd learnt how to ditch the plane in a water landing and slide from the fuselage into a pool constructed for the purpose, Karen thought that a plane crewed by these women could handle anything. Each stewardess was measured so that the pale blue worsted-wool uniform fit her perfectly. Its tailored shoulders imitated the lines of executive suits on Madison Avenue. The skirt hung an inch below her knees, and the long white blouse fitted snugly round her waist and tucked into the skirt so that even when she reached into the compartments above, it would not pull out of the waistband. Blue pillbox hats with white piping pulled the look of the jacket and shirt together. The training manual outlined how to apply lipstick to achieve a more beautiful smile. Red, rose red and coral were permitted on lips and nails; lavender, purple, orange, insipid pink, iridescent or flesh colour were not. Girdles, white gloves and slips accessorised every uniform. But it also instructed them in dealing with hijackings: they were to become a neutral friend and to try to lead the hijacker into asking to land the plane. And it urged them to enjoy a travelling job concentrate on people, places and ideas. Youre an ambassador, they were told, and if you dont want this job, a hundred women are waiting to take your place. In capital letters, the last tip read, WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. Ready for takeoff: The aircrew of the first Pan Am 747 flight from New York to London, 1970 Round-the-world flights either began heading west from Los Angeles or east from New York, so many stewardesses lived in one of these two places. They were housed together, sometimes so many to an apartment they didnt have a bed each. Not that it mattered they rarely spent more than a day or two at home every few weeks. Wherever the flights started, the job inevitably moved the crew far from where they lived. The twice-weekly letters and postcards delivered to Lynnes family featured images of hotels that all looked alike. Flight service was demanding, she wrote; she had never seen so many eggs in her life and had prepared lamb chops for 122 passengers. Only wish we could stop flying long enough to enjoy places, she put on the first of three postcards from one trip. Layovers provided respite and opportunity to explore. Some stewardesses plotted their layovers around shopping (Italy for leather shoes, Beirut for jewellery), but others requested their routes around Elvis Presleys tour schedule, or graduate-school coursework, or adventurous exploration, landing near Mexicos pyramids or as close to Timbuktu as possible for their two weeks off. Hotels were a relief. The Phoenicia InterContinental in Beirut, where guests included Frank Sinatra and Brigitte Bardot, was Lynnes favourite; she loved the grand marble lobby and watched boats bobbing in the Mediterranean from her balcony. All of the New York stewardesses knew about Liberias capital city Monrovia a route limited to the most senior stewardesses. The airports consisted of little more than a sandy strip, surrounded by jungles with worms as big as snakes and snakes as big as tree trunks. Africa trips were long and pay-checks were calculated on a per-hour basis when stewardesses were away from their stations. The high pay, along with safaris and jazz bands at the Equator Club in Nairobi, the boisterous parties and the vivid local markets, made Africa competitive. Once Tori sat in a rented bus in Nairobi National Park, watching the sunrise around a watering hole, still wearing the dress she had put on to go dancing hours earlier at the Equator Club. Pan Ams stewardesses were taught how to mix the perfect cocktail mid-flight It wasnt all parties and glamour. During the Vietnam War, Pan Ams military charters flew GIs from battlefields for five days of R&R during their 12-month tour of duty. (They flew 1,800 from Vietnam to Hong Kong and back, along with 1,200 to Tokyo and back for $1 a month.) The GIs climbed on to planes directly from the field; the contrast with the stewardesses prim uniforms was marked. During these flights it could be difficult to keep order. On one especially loud trip, Tori stood in the front of the plane: Everybody stay in your seats, she said. If you all behave, coffee service will be performed topless. Tori and the other women smiled at the mute and expectant men as they served dinner. Then Tori and her crew waited in the galley, grinning, as the coffee car began to rattle. This flight had an extra engineer: he and the second pilot served coffee shirtless to hoots and boos. Increasingly, orphanage and adoption agency staff took seats on certain flights. In 1971, the US embassy urged the State Department to consider the plight of thousands of children fathered by American GIs while stationed abroad and orphaned or abandoned when their father returned home to the US. The mothers were women who worked on the army bases, the temporary wives of the GIs, or prostitutes. Many of the children were cared for by their families, but others those whose mothers had died, whose servicemen fathers had left, or whose families had grown too large to manage began to fill the countrys orphanages. Orphans on a pan am flight from Vietnam to the US during Operation Babylift, 1975 Estimates of these childrens numbers varied wildly. Between 300 and 400, the US government said, spread across 100-odd orphanages. The South Vietnamese Ministry of Social Welfare estimated there were 10,000 to 15,000 children fathered by US servicemen, but an American expert put the figure at 200,000, using the number of bars near military bases and averaging how many bar girls, prostitutes and temporary wives were in each. As public awareness of the orphans plight grew, on 3 April 1975 President Gerald Ford announced an orphan airlift, code-named Operation Babylift, to bring the children to the USA where they could be legally adopted. The Red Cross offices in San Francisco reported switchboards alight with calls from prospective adoptive parents. On 4 April, Karen, Lynne and Tori arrived in Hong Kong, but as they boarded the crew bus, a telegram was delivered: Depart 5 April for Saigon to pick up orphan charter: 295 infants, 100 children between two and 12 years, 60 escorts five doctors and ten nurses. Adult arms formed a firemens chain on the tarmac. Doctors, nurses, ground staff and escorts passed the babies from one set of arms to the next. All aboard! US servicemen in Vietnam being taken for a break from the battlefield, 1967 The youngest babies went into first class, where the escort-to-infant ratio was highest. In the main cabin, older babies went two to a bassinet. Children who could sit up were in the middle of the plane, with bassinets under their short legs, and the oldest were in the rear. The ill or injured (there were cases of hepatitis, meningitis and chickenpox) went upstairs to a makeshift sick bay in the lounge. Lynne leaned over seats, holding a bottle in each hand, trying to feed two squalling infants at once. When they each latched on, she leaned the bottles against the bassinet, grabbed more bottles from the galley and moved on to the next set of babies. With nowhere near enough seats, Tori now sat on the floor in front of the seats in which she had strapped children. A few of the older kids with whom she had been speaking French sat next to her. She wrapped her arms around all the children she could. Lynne can still vividly recall the gratitude and respect for the competence of the women with whom she worked. Stewardess Tori Werner in 1966 By many accounts, it was the 747 its huge passenger load and investment that signalled the end for Pan Am. Between 1969 and 1976, the airline lost $364 million (263 million) as its debt rose to $1 billion (723 million). Pan Ams last flight landed in Miami on 4 December 1991. As individuals, stewardesses shared an instinct to roam that propelled them. As a group, they forever shifted the American womans place in her country and the world. Ive always thought it was ironic that we have this docile image, said one of the founders of Stewardesses for Womens Rights [the equivalent of a union for air stewardesses]. Most of the women I know began to fly because they were just too independent and curious about the world to sit around in a nine-to-five job. Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke is published by Icon Books, price 16.99. To order a copy for 14.95 until 25 April, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193. Free UK delivery on orders over 20 Picture credits: Pan Am Historical Foundation, Pan Am Records Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Miami Libraries, National Archives, courtesy Gerald R Ford presidential Library, Tori Werner, AFP via Getty Images St. Francis Medical Center COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic More than 1,200 people from impacted community receive first dose St. Francis Medical Center hosted a community COVID-19 vaccine clinic on March 29 and provided 1,293 eligible Lynwood community members with their first COVID-19 vaccination. The clinic, one of the largest in the area, was a unique partnership between St. Francis Medical Center, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendons office, the City of Lynwood, and Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Collaborative to promote health equity and serve the Lynwood community, which is one of the most impacted communities in California. The event included a press conference to highlight the shared commitment of the partnership to ensuring vaccine equity across Southeast Los Angeles communities. Speakers included Dan Jones, CEO, St. Francis Medical Center; Kavitha Bhatia, MD, Prime Healthcare Foundation President & Chair and Prime Healthcare Chief Medical Officer, Strategy; Marisela Santana, Mayor, City of Lynwood; Oscar Flores and Jose Luis Solache, Council Members, City of Lynwood; Adrian Landa, Field Representative, Office of California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, 63rd Assembly District; Dr. Wilma Franco, Ed.D., Executive Director, SELA Collaborative; Battalion Chief Stan Brawer and Assistant Medical Director Dr. Puneet Gupta, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Battalion 13 A, Division 6, Central Region. Opening the press conference, Jones stressed St. Francis Medical Centers dedication to providing critical lifesaving care throughout the pandemic, serving more COVID patients in one of the most disproportionately impacted and underserved areas of California. He announced that St. Francis is participating in the California Vaccine Network, a statewide effort to coordinate and expand delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly to communities disproportionately impacted by the virus. St. Francis, a member of Prime Healthcare, was one of fifteen Prime hospitals across the state to have been chosen for the program. As a California Vaccine Network provider, St. Francis will work closely with Los Angeles County health officials to ensure vaccines are distributed equitably and fairly as more doses become available in the weeks and months ahead. ADVERTISEMENT Expanding on Jones announcement, Dr. Kavitha Bhatia emphasized Prime Healthcares commitment to overcoming the pandemic. We are incredibly grateful to now be providing vaccine which is life changing and live-saving, stated Bhatia. She continued, Primes mission is to bring quality compassionate care to communities, expand access, and promote health equity by bringing care to those most in need and improve the health of all we serve. Mayor Santana noted that the City of Lynwoods partnership with St. Francis, Prime Healthcare, Speaker Rendons office, and SELA Collaborative put a spotlight on communities that have been overlooked. She said, Equity matters. Access matters. We want to let black and brown communities know they are not forgotten. Underscoring the significance of the clinic, Santana stated, Our voices were heard because here we are at St. Francis Medical Center. In a statement shared by Field Representative Landa, Speaker Rendon acknowledged how deeply Lynwood and Southeast LA have been impacted by the coronavirus. He hoped that todays clinic could be a model for more community partnerships. Speaking on behalf of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Dr. Puneet Gupta acknowledged that first responders were not immune to COVID-19. He said, In the beginning, when the virus surged, we surged. He went on to share that LA County fire fighters welcomed the vaccine, and within a week of it becoming available, they were vaccinated. He said, When the second surge hit, we didnt. He closed with thanks to the clinic partners for continuing to serve the community. SELA Collaboratives Dr. Wilma Franco offered insight into the cities her organization and the partnership are reaching. She cited that their target communities comprise more than 90 percent Hispanics or Latinos. Of the people accessing SELAs services, such as the COVID-19 vaccine clinic, upwards of 50 percent are women. Through partnerships such as this one, she looked forward to building collective power and awareness that will inspire innovation to drive regional systemic change. The press conference concluded with Lynwood City Council Member Jose Luis Solache receiving his first COVID-19 immunization in a show of support and encouragement for the community to get vaccinated. ADVERTISEMENT The event received widespread support from additional state and local leaders, including Congresswoman Nanette Barragan (44th District) and Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Holly Mitchell (2nd District), who each sent representatives to recognize clinic partners and greet members of the community. As St. Francis clinic continued throughout the day, it was met with an overwhelming response from residents. In addition to the more than 900 appointments that were made through the City of Lynwood, several hundred more people came on a walk-in basis. When asked why the community clinic was important to her, Alicia, a Lynwood resident, responded, I dont want to infect my mother-in-law who is delicate. She lives with us. Alicia went on the report that her mother-in-law had also received her first vaccination at St. Francis earlier in the day. As part of the California Vaccine Network, St. Francis Medical Center will utilize the States appointment and access portal called My Turn, where patients can register, schedule and receive important information and updates. The community can make an appointment by visiting myturn.ca.gov or by calling the CA COVID-19 hotline at 1-833-422-4255. Last year, for the first time in nearly 30 years, Georgia voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. In the January runoff, Democrats won both of Georgias Senate seats, also for the first time in nearly 30 years. Unable to tolerate a loss of power, Georgia Republicans resorted to a familiar playbook: suppress the votes of Black and brown citizens and youth, all of whom lean Democratic. As state Rep. Barry Fleming, the Republican principal sponsor of the just-passed measures, confessed, We as legislators decide how we will actually be elected. That flies in the face of a bedrock principle of our democracy: the freedom to vote for the representatives of our choice, no matter who we are or where we live, and to have our votes matter. Acting on that strategy, in case their restrictions still dont deliver Republican election victories, the Republican-controlled Georgia legislature voted to give themselves sweeping new powers over state and county election boards, including the ability to fire members in the midst of an election, and for good measure, stripping authority from the secretary of the state. The objective is to give legislators the power they lacked in the 2020 presidential election, when some Republican state legislators pressured Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to call a special session to allow them to overturn election results by appointing their own slate of Electoral College members. Kemps refusal to play ball came on the heels of Trumps effort to prevent election results from being certified, in what a U.S. District Court judge declared was perhaps the most extraordinary relief ever sought in any federal court in connection with an election. Georgia is not an anomaly. Following the spectacular failure of Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election (they lost 61 of 62 cases), Republican legislators are taking matters into their own hands. Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action, sister organization to the conservative Heritage Foundation, noted that Georgias voter suppression and election interference measures put Georgia in a leadership role for other states. In more than 40 states, Republicans have introduced hundreds of bills to make voting harder and give them control over election administration. Historians are saying the measures represent the most dramatic scaling back of voter access since the beginning of Jim Crow in the 1870s. These attempts arent limited to Republican-controlled state houses. Here in Connecticut, Republican legislators are putting forward similar measures, led by ranking members of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Sen. Rob Sampson and Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco. In one bill, HB 5540, seven Republicans propose eliminating the presumption that the secretary of the state correctly interprets state election law, instead vesting that authority with the legislature. They go further, prohibiting the secretary from calling on the judicial branch to enforce orders issued by the secretary. In spirit, this is precisely what Georgia Republicans just achieved: stripping authority over election administration from the secretary of the state and vesting it in the legislature putting partisans in control of their own election results. Across the nation, Republican legislators are implementing harsh new restrictions to make it harder for people of color, young people and lower-income people to vote. As an Arizona state legislator explained, we dont mind putting security measures in that wont let everybody vote. In a display of twisted logic, GOP lawmakers claim that making it more difficult to vote is needed to restore voter confidence in the integrity of elections, confidence they themselves sabotaged, mainly among voters in their own party, by relentless and baseless claims about a stolen election. Connecticuts Sen. Sampson, not satisfied to take the word of Trumps own Department of Homeland Security that declared the election the most secure in American history, has made unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud occurring in his district. Inconveniently for him, not a single claim of fraud was made to the State Elections Enforcement Commission from anywhere in Connecticut. The Big Lie has infiltrated the highest levels of the Connecticut Republican Party. Newly appointed vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, Mary Ann Turner, accused Republican State Rep. Devin Carney of drinking the Kool-Aid in response to his assertion that Jan. 6 was the worst day hed ever seen. She went on to remark that the rally-turned-insurrection, which she attended, was peaceful. Among the measures proposed by Republicans are extreme ones such as requiring mail-in ballots to be postmarked before Election Day (Arizona and Iowa), even if they arrive before polls close; curtailing early voting on weekends (Georgia), a direct attack on Black voters who are encouraged to go to the polls after church; substantially cutting back on early voting days and closing polls an hour earlier (Iowa); requiring absentee ballots to be notarized (Arizona); making illegal 24-hour and drive-through voting centers (Texas); eliminating mail-in ballots altogether (Arizona); and banning ballot drop boxes (Florida). In a flagrant move to disenfranchise voters, a bill in Oklahoma would allow the legislature to appoint Electoral College members if there isnt a federal voter ID law. Mimicking the restrictions sought by Republicans in other states, the GAE Committee Republican ranking members introduced a second bill, HB 6325. It would prohibit mailing absentee ballot applications if not requested by the voter (as the secretary of the state did in 2020). It would force the secretary to pilot an unnecessary signature verification on returned absentee ballots and prohibit registrars from contacting voters for the purpose of correcting unsigned absentee ballots, a measure mandated by 19 states. Not only are Connecticut Republicans advancing measures to restrict voting and wrest control over elections away from the secretary of the state, they have shown a complete lack of support for measures to make it easier to vote, reforms supported by large majorities of Connecticut voters. Sensing their broadly unpopular position, Sen. Sampson proclaimed, We are all in favor of allowing people to vote and expanding access to voting. I cant say it enough times. Yet neither he nor a single other Republican member of GAE voted in committee for the ballot resolutions to let voters amend the state constitution to allow early and no-excuse absentee voting. Of the 43 cosponsors of the two resolutions, there is not a single member of the Republican caucus. Actions speak louder than words, and to date, beyond the rhetoric, theres no evidence that Republicans in Connecticut are interested in making it easier to vote. As President Biden said at his first press conference, If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote. Signed, Michelle Abt, Indivisible Stamford Paula Bacolini, Make Voting Easy-CT Gail Berritt, ReSisters Hon. Darryl Brackeen Jr., Generation Change CT Lori Brown, CT League of Conservation Voters Marta Daniels, Safe Vote CT Gemeem Davis, Bridgeport Generation Now Votes Nicole Dykstra, Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats Janet Epstein, Prevail Blue (Indivisible) Callie Gale Heilmann, Bridgeport Generation Now Votes John Girard, Prevail Blue (Indivisible) Mark Goldstein, Westport Leanne Harpin, Fairfield Standing United Beth Hillson, Take Action Connecticut Joan Kranz, Women on Watch Carol Luckenbach, Women United Brook Manewal, Pink Wave Action Cheryl McDonough, Gigantic! Productions Joan Means, CT Shoreline Indivisible Roslyn Nesin, Women on Watch Jonathan Perloe, Voter Choice Connecticut Cheri Quickmire, Common Cause in Connecticut Carol Rizzolo, CT Shoreline Indivisible Ann Rosenbaum, Women on Watch Al Saubermann, Deep River Rachel Schmidt, New Haven Tom Swan, CT Citizens Action Group Joanna Swomley, Indivisible Greenwich Shira Tarantino, Pink Wave Action Alisa Trachtenberg, Indivisible - CT4 Vicki Volper, ReSisters Claire Walsh, Democratic Women in Action Gayle Wakter, UU the Vote, Unitarian Society of New Haven Stephen Wanczyk-Karp, National Association of Social Workers, CT Chapter Ann Weiss, Women on Watch Cindy Wolfe Boynton, National Organization for Women, CT Chapter Cynthia Zinser, Western Connecticut Action Network Organization affiliation does not imply endorsement. Biden announced a series of actions, which he articulated during a press conference where he made multiple false claims, targeting two types of gun parts: pistol braces and chunks of plastic and metal that are unfinished firearms. The Biden administration also will be publishing model red flag legislation for states to consider. This comes just a couple of weeks after the Biden administration urged the Supreme Court to uphold a warrantless gun confiscation case. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said following Bidens press conference that the presidents actions were his initial actions, that there will be more, and that he intends to use the power of his presidency to crack down on Americans constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights. Numerous governors immediately pushed back on Bidens attack on Second Amendment rights and indicated that they will be taking action to protect their residents from Bidens agenda. Biden is threatening our 2nd Amendment rights. He just announced a new liberal power grab to take away our guns, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) wrote on Twitter. We will NOT allow this in TX. Its time to get legislation making TX a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary State passed and to my desk for signing. How to put the seal on media history's most remarkable career and cement the gnawing suspicion that you are the most powerful person on the planet? The answer for Rupert Murdoch is now plain. He apparently intends to put Sarah Palin in the White House, and this must give those of us who have glibly dismissed her chances in a general election, if not of winning the Republican nomination, excruciating pause for thought. The extent to which the mother of Track, Trig, Thick, Thwack, Thump, Twit and Twat is Rupert's creature becomes clearer by the week. She is a contributor to Fox News and HarperCollins, a News Corp company, is bankrolling a publicity tour for the latest magnum opus heavily concentrated in key early primary states. Yet more revealingly, The Wall Street Journal is swinging behind her as well, or "also too" as the Tina Fey version has it. This is of course purest coincidence. That noble title retains absolute independence from its owner's political inclinations. If a WSJ leader concluded, of a Palin article criticising quantitative easing (one The New York Times's Frank Rich impertinently dismissed as "transparently ghost-written"), that she "is way ahead of her potential presidential competitors on this policy point ... and shows a talent for putting a technical subject in language that average Americans can understand", good for it. She may not be able to see the Federal Reserve from her house, but she can certainly see the value of being the white cat purring on Murdoch's velvety lap. Although the odds against her being elected the first Madam President remain reassuringly long, let us never forget that the first and perhaps only rule of human existence is that Rupert usually gets what he wants. * Taking a well-earned break from championing Wasilla's answer to Alan Greenspan, Rupert popped along to the International Emmys in New York to present a gong to his Fox cash cow Simon Cowell. The citation for this International Emmy Founders award may be permitted to speak for itself since it recognises "significant achievements in television that cross cultural boundaries and" wait for it now; it won't be long "contribute to our common humanity". Indeed. The photograph of this endlessly engaging pair grinning side by side is a doozie. Sources close to Doctor Who supremo Steven Moffat say that this snap has inspired him to write a two-part end of season special in which Davros forges an alliance, designed to bring about the destruction of reality itself, with The Master. * As for Simon's X-Factor, I particularly enjoyed Katie Waissel's rendition of Kings of Leon's "Sex On Fire", and (writing before last night's results show) pray this was enough to propel that comeback kid into the semi finals. Simon, who is evidently besotted with Pinner's feistiest, praised her boldness in picking that number "after the week you've had", and no wonder. If only she'd shown similar courage with her second song. What would you not have given to hear Katie's achingly poignant interpretation of the St Winifred's School Choir's standard "There's No One Quite Like Grandma"? * On Radio 5 Live, meanwhile, Stephen Nolan moaned incredulously on Friday night about "being manipulated by Simon Cowell" into having to discuss Wagner "on a national network". I felt terrible for him. This isn't broadcasting. It's medieval serfdom. Three words, finally, for the desperately ill Christopher Hitchens following his demolitionjob on Mr Tony Blair in their godly debate in Toronto. What. A. Man. New Delhi: After having successfully disengaged with China in the Pangong lake area, India and China held the 11th round of Corps Commander-level talks in Ladakh on Friday where disengagement from remaining friction points including Gogra heights, Hot Springs and Depsang Plains was discussed, Army sources said. According to sources, the meeting lasted for around 13 hours on Friday and concluded at 11:30 pm. The two countries have been engaged in a military standoff for almost a year but disengaged from the most contentious Pangong lake area last month after extensive talks at both military and political levels. The credit for the disengagement was given to all stakeholders by Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane who also talked about the country benefitting from the inputs given by the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval during the crisis. Earlier, India and China held 10 round of talks at the Corps Commander level to reach the arrangement to disengage from the Pangong lake area. Female councillors face a barrage of gendered abuse and harassment from their council colleagues, politicians and the public, including bullying, verbal abuse and intimidation. They say the toxic workplace culture inside the federal and NSW parliaments is replicated at a local level and is a disincentive for women to enter local government. Georges River councillor Sandy Grekas has suffered gender abuse and harassment. Credit:Louise Kennerley With council elections due in September, independent Georges River councillor Sandy Grekas said the verbal abuse and online harassment she has suffered will continue and probably get worse. When other women see the rubbish that Ive gone through, it completely puts them off from running for council, she said. WASHINGTON The House Ethics Committee has said it will investigate Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., capping a scandal-plagued week for the congressman. On Thursday, an attorney representing an associate of Gaetz in a fraud and sex trafficking case hinted that the congressman could face serious legal troubles. "I'm sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today," Fritz Scheller said outside a federal courthouse in Orlando, Florida, shortly after he and federal prosecutors disclosed that they had agreed to negotiate a plea deal. Gaetz, a Republican firebrand and staunch defender of former President Donald Trump, has been the subject of controversy since The New York Times reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel across state lines a violation of federal sex trafficking laws. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has not been charged with a crime, and he has denied allegations that he violated federal sex trafficking laws. A plea deal with Scheller's client, former Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, could open Gaetz to greater legal jeopardy if Greenberg were to fully cooperate by telling prosecutors everything he knows about illegal activities the two men may have been involved in, legal experts say. Gaetz saga: Indicted tax collector who kicked off Matt Gaetz investigation working on plea deal The Justice Department's investigation on Gaetz is part of a broader inquiry into Greenberg, and investigators are examining whether the two men were involved in recruiting women online for sex, The Times reported. A person familiar with the matter told USA TODAY that former Attorney General William Barr was briefed on the investigation into Gaetz last year. The source, who was not authorized to comment on a pending investigation, said federal authorities had opened a full investigation at the time. Gaetz controversy: Rep. Matt Gaetz's media blitz publicized a federal investigation. Legal experts say that poses risks Greenberg, who's accused of trafficking minors, could face a lengthy prison sentence, and if he were to try to seek a more lenient punishment, he must cooperate fully. Story continues Former Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg is accused of trafficking minors and could reach a plea deal with federal prosecutors. "You're either on the bus or you're off the bus. You can't cooperate a little bit," said former federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter, adding that Scheller's comment to reporters was telling. "What you can say with confidence is that if Greenberg reaches an agreement to cooperate, it will almost certainly be very bad for Mr. Gaetz's legal position," Cotter said. Gaetz, who has not been charged with a crime, has denied the allegations. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. Scheller did not return a call seeking comment. A majority of federal criminal cases are resolved through plea deals, and defendants facing years-long punishments have a strong incentive to cooperate with prosecutors. Gaetz and the GOP: Adam Kinzinger becomes first Republican in Congress to call for Matt Gaetz's resignation amid federal investigation In Greenberg's case, it would not be unusual for him to provide prosecutors with evidence implicating Gaetz in exchange for a reduced sentence, said Bruce Udolf, a criminal defense lawyer and former federal and state prosecutor. Court records show that the parties have until May 15 to reach a plea deal. If the parties are not able to agree on the terms, Greenberg will go to trial in July. Greenberg, who was indicted last summer, is also charged with stalking a political opponent who is also an employee at a Florida school. Court records say he repeatedly harassed the employee by sending anonymous letters to the school claiming the employee had sexual relations with a student. Greenberg also set up a fake Twitter account in the employee's name portraying the employee as a segregationist and white supremacist, court records say. As news of Greenberg's possible plea deal broke, Gaetz's office released a statement from female staffers defending the congressman. "Congressman Gaetz has always been a principled and morally grounded leader. At no time has any one of us experienced or witnessed anything less than the utmost professionalism and respect. No hint of impropriety. No ounce of untruthfulness," according to the statement, which does not list the staffers' names. Contributing: Kevin Johnson This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Gaetz: What Joel Greenberg's plea deal might mean for Gaetz Mumbai, April 10 : Actor Rahul Dev plays an investigating officer in the upcoming web film "Raat Baaki Hai", and he particularly enjoyed shooting portions of the film in Rajasthan. Rahul says he had a great time exploring Ranthambore National Park during his free time. Contrary to the sombre mood of the murder mystery, Rahul says the mood was light on the set and the cast, also featuring Annup Sonii and Paoli Dam, had fun. "We were in a light mood, but I did not shoot much with Annup and Paoli because I did not have many scenes with them. It was a night shoot mostly, so in the daytime most of the actors would be resting. I love Rajasthan and even though I have been there so many times, I get fascinated. This time, I was exploring Ranthambore when I was not shooting," Rahul told IANS. He added: "It is interesting to see how the park is so well maintained and, even though so many tourists visit, nature and the animals and so well-kept. Rules are followed so that animals can roam freely. I am fascinated." "Raat Baaki Hai" based on Atul Satya Koushik's play "Ballygunge 1990". On how different the film would be from the play, Rahul said: " I think it would be very different because the play was a one-act play. Our film revolves around three principal characters and the mysterious death of a person named Vaani Kapoor. A series of incidents unfolds in the course of the investigation." Directed by Avinash Das, "Raat Baaki Hai" also features Saurabh Sachdeva, and Dipannita Sharma, and will release on Zee5 on April 16. HMD Global has started rolling out Android 11 update for its Nokia 4.2, after it rolled out the update for the Nokia 3.2 and Nokia 8.1 recently. The phone was launched running Android Pie back in 2019 and got the Android 10 update in 2020. Android 11 brings lets managing conversations across multiple messaging apps all in one place and Nokia smartphones on Android 11 will reset the permissions of apps that havent been used in a while, allowing only recent apps access to personal data. The Nokia 4.2 Android 11 update has build v3.150, is 1.5GB in size and brings Android security patch for March 2021. The company has started rolling out the update in first wave of countries. 10% of the rollout will go out immediately, 50% by April 10th, and 100% by April 12th. However, it said that some market like Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile (Entel Chile, Movistar Chile, Claro Chile, WOM), Colombia (Claro Colombia, Movistar Colombia), Czech Republic (O2 CZ), Israel, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland (Plus, Orange PL, PLAY), Romania (Orange RO), Russia, USA (T-Mobile) and Uzbekistan have not approved the release yet. Whats New Manage your conversations: Get all your messages in one place Bubbles: Chat while multitasking by pinning conversations to your screen One-time permissions: Give one-time permissions to apps that need your mic, camera or location Google Play system updates: Even more security and privacy fixes sent to your phone, right on Google Play Google Security Patch 2021-03 Screenshot via A man pauses after leaving a flower tribute outside the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, April 9. Buckingham Palace officials say Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has died. He was 99. AP Prince Philip, the longest serving royal consort in British history who was a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth II's side for decades, died Friday aged 99, Buckingham Palace announced. The death of the Duke of Edinburgh is a profound loss for the 94-year-old monarch, who once described him as her "strength and stay all these years". The Queen announced the death "with deep sorrow... of her beloved husband" in a short statement, which said he passed away peacefully in the morning at Windsor Castle, west of London. "The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss," it added. The announcement triggered an official period of national mourning before his funeral, the date of which has yet to be announced but had been planned to be within eight days. Flags were lowered to half-mast on public buildings as part of a well-rehearsed protocol that included the pealing of bells, planned gun salutes Saturday and the recall of parliament Monday. As a mark of respect, political campaigning for May local elections was suspended. An image of the prince was projected in lights at London's Piccadilly Circus landmark. In pre-recorded comments aired in a special BBC programme Friday, Philip's children reminisced about their father, his long life and achievements. "Well you know he didn't suffer fools. So if you said anything that was in any way ambiguous he'd say 'make up your mind!'" his eldest son, and the Queen's heir, Prince Charles, said. His sister, Princess Anne, said "there was a huge amount of encouragement to do things and quite a lot of leeway of pushing your own boundaries, which is probably not given to many nowadays." Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip walk through a field of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London in this Oct. 16, 2014, file photo. AP 'Extraordinary life and work' Philip, an outspoken former navy commander, devoted much of his life as the Queen's husband to charity work. Famed at one point for gaffes, some caused offence but supporters said they were simply ice breakers when meeting people in awkward situations. He was admitted to hospital Feb. 16, and went home after a month during which he was treated for a pre-existing heart condition and an infection. Announcing his death, BBC television played the national anthem over a picture of Philip in his prime, dressed in military dress uniform. "We give thanks, as a nation and a kingdom, for the extraordinary life and work of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh," Prime Minister Boris Johnson, dressed in mourning black, said outside 10 Downing Street. Johnson said Philip had "earned the affection of generations" at home, in the Commonwealth and across the world after first serving in the Royal Navy and then over nearly eight decades beside the Queen. Tributes poured in from political and faith leaders in Britain, and from the United States, Europe and Commonwealth countries including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Pakistan. Philip is expected to be buried at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, according to the royal College of Arms, at a date to be determined. But restrictions for the coronavirus pandemic have seen the palace urge the public to stay away, although that did not prevent a sea of floral tributes and messages being left at royal residences. Government regulations are being eased from Monday to allow up to 30 people to attend a funeral, ruling out the attendance of foreign dignitaries. Philip's grandson, Prince Harry, is likely to make his first return to Britain since his shock move to the United States last year, British media reported. He and his American wife, Meghan, wrote on the website of their Archewell charitable foundation: "Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed." A tribute to Britain's Prince Philip is projected onto a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, April 9. AP How a former street kid who lived a miserable life overcame it all and is delivering true hope to at-risk kids Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Foster care advocate Peter Mutabazi was born and raised in Uganda in some truly unimaginable circumstances. He faced intense poverty, abuse and hopelessness, but decades later he is helping transform at-risk kids lives and perspectives. LISTEN: HEAR THE JESUS IS ALL WE NEED PODCAST I didnt really have a good childhood most kids who were born would die before the age of 2, Mutabazi told Jesus Is All We Need podcast host Jason Sautel of his upbringing in Uganda. I was not given a name until I was 2. Food was scarce and Mutabazis family could never afford to eat two meals a day, consuming either beans or potatoes but never both. They also had to trek hours to secure clean water. Life was miserable in every shape or form, he said. No one ever told me to dream or even hope. Listen to Mutabazi share his overcomer story: In addition to intense poverty and a dearth of resources, Mutabazi also had an abusive father who drove him to run away at age 10. Living on the streets for four years only worsened Mutabazis circumstances. At home, I was told I would never amount to anything, he said. On the streets, I was treated like a stray animal. But when a kind man started feeding Mutabazi and speaking words of affirmation to him, his perspective and life began to change. He recalled how he suddenly started saying to himself, Wow, Im not alone, wow, Im a gift wow, Im chosen. Those positive words and the help from that man catapulted Mutabazi into a new life. He ended up going to a boarding school before later moving to America and finding success. Mutabazi never forgot what he went through and has worked diligently over the years to help other kids find hope and inspiration amid challenging life circumstances. He eventually decided to become a foster dad a move he felt compelled to make after pondering the past assistance he was given as a child. I had one extra bedroom. I wanted it to be a source of a blessing for a kid, Mutabazi said, explaining his journey into fostering and adoption. I could not sleep knowing there was a kid in the neighbood who didnt have a place to go. Mutabazi has fostered 14 children and has an adopted son; he continues to speak affirming words into the lives of kids who like he once was are lost, confused and in need of love. He also founded Now I Am Known, an organization that delivers stuffed animals to at-risk kids around the country, offering them inspiration and a reminder: that they matter. Mutabazi lives out his belief that telling kids you belong, youre chosen, youre not a mistake will have a profound, life-altering impact. That will take them miles and miles ahead, Mutabazi said. I was a street kid, but [God] made me known and thats what Im doing for kids in foster care. You are not alone, you are special, you are seen. Want more uplifting stories like this? Listen to The Edifi Podcast Network today. Kamala Harris in Iowa in 2019. Is she excited about going back? Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images A couple of months ago, on the anniversary of the star-crossed 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses, I suggested that the many traumas of the pandemic year had made the Iowa caucus-results meltdown seem a lot less important, and the prospects of a major shakeup in the presidential nominating process a lot less likely. Now as the political machinery for the next presidential cycle slowly gets underway, the odds that Iowa and New Hampshire will maintain their traditional positions as the first caucus and first primary states, in tandem with the other two protected early states, Nevada and South Carolina, keep going up. As Geoffrey Skelley explains at FiveThirtyEight, and as Iowa-haters never seem to quite comprehend, you cannot just reform the nominating system by some sort of national party fiat: Ultimately, state parties and/or governments decide the timing of their caucuses or primaries. And while the national party can encourage these decision-makers to schedule their contests on certain dates, it cannot unilaterally impose its will on the primary calendar. Moreover, because Republicans seem intent on keeping the two states in prime position for the 2024 campaign, it might be even more difficult for Democrats to make any changes. Switching from a caucus to a primary, as the whole world demanded of Iowa Democrats after the 2020 debacle, is particularly tricky. Caucuses are party-controlled and party-funded events. Primaries are official state-operated-and-funded elections (yes, there is such a thing as a party primary, but they are not terribly desirable; the costs associated usually mean very limited polling places). Thus, primaries require state legislative authorization and appropriations, and almost invariably, coordinated timing so that there is only one primary day. In Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, legislatures are currently controlled by Republicans. So it doesnt much matter if national Democrats or national political media want to go to a more rational system of rotating regional primaries or a calendar where the most representative states go first. These outsiders have influence, but dont really call the shots. In addition, the early states continue to get their way because they care about it more than others, and because they tend to stick together. Iowa Democrats and Republicans are already retaking blood oaths to defend their states leading status in the nominating process. New Hampshire has a state law instructing its secretary of State to protect its First Primary, and authorizing her or him to move its date forward to head off any and all competitors, even if that mean moving into the previous calendar year. The determination of Iowa and New Hampshire to maintain their position despite constant complaints (particularly among the vasty more diverse Democrats) that they are far whiter and less urban than the country is evidenced by their strategy of bringing Nevada (with its sizable Latino population) and South Carolina (with its large Black population) into the charmed circle of calendar-protected early states. That not only makes the system more defensible, but also increases the early state lobbying clout when it comes to national party rules seeking to shape the nominating contest calendar. As a result, the biggest threat to the Iowa/New Hampshire duopoly would come from a Nevada/South Carolina coup. There were signs early this year that Nevada Democrats and Republicans might come together on a power move to switch their caucuses to primaries and demand first-in-the-nation position. But the recent shake-up in the leadership of the Nevada Democratic Party has made the internal and external coordination necessary to pull that off problematic. Theres been some talk that the Democratic National Committee itself (which has certain carrots and sticks it can use to influence the primary/caucus calendar even if it lacks fiat power) might push Iowa and New Hampshire out of the top two spots, particularly now that former South Carolina party chairman Jaime Harrison is in charge. But Harrison may have bigger fish to fry with Democrats focused on the 2022 midterms, and the 2020 experience showed that his state could have a decisive influence on the nomination despite going fourth. But the one big foot that could decisively come down on the process is Joe Bidens. If he really does intend to run for reelection, he might not want to rock boats by changing the nominating process or calendar. But if he did, his fifth place finish in Iowa in 2008 and fourth place finish in 2020 might influence him (he didnt make it to New Hampshire in 2008, and finished fifth there in 2020). A more complicated scenario is one in which Biden quietly prepares to retire. His heir-apparent, Kamala Harris, spent a lot of time in Iowa in 2019 (at one point, she told Senate colleagues Im fucking moving to Iowa!), but was running at 3 percent in the polls there when she folded her campaign in December. Its the sort of place where an Establishment candidate might get tripped up, if she runs and is challenged by some sort of insurgent. Given the political capital it would take to push for a change in the calendar, and the risk of voter retaliation if it fails, any candidate who doesnt enter the process with the nomination nailed down would probably take a pass on challenging early states. If there is uncertainty about how badly Democrats want to change the calendar, the notable thing about Republicans is that they seem largely disinterested (which, as noted above, is a problem for Democrats in any state where their cooperation is needed to reform the system). For obvious reasons, they are less agitated than Democrats about the demographics of Iowa and New Hampshire. As for the impact on 2024, potential GOP candidates are already making their way to Iowa. And of course, the field may be frozen in place until the unquestioned leader of the party, Donald Trump, makes his own intentions known. You might think Trump would be resentful about his upset loss in Iowa to Ted Cruz in 2016. But his boffo general-election performances in the Hawkeye State probably wiped out any such feelings, and the 45th president is not the sort of pol whos likely to get embroiled in the process details of the nominating calendar. If he doesnt run, the likelihood that 2024 could be a wide-open contest among Republicans makes the survival of the status quo even more likely. Ultimately the power of the early states depends on their ability to threaten presidential candidates who disrespect them. Few are so powerful or bold to do so. The best bet is that presidential candidates and the political news media will have to bundle up once again for many cold nights in Iowa and New Hampshire. We return to a TKC bloggy tradition for late night denizens of the discourse as the "new normal" reveals that political leverage via social media can tip the balance of power. Accordingly, tonight we pay tribute to this week's Kansas City winners. Check-it . . . Qadhafi Outplays Mayor Q A homeless leader with a bold street name earned free lodging for his allies at the expense of taxpayers. The mayor calls it "de-escalation" whilst his fiercest critics claim that the compromise was nothing more than capitulation on the city's dime. Council Lady Teresa Loar Warned Kansas City Of Homeless Crisis Remember not so long ago the Northland Council lady took a great deal of heat for consideration of a panhandling ordinance. The effort to help authorities deal with homeless, junkies and beggars was met with a great deal of criticism and didn't earn the support it needed. Don't mistake her intent for cruelty, it's worth remember that Council Lady Loar has been at the forefront in helping to build accommodations for homeless veterans. Accordingly, given the current crisis underway, the council lady deserves credit for listening to residents and small biz owners about a problem that has only worsened. Northeast News Reminds Nation That Newspapers Need Community Support The bold print gambit of this neighborhood news outlet paid off with support and coverage across the nation. Moreover, it reminded Kansas City that newsprint still has its place and remains a vital niche mode of mass communication that can be effective at bringing together communities. Accordingly . . . Local life continues as the discourse and the metro struggle to emerge from the pandemic. This list has been compiled according to scientific TKC polling and market research data and it's a weekly comprehensive guide to local powerful people, trends and our times. Its sure to be an interesting election year, given a split among Hamden Democrats that, according to politicos, partially mirrors the national divide between the moderate and progressive wings of the party and also stems from local issues and rivalries. Most recently, the tensions became apparent in the Democratic Town Committees process to field candidates seeking the partys endorsement to run for mayor. Incumbent Mayor Curt Balzano Leng, a Democrat who has held the post since 2015, is not participating, nor has he indicated whether he will seek reelection or the endorsement. The DTC asked interested persons to fill out a questionnaire and indicate whether they supported the committees platform, ratified in January. At times openly critical of the administration, the platform itself has been a point of tension with the mayor, who called it misleading and disputed its portrayal of how Hamden operates. Some traced the beginnings of these tensions back to 2016, when both the primary contest between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and the election of Donald Trump brought out a more progressive wing of the Democratic Party and spurred some newcomers to become involved in politics, said Scott McLean, a professor of political science at Quinnipiac University. In the years that followed, some up-and-comers like council members Brad Macdowall and Lauren Garrett (raised) questions to the more established, you know, members of the town committee, McLean continued. And in 2018, membership of the DTC itself began to change, according to Chairman Sean Grace. The following year, Garrett announced her run for mayor, and while the endorsement went to Leng, she still managed to earn 27 of the DTCs 61 votes. In the subsequent primary, Leng easily defeated her, however. Half a year later, an election to decide who got a seat on the DTC which has 63 members, 7 per council district, according to Grace turned out differently. Often, DTC membership is decided via a caucus, but challengers who do not win at the caucus can petition and trigger an election. In 2020, that happened in seven of Hamdens nine Legislative Council districts, with candidates running as part of a slate. Leng himself ran for a District 6 seat and lost, as did most contenders on slates he openly supported on social media, according to election results posted on the state website. Progressive vs. moderate? The New Haven Independent, which reported on the DTC primary, called the winners of the 2020 election the self-proclaimed progressive wing. Its a division that finds parallels in the Clinton/Sanders split, or the contest between representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Squad versus the moderate wing of the national Democratic Party. McLean said he sees the split as partly coming down to progressives and liberals, and I think thats the story of the Democratic Party from the national to the state to the local level. Does the progressive takeover of the DTC mean the farther-left side of the party has won out in Hamden? Not necessarily. Michael McGarry, a DTC member and president of the Legislative Council, is a self-described progressive. He said he believes the DTC skews a little left of where the Hamden Democratic Party is and a little more left of where Hamden is in general. James Pascarella, who previously served as Legislative Council president and as acting mayor in 2015, is a DTC member who questioned some of the decisions the committee has made. Running on a Leng-supported slate, he managed to eke out a win in the 2020 primary, even as the remaining members of his slate lost. I think it was just a matter of turnout, he said. A lot of people didnt pay attention. Its not really an election of the government of the town. The town committee primary, in my opinion, was not a rejection of the mayor, nor a rejection of the rest of us. On the other hand, Grace, the DTC chairman, said the 2020 wins were hard fought. Despite being vastly outspent, a strong reform focused message carried the day across Hamden and in some districts by a two to one margin, he wrote in an email to the Register. Other divisions Many say the split cannot be defined only in terms of progressive versus moderate. According to Grace, the divide developed from a gradual process of self-education. As Democrats like Macdowall and Garrett closely examined Hamdens budget, he said, many concluded that the current administration was partly to blame for fiscal problems. They also demanded more transparency and accountability, Grace said. Abdul Osmanu, who serves as the DTCs recording secretary but is not a member, said the change in the DTC was about going up against the old guard and being unabashedly truthful. While mayoral hopefuls have expressed support for initiatives such as making all town records easily accessible online, Leng challenged the idea that the administration has not been transparent, saying audits, annual budgets and expense and revenue reports are available online. Some of the sticking points for those critical of how the town is run financially include a contention that past budgets have been dishonest, incorporating unrealistic line items, and criticism of fiscal practices such as capital sweeps. Leng, on the other hand, has said the town has made real financial progress, is turning a corner and is slated to have the healthiest fund balance in years. The DTC (tends) to be more extreme and constantly negative on financial matters and more, when a consistent and moderate approach is more effective and less harmful to peoples wallets, he said when asked for insights into the differences in the party. This reeks of politics and is reminiscent of Washington where people cant work to compromise and get things done that are meaningful in peoples lives. He also accused the committee of being far less supportive of police, saying he was supportive of both police and police reform. Mayor Leng acknowledges that he supports police reform just as all of us should, Grace said in a written statement responding to Lengs comments. A key component in advocating for police accountability and reform is acknowledging that our current practices fall short of what our community needs. The goals established in the DTC platform are based on scientific based research and can be found in President Obamas Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Regarding the financial issues, Grace indicated there was grounds to worry. Our most recent audit, which revealed a fund balance deficit in the millions, confirmed that there is reason to be concerned, he said. Inclusion -- and competition McGarry, the council president, said he often feels caught between Hamdens Democrat factions. Personally, I am extraordinarily progressive, but I also take very seriously the fact that I represent everybody in Hamden, that includes Republicans, that includes the unaffiliated, and so I listen to everyone, he said. Building consensus is difficult, and it takes a lot of time. As for the DTC itself, McGarry questioned whether it had come to be about acting against a particular person the mayor. He further contended it should be wider in scope, with room for more voices. Instead of fighting each other, lets get to work, he said. That would be my mantra. Grace said every Democrat in town was invited to participate in drafting a platform. The scope of the issues addressed in our platform is about as wide and inclusive as can be, he said. Of the divisions among Hamden Democrats, McLean, the Quinnipiac professor, warned against (getting) the idea that this is all about ideology. Its about their personalities, too, and its about who they are and the ambitions that they have, he said. Theyre competing. Thats certainly the case for this year, which already has multiple contenders. Macdowall, Garrett and Peter Cyr all have announced they are seeking the partys endorsement, which will be decided at the DTC convention this summer. Meanwhile, if Leng does not get the endorsement, he still could petition to be on the ballot, either in a Democratic primary or as a third-party candidate in the general election. Pascarella, the former council president and current DTC member, said the election will mark a referendum as to whether the majority of Hamden Democrats support the new DTC. Itll be very interesting this September, he said. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 06:36:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close OTTAWA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Two-thirds of Canadians say they are concerned about becoming sick with COVID-19, a four-point increase from March, according to a survey issued by Canada's Angus Reid Institute on Friday. Meanwhile, four out of five were worried about a family member or friend. One out of three said their mental health was poor or terrible. The figure rises to half among those who are under 35 years old. The survey, which was conducted from April 5 to 8, reflects growing frustration among Canadians who had hoped these spring months would signal the end of the pandemic but instead face a growing threat from rapidly spreading variants of the virus in the country. Up to date, the COVID-19 variants appear to be winning as their virulence outpaces any reduction in spread from Canada's vaccination program. As of Friday afternoon, Canada reported 7,982 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 1,044,016, including 23,249 deaths, according to CTV. Over the past week, there have been an average of over 6,800 new cases and 30 deaths reported daily and the number of people experiencing severe and critical illness continues to rise, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Also as of Friday afternoon, a cumulative total of 27,566 cases of variants have been reported across Canada, with the B.1.1.7 variant continuing to account for over 90 percent. This includes 26,179 B.1.1.7 variant, 1,041 P.1 variant, and 345 B.1.351 variant. The COVID-19 third wave has brought new rounds of restrictions on travel and businesses in Canada's most populous provinces and has spurred near equal intensity between those who want to see their communities lockdown even harder, and those fatigued by an inability to resume their pre-pandemic lives. About 48 percent of Canadians said their communities need tighter restrictions to stem rising infections, while 28 percent disagree. 24 percent said their community has found the right balance. As the country's provinces adjust to rising daily case counts and the logistical challenges of mass inoculation, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians increasingly disappointed in their leaders. About 43 percent of Canadians said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done a good job of handling the pandemic, while 52 percent considered that he has done a poor job. The survey also shows that three-quarters of Canadians in the western province of Alberta said their premier is doing a poor job handling the pandemic. In the hard-hit province of Ontario, 65 percent held the same poor opinion. In Manitoba, the figure was 59 percent and in Saskatchewan, 50 percent. Enditem Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rose from a meeting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Friday and demanded the devolution of power and restructuring of the country, Channels Television has reported. The governors said that Nigerians were more divided along ethnic and religious lines more than ever before, lamenting that many people now take advantage of the fault lines. This is contained in a communique jointly signed by the governors after the five hours closed-door meeting. Members of the PDP Governors Forum at the meeting were its Chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers). Others are Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Bello Mattawalle (Zamfara). Governor Bala Mohammed was represented by his deputy, Baba Tela. Mr Tambuwal, who read the communique to journalists on behalf of the governors at the Government House, Makurdi, expressed worry that under the APC-led government insecurity and the value of human life have greatly degenerated. The meeting noted and condemned the alarming drift of Nigeria which if allowed to continue, will make Nigeria a failed state under the watch of the All Progressives Congress, APC, government. They expressed deep concern and alarm at the deteriorating relations between various groups in Nigeria. The Governors were deeply worried that indeed, all our fault lines and differences are being stretched to the limit by a government that clearly lacks the capacity to govern. The meeting agreed that this has given rise to ethnic and tribal tensions, religious divisions, and various forms of social and political cleavages. The Governors concluded that Nigeria is in dire need of leadership at the Federal level to avert the looming disaster. Thousands of Nigerians have died across the country in recent months as the crime and violence wave spreads in all the regions. The situation has further worsened as underfunded and ill-motivated security formations who are already overstretched have come under attacks from armed groups who have killed soldiers and policemen in cold blood. Below is the full communique as sent out by the PDP Governors Forum (PGF) COMMUNIQUE OF THE PDP GOVERNORS FORUM MEETING HELD ON 9TH APRIL, 2021 AT MAKURDI, BENUE STATE. Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, met in Makurdi, Benue State on 9th April, 2021, under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum, PDPGF, to review the state of affairs in the country and common developments in their states and issued the following Communique at the end of their meeting; 1. The meeting noted and condemned the alarming drift of Nigeria which if allowed to continue, will make Nigeria a failed state under the watch of the All Progressives Congress, APC, government. They expressed deep concern and alarm at the deteriorating relations between various groups in Nigeria. The Governors were deeply worried that indeed, all our fault lines and differences are being stretched to the limit by a government that clearly lacks the capacity to govern. The meeting agreed that this has given rise to ethnic and tribal tensions, religious divisions, and various forms of social and political cleavages. The Governors concluded that Nigeria is in dire need of leadership at the Federal level to avert the looming disaster. 2. The meeting was similarly alarmed that security of lives and property of Nigerians are no longer guaranteed under the present government as a result of leadership incompetence and mismanagement of the nations affairs. While noting that Governors have a role to play in the handling of some of the worsening situations, they regret their hands are tied behind their backs as the entire coercive authority in the country is monopolised by the APC federal government. Time has come to take advantage of the ongoing Constitution Amendment process to decentralise the security architecture of Nigeria and involve States and Local Governments. 3. Consequently, the Governors reaffirmed their conviction that an urgent devolution of powers and restructuring of the country in a way that brings together various groups and tendencies in the country appears to have become imperative and timely now as Nigeria cannot afford another civil war. ADVERTISEMENT 4. We call on the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to send a new Revenue Allocation Formular that allocates more resources to States and Local Governments to Mr President for National Assemblys action. It is a scandal that 21 years after the 1999 Constitution came into being, no new Revenue Formular is in place. Furthermore, the meeting called for a more transparent and accountable running and operation of the NNPC. 5. The meeting further condemned the intimidation of sitting Governors by the APC administration using all sorts of weapons like security agencies, unequal access to federal resources, promotion of divisions in the opposition political parties with fake promises and falsehoods. We significantly condemn the double standards that are applied by the APC-led federal government to intimidate PDP controlled states. To this end, we call on Mr. President to lift the so called No flight Zone and other intimidating tactics, imposed on Zamfara State as similar measures have not been extended to similar states with security challenges like Kaduna, Borno, Katsina, Yobe and others. This is mostly politically motivated to ensure that the Governors move over to APC. 6. The meeting noted that the APC has been unable to even have a democratically-elected National Executive Committee as required by the Nigerian Constitution. A Political Party that operates by military fiat with an appointed and unelected Executive Committee at ALL LEVELS from WARD to NATIONAL has no business running the affairs of our country. APC cannot deliver democracy to Nigeria; even to constitute a Board of Trustees has been an impossible task for the party since inception. It further expressed surprise that the APC is interested in playing politics and jockeying for power in 2023, when they have done an abysmal and terribly poor job of their current questionable mandate. 7. The Governors were distressed that Nigeria is now officially the country with the highest unemployment rate in the world at 33% under the disastrous leadership of APC. This is following on the heels of yet another feat of being the country with the second highest poverty rate in the world. For APC, it is indeed a race to the bottom. 8. The meeting received briefings from the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, and Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, and assures Nigerians that help is on the way as the PDP is primed to offer effective leadership ONCE AGAIN to Nigeria. It enjoined Nigerians to once more place their trust on the PDP as the only effective vehicle to salvage the country. 9. The meeting commended the Governors of PDP-controlled states for their innovative approaches to governance in many fields especially infrastructure, education, health, women and youth initiatives and the timely delivery of developmental projects, across the country. It is these LEGACY PROJECTS being undertaken in many PDP-governed states that will be presented to Nigerians as our scorecard at the appropriate time. 10. The meeting thanked the Host, His Excellency, Governor Samuel Ortom for hosting the first meeting of the PDP Governors in recent times outside Abuja and for holding the Party together not only in Benue State but in the entire North Central Zone. In attendance are: Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR Sokoto State Chairman Gov. Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu Abia State Vice Chairman Gov. Udom Emmanuel Akwa Ibom State Member Gov. Sen. Douye Diri Bayelsa State Member Gov. Samuel Ortom -Benue State -Member Gov. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa Delta State Member Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi Enugu State Member Gov. Nyesom Wike, CON Rivers State Member Gov. Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde Oyo State Member Gov. Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku -Taraba State- Member Gov. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri -Adamawa State -Member Gov. Godwin Obaseki Edo State -Member Gov. Bello Mattawale Maradun -Zamfara State -Member Deputy Governor Sen. Baba Tela Bauchi State Member RT. HON. AMINU WAZIRI TAMBUWAL, CFR Chairman, PDP Governors Forum Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram WASHINGTON, D.C. Thursday, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, the appointed lead to the Biden Administrations border response, regarding condemning the administrations dangerous border policies, calling attention to the recent allegations of criminal activity at the Midland HHS facility, and imploring the Vice President to visit the Midland HHS immediately. The letter reads, in part: In the past 24 hours, there have been multiple reports of allegations of abuse, sexual assault, insufficient staffing and reporting protocols, and numerous COVID infections at facilities in Texas, including the Midland location. These reports have prompted an investigation by Governor Greg Abbott. Additionally, our office has reported these allegations to the HHS Inspector General (IG). OneWeb and SpaceX, the powerhouses in the internet satellite industry, had dangerously close encounter last weekend that was out of this world. Two satellites from each firm came within 190 feet of each other in orbit April 4, which sparked several red alerts from the US Space Forces 18th Space Control Squadron, The Verge reports. The close call was due to OneWebs recent launch on March 30th, which sent 36 satellites into orbit and had to pass through a sea of Starlinks to hit its targeted orbit. This is the first known collision avoidance event since tech firms started populating space with internet beaming devices - and some may suggest, it will not be the last. Scroll down for video OneWeb and SpaceX (pictured), the powerhouses in the internet satellite industry, had dangerously close encounter last weekend that was out of this world The event was picked up by Space Force, which alerted OneWeb as soon as red alerts came flowing in. The US government agency determined the probability of the two satellites colliding was 1.3 percent and if they would have hit, it would have added hundreds more pieces of space junk into the orbit. Millions of pieces of debris are littering space and can travel as fast as a speeding bullet, which can destroy satellites, telescopes, spacecraft - and one NASA scientist fears they could eventually create the Kessler syndrome. This theoretical scenario was proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978, which says the density of objects in low-Earth orbit could increase to a point where collisions occur that generates more space debris to the point that it is dangerous for humans to venture off the planet. Two satellites from each firm came within 190 feet of each other in orbit April 4, which sparked several red alerts from the US Space Forces 18th Space Control Squadron. Pictured is a OneWeb satellite Experts have suggested ways to limit the number of satellites in orbit, but no official cap has been set by regulators. And there are also no safeguards for companies to ensure their devices do not meet another. When Space Force notified OneWeb about its satellite creeping towards a Starlink, the firm quickly emailed SpaceXs Starlink to with the hopes of move satellites at a safe distance of each other. SpaceX inactivated its AI-powered collision avoidance system, allowing OneWeb to steer its satellite out of the way, OneWebs government affairs chief Chris McLaughlin told The Verge. The close call was due to OneWebs (pictured) recent launch on March 30th, which sent 36 satellites into orbit and had to pass through a sea of Starlinks to hit its targeted orbit OneWeb has 146 satellites in orbit, while SpaceX has 1,378 Starlinks and the Elon Musk-owned firm has come under fire for flooding the heavens. The communications company Viasat petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites in December, claiming the constellation poses environmental hazards. The document cites a number of grievances including SpaceX's satellites failure rate to devices colliding in orbit and re-entry pollution risks. OneWeb has 146 satellites in orbit, while SpaceX has 1,378 Starlinks (pictured) and the Elon Musk-owned firm has come under fire for flooding the heavens However, Musk caught wind of the petition and did what most billionaires do he took to Twitter. Musk shared a tweet on his page saying: 'Starlink 'poses a hazard' to Viasat's profits, more like it.' John Janka, Viasat's chief officer for global government affairs and regulatory, told DailyMail.com: 'There has been strong concerns raised among a wide number of players in the industry this summer about the satellite's orbital debris, space safety and interference issues.' 'It is not just SpaceX, these concerns are about mega constellations in general - anyone proposing to send thousands and tens of thousands of satellites into orbit.' Another section of Viasat's petition states 'SpaceX's proposed system raises significant issues with respect to orbital safety.' Musk's firm plans to launch at last 10,000 new Starlink satellites into orbit over the next 15 year, which, according to Viasat, would densely populate Earth's orbit. 'That is about the number of the satellites launched since the space age in the 50s,' said Janka. 'When someone is talking about doing this with that many satellites in the next 15 years, then there is cause to raise concerns to the FCC.' More than 100 people rallied and marched in downtown Minneapolis late Friday to call for an end to police mistreatment of people of color. The "We Can't Sleep If We're Not Safe From Police Violence" rally, which began at 9 p.m., was sponsored by several advocacy groups, including the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Communities United Against Police Brutality and Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Rally attendants heard from speakers outside the Hennepin County Government Center before beginning a peaceful march. Many carried Black Lives Matter banners or pictures of George Floyd. Their chants of "Prosecute the police, no justice, no peace" and "We have nothing to lose but our chains" echoed through an otherwise quiet downtown. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been on trial in a Government Center courtroom in Floyd's May 2020 death while in police custody. Speakers called for Chauvin's conviction, but said even if it comes, activists shouldn't get too comfortable. "Night or day, if we can't sleep, they can't sleep," said Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality. Zoe Jackson covers young and new voters at the Star Tribune through the Report For America program, supported by the Minneapolis Foundation. The government of Hong Kong is condemning what it calls the "harboring of criminals" by other countries and organizations after the exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law was granted political asylum by the United Kingdom. Hong Kong is currently an autonomous Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, which means they are under control of the Chinese Communist Party which seeks to persecute pro-democracy activists and leaders. According to Radio Free Asia, Law took to Twitter to share the good news that his status as a political asylum-seeker has been approved following several interviews in the last four months. The United Kingdom had granted his request and he is now free to legally seek refuge away from the political chaos in Hong Kong. Chinese authorities who lead the Hong Kong government however, are displeased. "Any country, region, organisation or individual that harbours Hong Kong criminals in any form shows contempt for the rule of law, grossly disrespects Hong Kong's legal systems and barbarically interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong," the government announced, echoing the comments of Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman. The Hong Kong government appears to dispense the rule-of-law principle that the accused are believed to be innocent until proven guilty, saying that "criminals [were alleging] that they were prosecuted for political reasons to deliberately escape justice." The Hong Kong government warned that these organizations and countries providing asylum to refugees "shall eventually bear the consequences of what they have done." China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian did not mince words during a regular news briefing, calling the U.K. a "platform for Hong Kong independence agitators" and a "shelter for wanted criminals." Zhao also issued a warning to the U.K., forbidding them from "interfering" with the affairs of China and Hong Kong. According to The Guardian, Law fled Hong Kong in 2020 after he was proven to have been "exposed to severe political persecution." He is just one of the hundred pro-democracy leaders who have been arrested by the government. Up to 10,200 more people have been arrested during the mass protests that began in Hong Kong in 2019. Only a quarter of them have begun to undergo judicial proceedings and less than half of those cases have been completed. Results showed that there were 614 convictions, 186 acquittals, and 50 withdrawals of charges. The U.K. is no stranger to strong criticism from China, as just last month, the CCP imposed sanctions on up to nine U.K citizens, including five Members of the Parliament over their condemnation of the Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang. According to BBC, China imposed sanctions on former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, Nusrat Ghani and Tim Loughton, their peers Baroness Kennedy and Lord Alton, members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. Also sanctioned by China are MPs Tom Tugendhat and Neil O'Brien, who led the China Research Group; lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, chair of the Uighur Tribunal; and Newcastle University academic Jo Smith Finley, an Uyghur researcher. These nine individuals, who are doing meaningful work to expose China's abuses against the Uyghur communities in Xinjiang, have been prohibited from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, doing business with Chinese organizations and individuals, and have had their assets in China frozen. Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 9, 2021) - Hemostemix Inc. (TSXV: HEM) (OTC: HMTXF) (FSE: 2VFO) ("Hemostemix" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has secured a $2,500,000 lead order from a director for Debenture Units, and intends to raise gross proceeds of up to $4,000,000 from the non-brokered Offerings of Units and Debenture Units, all as discussed below. The Company is progressing with completion of the phase II clinical trial data entry, source document verification, and statistical analyses. The United States District Court for the District of Delaware has ruled Hemostemix's claims against Aspire and Accudata, except Count VII (fraud), are permitted to proceed (motions to stay and motions to dismiss denied) and the Company's preliminary injunction application was also denied. Accudata and Aspire must now answer the amended complaint by Monday, April 12, 2021. CLINICAL TRIAL UPDATE The last subject of the trial who was originally scheduled to complete the remaining follow-up visit in March is now, due to COVID-19 impacts, scheduled to complete the follow- up visit in mid-April. The 17 clinical trial sites have completed the data entry of 84% of the clinical trial subjects. The source document verification process is 20% complete and the Company is in the process of contracting several additional clinical resource associates to complete the source document verifications. $1,000,000 NON-BROKERED PRIVATE PLACEMENT Hemostemix is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of units ("Units") for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 (the "Unit Offering"), subject to TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") approval. The Unit Offering consists of the issuance of an aggregate of up to 2,000,000 Units at a price of $0.50 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company ("Common Share") and one transferrable Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"), with each full Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.55 per Common Share for a period of 24 months from the closing of the Unit Offering, subject to the accelerated expiry provision described as follows. If on any 10 consecutive trading days occurring after four months and one day has elapsed following the closing date of the Unit Offering the weighted-average trading price of the Common Shares as quoted on the Exchange is greater than $0.66 per Common Share, the Company may provide notice in writing to the holders of the Warrants by issuance of a press release that the expiry date of the Warrants will be accelerated to the 30th day after the date on which the Company issues such press release. The proceeds from the Unit Offering are expected to pay finder fees payable in connection with the closing ($80,000), clinical trial costs accounts payable ($400,000) and general working capital ($520,000). There is no minimum aggregate subscription amount for the Unit Offering. The Company may pay finders fees to eligible finders of up to 8% cash and 8% Finder Warrants. Each Finder's Warrant may be exercised to acquire a Unit of the Unit Offering. The Unit Offering will be completed pursuant to certain exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. Subject to acceptance by the Company, in addition to other available exemption for the Unit Offering, the Unit Offering is open to all existing shareholders of the Company in reliance upon the prospectus exemption described in Alberta Securities Commission Rule 45-516 "Prospectus Exemptions For Retail Investors And Existing Security Holders" and set forth in the various corresponding blanket orders and rules in certain jurisdictions of Canada (the "Existing Shareholder Exemption"), subject to the terms and conditions therein. The aggregate acquisition cost to a subscriber under the Existing Shareholder Exemption cannot exceed $15,000 unless that subscriber has obtained advice from a registered investment dealer regarding the suitability of the investment. The Company has fixed April 08, 2021 as the record date for the purpose of determining existing shareholders of the Company who are entitled to participate in the Unit Offering pursuant to the Existing Shareholder Exemption. Subscribers purchasing Units under the Existing Shareholder Exemption will need to represent in writing that they meet certain requirements of the Existing Shareholder Exemption, including that on or before the record date, they became a shareholder of the Company and that they continue to be a shareholder of the Company. In accordance with the requirements of the Existing Shareholder Exemption and Investment Dealer Exemption, the Company confirms there is no material fact or material change related to the Company which has not been generally disclosed. $3,000,000 UNSECURED CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURE (CONVERTIBLE AT THE OPTION OF HEMOSTEMIX) Hemostemix is also pleased to announce it is also proceeding with a non-brokered private placement of up to a maximum of $3,000,000 principal amount unsecured convertible five year debentures (the "Debenture Offering") , with conversion at the option of Hemostemix, subject to Exchange approval. The Debenture Offering consists of an aggregate of up to 3,000 debenture units (each, a "Debenture Unit") at a price of $1,000 per Debenture Unit. Each Debenture Unit consists of a $1,000 principal amount debenture as described below (each, a "Debenture") and 2,000 Warrants, with each such Warrant having all the terms and conditions as described above in the Unit Offering. The Company has a $2,500,000 lead order for the Debenture Units from a Company director (the "Director"). Each Debenture will consist of $1,000 principal amount of unsecured, non-transferable Debentures. The Debentures will mature five years from the closing date (the "Maturity Date") and will bear interest ("Interest") at a rate of 6% per annum, payable quarterly in arrears in cash or shares at the option of the Company. The principal amount of the Debentures may be convertible, only at the option of the Company (and not at the option of the holder), into Common Shares of the Company ("Debenture Shares") at a price of $0.50 per Common Share (the "Conversion Price"). At the election of the Company, any accrued and unpaid Interest may be converted into Common Shares of the Company at a conversion price equal to the Market Price (as such term is defined in the Polices of the Exchange at the time of such conversion) but not less than the Conversion Price of the Debenture. The net proceeds of the Debenture Offering will be used to fund litigation expenses of HEM. The first $2.5MM will be used as follows: (i) up to $0.6MM will be immediately available to HEM as reimbursement for past litigation expenses; and (ii) until required by the Company for litigation expenses, USD $1.5MM (approximately CDN$1.9MM) will be invested in a demand loan ("Loan") to an arms length US company. The balance of the Debenture Offering will be available for past or potential future litigation expenses. Any amounts raised in excess of $2.5MM will be immediately available to HEM as reimbursement for past litigation expenses. The Loan will have the following key features: i) Term of 2 years; ii) Payable on demand, in whole or in part, on 30 days notice; iii) Interest at 8% per annum to be paid monthly; iv) Pre-payable, in whole or in part, without penalty; v) Immediately puttable, in whole or in part, for cash to cover upcoming litigation expenses, at face value, to an entity controlled by the Director; and vi) immediately assignable in whole or in part, at face value, to the Director as payment against such Director's investment in the Debenture Offering. OTHER INFORMATION IN RESPECT OF THE UNIT OFFERING AND DEBENTURE OFFERING The closings of the Unit Offering and the Debenture Offering (collectively, the "Offerings") are subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including Exchange acceptance. As such, there is no assurance that the Company will complete the Offerings as described above or at all. It is anticipated that the Offerings will be completed pursuant to certain exemptions from the prospectus requirement under applicable securities laws. The Offerings may be closed in one or more tranches. All of the Units and Debenture Units issued pursuant to the Offerings, and any securities into which they may be exchanged or converted, are subject to resale restrictions imposed by applicable law or regulation, including a statutory hold period expiring four months and a day from the closing dates of the Offerings. It is not anticipated that any new insiders will be created, nor that any change of control will occur, as a result of the Offerings. Any participation by insiders of the Company in the Offerings will be on the same terms as arm's length investors. Depending on market conditions, the gross proceeds of the Offerings could be increased or decreased. None of the securities issued in connection with the Offerings will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and none of them may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. The participation of the Director or any other directors or officers of the Company in the Offerings will constitute a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") and the policies of the Exchange. For such participation, the Company will be relying upon exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements pursuant to sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a), respectively, of MI 61-101 on the basis that the Company is not listed on a specified stock exchange and, that at the time the Offerings are agreed to, neither the fair market value of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the transaction insofar as it involves an interested party (within the meaning of MI 61-101) in the Offerings, will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization calculated in accordance with MI 61-101. LITIGATION UPDATE On March 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has denied Aspire Health Sciences, LLC's (Aspire) Motion to Dismiss except as to Count VII (fraud), and denied Accudata Solutions Inc.'s (Accudata) Motion to Dismiss in its entirety. The Court also denied Aspire's and Accudata's Motions to Stay, thereby allowing all claims against Aspire and Accudata, except Count VII, to proceed without further delay The Court further denied the Company's preliminary injunction application. Accudata and Aspire must now answer the amended complaint by Monday, April 12, 2021. ABOUT HEMOSTEMIX Hemostemix is a publicly traded autologous stem cell therapy company. A winner of the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award, the Company developed and is commercializing its lead product ACP-01 for the treatment of CLI, PAD, Angina, Ischemic Cardiomyopathy, Dilated Cardiomyopathy and other conditions of ischemia. ACP-01 has been used to treat over 300 patients, and it is the subject of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trial of its safety and efficacy in patients with advanced critical limb ischemia who have exhausted all other options to save their limb from amputation. On October 21, 2019, the Company announced the results from its Phase II CLI trial abstract entitled "Autologous Stem Cell Treatment for CLI Patients with No Revascularization Options: An Update of the Hemostemix ACP-01 Trial With 4.5 Year Followup" which noted healing of ulcers and resolution of ischemic rest pain occurred in 83% of patients, with outcomes maintained for up to 4.5 years. The Company owns 91 patents across five patent families titled: Regulating Stem Cells, In Vitro Techniques for use with Stem Cells, Production from Blood of Cells of Neural Lineage, and Automated Cell Therapy. For more information, please visit www.hemostemix.com. Contact: Thomas Smeenk, President, CEO & Co-Founder TSmeenk@Hemostemix.com 905-580-4170 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to: the completion of the follow-up for Hemostemix's ACP-01 clinical trial and the source document verification process; the Offerings including the size of the Offerings, the potential lead order for the Debenture Offering, potential insider participation in the Offerings, the use of proceeds of the Offerings, the closing of the Offerings, the potential exemptions used for the Offerings, any potential finder's fee paid on the Offerings, the potential accelerated expiry date of the Warrants, and the approval required for the Offerings, including Exchange acceptance of the Offerings; the status of Hemostemix's Litigation (as defined below); and the commercialization of ACP-01. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects Hemostemix's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Hemostemix and on assumptions Hemostemix believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the underlying value of Hemostemix and its Common Shares; market acceptance of the Offerings; Exchange acceptance of the Offerings; the successful resolution of the litigation that Hemostemix is pursuing or defending (the "Litigation"); the results of ACP-01 research, trials, studies and analyses, including the midpoint analysis, being equivalent to or better than previous research, trials or studies as well as management's expectations of anticipated results; Hemostemix's general and administrative costs remaining constant; the receipt of all required regulatory approvals for research, trials or studies; the level of activity, market acceptance and market trends in the healthcare sector; the economy generally; consumer interest in Hemostemix's services and products; competition and Hemostemix's competitive advantages; and Hemostemix obtaining satisfactory financing to fund Hemostemix's operations including any research, trials or studies, and the Litigation. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Hemostemix to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the ability of Hemostemix to complete its current CLI clinical trial, complete a satisfactory analyses and the results of such analyses and future clinical trials; litigation and potential litigation that Hemostemix may face; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; the actual results of future operations including the actual results of future research, trials or studies; competition; changes in legislation affecting Hemostemix; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; long-term capital requirements and future developments in Hemostemix's markets and the markets in which it expects to compete; lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals; and risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including various recommendations, orders and measures of governmental authorities to try to limit the pandemic, including travel restrictions, border closures, non-essential business closures, service disruptions, quarantines, self-isolations, shelters-in-place and social distancing, disruptions to markets, disruptions to economic activity and financings, disruptions to supply chains and sales channels, and a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession or depression; the potential impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on Hemostemix which may include a decreased demand for the services that Hemostemix offers; and a deterioration of financial markets that could limit Hemostemix's ability to obtain external financing. A description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Hemostemix's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although Hemostemix has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of Hemostemix as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, it is subject to change after such date. However, Hemostemix expressly 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 expressly required by applicable securities law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80036 In less than 48 hours in two separate city neighborhoods last month, police fatally shot someone following a foot chase, including a Little Village 13-year-old whose death has roiled City Hall and renewed calls for change in the practices of the Chicago Police Department. Adam Toledos age and the fact he was killed by a police officer touched off familiar vigils and marches and led to a quick promise from Mayor Lori Lightfoot that the city would, at last, adopt a policy to limit foot pursuits. The shooting of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez after another foot chase received less attention, but his family is also seeking to understand what led to his fatal encounter with police. Both cases remain under investigation and police video of the shootings has yet to be released, though Chicago police have said a gun was present and they faced an armed confrontation in each case. We want answers. We want to know why he was being chased, Roxana Figueroa, a cousin of Alvarez, said on behalf of his family at a recent protest. Im tired of seeing this not only in my city, in the North Side of Chicago. Im tired of seeing that everywhere, in the South Side. In a news briefing after Toledo was shot, Lightfoot, who was elected in part on a platform of police reform, called for the new foot-chase policy to be in place by summer, a time when the city typically faces some of its toughest crime challenges. Many agree the risks such chases produce have to be reduced, but exactly what the policy could look like remains to be seen. Lightfoot did say police have started the process, there will be focus groups with officers and with the community as a plan is developed, and Chicago will look to adopt strategies from across the country. Ive spoken to a number of different mayors over the course of this last week, she said. I think we can stand up a policy that continues to protect our communities but does it in a way that doesnt put all involved at risk. Story continues The mayor did not address why creating a policy was not a priority sooner, even as calls for limits are hardly new. Over the past several years, the U.S. Department of Justice, experts and academics have all pointed out the need to create new policies around foot chases in an effort to reduce the frequency of the highly charged and inherently dangerous encounters between the police and the public. This was among the things, again, that were highlighted and dramatized in the Justice Departments investigation (of the Chicago Police Department) that is ... four years old, said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who specializes in police accountability issues. The DOJs 2017 investigation noted there were numerous incidents where CPD officers chased and shot someone fleeing who posed no immediate threat to officers or the public, and that in some cases, a persons act of fleeing alone was enough for the officer to end the pursuit in fatal gunfire. CPD has long had detailed policies regarding vehicle pursuits, the 2017 report said. It does not have a foot-pursuit policy. It should. And a report filed last month from a court-ordered monitor overseeing a consent decree to improve Chicagos policing practices noted that incidents in which Chicago police deploy deadly force during a foot chase have been on the rise. Experts said good policies on foot chases balance the need for police to chase some suspects while also minimizing the use of excessive force. Models in other cities Other large city police departments have implemented guidelines on foot pursuits in recent years a few of them after similar backlash over officers fatally shooting someone during a chase. Chicago police Superintendent David Brown implemented a foot-chase policy for the Dallas Police Department during his time there as police chief from 2010 to 2016. The policy was put in place following the controversial fatal police shooting of James Harper in 2012 in the citys Dixon Circle neighborhood. It initially prohibited Dallas police officers from engaging suspects alone during foot chases, though it was later relaxed. Some departments have implemented policies that reflect the view of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which takes the position that foot pursuits are inherently dangerous and whenever possible, foot pursuits should be avoided. The associations guidance suggests officers should consider alternatives to foot pursuits such as aerial support, canine searches, containment of the area, saturation of the area, and apprehension at another time and place when the officer knows the identity of the subject. The New Orleans Police Departments foot-chase policy, implemented under that citys own federal consent decree, states that the safety of officers and the public shall be the primary consideration when an officer decides whether to start or continue a foot chase. It also cautions that officers must be mindful that immediate apprehension of a suspect is rarely more important than the safety of the public and Department personnel. Sheila Bedi, a civil rights attorney from Northwestern Universitys Pritzker School of Law who has been involved in Chicago police consent-decree litigation, said the best policies tend to reflect that the chases can become dangerous because of the rush of adrenaline officers experience. And they mandate that officers will not be punished if they dont engage in a foot chase. The policies encourage officers to weigh the danger with what they might gain in a pursuit, she said. Foot pursuits are an extreme policing tactic, Bedi said, also noting the risk that police will use it more in Black and Hispanic communities. The reality is these restrictions are common sense, she said. Its unclear how a foot-pursuit policy would affect Chicago, where officers are responding to a volume of shootings largely unmatched in other cities and where many arrests are the result of an officer chasing someone from a scene. Even though theres no specific CPD policy for foot pursuits, the department has issued a training bulletin that states that department members will engage in a foot pursuit only when they have reasonable articulable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop or probable cause to arrest. Instant decisions In the case of Adam Toledo, police said they first responded to the alley where he was killed after ShotSpotter equipment alerted them to gunshots. About two minutes later, a responding cop had apparently shot Toledo and called for an ambulance, highlighting how quickly such scenarios can unfold on the street. According to recordings of police scanner traffic from that night, a dispatcher put out a call of shots fired at about 2:37 a.m. The muffled voice of an officer could soon be heard over the radio saying, Someones running! Just moments later came the call for an ambulance. In the days after Toledo died, Brown confirmed that chain of events and offered a description of what happened. ShotSpotter had detected eight gunshots in the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue, and police were there in less than a minute. They saw two males, including one with a gun, Brown said, and chased them on foot. The officer fired his weapon at approximately 2:38 a.m., striking Adam in the chest. A gun was recovered, said Brown, who issued a later statement noting how fast police have to make life-and-death choices. The split-second decision to use deadly force is extremely difficult for any officer, and is always a heavy burden to bear for officers involved in fatal shootings, he said. He also extended condolences to Toledos family and said such an incident involving a juvenile had been on his mind. Toledos family described him as a loved and supported 13-year-old boy. One of the familys lawyers has said Toledo actually wanted to be a police officer. Adam was a good kid. He had no criminal history. He went to Gary Elementary School, attorney Adeena Weiss Ortiz told reporters on April 2. And all we know is that he was shot. The shooting of Toledo came less than 48 hours before Anthony Alvarez was also fatally shot by an officer during a foot chase. Chicago police said Alvarez produced a handgun which led to a confrontation with police in the Portage Park neighborhood, but didnt explain why officers tried to stop and chase Alvarez. It was not immediately clear whether Alvarez pointed the gun at officers or if he fired gunshots at them. Police spokesman Tom Ahern posted a photograph on Twitter of a tan handgun that he said belonged to Alvarez. The mans family said Alvarez worked full time as a machine operator at a meat factory in Franklin Park, and that his life revolved around his daughter, work and soccer. They suggested he could have had a permit for a gun he carried because he lived in a rough area, they said, arguing the focus should be on why officers chased him in the first place. Past cases About seven years ago, another young teen was fatally shot by Chicago police during a foot chase in Portage Park, the same neighborhood where Alvarez was shot and killed March 31. Fourteen-year-old Pedro Rios was running from police on the Fourth of July in 2014 while he had a long-barreled .44 Magnum revolver. He was shot twice. Though the city claims he pointed the pistol at an officer, and the shooting was ruled justified by the citys now-defunct Independent Police Review Authority, his familys attorney denies the official version, saying Rios never pointed the gun and that it was in his waistband the entire time. A federal lawsuit is still pending. The lawyer agreed that a new, formal CPD foot-chase policy is in order and should have been created before the latest shootings. Of course, you need a better foot-chase policy, said Mark A. Brown, an attorney with Lane & Lane in Chicago who is representing the family of Rios in their lawsuit. You have to have a foot-chase policy that applies specific rules and gives specific guidelines as to how to handle the foot chase. Of course, you cant imagine a world where officers would never run after anybody. That is never going to happen, and it wouldnt be a safe environment. A 2016 Chicago Tribune investigation found that between 2010 and 2015, foot chases played a role in more than a third of the 235 police shootings where someone was wounded or killed. A new area of concentration Geoffrey Alpert, a criminologist at the University of South Carolina who has studied police pursuits, said foot-chase policies by police departments are generally newer than those that deal with vehicle pursuits. In 2013, Alpert co-authored an article for a law enforcement trade publication about how data from a small sample of foot pursuits by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department showed significant rates of injuries among officers and suspects. Given that relatively little is known about the dynamics of foot pursuits and their outcomes, agencies should begin collecting detailed data on foot pursuits to track and analyze these events and outcomes, Alpert and his co-author, fellow University of South Carolina criminologist Robert Kaminski, wrote in the January 2013 issue of The Police Chief magazine. This would allow the development of (evidence-based) policies that would help administrators determine whether or not they should develop foot-pursuit policies and how restrictive they should be. It also would allow supervisors to know if their officers or deputies are engaging in unsafe practices on the streets. In an interview with the Tribune on Wednesday, Alpert agreed with other experts who call foot pursuits inherently dangerous, and that rules are needed to protect police as well. You may lose someone. You may not be able to arrest someone. But you dont want to put an officer in a situation where he or she is likely to be ambushed or attacked, Alpert said. If youre chasing someone who just shot three people, you might take more risks than if youre chasing someone who stole bubble gum from a grocery store. Two veteran Chicago police officers contacted by the Tribune expressed uncertainty and concern about how their jobs on the ground would change with a foot-chase policy, including whether the policy itself would be too restrictive. They declined to be identified for the story because they are not authorized by the Police Department to talk to the media. One of them said he was concerned word would spread and more suspects would simply flee police on foot. The other, a rank-and-file cop, predicted the policy would be some sort of balancing test when deciding to pursue a suspect on foot, an instant assessment of whether a crime is serious enough to give chase and if doing so would put the officer, the suspect or other civilians in danger. If you have an armed suspect running with a gun, are you kidding me? the rank-and-file officer said incredulously. What if the cops let someone go (with) a gun and then they hear (the) person shot someone? Futterman, the University of Chicago law professor who also helped push for the Chicago Police Department to fall under a federally mandated consent decree, said a foot-chase policy doesnt mean that police should never initiate a chase. But its to take into account if the risk of the chase outweighs the danger of the person not being apprehended at that moment, and then assessing a situation and using good judgment. The goal in terms of this stuff, he said, is also to avoid the need for those split-second decisions. pfry@chicagotribune.com asweeney@chicagotribune.com jgorner@chicagotribune.com Finally, a San Antonio event all ages can enjoy. The team behind the EDM Drive-ins and pop-up shows is bringing the city a socially distanced food and music experience from 4 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 17 in the parking lot at 800 Live. Guests can expect six to seven local food trucks, some dessert vendors, DJs, EDM artists, live art installations, local art, small carnival rides, boutique vendors, comedy skits and more. READ ALSO: Baila all night during Selena tribute night at Brass Monkey "We wanted to do a cookout where everyone from the community can feel safe and enjoy a day outdoors," Electric Fiesta organizer Miguel Lizarraga told MySA.com. "We wanted to do something positive for the community as we try to kick start the economy again." Electric Fiesta and EDM Maniac partnered with CLEAR Health Pass for Electric Cookout to help provide another level of safety at the festival. CLEAR Health Pass is a mobile app guests can download to securely access and verify their COVID-19 health information prior to entering an event. Those who show their COVID-19 vaccine card or information on the app will have access to a designated area at the event, Lizarraga said. It's not mandatory to have the app or vaccine card to enter the festival, but it is recommended. Tickets for the festival are starting at $21. Click here to purchase. "We hope people and their families enjoy this event," Lizarraga said. "Kids have been dying to go out and do things and this is something they can enjoy in San Antonio." 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. The has defended its Navy asserting its navigational rights within India's exclusive economic zone without taking New Delhi's permission, calling the move "consistent with international law". In an unusual move, the announced that on Wednesday it conducted a freedom of navigation operation in Indian waters without prior consent to challenge India's "excessive maritime claims", triggering a reaction from New Delhi, which on Friday said it has conveyed concerns to Washington through diplomatic channels. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also contested the US Navy's 7th Fleet statement of April 7 that the freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) by the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones "upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses" of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India's "excessive maritime claims". When asked about India's reaction over the US Navy's move, spokesperson John Kirby on Friday said: "I can tell you is that the USS John Paul Jones, a Navy destroyer, asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Republic of the Maldives by conducting innocent passage through its territorial sea in normal operations within its exclusive economic zone without requesting prior permission". Earlier, announcing about the operation, the statement by the 7th Fleet said, "On April 7, 2021 (local time) USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India's exclusive economic zone, without requesting India's prior consent, consistent with international law." Kirby in response to a question from reporters at a news conference said: "That's consistent with international law." "Again, we continue to maintain the right, indeed the responsibility, to fly, sail, and operate in accordance with international law," he said. Kirby said that it is the responsibility of the US to uphold the freedom of navigation and the rights and freedom and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law. The MEA in its statement said: "India's stated position on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is that the Convention does not authorise other states to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state. "The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of the USA through diplomatic channels," the MEA added. Russian President Vladimir Putin, on April 9, held a telephonic conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan wherein they discussed Ukraine, COVID-19 vaccines, tourist safety amongst other things. A transcript of their conversation was released by the Kremlin and revealed that the leaders also touched upon the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. The relationship between Moscow and Ankara has been swinging between periods of hostilities and reconciliation, however, they still stand on opposite ends when it comes to foreign policy especially in issues including the Syrian and Libyan civil war, Kosovo conflict inter alia. During the conversation, the Turkish leader highlighted the anti-epidemiological measures taken by the Turkish authorities especially with the aim to promote Russian tourists in the country. The presidents agreed to maintain close contacts between the relevant agencies, in part, in order to protect the health of Russian tourists in Turkey, the statement read. On the other hand, Putin described Moscows approaches to resolving the domestic crisis in Ukraine. During the conversation, the Russian leader blatantly accused Kyiv of dodging the 2015 Minsk Protocol and engaging in provocations. Ukraine has recently resumed dangerous provocations on the contact line, he said. Libya and Syria Both the leaders also held a detailed conversation about the war-torn states of Libya and Syria. While discussing the situation in Libya, the two leaders were pleased to note the observance of a ceasefire by the sides and the successful formation of transitional government bodies. They pledged to expedite the peace process in the African state, where thousands have been slain amid the contestation for resources. Meanwhile, deliberating about the war for power in Syria, the leaders noted the important role their countries have played in stabilising the situation and facilitating intra Syrian talks, especially in Idlib province. Additionally, both the leaders also talked about the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and the need to restore transportation in the Caucasus region. President Erdogan highly praised Russias efforts to promote stabilisation there and to ensure step-by-step implementation of the trilateral agreements of November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart about the results of his recent contacts with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both leaders emphasised the need to restore the transport infrastructure in the South Caucasus, an excerpt from the statement read. Image Credits: Associated Press Zhao Huifeng was detained at Qionghai Railway Police Station in Hainan province, China, on April 7, 2021. (Courtesy of Zhao Shuai) Son Calls for Release of Father Detained in China for His Belief The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has targeted an elderly couple over their belief, according to their son, who told The Epoch Times on April 8 that his father had been arrested and his mothers home surrounded by police. The reason for the arrest is unclear, but the couple has been under watch by the CCP for over 20 years for their belief in Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese spiritual and meditation discipline. Zhao Fenghui, the father, was later confirmed as detained in the Qionghai Railway Police Station through a phone call with Haikou Police Station. At least six police officers from the Haikou Railway Police Station had gone to the couples home at 10 p.m. at local time, according to a recording provided by son Zhao Shuai. A recording from a home security camera shows that at 10:11 p.m., the police threatened to open the door to their apartment in Qionghai City of Hainan province, a southern China island province. The people inside, open the door! Open up quickly, or Ill break the door down! a police officer warns as he knocks on the door and presses the doorbell. There must be someone inside, a man with a recording device says to another officer with a camera, as the man [Zhao] does not have the key with him, implying that police had already searched the elder Zhaos luggage and probably his clothing. Zhao Huifeng was supposed to take a high-speed train to Sanya City, at the southern end of Hainan island, and return in the afternoon, a journey of less than two hours. But at night, he still hadnt come back home, the son said. He was probably stopped as he checked in with his ID card, he said. Many daily activities in China, including purchasing a train ticket and entering train stations, require showing ID. When the database shows an abnormality with an ID, the police often forcibly search peoples luggage and confiscate cellphones. Falun Gong practitioners ID cards are known to have been flagged in the CCPs database. Falun Gong has been targeted by the CCP since July 1999. The practice, also known as Falun Dafa, consists of meditative exercises and a set of moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. It was introduced to the public in 1992 and attracted 70 to 100 million adherents by the end of the century. The figures exceeded the 60 million members of the CCP. Threatened by Falun Gongs popularity, the CCP launched a campaign to eradicate the practice, subjecting its followers to harassment, detention, forced labor, torture, and forced organ harvesting. My mother was at home and did not say a word. She was too afraid to open the door, the son added, because there were too many police officers. Over the last 20 years, continued harassment and surveillance forced the family to move from their hometown in northern Heilongjiang province to the southern end of the island. I am worried about my fathers condition. He is in poor health, the son said, saying he is afraid his father will be tortured. My mom is in jeopardy, he said, saying the police could break into their apartment at any time. I am very, very worried, and it makes me feel very painful. His father was detained in forced labor camps twice for five years for refusing to renounce his belief in Falun Gong. He was beaten and tortured. In October 2003, when the elder Zhao walked out of the camp, he was emaciated and his weight had dropped from 209 to 88 pounds, according to a report on Minghui.org. The younger Zhao called for the release of his father, saying, I appeal for the release of my father immediately and to stop harassing my mother. He also condemned the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The harassment had left the family in pain, he said. Zhaos mother was forced to abandon her home and go into hiding. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has urged the Centre to formulate criteria for allotment of COVID-19 vaccines by taking into consideration factors like population and number of active coronavirus cases of a particular state. He alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses. Talking to reporters, Tope said that out of the latest dispatch of 3.5 crore doses by the Centre, Maharashtra received 7 lakh and the Centre added another 10 lakh "after much persuasion". "The criteria should be decided in terms of the size of the population and the number of active cases," he said, adding that many smaller states with less population and number of active cases had got more doses than Maharashtra. He said that Maharashtra, with a population of over 12 crore, accounts for 60 per cent of the total number of active cases in the country. The number is more because testing has been increased substantially, he said. Tope said the state had mobilised its capacity to administer six lakh doses on daily basis. "We have scaled up the daily vaccination up to 6 lakh people. Weekly we are able to vaccinate 40 lakh people and monthly around 1.60 crore...We need vaccine accordingly. Where there are more cases, it is necessary that we develop immunity and vaccine is the only answer, he said. "Today we have 8 lakh doses available and we have been told we will get four lakh doses in a day. If the supply of doses is on a daily basis, how will the vaccines be transported to other parts of the state on time?" he asked. Stating that 70 vaccine centres in Mumbai have closed and places like Sangli, Satara, Panvel are also facing shortage, due to which all the centres there have been affected. People visiting the centres are being turned away. All this is very embarrassing, he said and reiterated that the state's vaccine wastage percentage is just three per cent. "The Centre is not addressing these issues seriously," Tope alleged. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that all political parties should set aside their differences and unite to save lives from coronavirus. "An MLA from Nanded has died, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been hospitalised. The virus is attacking VIPs and common people alike. We need to unite to tackle the pandemic. The opposition should cooperate and give suggestions if the state government is falling short," he said. To a question on the 'Tika Utsav' (vaccine festival) as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raut said the aim of the programme is to create awareness about vaccination. "Without creating controversies, the Centre should give Maharashtra the number of doses it requires," he said. Also read: India's COVID-19 vaccination drive hits roadblock; Punjab, Rajasthan, Maha report vaccine shortages Also read: Private vaccination centres in Mumbai to remain shut till Monday; govt ones to operate New Delhi: With a record 1,45,384 fresh cases, India's Covid-19 tally has climbed to 1,32,05,926. The number of active cases has breached the 10-lakh mark again after around six-and-a-half months, while the death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,68,436 with 794 more fatalities, the highest since October 18 last year. CoronavirusRegistering a steady increase for the 31st day in a row, the number of active coronavirus cases in the country has gone up to 10,46,631, accounting for 7.93 per cent of its total caseload, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 90.80 per cent. The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12, accounting for only 1.25 per cent of the total number of cases in the country. Coronavirus The number of people who have recovered from the disease has surged to 1,19,90,859, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.28 per cent, as per the data. India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 60-lakh mark on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19. London: Prince Philips funeral service will bring Prince Harry back together with the royal family for the first time since his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey but Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain behind in California. A Buckingham Palace official on Saturday local-time confirmed Harry will return to Britain following his grandfathers death and revealed Meghan, who is pregnant with the couples second child, had been advised by her doctor against travelling. There had earlier been speculation that the former Suits actress might stay in the United States so as to not overshadow a sombre national occasion. She used last months sensational television interview to accuse the royal family of racism and ignoring her poor mental health. Her return would have guaranteed a media frenzy before, during and after the funeral. Four alleged militia members associated with the extremist Boogaloo movement were indicted on charges of destroying evidence relating to the shooting of two federal security officers in Oakland last year, one of whom later died, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday. Jessie Alexander Rush, Robert Jesus Blancas, Simon Sage Ybarra and Kenny Matthew Miksch face charges of conspiracy to destroy records in official proceedings. Rush is also charged with an additional count of obstruction of official proceedings, and Blancas is charged with destruction of records in official proceedings. Federal authorities said each of the men are members of an armed militia group associated with the Boogaloo movement. The movement, whose followers call themselves Boogaloo Bois, is a loosely organized collection of extremists that seeks to accelerate a second American Civil War by causing chaos and killing law enforcement officers. Adherents of the Boogaloo movement have been implicated in several violent plots, including the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year. One alleged follower of the movement, Steven Carrillo, is accused of shooting two federal security officers at an Oakland courthouse on May 29, killing one. Authorities said Carrillo used protests against the police killing of George Floyd in Oakland as a cover to carry out the shooting. Hes also accused of shooting two Santa Cruz County deputies, killing one, during a June 6 ambush. Authorities said Carrillo, Rush, Blancas, Ybarra and Miksch all between the ages of 21 and 33 were all part of a WhatsApp group chat around the time of the Oakland and Santa Clara shootings. On June 6, Carrillo told the group that he was about to ambush law-enforcement officers, according to the indictment. Authorities said Rush told Carrillo to reset his phone, which would have destroyed evidence of communications between the group members. About an hour after the shooting of the Santa Clara County deputies, Blancas also deleted 20 files from a Dropbox account, authorities said, which included files with the rank structure of the militia group and scorecards used to rank members proficiency with firearms. The other members of the group are accused of deleting evidence of the chats from each of their phones. Carrillo faces both federal and local charges of murder and attempted murder. Blancas had previously been arrested and accused of enticing a 15-year-old girl to produce child pornography. Michael Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: michael.williams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaeldamianw 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. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. ROCKY HILL State police have arrested a third person in the killing of a 75-year-old man who was found dead in his Pondside Lane Home this week. Hartford resident Melissa Feliciano, 31, was charged with murder, felony murder, first degree robbery and sixth-degree larceny, according to a copy of her arrest warrant provided by state police. Earlier in the day police announced a third person had been apprehended in Windsor in connection with Robert Iacobuccis homicide. State police had named Feliciano as a suspect in that case earlier this week. State police have also charged Madeline Dickey, 35, and Franklyn Cruz, 42, both of Chapman Court in New Britain, with murder and robbery offenses. According to a police investigative report obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media, authorities believe all three suspects physically beat Iacobucci, while demanding money and valuables from him. Feliciano was described in the report as Iacobuccis live-in nurse. Police responded to Iacobuccis home for a welfare check after they were tipped off about the burglary and robbery by a relative of one of the suspects, the investigation report said. Officers found Iacobucci dead in a bedroom on the second floor of the home with his hands tied behind his back, police said. Police believe Dickey and Cruz planned to move themselves into (Iacobuccis) residence, essentially taking it over, according to the report. The relative told police the suspects planned to return to Iacobuccis home later Monday night where they would get rid of him, the report said. Both were apprehended in New Britain earlier this week. Police said they also recovered Iacobuccis vehicle, which had been stolen. GALWAY city-based auctioneers River Property Group, offered a fine development opportunity, via online auction, on March 25 which had significant interest in the lead up to the auction. The lands were offered via the IAM Sold auction platform and included a superb opportunity to acquire approx. 7 acres of lands located on Station Road, Newcastle West, County Limerick. Comprising of a rectangular shaped holding with good access onto Station Road, these zoned land would be ideal for a large housing development, site subject to planning permission. Offered to the market with a starting bids price of 400,000, the property offered excellent potential for the development. Jason Fitzgerald of River Property Group commented: The land proved popular with local builders and there was also interest from USA and the UK prior to the auction. Both myself and the auction team dealt with a large number of enquiries since we launched the property to market in February. The property was sold via the online auction where a number of parties had pre-registered to bid with minimum bid level noted as 400,000. After a slower start where bidding reached 450,000, the timer on the clock counted down to under five minutes and that was when parties really got serious. Bids came in fast succession in the final minutes with the timer allowing a further two minutes each time a bid was placed in the final two minutes on the online auction. When the virtual hammer eventually fell, the land had reached a final figure of 550,000 to a local buyer. River Property Group are delighted to now be offering an online auction service to their clients. All properties that are offered through the online service in partnership with IAM Sold and River Property Group will benefit from a large marketing campaign both locally, nationally, and internationally. The online auction platform is well suited for the current restrictions and interested parties can register on www.iamsold.ie and place bids via the auction platform. All bids are made visible on the auction website and the highest bidder secures the property providing the agreed reserve has been met or exceeded. Once a bid is accepted, contracts can be signed on behalf of the purchaser and vendors, meaning no human interactions need take place to sell the property, providing an effective route to buying and selling properties in these difficult times. River Property Group will also now offer free valuations and a no sale, no fee policy on all their auction properties. River Property Group & IAM Sold Property Auctions are now taking entries for their upcoming auctions on April 29 and June 3. Jason Fitzgerald noted: Using the online auctions we are in a unique position to be able to handle some of the current challenges facing the industry. Our online platform allows buyers to bid from the comfort of their own home, as well as allowing contracts to be exchanged online making the transaction as easy as possible. Our properties are performing well currently with interest coming locally and also elsewhere in Ireland and the UK through the additional auction marketing. For those thinking of selling, the auction team are now taking entries into the April 29 and June 3 auction dates and indeed the following auction on July 1. The team are encouraging property owners to make contact with them to arrange an initial valuation on 091 394 081. Interested parties can go to rpgroup.ie or iamsold.ie for more information. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb could soon have to consider Senate Bill 5, dealing with health emergencies and the authority of health departments and their officers, which has drawn some criticism from health officials. Senate Bill 5 has four main pieces. One aspect that has drawn concern deals with local health departments and public health emergencies. Health departments would need approval from their local city or county legislative body in order to create stricter measures than outlined in executive orders. For example, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor has said a local health department can set stricter capacity limits or mask rules than his executive order. Senate Bill 5 would require approval from a county or city body to put those stricter measures in place. Other components of the bill deal with the hiring and firing of health officials. An appointment of a county health officer would be subject to approval by the county legislative body. The legislation also adds 'good cause' to the reasons a local health officer may be removed in counties other than Marion County. The last piece of the legislation sets up an appeals process for businesses that have grievances with enforcement actions taken by local health departments in response to declared state and local public health emergencies. It would shift the process from courts to local governing bodies. The Indiana Public Health Association held a virtual press event Friday afternoon. Several health stakeholders participated. The organization said, "This is an extremely important issue for all Hoosiers and has potential to significantly damage public health in our state." "Indiana Senate Bill 5 would be a dangerous experiment that Hoosiers would soon regret," said Dr. Jeremy Adler, President of Indiana Association for County and City Health Officials. "Without a doubt, Senate Bill 5 will negatively affect the ability of local health departments to protect their communities." Dr. David Welch, Health Officer of Ripley County, said the legislation goes beyond the bounds of the coronavirus pandemic response and adds layers of government involvement to what already exists. "Public health is a thing not a lot of people are familiar with until it touches them, but a lot of times when public health officials have to act, it's not something that 'maybe we should do something in a week or so,' it's typically something that has to be done right away." Speakers raised concerns that addressing routine problems, like code violations at restaurants, could be delayed - ultimately putting the public at risk for possible disease. Legislative supporters say that isn't the case. State Representative Alan Morrison of Indiana's 42nd District is a co-sponsor of the legislation. He says the bill is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to create a system of checks and balances. "I don't think there's anything wrong with the legislative body having an active role in determining the restrictions that are going to be put on their constituents," said Morrison. He told News 10 the authors of the bill don't want to hold up routine operations of local health departments. Morrison explained that day-to-day operations fall under a different part of the law than what this bill is targeting. "Public health is extremely important, nobody wants to put anybody at risk," said Morrison. "What we have seen this entire process over the last 14 months we've all lived through, is some of the powers the executive branch and unelected bureaucrats have are greater than what some of us had really understood." Some speakers at the IPHA conference agreed that public health needs to be addressed in Indiana, but said it requires health officials, lawmakers, and community members to work together to come up with solutions. "I feel like a whole bunch of us in this last year-plus, as citizens, feel like our voices have not been heard one way or another. So, putting this in front of our locally elected officials I think we do just that," said Morrison when asked about the potential of health decisions becoming political. "At the same time, we are not prohibiting or trying to stop any sort of public health measures. We just want to make sure it gets in front of other sets of eyes before making it any more stringent than the emergency orders have said." Rep. Morrison said the Senate has to concur with the House on Senate Bill 5 before it heads to the governor's desk. Several bills were filed in both chambers dealing with different limitations of government when it comes to public health emergencies. Among them is House Bill 1123, which Governor Holcomb vetoed Friday, saying "I firmly believe a central part of this bill is unconstitutional." House Bill 1123 would've allowed the legislature to intervene in emergencies declared by the governor. It would allow for the establishment of procedures for calling an emergency session outside of the regular session, which the State Constitution declares as a power of the governor. (Alexandria, MN) The Douglas County Commissioners approved a personnel policy revolving around Government Data inquiries Tuesday morning. The original draft contained language that caused a stir in the media because of its restrictive nature; telling employees to refrain from giving out information or conducting interviews with the media, unless approved by a department head along with a form that needed to be filled out and signed. The personnel policy was re-written to coincide more with the states data practices law. County Attorney Chad Larson agreed the re-write was necessary. Each of the county commissioners spoke out during the comment period. Commissioner Jerry Rapp defended the original draft and felt the Echo Press editorial was written crazy. In defense of his article Echo Press writer Al Edenloff told the commissioners that if anything was crazily written, it was the first draft of the policy. Publisher for the Echo Press, Jody Hanson, agrees. In the end all five commissioners voted in favor of the revised policy. For the full report on the county commissioners, return back to this site Wednesday for Tom Chorleys County Commissioner report. Revised personnel policy which was approved by the DC Board: Douglas County Personnel Policy - Government Data Inquires "When inquiries/interviews are requested regarding release of government data* employees are to refer them to their Responsible Authority**, Department Head, or the County Coordinator unless they are delegated to speak on that subject without divulging not-public data***. Please refer to the Douglas County Data Practices Policy. Minnesota Data Practice (Chapter 13) Definitions: *Government data: Everything government creates, collects, maintains that is recorded in some type of format. **Responsible authority: Person in a government entity who ultimately is responsible for matters relating to the Data Practices Act. ***Not-public data: Any type of government data that are not available to the public: private, confidential, nonpublic, protected nonpublic." The original policy (verbatim) from 4-12-18 agenda packet: "Employees must refrain from giving out information or conducting interview with the media about Douglas County or their work for the Douglas County, unless given written authorization to do so by their Department Head. Therefore, if you received inquiries from the media, such as for newspapers, magazines, radio or television, refer the inquirer to your Department Head or the County Coordinator. Management will issue a data request form, collect the data request, and respond, as needed." Here's video of the discussion of the policy prior to the vote. Day 2 of the PokerStars 2021 SCOOP-22-H: $2,100 NLHE [Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE] attracted 539 players on Day 1 to create a prize pool of $1,078,000. Out of all those players, 26 of them made it through to today to play for the win that comes with a pretty first-place prize of $83,473 and bounties. Poland's "darogio" is coming back with the chip lead of 16,284,694 in chips. Following "darogio" in the counts is a more familiar name in Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski with 13,213,812. The Brazilian won his first SCOOP title a few days ago in SCOOP 09-M: $215 HORSE, $65K Gtd for $17,024 and will be looking for another win here. Following them in the top five are "lildani9" (10,546,668, Jonah "RaiseUpBlind" Silverstein (10,227,214), and "pappos_11" (8,014,796). But there are some more familiar names to be found if you look further down the list of chip counts. Joao "joaovbarb" Barbosa, Jans "Graftekkel" Arends, and Mike "SirWatts" Watson are just some of the players who will be battling for a bigger share of the prize pool. SCOOP-22-H: $2,100 NLHE [Progressive KO, Thursday Thrill SE] Top Ten Chip Counts Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds* 1 "darogio" Poland 16,284,694 136 2 Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski Brazil 13,213,812 110 3 "lildani9" Hungary 10,546,668 88 4 Jonah "RaiseUpBlind" Silverstein Canada 10,227,214 85 5 "pappos_11" Greece 8,014,796 67 6 Pedro "LgwZ" Grochocki Brazil 6,922,301 58 7 "roohoz" Finland 6,742,654 56 8 "drew.derzh" Ukraine 6,719,537 56 9 "BasedAces" Finland 5,531,824 46 10 "roo_400" Canada 5,518,739 46 *number of big blinds based on Level 25: 60,000/120,000/15,000 Plan for Day 2 The returning players will finish the last few seconds of Level 24 which features a small blind of 50,000, a big blind of 100,000, and a running ante of 12,500. The level after that features a small blind of 60,000, a big blind of 120,000, and a running ante of 15,000. The level duration should remain at 20 minutes but might increase once the final table has been reached. All 26 players have secured $4,064 but will all be looking to add more bounties to their bankrolls. The PokerStars Twitch stream will be live too with hole cards coverage on a 30-minute delay so the PokerNews updates will be on a similar delay to avoid any spoilers. Make sure to keep following along with all the action from 7:35 p.m. CEST. Left to Play for: The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, yesterday set his Make Accra Work plan into action by storming the central business district (CBD) to clear off traders who had illegally occupied the pavements. The exercise, undertaken by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), with support from the security agencies, was to get rid of structures on the shoulders of roads, clear traders who obstruct pedestrian movement off the pavements and allow for the free flow of vehicular traffic. Traders in various items, from food to jewellery, had occupied the pavements. Mr Quartey, accompanied by some military men and policemen, stormed the CBD with a bulldozer for the exercise. There were also some officials from the Forestry Commission (FC) who were present to provide assistance on how the beauty of the area could be re-ignited. The exercise followed publications by the Daily Graphic on traders who had abandoned their secure trading areas within designated parts of the metropolis and were doing business on the streets and pavements. The exercise The first port of call for the minister and his team was the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, where moulds had been constructed in the median of the road. When the team arrived, it was observed that traders selling all manner of items, including clothes, shoes, bags, cosmetics, assorted food items and beverages, sanitary products, jewellery, herbal medicine and utensils, were seated behind their wares doing business. Within three hours, the exercise was over, with the once congested area being cleared and pedestrians moving briskly. The FC team got to work immediately to see what could be done to plant trees and restore the greenery. Traders react Surprised by the unannounced visit, the traders were given the opportunity to move their wares to avoid getting them destroyed. The traders cooperated and carted their wares, mini stalls and tables away. While some traders were visibly upset, as they were heard casting insinuations to express their anger, others commended the RCC for the action, admitting that their activities had affected the beautification of the area. Although many of the traders claimed they had not been informed officially to leave the pavements and other illegal places for doing business, they said they were ready to stop trading at their present locations and appealed for stalls and shops to be allocated to them for free. "I will relocate to any space provided by the city authorities who want to keep Accra clean, but l do not have money to pay any huge amount of money to anyone before l am allotted space," a trader who deals in children's wear around Kantamanto, Ms Selina Adjoa Yamoah, said. When I came here, this whole area was covered with trees and grass, but because many also came to join, the whole place was turned into a busy market hub and the trees were cut down to create more spaces for our activities, one of the traders said. I know selling here is wrong, but I dont have any other option. I sell second-hand clothing and the money I make from it is not enough to rent a shop or a shed and I cant also carry them on my head, so selling on the pavement is the only available option I have, she added. Another trader, Joy Kugblenu, said: l am a petty trader. I buy and sell tomatoes, which l display on a pan. Life has not been easy and it is frustrating when l have to worry all the time about city guards coming to evict me anytime of the day." "It is not my wish to sell on the pavement, but that is what l can do for now to make ends meet. I will starve to death with my two children, as l am a single mother," she lamented. Relocation should ensure patronage About 10 metres away from the Accra Central Police Station, Christian Motey was seen pushing a trolley on which he had displayed toothbrushes and a variety of toothpaste for sale. The 27-year-old Motey said he was ready to move into any market in any part of the city for his trading activities if the plan to relocate traders would include plans to ensure patrons bought from the traders. "Often, traders are moved and there are no efforts to get the people to patronise those markets. The Odawna Pedestrian Mall is a good example of how traders are relocated to designated markets without plans to get buyers to patronise the goods and services the traders offer," he explained. Another male trader, Mr Eugene Arthur, who sells around the CMB enclave, said: "We are tired of hearing about traders being relocated, shops being demolished and the AMA Task Force going after traders. We are ready for any action that will be taken by the authorities." Speaking to the media after the exercise, Mr Quartey said he had to personally be on the scene for the exercise because the traders had ignored earlier warnings from his office for them to move before the deadline. The minister indicated that the original architectural design of the area, particularly the median, was not meant for people to sell or stalls and shops to be built there. I have already engaged with the market queens and Ive been made aware that there are empty shops in the markets, but for reasons best known to these traders, they are refusing to occupy those shops. Since theyve decided not to comply with the law, we will use legal force to get them off. This is not Rambo-style that leaves destruction or fear in its trail. We are not saying people should not fend for themselves or earn a living; they must do so, but within the confines of the law. What is wrong is wrong and it must be corrected, so that we bring discipline back into the way we do our things to make Accra work, Mr Quartey added. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Twelve weeks after the death of Princess Diana and the furore that followed, an unusually reflective Queen offered a personal insight into Prince Philips greatest contribution to public life. He is someone who doesnt take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, she told a crowd at Londons Banqueting House. I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know. The Duke of Edinburgh, who died at Windsor Castle on Friday just two months short of his 100th birthday, held many roles: naval officer, patron, environmentalist, quasi diplomat, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. But the Queens remarks of 1997 revealed his most significant position: consort. The couple knew each other almost their entire lives: they first met as children at a wedding in 1934; he was 13 and she just eight. They would meet again at the Royal Naval College in Devon in 1939 and wrote to each other regularly afterwards. They announced their engagement in July 1947 and married that same year. Events surrounding the teaching and curriculum of the Dalton School in New York City have captured national attention over woke demands such as requiring courses focusing on Black liberation and challenges to white supremacy and abolishing high-level academic courses by 2023 if the performance of black students is not on par with non-blacks. Many parents are now terrified of running afoul of the new orthodoxy in their childrens private schools and having their reputations and careers potentially canceled. The extreme progressive impulses infecting higher education in the United States have moved from campus quads and dormitories into our nations middle and high schools and even kindergartens. Despite the impression that an anti-liberal, totalitarian state has seized the world of education, I have some positive news about the wave of politically correct speech and progressive ideas pervading our educational institutions: Majorities of citizens want viewpoint diversity in our K-12 world and reject these progressive ideas and behaviors. According to a new survey from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni of 800 Illinois residents a diverse state resembling much of the nation demographically and economically the growth of woke culture in our education system is not popular. Respondents were asked to choose between which statement was closest to their own view: K-12 teachers should work to expose students to a variety of perspectives about the countrys founding and history, and to equip them to think critically about its successes and failures. Or K-12 teachers should embrace progressive viewpoints and perspectives when teaching US history, to encourage students to advocate for social justice causes. Sixty-two percent said viewpoint diversity and critical thinking are a must in our general education system. Just 23% hold that rallying behind social justice causes via a progressive lens is preferred. The responses here are unambiguous less than a quarter of the respondents- are supportive of woke ideas and the progressive pedagogy being pushed by loud, well-organized factions that are unrepresentative of the masses. It is important to note what happens to the data when these attitudes toward leftist imperialism are broken down further. When race and ethnicity are considered, no racial group supports this progressive agenda. When the embracing progressive viewpoints and perspectives version is offered, just 20% of whites and a third of Hispanics (33%) selected this option. Only 29% of blacks supported this progressive view, while 44% opted for exposing students to a variety of perspectives. Racial minorities who are theoretically the beneficiaries of these progressive initiatives are not supportive of them in the schools whatsoever. Looking at responses by education level, we may expect more formally educated respondents to adopt more liberal policy stances, but not in this case. Three-quarters of those with post-graduate degrees (73%) chose to expose students to a variety of perspectives rather than accept the progressive vision (18%). 63% of college graduates support viewpoint diversity, compared to just 25% who selected the progressive approach. As for those who are not college graduates, 58% fall on the viewpoint diversity side and just 25% on the progressive side. In each case, a clear majority of each group supported an open, deliberative vision of the classroom. Even the more educated who tend to align with liberal and progressive views held firm about the import of discourse and debate as the cornerstone of our nations education system. There are significant differences when ideology is considered, but even the majority of liberals fall to the side of viewpoint diversity over a progressive monoculture. 82% of conservatives support viewpoint diversity, compared to just 9% who embrace progressive viewpoints. Moderates are a bit less interested in diverse viewpoints, with 63% wanting a variety of perspectives, compared to 23% who fall in the progressive column. Looking at liberals, 52% support exposing students to a variety of perspectives, while a third (35%) support the progressive waves hitting so many schools. Despite differences in overall intensity of support, most liberals and conservatives agree that exposing kids to a diversity of ideas is critical in our schools. Collectively, these new data show that public opinion does not sync up with the overwhelming liberal push in our K-12 institutions. Liberal Americans would rather see more viewpoint diversity as opposed to the critical race theory and other such forms of left-wing extremism pervading into the walls of our nations schools. Our K-12 experiences shape values, ideas about citizenship and community, and teach our youth about how to think and engage with ideas, making a diversity of ideas critical. Parents, teachers, policymakers, and other stakeholders must make it clear that the hard-left turn happening at Dalton is not supported by the majority of Americans, regardless of their political beliefs. We want our kids to be educated, not indoctrinated. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) The decision to temporarily stop giving AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccines to Filipinos under the age of 60 may last for two weeks as local health authorities await recommendations from the World Health Organization. According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, local health experts will study the issue hounding the COVID-19 vaccine made by the British-Swedish firm. In a virtual briefing, Vergeire stressed the decision was a "precautionary measure" only since the Philippines has yet to note a case of unusual blood clots with low platelet count. The measure "may last for two weeks for us to have all of these recommendations," she added. RELATED: EU agency finds AstraZeneca vaccine can cause rare blood clots, as UK advises other shots for under-30s READ: PH pauses use of AstraZeneca vaccine for those below 60 years old If the WHO will provide a positive recommendation, Vergeire said the Philippine government will continue using AstraZeneca's vaccines. For those who already received their first AstraZeneca shots, the second doses may be administered by "around the end of May or June." Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 22:35:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Olatunji Saliu and Xinhua writer Guo Jun ABUJA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the key to China's success, which no other nation has ever achieved in such a short period of time, former Nigerian Foreign Minister Aminu Bashir Wali has said. The CPC has built an effective governing system that allows the party to know what the majority of the Chinese people want, said Wali in a recent interview with Xinhua, noting that "the CPC represents the sum total of the aspirations of the Chinese people." Before becoming Nigeria's foreign minister, Wali served as Nigeria's ambassador to China from 2009 to 2014. He is a member of Nigeria's Peoples Democratic Party. The 79-year-old senior diplomat became interested in China as early as in the 1960s when he was studying in London. Gradually, he increased his knowledge about the Asian country by reading reports by Western media until he was appointed as Nigeria's ambassador to China, which presented him with the opportunity to see what the country was really like. "Any person who arrives in China for the first time will be totally overwhelmed by what they will see. On my way to the airport, I never imagined what I would see, particularly the infrastructure," he said, reminiscing about his first trip to China in 2009. "China has made a lot of progress from what we had seen or read when I was in London. When I arrived in China physically, my whole perception of China changed," added the former envoy who had traveled to many places in China and made many friends there "both officially and unofficially," whom he described as "open and helpful." Wali said China's achievements in the past decades, such as the recent eradication of extreme poverty, have proved that there is a system that is worth learning from in the country. "Countries like ours should reach out to study China, send out their planners to go and work with those in China to find out how best suited it (the system) is," said Wali. China's success indicates that as long as a country chooses the right development system, it can achieve a lot just like China did, he added. (Video reporter: Guo Jun; Video editor: Liu Xiaorui) The long-range large-capacity heavy-weight autonomous eVTOL UAV has been purposefully designed to be used for logistics and aerial cargo delivery. Through the lifting nose of the craft, up to 3 Euro-pallets (EPAL) can be loaded, weighing as much as 300 kg (661 pounds).The aircraft can take off and fly with that weight for as much as 300 km (186 miles), but if one needs to transport say just 50 kg (110 pounds), the range increases to a staggering 2,500 km (1,553 miles), while the maximum altitude is of 8,000 feet (2,400 km).The Nuuva can do this thanks to the hybrid-electric powertrain it is fitted with. It comprises eight battery-powered electric motors, and a cruise engine located aft of the machine. According to Pipistrel , the drone can fly fully autonomous after taking off.At the beginning of April, the company announced this fly-alone capability would be backed by the next-generation Attitude Heading Reference System and Air Data Module made by Honeywell.Unmanned aircraft, especially those delivering packages, must be equipped with high-performing inertial systems to ensure fly-by-wire systems are provided the best possible information on location, speed and position, said in a statement Matt Picchetti, vice president and general manager, Navigation & Sensors, Honeywell Aerospace.Vehicles like Nuuva V300 will change the way logistics companies fulfill package deliveries, and were proud to add our growing list of onboard technologies to enhance safety and make flying easier.The Nuuva V300 is still under development, and the company that makes it targets 2023 for its introduction. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 19:44:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on April 1, 2021 shows a bowl of Kalamata olives preserved in olive oil and brine in Messinia, Greece. Known as the "black queen" of all Greek olives, the Kalamata, grown in the sun-kissed olive groves around Messinia in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese and named after the capital city of the region, has been an integral part of the local gastronomy and economy for centuries. (Photo by Lefteris Partsalis/Xinhua) KALAMATA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Known as the "black queen" of all Greek olives, the Kalamata, grown in the sun-kissed olive groves around Messinia in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese and named after the capital city of the region, has been an integral part of the local gastronomy and economy for centuries. The Kalamata olives (Elia Kalamatas in Greek) are included in the list of some 200 geographical indications (GIs) of European and Chinese products that are now protected under a recent agreement between China and the European Union (EU) that entered into force on March 1. Olives of the same variety are also grown in other parts of Greece, the Mediterranean and the world, but it is the microclimate, the soil, and the traditional methods of cultivation and preservation used in Messinia that make the Kalamata olives unique worldwide, growers, agronomists and gastronomy experts told Xinhua in recent interviews. The authentic Kalamata olives have a deep black color when harvested ripe, they explained. Their texture is smooth and are almond-shaped with a sharp point "resembling an eagle's nail." After slitting them, locals debitter and preserve them in salt, water and olive oil. They use no additives, like vinegar, in the final product, or else it would lose its protected status. The authentic Kalamata olives are juicy with intense flavor. Traditionally they have been used mainly as table olives, but in recent decades they have also appeared in recipes for salad dressings, soups, casseroles or sauce enhancers. The Kalamata olives are nutrient-rich and contain essential vitamins and antioxidants. Several studies have shown that their regular consumption may help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases and several types of cancer. "The levels of phenolic compounds are much higher in table olives than in olive oil," Panagiotis Katsaris, agronomist-biotechnologist and head of olive oil laboratory of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization (ELGO-DIMITRA) in Kalamata, explained to Xinhua. "Ingesting a single such olive per day gives our body the same amount of phenols as half a kilogram of olive oil would. This is the biggest and most basic advantage of table olives." "Olives have a long history in Greece. We have references in many ancient Greek texts and on many murals or images on vases depicting the olive harvest and olive oil production. Olives are interlinked with the history of this place," said Katsaris who is also head of the farms of the Olive, Fruit and Vegetables Institute of Kalamata. Katsaris was interviewed in the shade of "Mana Elia" (mother olive tree in Greek), the oldest registered olive tree in the Kalamata region. It is estimated to be 1,500-1,700 years old. This lofty tree is over 14 meters high and has a trunk perimeter of over nine meters. This is believed to be the only olive tree in Kalamata to have survived the destruction of the Ottoman empire forces during the Greek War of Independence (1820-1831). After the war, the locals took branches from this tree and planted new olives in the region. All the olive trees of Kalamata and the surrounding areas are believed to originate from this very tree. This is also how Constantinos Pavlopoulos' ancestors created their own olive groves. He is a third-generation olive grower. For him -- and for his brother and around 20,000 growers in the region -- Kalamata olives are their livelihood. "It is a time-consuming and economically expensive process," Pavlopoulos said. "It is difficult to cultivate olives. You need to spend countless hours and days out in the field. We try to do all the work as much as possible manually so that we can have the most optimal product possible," he explained. Pavlopoulos also avoids the use of herbicides. He sticks to the traditional environmentally-friendly methods of cultivation and wants to pass the torch to his children. The simplest way to enjoy Kalamata olives is to taste them pitted and sliced in salad or served on crackers on a cheese plate, Panagiotis Papanikolopoulos, a certified olive oil taster and food blogger, said. "In recent years, with the modernization of traditional products, new uses of olives have emerged. They appear in pastes, pates, sliced and pitted. All these sophisticated culinary uses are, of course, based on traditional recipes, such as the olive jam or the chutney with spicy notes like ginger and spoon sweets," he explained. "There is a fine balance here between tradition and innovation," he stressed. Giannis Pazios is general manager of the Messinia Union agricultural cooperative, which played an active role in the registration of the name "Elia Kalamatas" as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in 1996 by the EU, as well as in the talks that led to the EU-China agreement. "We believe it is a great step, as we can have the proper protection in a huge market like the Chinese, which has a special cuisine with simplified procedures for our products. It is very important, because we find new markets," he told Xinhua. "A nice interaction is created. Chinese products will come to the EU and will become known to us, because we do not know them, and maybe we will integrate them in our daily life. At the same time, China, which is a very big market, can offer great opportunities to new producers to enter the cultivation (of Kalamata olives) if we develop trade ties with this country," he said. Currently, the Messinia region produces about 10,000 tonnes of olives per year, with 4,000 tonnes exported across the world. The cultivation of Kalamata olives accounts for 75 percent of the region's agri-food production. Enditem I am going to take time off from writing about the bad this week and go with the time-honored Sunday tradition of sitting in the pews and listening to the good word. But on this particular Sunday, the good word for me was all about family and carrying on long, established customs. That was how I found myself sitting in the pews of The Citadel of Refuge on March 28 celebrating the churchs annual Holy Gathering. And what a celebration it was at the small church located on Smith Street in Middletown. The floorboards were shaking, people were shouting and their voices were raised to the heavens as they danced and gave glory to God. This is a time of celebration and fellowship where we take the time and just bask in the glory of God together, said the Rev. Tyren Gaskins, pastor of the church. In 2021, this takes on an even more special significance, in that we have all been separated from each other due to the pandemic that has swept through our land. After a year of many worries, doubts, fears and tears, the Lord has allowed us to live and continue to prosper. The joyous occasion was about the ordination of Ministers Chamar Logan, Aurelia Franklin and Michael Walker. The three ministers decided to devote their lives to spreading the word of God and this was the day they were being officially installed into a ministerial office. ... Im excited to see the great exploits you will do in the name of our Lord, Gaskins told the newly ordained ministers. 3 1 of 3 James Walker / For Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Citadel of Refuge / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 I was there as the proud, great-uncle of 18-year-old Michael. He is the son of my niece, Bourbon Walker. And I was not alone; in addition to family members from Connecticut, other members of my family had flown in from North Carolina or driven from Virginia to support him and cheer him on. We were swollen with pride as we watched the young man whose diapers some of us changed now wearing the cloth of the clergy and ready to spread and preach the Gospel to those willing to listen. My brother-in-law, the Apostle Robert Smith, stood behind him with his hands on Michaels shoulder as Gaskins performed the ceremony, which included explaining what was expected of him as a minister. He told them it would be hard work. Michaels great-grandmother, who slept with her Bible within arms reach, would have been jumping with joy. And she would have been on the phone bragging to her friends how proud she was that Michael is off to Hampton University in the fall, where he will study psychology at the historic Black university. But I have another reason for writing this column. It occurred to me as I was sitting in the pews with my family, taking pictures and video of the ceremony, that I am now the elder statesman. I can tell you, folks, that feels really weird but also very rewarding watching the two generations that came after me grow and prosper and most of them making sound decisions about their lives. In a time that is embroiled in chaos and division, it just feels good to see young people family or not carrying on the traditions that will serve them and society well and are so important to a balanced life. On most Sundays, I write about problems we have with social issues and, sometimes, it appears as if there is no good in the world. But as you just read, there are still plenty of good people handing down lessons and still plenty of young people willing to carry on one of the traditions that has kept families strong, bonded and committed. Gaskins said while the pandemic had stopped his congregation from gathering together, nothing had stopped them from doing Gods work. We just kept on churching, he said. That is something Michael must remember to do as he takes on the responsibility of becoming a young minister and I know he will. Me? I am still swollen with pride at his choice. Ordained? A young man steps into the ministry. James Walker is the host of the podcast, Real talk, Real people. Listen at jameswalkermedia.com. He can be reached at 203-605-1859 or at realtalkrealpeoplect@gmail.com. @thelieonroars on Twitter That is very welcome news, particularly in the light of the information that we received from ATAGI last night, Mr Morrison said on Friday afternoon. The news allowed a reset of the countrys troubled vaccine rollout, which was on the precipice of falling apart given the reliance on the Melbourne-produced AstraZeneca to vaccinate the majority of the country. But how did it get to that point? Europes early signs The first hints there might be problems was in early March when Denmark reported cases of clotting, and put its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on hold. Two hospital staff members had fallen ill with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage within two weeks of their jab. One of them had died. A number of European countries responded by pausing their use of the vaccine. At the time, the Australian government and medical experts remained cautiously confident there was no direct link between the vaccine and the clots. Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Kelly said blood clots happen in Australia fairly commonly, with about 17,000 cases every year, and health officials expected to see clots for some people around the time of vaccination. He said at that time there was no hard evidence of any specific link between AstraZeneca and blood clots. On April 2 - Good Friday - a 44-year-old man was admitted to Box Hill Hospital in Melbournes eastern suburbs for blood clots. He had been vaccinated on March 22 - 11 days earlier. ATAGI and the Therapeutic Goods Administration were advising the government to continue the vaccine rollout as there was still no concrete evidence linking the clotting disorders to the vaccine, but ATAGI did ask people to be alert for potential severe side effects, particularly severe, persistent headaches that occurred between four and 20 days after their vaccination. Federal Health Department secretary Dr Brendan Murphy said the government would continue to listen to the independent expert health advice. Health department secretary Dr Brendan Murphy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen If ATAGI or TGA recommends a change well act accordingly, but at the moment theyre not making that recommendation, he said at the time. Murphy said in Britain, where more than 18 million people had been given the AstraZeneca vaccine, there were only a few probable cases of blood clots. Britain was also continuing its rollout as the risk from COVID-19 remained far greater. Loading We are talking about extremely rare events, perhaps one to two per million if you look at the UK, and the risk of dying of COVID is one to two per 100, he said. But more cases of the rare disorder were discovered across Europe and the UK. At this stage, Australias medical regulators were in almost daily contact with their overseas counterparts as medical experts looked for links between the clotting and the vaccine. Professor Kristine Macartney, who heads the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance and is also part of ATAGI, said there had been continuous meetings with Australian expert groups and international regulators. It was late nights, early mornings, she said. By Wednesday evening, Health Minister Greg Hunt said they were just starting to get an impression from Europe that there may be causation. Health Minister Greg Hunt began talks with the head of Pfizer once the rare AstraZeneca blood clot link started to become clearer. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Hunt immediately hit the phone to call the head of Pfizer. It was the surest bet, with Novavax deliveries still months away and without regulatory approval. He told the company Australia might need to acquire more vaccines. We worked out the figure wed need would be about 20 million to cover any additional under-50s, and to cover [children] if they did move to paediatric [vaccination] at some stage, he said. Loading Hunt, flew from his home in Melbourne to Canberra on Thursday to prepare for potentially major changes to Australias vaccine program. Before he arrived, European regulators changed their advice on AstraZeneca. The European Unions medical regulator decided to list blood clots as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the UK regulator decided to offer an alternative shot for those aged under 30, after a review of data around a rare blood-clotting condition in a small number of patients was linked to the vaccination. ATAGI made the government aware on Thursday morning they were also now considering an aged-based recommendation. Acquiring more vaccines That was when the question of purchasing more Pfizer vaccines was raised with the Prime Minister. We put it to the Prime Minister ... look, we dont know how this will go, but we want to prepare on a what-if basis and be ahead of the curve, Hunt said. Thats been our mantra together since January of 2020 ... move fast, move early on the basis of medical advice. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video By mid-Thursday morning, funding for the 20 million doses was approved by the government on an if-needed basis, subject to the advice of ATAGI. On Thursday night, ATAGI made its recommendation. Loading We really did not get the final advice until literally, just a couple of minutes after seven oclock, Hunt said. In a matter of minutes Morrison, Kelly and Murphy joined him to face the media and the nation. In the background, the government had been working for two days on a new contract with Pfizer and by midday on Friday, the deal for more doses was struck. That meant announcing massive changes to the vaccine program. The new rollout plan Besides recommending the Pfizer vaccine for people under the age of 50, ATAGI also recommended adults under the age of 50 should only be given AstraZeneca where the benefits clearly outweighed the risks. It also advised adults under 50 who had already received their first doses without experiencing serious side effects could safely be given their second dose. Loading Hunt said for now, phases 1a and 1b could continue mostly as they were, although provisions would have to be made for some. For those who may be immunocompromised or front-line workers who are under 50, then right now we are working with the states and territories and the medical authorities to revise that part of the program so they have access to Pfizer. That will take time, he said. General practitioners, lauded as the cornerstone of the rollout, were only meant to provide AstraZeneca shots. And pharmacies, from phase 2b, were going to be on hand to vaccinate many younger people who were less likely to have a regular GP. Loading Murphy said the GP program would be able to continue as planned for now. The GP program right through 1a and 1b will continue as it is. As we get to 2a, there are people over 50 and over 60 who will also be able to go to their GPs to get vaccinated, he said. Its true we planned in phase two to roll out pharmacies. Were looking at how well do that now. We need to recalibrate to see how we may get more Pfizer and how we deal with the under-50s as we get to phase 2b. What exactly these changes mean for phase 2b, and when the rollout will be completed, remains unclear. The government is unwilling to commit to any timeline for completing the vaccine rollout so close to the major change in direction, and wont say for sure how it will be fixed. The reluctance to commit to a hard timeline with so much uncertainty is understandable. Less than two months into the countrys vaccine rollout, weve already faced supply delays, communication trouble, and fallen well behind initial targets. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the government failed in not securing deals for more vaccines from the outset. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the rollout was now a debacle that could have been avoided with more work to obtain other vaccine options. Labor was warning for a long period of time that we needed to do what international best practice told us we should do, which is to have access to five or six vaccines, he said on Friday morning. He said getting the rollout right was critical not just for the countrys health but also the economy. Loading If we dont get the health response right, then we wont be able to return our economic activity and our normal way of going about our lives, back to what it was before this pandemic. Hunt says the government has tried to be open with the public. New Hampshire and Oklahoma announced plans this week to open up vaccine eligibility to outside residents as supply grows and more states expand eligibility. Gov. Chris Sununu, Republican of New Hampshire, said officials were confident that there would be enough shots to vaccinate outside residents by April 19, the same day that President Biden has called for every state to make all adults eligible for a shot. Mr. Sununu said New Hampshire was well ahead of that deadline after making all adults ages 16 or older in the state eligible for a vaccine on April 2. Were going to have a lot of vaccine here, he said at a news briefing on Thursday, so we want to get it out to anyone who might actually be here in the state. The change came after Mr. Sununu faced criticism from students and Democratic lawmakers for not allowing out-of-state college students to get vaccinated in New Hampshire. He said last week that residents had to come first and that college students were at lower risk compared with other age groups. ANKARA/KYIV: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the "worrying" developments in eastern Ukraine`s Donbass region to come to an end after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, adding Turkey was ready to provide any necessary support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held more than three hours of talks with Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a previously scheduled visit, amid tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over the conflict in Donbass. Kyiv has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and over a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass. The Russian military movements have fuelled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat, but says they will remain as long as it sees fit. The United States says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraine`s eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed separatists in Donbass. On Friday, Turkey said Washington will send two warships to the Black Sea next week. Speaking at a news conference alongside Zelenskiy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through dialogue based on diplomatic customs, in line with international laws and Ukraine`s territorial integrity. "We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the ceasefire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements," Erdogan said. "We are ready to provide any support necessary for this." Major combat in Donbass ended with a truce agreed in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, whose implementation France and Germany have helped to oversee. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to implement a ceasefire. Zelenskiy said the positions of Kyiv and Ankara coincided on threats in the Black Sea and the response to those threats, and added he briefed Erdogan "in detail" on developments in Donbass. "We discussed in detail the issues of security and joint counteraction to challenges in the Black Sea region and it is worth noting that the visions of Kyiv and Ankara coincide both regarding the threats themselves and the ways of responding to these threats," he said. NATO member Turkey has forged close cooperation with Russia over conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the defence and energy areas. But it has criticised Crimea`s annexation and supported Ukraine`s territorial integrity. It has also sold drones to Kyiv in 2019. Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey and Ukraine launched a platform with their foreign and defence ministers to discuss defence industry cooperation, but added this was "not in any way a move against third countries". Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the increase in violence in the conflict, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a call with Erdogan on Friday, accused Ukraine of "dangerous provocative actions" in Donbass. Kyiv said on Saturday Ukraine could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in Donbass. New Delhi, April 10 : The Adivasi Eakatmik Samajik Sanstha (AESS) in Shahapur, the largest taluka in Maharashtra's Thane district, has emerged as a major source of employment for the local tribals -- a perfect example of tribal entrepreneurship that sold 18.50 lakh 'giloy' in the last 1.5 years. Surrounded by the Western Ghats, Shahapur is seen as an upcoming region of the group, as it has not only provided employment to over 300 tribals, mainly agriculture labourers, but has also enhanced their earnings. Running under the Centre's Van Dhan Vikash (VDVK) tribal startups programme, the Adivasi Eakatmik Samajik Sanstha in Shahpur demonstrates how cluster development and value addition can help members earn significantly higher income. The majority of tribals who form the members of this VDVK are from the Katkari community -- a primitive tribe found in Pune, Raigad and Thane districts in Maharashtra and in parts of Gujarat. The tribals are mainly agricultural labourers who sell firewood and some jungle fruits. Started by Sunil Pawaran, an enterprising member of this community, and his friends to sell raw giloy in local markets, VDVK has now become a 300-member unit under the Van Dhan Yojana scheme. The VDVK has a much larger scale of operations and deals with more than 35 products and processed food items. The VDVK is a component of the mechanism for the marketing of minor forest produce (MFP) through minimum support price (MSP) and development of value chain for the MFP scheme. The programme has been implemented in 27 states and 307 districts with the availability of MFPs and significant forest dwelling tribal population. The process of making giloy powder involves cutting giloy from the trees by the tribals, which is followed by drying for 8-10 days. This dry giloy is brought to the central facility in Shahapur where it is grinded, packaged and branded and subsequently shipped to the buyers, including Tribes India. Giloy is an antipyretic herb that improves platelet count in dengue fever and reduces the chances of complications. In the last 1.5 years, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said the group has sold giloy powder and dry giloy worth Rs 12.40 lakh and Rs 6.10, lakh respectively. The total sale is worth Rs 18.50 lakh. Operating as a cluster, over the last one-and-a-half years, the VDVK has sold raw giloy to leading companies including Dabur, Baidyanath, Himalaya, Vithoba, Sharandhar, Bhumi Natural Products Kerala, Trivikram and Maitri foods. Most of the companies like Himalaya, Dabur and Bhumi have ordered 450 tonnes of giloy worth Rs 1.57 crore until now. While the Covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown that followed did disrupt VDVK's operations, it did not deter the morale of the team. Through the lockdown, the VDVK continued to work hard to minimise the impact, said the ministry. Between March 2020 and mid-June 2020, VDVK Shahapur purchased over 34,000 kg of raw giloy from the local tribals. Subsequently with the unlocking and slow return to normalcy, the VDVK is working aggressively to expand and make its products available for purchase on e-commerce platforms. While it is giloy, both raw and processed, that continues to be the VDVK's mainstay, it has now expanded into other products such as safed musali, jamun, behada, vavding, moringa, neem, amla, and orange peel powder. The success has inspired thousands of people from the community and nearby areas to come together and work on similar lines. At least 39 VDVKs comprising 12,000 beneficiaries have been additionally sanctioned by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) so far. TRIFED is a national level cooperative body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The VDVK scheme is a programme for value addition, branding and marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes. The scheme aims to empower tribals by providing them support in terms of financial capital, training and mentoring in order to expand their business and enhance their earnings. The sincere efforts, dedication and determination of the tribal entrepreneurs in working collectively starting from the collection of these MFPs through value addition, packaging, branding and marketing of the products has succeeded in making the VDVK a huge success in this fast-developing region. The success of the Adivasi Eakatmik Samajik Sanstha VDVK is an example of how these initiatives implemented by the TRIFED for making India self-reliant under the Aatmanirbhar Mission with the motto 'Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal - Mera Van Mera Dhan Mera Udyamar' is effecting a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country. (Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in) Rep. Matt Gaetz is trying to turn an ongoing sex-trafficking investigation into a rallying cry. The Florida Republican said he is built for battle in what was his first major public appearance since it was revealed that the Justice Department was investigating whether he broke sex trafficking laws and if he had sex with a 17-year-old. Gaetz spoke on Friday at an event held by the group Women for America First at former President Donald Trumps club Trump National Doral Miami and characterized the investigations as an ideological attack. He took a page right out of the Trump playbook and characterized himself as someone who is suffering the repercussions of being a truth-teller in the swamp. Advertisement They lie about me because I tell the truth about them, and Im not gonna stop, Gaetz said, painting the investigations as an attack on his supporters. So when you see the leaks and the lies and the falsehoods and the smears, when you see the anonymous sources and insiders forecasting my demise, know this: They arent really coming for me. Theyre coming for you. Im just in the way. Gaetz, sounding a lot like Trump, said he was being investigated because they want him silenced. I know this: Firebrands dont retreat, especially when the battle for the soul of our country calls, he said. Big government, big tech, big business, big media theyd all breathe a sigh of relief if I were no longer in the Congress fighting for you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, Gaetz did exactly what defense lawyers and establishment types in politics and media say an embattled pol shouldnt do, notes Politico. He spoke off the cuff and attacked everyone as he uses the investigation to rile up supporters and raise money to pay for his legal fees. But hes speaking at a time when the walls seem to be closing in. Now it seems clear that Gaetzs friend, Joel Greenberg, who has been charged with sex trafficking of a minor, is ready to negotiate a plea deal with prosecutors and could very well cooperate as a witness against the Florida lawmaker. Gaetz has reportedly told people involved in Florida politics he met women through Greenberg. Gaetz sounded a defiant tone shortly after the House Ethics Committee on Friday opened an investigation into the lawmakers conduct. The committee said it was aware of claims that Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct. ADVERTISEMENT The ECOWAS Parliament will in Monrovia meet for the first time in 2021 to discuss ways of fostering women empowerment in the West-African sub-region. The meeting which will hold from April 13 to 17 has the theme, Empowerment of Women in the ECOWAS Region. Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mohamed Tunis, will chair the meeting which will see joint committees on Social Affairs, Gender and Womens Empowerment/ Education Science and Culture and/ Health go into special sessions. The meeting sessions will be taking place from April 13 to 17 in Monrovia and will see representatives from the ECOWAS Parliament and other important ECOWAS bodies come together to map out strategies on empowering women in the sub-region. Meanwhile, womens empowerment and gender equality concepts are important in fostering health and human development. This is achieved when both men and women enjoy the same socio-economic rights and opportunities and have equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making, the communications department of the parliament said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that studies have shown limited commitment by state actors toward achieving womens empowerment in the sub-region. This is even when Article 63 of the ECOWAS Treaty urges state actors to formulate policies and develop programmes that will enhance womens economic, social, and cultural conditions. (NAN) Hydraulic fracturing in North America has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but flaring levels remain historically low, according to a new report. The number of new hydraulic fracturing wells across the U.S. and Canada in March reached 1,064, a 12-month high, setting the stage for oil production to rise in the second quarter, according to Norwegian energy research firm Rystad. Meanwhile, oil production in the Permian Basin, Rystad said, has largely recovered from the February winter storm, which caused the largest disruption to U.S. oil production in history. Rystad said it counted 429 new hydraulic fracturing wells in the Permian in March, up from 260 in February and well above the 300 completions needed to maintain pre-pandemic output. The Permian was disproportionally hit by the Texas winter crisis in February and activity in the region grew significantly in March, Rystads head of shale research, Artem Abramov, said in a statement. The basin is set for production growth already in the second quarter. Rystad warned, however, that shale production could slow this year as OPEC ramps up production and uncertainty looms over highly contagious coronavirus variants, which threaten oil demand recovery. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, fell by 28 cents to $59.32 on Friday, as investors grew pessimistic over the rapid spread of virus mutations in Brazil and India. Shale drilling isnt alone in showing rising production. Traditional rotary drilling also has expanded in recent months, according to the weekly rig count from oil-field services company Baker Hughes and research firm Enverus. The U.S. added two rotary rigs this week bringing the count to 432, 77 percent more than the pandemic-low of 244 in August. While oil and natural gas production ramps back up, flaring in major U.S. shale fields fell to its lowest level in four years during the first quarter even as flaring in the Permian Basin temporarily spiked during the February storm, Rystad said. Flaring is expected to rise from historically low levels as U.S. production ramps up. Flaring may remain at lower levels, Rystad said, because large publicly traded oil producers are focusing on capital discipline and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Written by Kristen Kusek, Communications Director for USF CMS A team from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science (USF CMS) embarked on the first research cruise in Tampa Bay on April 7, 2021 to study the environmental impacts of the breach at Piney Point that started in March. Piney Point is a retired fertilizer processing plant in Manatee County, Florida. It was the first of what will be several sampling efforts. We were lucky to be able to mobilize this group in short order, said Tom Frazer, dean of the CMS. This presents a unique opportunity for these scientists to do what they do best. Three field teams the largest aboard the R/V Weatherbird II, a research vessel operated by the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) -- were supported by scientists processing computer modeling data back at the USF CMS. FIO is pleased to cover the cost of ship time and shoreside support during the initial critical phase of this effort so that scientists can be on the scene, said FIO Director Monty Graham. Team 1 The field research team aboard the R/V Weatherbird II that was also used in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response effort led by USF, was led by chemical oceanographer Kristen Buck. Her team collected samples for dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, nutrients, metals, radioisotopes, bacteria, and phytoplankton. These samples will be further processed in partnership with other USF labs and partners at Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and Florida State University. A press conference was held in the morning just before the Weatherbird departed. Assets from the event, including remarks by Dean Frazer, are here. Team 2 Bucks team coordinated with a second team aboard a smaller vessel led by biological oceanographer Steve Murawski (who led the Deepwater Horizon research response effort from USF) and Eckerd College scientists Rebekka Larson and Patrick Schwing. They collected fish, water, and surface sediment samples from five stations around Port Manatee. The samples will complement those taken simultaneously from the R/V Weatherbird II. The fish samples will be compared with fish sampled from the same location in the summer of 2020. Team 3 A third field team involving physical oceanographer Mark Luther, researcher Jay Law, and others deployed three sensors on the floor of the bay. These record data every 15 minutes and will allow the team to assess how things such as pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature and chlorophyll are changing over the coming weeks. The sensors were from the lab of partner Jim Ivey, an environment scientist on the USF St. Petersburg campus. In addition to the field teams, a USF team led by physical oceanographer Bob Weisberg and his Ocean Circulation Group is using computer models to understand where the released water will go based on winds, tides, and currents. These model results are guiding the field sampling efforts. Researchers Yonggang Liu, Yunfang Sun and Jing Chen have been particularly tireless at their computers to ensure effective modeling. Additional teams of scientists led by Chuanmin Hu and Frank Muller-Karger are evaluating the potential use of satellite imagery to monitor the dispersal of discharge water. Whats Next? Many results will take weeks to months to process. The results will be used to inform response plans and any necessary mitigation efforts by management officials. While the discharge water released currently meets water quality standards for marine waters with the exception of pH, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and ammonia nitrogen, questions remain as to how nutrient-laden discharge water will impact marine life. The key questions facing the team in the near term are: What is the fate of the water that is being released from the plant? How will it impact water quality and marine life? For example, how might the nutrients be assimilated by phytoplankton associated with algal blooms? How might the discharge waters impact fish health? Weve assembled an excellent team of scientists here, and we will keep you posted as we work with our local and state partners to inform the response effort, said Frazer. Like millions of Americans lucky enough to keep their jobs during the pandemic, my family bought a car last year. Our 2006 Honda Accord was showing its age after racking up more than 147,000 miles, and its air conditioning system was starting to strain against Houstons scorching summers. Auto loan interest rates were at an all-time low, and we needed more space given our two growing young children. More than a decade ago, our choices were limited when it came to car engines. There were a few hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, but the vast majority of vehicles for sale came with the true-and-tried internal-combustion engine. On HoustonChronicle.com: Electric vehicles could exceed 50% of new car sales by 2033 Today, however, automakers are rolling out a plethora of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in response to new regulations over carbon emissions and growing public concerns over climate change. Although the U.S. market for electric vehicles is currently minuscule -- about 2 percent of the total -- consumer interest is growing rapidly as electric vehicles have moved from a niche product into the mainstream. Nearly every traditional automaker has introduced an electric vehicle, and many have pledged to replace gasoline-powered vehicles with all-electric versions. General Motors the largest U.S. automaker in January said it would phase out gasoline-powered cars by 2035, the same year Californias ban on sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles takes full effect. Tesla, the EV juggernaut led by newly-minted Texan Elon Musk, proved to traditional automakers that electric vehicles can deliver high performance and be highly desirable. The California automaker delivered nearly 500,000 vehicles worldwide last year, up from 367,500 in 2019 -- despite the global pandemic. Tesla is under construction on its largest electric vehicle and battery factory in Austin, planting its flag in the heart of oil-dependent Texas. The rise of electric vehicles will have a profound impact on the oil and gas industry in Houston and Texas, reducing global oil consumption by as much as 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of this decade, the International Energy Agency said. Transportation accounts for about a quarter of total U.S. energy consumption, and is currently driven entirely by petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel. Although much of the electricity that powers electric vehicles today comes from natural gas power plants, these plants are facing growing competition from cheaper solar and wind farms going up across Texas and the rest of the country. Yet, despite all the excitement and development around electric vehicles, the cost of an all-electric SUV was out of reach for my family, supported by journalism and public education salaries. The cheapest all-electric SUVs from Kia and Hyundai with enough space for our family of four started just under $40,000, nearly double the price of their gasoline-powered counterparts. Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox We ended up buying a used 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander for well under half the cost of a comparable new electric SUV. We considered Mitsubishi's plug-in hybrid Outlander, but the electric battery meant we would lose the fold-down third row that gave us two additional seats, convenient for when out-of-town family came to visit. Granted, the cost of electric vehicles will come down as the cost of batteries continues to fall and with growing economies of scale. Chevrolet earlier this year introduced its all-new 2022 Bolt EUV, an electric SUV that starts around $32,000. There are still some federal subsidies available for electric vehicles, and more families will be able to afford them as more electric vehicles enter the used-car market. But until then, gasoline powered vehicles remain the only affordable option for many families, even if its not the most environmentally-friendly. Our Outlander gets close to 30 miles per gallon, not bad for a seven-seater SUV. paul.takahashi@chron.com twitter.com/paultakahashi George Gascon, then San Francisco District Attorney who took office as Los Angeles County District Attorney on Dec. 7, 2020, speaks during a new conference in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 9, 2014. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Gascon Pushes to Eliminate Juvenile Strikes, Reorganizes Gang Unit LOS ANGELESDistrict Attorney George Gascon outlined plans April 9 to reorganize his offices gang unit and co-locate prosecutors in police stations in hopes of creating closer community ties. Gascons remarks came during a news conference he co-hosted to promote Assembly Bill 1127, which would eliminate the use of juvenile offenses to impose tougher sentences on adults. Overcriminalization of young people leads to higher levels of recividism, the D.A. told reporters, citing research showing that the human brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s, leading young people to make more impulsive decisions. Overhauling the juvenile justice system is one of several initiatives the D.A. has taken on in the name of creating a more rehabilitative system of justice in Los Angeles County. Doing away with gang and other sentencing enhancements other than for the most serious, violent crimes is another. In response to questions about reports that he planned to cut some of his units, including the one responsible for prosecuting gang activity, Gascon said prosecutors would soon be working out of the Los Angeles Police Departments 77th Street, Newton and Van Nuys stations. The D.A.s office is currently handling about 700 active, serious gang cases, and Gascon promised that he would hold the people accountable and continue to prosecute gang crimes, but we are looking at this through the lens of public health. The plan is for the community to play a lead role in how the work takes shape. Unless we deal with the root causes of these problems effectively, we will never create a sustainable solution, Gascon said. Violence should be treated as a public health problem. He declined to say how many, if any, prosecutors might be reassigned or let go, characterizing the change as a realignment and decentralization of the units work. We believe that actually we can be more effective by having closer connection with the community rather than working from a centralized basis, he said. Gascon was joined by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), who co-sponsored AB 1127 with Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward). It makes absolutely no sense that a kid who cant go to prom would have an action being taken into consideration for a strike once (theyre) older, Santiago said, referring to Californias three strikes law. This means somebody doing 25 years to life in jail. It makes absolutely no sense. Though juvenile delinquency proceedings are not criminal proceedings, strikes in the juvenile system are currently counted the same as an adult strike. AB 1127 would allow a juvenile adjudication to be vacated rather than being considered as a serious or violent felony conviction during future sentencing. Gascon said Black and Latino youth are more likely to end up with a strike on their record and more likely to have that juvenile strike applied in future sentencing. It creates further destruction in our communities, he said. The bill will be heard by the Assemblys public safety committee next week. Another 3,150 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,365,461, according to official figures. The country also reported another 60 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,040. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. More than 31.9 million people have been given the first jab of a vaccine, according to the official figures. Earlier Friday, British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Britons can start thinking about booking foreign holidays again this summer. He also gave more detail on the traffic light system which will see countries graded on their risk as foreign holidays would resume on May 17 at the earliest. According to Shapps, passengers will have to take the tests before leaving and on returning, even from low-risk "green" countries. "This is the first time I'm able to come on and say I'm not advising against booking foreign holidays," he told the BBC. "Yes, you'll want to check what the situation is in two or three weeks' time when that list -- the green, amber, red, is produced -- you'll want to know that you've got good holiday insurance and flexible flights and the rest of it," he said. "But for the first time I think there is light at the end of the tunnel and we'll be able to restart international travel, including cruises by the way, in a safe and secure way, knowing about the vaccinations, everything we know about the disease this year, and of course that abundance of caution -- having the tests in place." Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent. To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out vaccines. --IANS int/ (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.) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood or components of blood into circulation intravenously. Latest practices include transfusion of required components of blood such as white blood cells, red blood cells, plasma and platelets. The blood collected from donor needs to be properly screened for any infectious disease before the transfusion. Blood transfusion diagnostics uses various instruments, test kits and reagents to conduct tests before transfusion of blood and blood products from donor to recipient. Demand Scenario The global blood transfusion diagnostics market was USD 2.98 billion in 2018 and is estimated to reach USD 4.63 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 7.62% during the forecast period Click Here to Get Sample Premium Report @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3929 Growth by Region North America dominates the blood transfusion diagnostics market owing to factors such as high percentage of active donors in countries like USA and Canada, implementation of blood transfusion policies by government of these countries regarding the safety and testing of blood for infectious diseases, rise in acceptance of new and advanced molecular tests and rise in prevalence of chronic disease. Europe is the second largest market for blood transfusion diagnostics owing to factors such as rise in demand for kits and reagents for pre-transfusion diagnostics and introduction of new tools by the domestic market players. The region of Asia-Pacific will register a significant growth rate during the forecast period with emerging markets of India and China leading the market. Increased demand for new technology for blood diagnostics and increase in number of donors with rise in awareness about disease screening are some of the factors that drive the growth of the market. Latin America and Middle Eastern region is presumed to have moderate growth during the forecast period. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/3929/Single Drivers vs Constraints The factors that drive the growth of the market include rise in demand for transfusion of blood and its components because of increased instance of chronic disease and large patient population undergoing surgical procedures, introduction of new technologically advanced products and shift towards automation of instruments, increase in government initiatives and implementation of policies regarding blood safety and availability. The shortage of highly skilled technologists for blood transfusion services, decline in blood donation rates across the globe, stringent regulatory policies for approval and operating costs for testing are likely to hamper the growth of the market. Industry Trends and Updates In June 2018, Fujirebio Diagnostics received the FDA clearance for a new procalcitonin (PCT), assay to be used on its Lumipulse G1200 immunoassay platform, which will help distinguish between bacterial and viral infection. In September 2017, the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia launched a national campaign named My Blood for My Country along with various other protocols for blood transfusion diagnostics in the country. In February 2017, Immucor announced the launch of a new molecular test for blood typing. In January 2017, Abbott Laboratories announced that it received the CE mark for its Alinity System for blood and plasma screening and is now available in Europe and other countries that recognizes the CE mark. Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/3929 Legendary Chinese literature translator Xu Yuanchong has encouraged China's younger generations to carry forward fine traditional Chinese culture and communicate it to the rest of the world. Xu made the remarks during an interview at his home in Beijing on April 9. Xu the first Asian winner of the "Aurora Borealis Prize" for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature, one of the world's highest honors among translators added that it was gratifying to see young translators be enthusiastic about classic Chinese poems and lyrics. He hoped that more such classics will be translated in a bid to offer the world a glimpse into long-standing Chinese culture and facilitate mutual understanding between China and other countries. Born in 1921, the centenarian has devoted much of his career to translating classic Chinese literature into English and French. Having translated over 100 books, the prolific translator is also the founder of the "three beauties principle," which posits that translated texts must be as "beautiful" as the original in terms of semantics, phonology, and form. Even now, in his nineties, Xu maintains a sharp mind and spends time each day translating Shakespeare's works. In light of his extraordinary achievements, Xu received the "Translation and Culture Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Translators Association of China (TAC) back in 2010. Xu has been a massive inspiration in Chinese translation studies and is indeed an icon in the field, said Wang Gangyi, executive vice president and secretary-general of TAC, on April 9 at Xu's home. Wang noted that as well as celebrating the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China this year, he and his colleagues will also be thrilled to celebrate Xu's 100th birthday on April 18. Xu's theoretical contributions to translation studies and his examples in how to promote Chinese culture to the world are both worth being carried forward by our younger generation, Wang added. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Washington, April 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Apr, 2021 ) :Former US president Donald Trump said Friday that the death of Britain's Prince Philip was an "irreplaceable" loss to his country and expressed his and wife Melania's "heartfelt sympathies" to Queen Elizabeth II and her family. "The world mourns the passing of Prince Philip, a man who embodied the noble soul and proud spirit of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth," Trump said in a statement. "This is an irreplaceable loss for Great Britain, and for all who hold dear our civilization," he said. "Prince Philip defined British dignity and grace. He personified the quiet reserve, stern fortitude, and unbending integrity of the United Kingdom," he said. On Facebook former president Barack Obama praised Philip, who died Friday at age 99, as someone who took his job as husband to the queen with selflessness. "At the queen's side or trailing the customary two steps behind, Prince Philip showed the world what it meant to be a supportive husband to a powerful woman." Recalling his and wife Michelle Obama's first meeting with the British royal couple, he said Philip "in particular was kind and warm, with a sharp wit and unfailing good humor." "We will miss him dearly," Obama wrote. Earlier President Joe Biden paid tribute to Prince Philip as a selfless servant of Britain and its people. "From his service during World War II, to his 73 years alongside the Queen, and his entire life in the public eye -- Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the UK, the Commonwealth, and to his family," Biden said in a statement. TORONTO - An Ontario pilot project offering COVID-19 vaccines to migrant farm workers got underway on Saturday at Toronto's international airport. Travellers are directed to take a mandatory COVID-19 test after arriving on a international flight at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - An Ontario pilot project offering COVID-19 vaccines to migrant farm workers got underway on Saturday at Toronto's international airport. Avi Yufest, spokesman for the Ontario agriculture ministry, told The Canadian Press the program "went well" as the government offered shots to more than 200 workers landing on an early-morning flight from Mexico. Officials from the ministries of health and agriculture, health-care practitioners and representatives from the Mexican Consulate were also at Pearson International Airport to meet the group, offering doses of the Moderna vaccine after the workers cleared customs. The vaccines were administered in a screened-off area after recipients took a mandatory COVID-19 test. Yufest said there were "no major glitches" in the rollout, but that lessons learned from the first day would be introduced into a more permanent program that will offer shots to more workers arriving next week. The government has said it plans to follow up with farms to administer the second dose through the local public health unit. One such unit sounded a recent alarm about current vaccine supplies, raising the spectre of reduced clinic hours or even temporary shutdowns in the coming days if the situation doesn't improve. York Region Chairman Wayne Emmerson outlined his concerns in a Friday letter to Health minister Christine Elliott, saying a scarcity of Moderna shots leaves the region unable to sustain its current pace of immunizations. "Given this acute need for our clinics to continue vaccinating prioritized groups, we appeal both to you Minister, and to all our York Region MPPs, for your assistance to acquire any vaccines that can be directed to York Region before next week and keep our clinics fully operational," the letter read. Alexandra Hilkene, a spokeswoman for Elliott, did not comment specifically on the plea from York Region but described reliable vaccine supply as "the biggest challenge to Ontarios vaccine rollout." "We continue to be ready to administer doses and expand the locations administering doses, including mass vaccination sites as soon as we receive supply from the federal government," she said in a statement. Immunization efforts continued elsewhere, however, with some high-profile politicians getting in on the action. Toronto Mayor John Tory received his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at a downtown pharmacy on Saturday morning. Im completely confident taking it as its been taken by millions of people around the world," Tory said. "So, no nervousness whatsoever." Ontario Premier Doug Ford received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday, saying he wanted to get the shot in front of media to help encourage people to get immunized and combat vaccine hesitancy. Meanwhile, Ontario reported 3,813 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 19 additional deaths associated with the virus. Elliott said there were 973 new cases in Toronto, 669 in Peel Region, and 442 in York Region. Ottawa and Durham Region also logged high daily counts with 289 and 281, respectively. Government figures showed 1,524 patients currently in Ontario hospitals due to COVID-19, with 585 in intensive care and 384 on a ventilator. Those figures were released hours after the province issued a pair of emergency orders intended to address a major influx of COVID-19 patients requiring hospital care. They include a directive allowing hospitals to transfer patients to other facilities without their consent, as well as one granting the province power to redeploy dozens of workers from home-care organizations and Ontario Health the body that oversees the health system to hospitals during a surge. Hospitals will begin scaling back elective surgeries as of Monday as they try to keep pace with COVID-19-related demands. Ontario said 104,783 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the province since Friday's report. It's the fourth straight day more than 100,000 vaccines have been given out in the province. A total of 3,044,949 vaccine doses have been administered in Ontario so far. The province completed more than 61,400 tests since the last report. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2021. There is also reason for optimism that distinguishes this virus surge from those that came before: One in three Michigan residents has started the vaccination process, and one in five is fully immunized. With older residents swiftly getting vaccines, health officials say that most of the people who are infected with the coronavirus now are younger than 65, a less vulnerable population. And so Ms. Whitmer, who received her first shot on Tuesday, has pointed to vaccines rather than new lockdowns as the way out of this moment. I want to get back to normal as much as everyone else. Im tired of this, Ms. Whitmer said in a news conference on Friday where she defended her strategy for the weeks ahead. But the variants in Michigan that we are facing right now wont be contained if we dont ramp up vaccinations as soon as possible. Ms. Whitmer, whose administration rolled back restrictions last month when virus cases were relatively low, pressed President Biden in a Thursday night phone call for extra vaccines to address the surge. Mr. Biden declined, and the administration said on Friday that it would continue allocating vaccines based on adult population. A state official with knowledge of the call, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation, said the president expressed concern about loosened restrictions in Michigan but seemed to have inaccurate information about what restrictions remained in place. The official said Ms. Whitmer explained to Mr. Biden that capacity remained limited at restaurants, gyms and social gatherings, and masks were still required. The World Bank appointed an Indian national Dr Indermit Gill as the Vice President for the Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) Global Practice Group. Dr Gill has replaced M. Ahyan Kose and his appointment will be effective from June 1, 2021. Dr Gill is currently Professor, Practice of Public Policy and Senior Research Scholar at the Centre for International and Global at the Duke University. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. The new VP's tryst with the Washington-based global lender is almost two decades old as he has held various important positions in the organization, including chief economist for Europe and Central Asia and staff director for the 2009 World Development Report on Economic Geography. Besides this, he is also the former economic advisor in the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office and lead economist for human development in Latin America and the Caribbean. His expertise includes debt management, creating sustainable growth and reducing poverty. Dr Gill was the pioneer of the concept of the "middle income trap". This concept is used to explain how developing countries can become sluggish after attaining a certain level of income. Dr Indermit Gill, who has been appointed as the Vice President for the Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) Global Practice Group, is a graduate of St Stephens' College in Delhi. Dr Gill pursued his Bachelors in Economics from 1978-1981. This was followed by an MA at the Delhi School of Economics in 1985. After this, Dr Gill went onto pursue PhD and AM in Economics from the University of Chicago. He has also taught at the Duke, Georgetown University, the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Chicago. While announcing Gill's appointment the World Bank President David Malpass had said that due to his decades of practical experience of dealing with state government. Malpass added, "I am delighted to have Indermit Gill return to the World Bank in this important role." Also read: COVID-19 impact: India's debt to GDP ratio rises from 74% to 90%, says IMF Also read: World Bank, IMF plan to link debt relief to climate change spending Lula and Gbagbo are courageous men who challenged decades of subservience to international powers and profiteers; their leadership gave hope to their people. Both men have just survived vicious schemes to quash them. The former Latin American labour leader and past Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and African intellectual and ex-President of Cote dVoire, Laurent Gbagbo have returned from years in prison to be the hope of their various countries. Both are victims of international conspiracy executed by local lackeys employing dubious judicial processes designed to work to a given answer. Lula and Gbagbo are courageous men who challenged decades of subservience to international powers and profiteers; their leadership gave hope to their people. Both men have just survived vicious schemes to quash them. Lula led the Brazilian Workers Party to victory in 2003. The trade unionist, who had been imprisoned for opposing military rule, secured 39 million ballots or 46.4 per cent of the votes to become President, said after his victory: I, who so many times was accused of not having a university diploma, won my first diploma as President of the Republic of Brazil. He had tried to reverse the exploitative relations between the state and the Brazilian people. He introduced massive social works, lifted 19 million Brazilians out of extreme poverty and vastly expanded access to education. His government gave poor families a monthly subsidy of between $12 and $117 per child, which covered 12 million homes, and moved 30 million people from the lower classes to the middle class. Lula was re-elected in October 2006, this time securing 46 million votes or 48.6 per cent of the total vote cast. He was succeeded in 2010 by fellow party member, Dilma Rousseff, who continued in his steps. Since their opponents could not muster the needed votes to defeat them at the polls, they hatched a constitutional coup in 2016. Rousseff was accused in parliament that back in 2014, she did not disclose the true size of the countrys budget deficit and that this was tantamount to an abuse of office and therefore impeachable. On that basis, she was removed from office. Simultaneously, Lula was set up for political incineration by having what turned out to be false cases of corruption brought against him. As a result, in 2017, he was sentenced to a dozen years imprisonment on allegation of receiving a seaside apartment as part of a contract award kickback. On the basis of this, he was banned, in 2018, from contesting the presidential election. However, the Brazillian Supreme Court, in November 2019, allowed him to remain free while his appeals were pending. Now, many Brazilians are turning back to Lula to save the country The coast for Lula was cleared when on Monday, March 8, the Supreme Court threw out most of the criminal cases manufactured against him and restored his political rights, including those to contest the October 2, 2022 presidential election. This process led to the rise of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, who tried to reverse the Lula programmes and erase his legacy. Bolsario is not only running an anti-people government but has led the country into ruins with his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In aping then President Donald Trump of the United States, he had declared the Coronavirus a ruse, a fantasy. But he went far beyond the Trump tantrums by actually holding mass rallies of people without masks, during which he shook hands to demonstrate to Brazilians that that COVID-19 is a fiction. Even when these rallies were spreading the virus, he kept dismissing this and assuring Brazilians that they are immune to COVID-19 because, as he falsely claimed, they have antibodies for the virus. He also encouraged them to reject lockdowns by local state officials and went on as President, to declare the lockdowns illegal. The states had to approach the Supreme Court to reverse him. The result was that Brazilians began to die like flies. On March 23, Brazils daily COVID-19 death toll had soared past 3,000, with many hospitals at breaking point. That day, the number of deaths was 3,251, bringing the overall death toll to nearly 299,000. On that same day, Bolsonaro appointed his fourth Health minister, a cardiologist, Marcelo Queiroga, 55. He replaced Eduardo Pazuello, an army General with no medical experience, who had been appointed on the basis of the Presidents questionable conclusion that COVID-19 may require the handling of a strong hand. The first two Health ministers, Doctors Luiz Henrique Mandetta and Nelson Teich had to go when Bolsonario rejected medical advice in handling the pandemic. Now, many Brazilians are turning back to Lula to save the country both from the pandemic and its political version, Bolsonaro. The coast for Lula was cleared when on Monday, March 8, the Supreme Court threw out most of the criminal cases manufactured against him and restored his political rights, including those to contest the October 2, 2022 presidential election. The set up against Lula began to unravel when Justice Sergio Moro, the federal judge who sentenced him, left the bench to join Bolsanaros government as Justice Minister, in what appeared as a reward for sending Lula to prison. Then in June 2019, leaked messages between Justice Moro and the prosecutors were published, in which the judge gave the prosecutors tips and strategic guidance on how to make the case against Lula appear credible. So, the judge was also the prosecutor. The appeal judges said the evidence against Gbagbo was extremely weak, and wondered why so much time and resources were wasted for such a long time. The simple reason is that it was a political trial designed to punish a vocal African President who had rejected French dictation including on the award of contracts. A panicky President Bolsonaro vowed that despite Lulas judicial victory, the Brazilian people wont want to have a candidate like him in 2022 and lets not even think about his possible election. But the decision is not in the hands of Bolsonaro, but that of the electorate. In the case of Gbagbo, a disputed election with French tool, Alassane Ouattara in 2010, led to violence in which some 3,000 people lost their lives. The French then abducted him, but since they had no basis for transferring him to their country, they hauled him before the International Criminal Court (ICC), even when his country was not a member of that court. He was charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts. In 2019, the ICC found him innocent of all charges but under the guise of appealing the decision, Gbagbo was prevented from returning home, which would have allowed him contest the presidential election. He was forced to stay in Brussels pending the appeal. But the Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji has now ruled that: The appeals chamber, by majority, has found no error that could have materially affected the decision of the trial chamber. The appeals chamber hereby revokes all remaining conditions on the release of Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ble Goude (co-defendant) as a result of this judgement. The appeal judges said the evidence against Gbagbo was extremely weak, and wondered why so much time and resources were wasted for such a long time. The simple reason is that it was a political trial designed to punish a vocal African President who had rejected French dictation including on the award of contracts. Gbagbos welcome return will give hope to Ivorians as Ouattara, despite an unconstitutional third term in office, has proved to be a disaster. ADVERTISEMENT Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author. KYODO NEWS - Apr 10, 2021 - 13:26 | All, Japan, World An association of Uyghurs in Japan has urged major Japanese companies to investigate whether their operations in China are connected to factories allegedly benefiting from forced labor of the Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region, and if so to suspend such transactions. In a joint statement issued Thursday, the Japan Uyghur Association and rights advocacy group Human Rights Now criticized 14 firms for being slow in taking action over possible human rights abuses in their supply chains compared to their global rivals. The call comes amid growing international criticism of Beijing's Uyghur crackdown, with the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada all imposing sanctions against China. Pressure has been mounting for Japan to take more action. "It's important for members of the international community to work in unity to stop such atrocities involving forced displacement and labor of ethnic minorities," said Afumetto Retepu, vice chairman of the association, at a press conference in Tokyo. The 14, ranging from clothing retailers to electronic device manufacturers, were named last year in a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank identifying over 80 global brands "directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through abusive labor transfer programs." Tadashi Yanai, chairman and CEO of Fast Retailing Co. which was identified among the 14, said Thursday his company is keeping tabs on its cotton supply chain to ensure none of its products are made with forced labor in Xinjiang. The association said it has sent written inquiries to all of the Japanese companies about how they plan to address the issue. The firms also include Sony Group Corp. and Toshiba Corp. All 14 companies except for Panasonic Corp., which gave no response, either denied transactions with the Chinese businesses in question or said they could not confirm if their business partners were involved in forced labor, according to the association and the Tokyo-based human rights group. They added that most of the companies said they will suspend their operations if human rights violations are discovered in their supply chains. Chinese authorities have denied such forced labor or human rights abuses. Washington accused Beijing of committing "genocide" and other crimes against humanity on Uyghurs in an annual human rights report the State Department released in late March. Amid allegations of forced labor, the United States and Britain have imposed import restrictions on cotton and other products originating from the autonomous region. Pressure has been mounting on the Japanese government, which has been passive in addressing the issue due apparently to fear of provoking China, to take action against such abuses. Japanese lawmakers launched this week a cross-party group to discuss introducing legislation to enable sanctions to be imposed over human rights abuses, including against the Uyghurs. Currently Japan has no laws that enable it to impose such sanctions. Related coverage: Fast Retailing keeping eye on cotton supply amid Xinjiang controversy U.S. says Beijing Olympics boycott with allies may be on agenda China accepts widespread boycott of H&M products over Xinjiang Journalist Gordon Asare-Bediako has waded into the New Patriotic Party (NPP) controversy over who becomes the next flagbearer for the party. As the party gathers momentum to contest the 2024 Presidential elections in hope of winning the seat of government again, a fierce campaign has already begun as the party faithful tick the right candidate to lead the party into the elections in the offing. Two big names, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen, have cropped up with some party folks rooting for Dr. Bawumia while others also vouch for Alan Kyerematen. However, there are arguments that the NPP has had two Akan Presidential candidates and so giving the flagbearer position to Dr. Bawumia would be a fine opportunity to remove the Akan tag on the party as some political disciples are of the impression that the NPP will never accept any person not of Akan origin to hold the flagbearer position. One of such people within the NPP who believes Dr. Bawumia is the right candidate is the Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu. Hon Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu recently says it will be unwise for the NPP to choose an Akan flagbearer again. Inwardly, I know also have the competence but is it wise for me now immediately after two Akans; Kufour had been the president, Akufo-Addo follows from the Eastern Region and there is a third Akan to follow? Doing introspection, I think it may not hold well for a party that is accused by some as being overly Akanistic party. But not everybody agrees with me. And that is the beauty of democracy, he maintained. But the Majority Leader, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame constituency, has been severely lambasted over what has been termed as his ''non-Akan'' flagbearer comment. Some members and supporters of the party have described Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu as a big foe of Mr. Alan Kyerematen among other criticisms directed at him. Jumping into the seeming fray over the NPP flagbearership is a Journalist with the New Crusading Guide, Gordon Asare-Bediako who has called out the hypocrisy of the NPP leadership and members. According to Gordon Asare-Bediako, it is important for the NPP to extinguish its ethnic biases saying the ''NPP has the brightest opportunity to shake off the unfortunate Akan party tag without sacrificing competence and loyalty''. He backed the call by Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stressing, ''choosing Bawumia is not doing him or people from Northern part of Ghana a favour, it is not because of where he comes from, it is proving that the party is NOT what its detractors say it is; it is demonstrating the party recognises how lucky it is to attract people of stellar qualities from diverse backgrounds; and it is deepening the roots of the party in hitherto unchartered grounds''. Gordon Asare-Bediako argued in a Facebook post on Saturday, April 10. Read his full post below: When John Mahama as President was flying the dangerous and nation-wrecking tribal card, I didn't see the so-called Neutrals scold him. In fact, they gave it oxygen in their social media posts and interactions. I'm even not sure I heard NPP big wigs take him on publicly, but in their quiet moments, they were worried about that negative tag. It's the height of hypocrisy, not naivety that where a person comes from plays a critical role in our body politick. That may not be ideal but that's the reality. NPP has the brightest opportunity to shake off the unfortunate Akan party tag without sacrificing competence and loyalty. Choosing Bawumia is not doing him or people from Northern part of Ghana a favour, it is not because of where he comes from, it is proving that the party is NOT what its detractors say it is; it is demonstrating the party recognises how lucky it is to attract people of stellar qualities from diverse backgrounds; and it is deepening the roots of the party in hitherto unchartered grounds. 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 Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 20:21:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People shop at Al-Mubarakiya market in Kuwait City, Kuwait, April 10, 2021. As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, Muslims in Kuwait prepare for the festival amid tightened restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) KUWAIT CITY, April 10 (Xinhua) -- As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, Muslims in Kuwait prepare for the festival amid tightened restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19. Shopping for Ramadan decorations at the old Al-Mubarakiya market in the capital Kuwait City, Nahla Abdulrahim, a pharmacist, told Xinhua that the Ramadan vibes have become the only way to spread relief and joy in her home to make the family forget about this pandemic. In preparation for the Ramadan, Abdulrahim said she used to buy decorations such as lanterns, hanging stars, banners, dishes, and many other items related to the festival. Ghadeer Al-Balushi, a housewife, said gold could be bought at a good price at the Al-Mubarakiya market to protect her savings in the light of the current crisis. Gold is a great investment in a time of economic difficulty, especially when the coronavirus pandemic is not expected to end soon, she explained. Abdul Hadi Ahmed, a vendor at the market, also groused about the current economic situation. "The clothing store has recorded heavy losses with the accumulation of goods, especially for this month. Despite the presence of many people in the streets of Mubarakiya, there is low demand for the traditional Ramadan dresses," Ahmed said. "The curfew prevents people from finishing their work and going for shopping," he added. Abdullah Qusaibati, a salesman at one of the Mubarakiya stores, said he used to decorate the shop with lighting and flags, but such decorations are now seen as expensive when COVID-19 has drastically changed consumer spending. In the restaurant area at Mubarkia, chairs and tables seem to have long gathered dust. "This street was used to be full of life," Sayed Al-Znabati, a worker in one of the restaurants, told Xinhua. Customers have decreased by 20 percent since the outbreak of COVID-19, he said, noting the business in the upcoming Ramadan is unlikely to pick up given the pandemic restrictions and most restaurants do not have delivery service. "After the instructions that do not allow the customers to sit and eat inside the restaurant, the beauty of a crowded Mubarakiya is gone and now selling is difficult amid the public fear of coronavirus spread," Al-Znabati lamented. Shopping at a dates shop at the market, Khaled Al-Ali told Xinhua that the month of Ramadan seems to have lost its luster. "I have been waiting for the family meeting during the Ramadan, to see my children, grandchildren and the families of my brothers and sisters, but now I do not feel that happiness because of coronavirus," he said. Ali pointed out that the ongoing curfew in Kuwait affects not only adults, but also children who will be prevented from going out to celebrate Gergean in mid-Ramadan this year. Kuwaiti authorities have extended the nationwide curfew until April 22, now running from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., which means that gatherings are prohibited during the eating time. Enditem Text: Supreme Court ruling was made possible because India is not a signatory to international treaties on non-refoulement The controversial and unconstitutional Citizens Amendment Act, 2020 cannot be seen as a response to the crisis. Instead, India must develop a long-term, humane approach to the issue of refugees fleeing political persecution from their homelands. Towards this end, we must ratify the UN Convention governing refugees and have a fair domestic mechanism to deal with the rights and needs of refugees. The latest order of the Supreme Court (April 8) shows India declining to take responsibility for the violence Rohingya refugees currently in detention (in holding centres in Jammu) are likely to face, if deported. The three-member Bench led by the Chief Justice refused to grant the refugees interim relief, while also stating that the Rohingyas shall not be deported unless the procedure prescribed for such deportation is followed. A ruling of such nature is made possible also by the fact that India is not a signatory to international treaties propounding the principle of non-refoulement, which would forbid the expulsion of a refugee when there is clear and certain danger of life in the country of origin. While there are still many road blocks to the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, it is indeed a welcome measure that the resistance to the coup has done away with long-standing divisions of ethnicity, religion, domicile and occupation in the region. Several, pro-democracy groups, womens organizations (Gender Equality Network, Burmese Womens Union, Karen Womens Organization and many others), youth groups, students unions, and others are resisting the military and nationalist groupls supporting the coup. NAPM stands with the people of Burma demanding restoration of democracy in their country and with the emerging women and youth-led civil disobedience movement defying the military repression and curfew. We condemn the extra-judicial killings, violence and rape by the Burmese military on the people and urge government of India to stop supporting the repressive regime and use its influence at ASEAN and UN to ensure urgent restoration of democracy. A disturbed Myanmar doesnt bode well for peace and promotion of democratic values in the region. --- Click here for signatories Indias balanced approach, keeping in mind, its geo-political interests are not enough. The circulars from Home Ministry denying refuge to people running away from violence in the border states goes against the humanitarian concerns. State of Mizoram has already written saying they will allow those feeling violence on humanitarian grounds and Manipur has also withdrawn its circular on refusing entry. It needs to be remembered that many of the communities in border states have shared cultural heritage and ethnic ties.In the past we have welcomed refugees from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal, and thus the current situation demands that we continue to do so and develop a long-term approach to the issue of refugees fleeing political persecution in their homelands.The controversial and unconstitutional Citizens Amendment Act, 2020 cannot be seen as a response to the crisis. Instead, India must develop a long-term, humane approach to the issue of refugees fleeing political persecution from their homelands. Towards this end, we must ratify the UN Convention governing refugees and have a fair domestic mechanism to deal with the rights and needs of refugees.The latest order of the Supreme Court (April 8) shows India declining to take responsibility for the violence Rohingya refugees currently in detention (in holding centres in Jammu) are likely to face, if deported. The three-member Bench led by the Chief Justice refused to grant the refugees interim relief, while also stating that the Rohingyas shall not be deported unless the procedure prescribed for such deportation is followed.A ruling of such nature is made possible also by the fact that India is not a signatory to international treaties propounding the principle of non-refoulement, which would forbid the expulsion of a refugee when there is clear and certain danger of life in the country of origin.While there are still many road blocks to the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, it is indeed a welcome measure that the resistance to the coup has done away with long-standing divisions of ethnicity, religion, domicile and occupation in the region.Several, pro-democracy groups, womens organizations (Gender Equality Network, Burmese Womens Union, Karen Womens Organization and many others), youth groups, students unions, and others are resisting the military and nationalist groupls supporting the coup.NAPM stands with the people of Burma demanding restoration of democracy in their country and with the emerging women and youth-led civil disobedience movement defying the military repression and curfew.We condemn the extra-judicial killings, violence and rape by the Burmese military on the people and urge government of India to stop supporting the repressive regime and use its influence at ASEAN and UN to ensure urgent restoration of democracy. A disturbed Myanmar doesnt bode well for peace and promotion of democratic values in the region. India's premier civil society network, National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM), even as seeking restoration of democracy in Myanmar and declaring "support" to the "civil disobedience movement" against the military (Tatmadaw), has demanded that the Government of India (GoI) should allow refuge to Myanmars citizens "fleeing persecutions and violence."Criticising GoI for taking a "balanced" view of the Myanmar junta, an NAPM statement asked India to sign the 1951 Refugee Convention immediately, underlining, "The controversial and unconstitutional Citizens Amendment Act, 2020 cannot be seen as a response to the crisis. Instead, India must develop a long-term, humane approach to the issue of refugees fleeing political persecution from their homelands."Its more than two months since the Burmese military in a coup on 1 February refused to hand over the power to the National League for Democracy (NLD) after their victory in the November 2020 elections. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the armys commander-in-chief and Myanmars de-facto ruler has justified the coup on grounds of large-scale election fraud, though the elections commission has denied these allegations.Following the coup, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her party NLDs colleagues have been jailed under various charges including that of violating colonial Official Secrets Act. National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM) condemns this undermining of the democratic transition and usurping of power by the military Junta.Pro-democracy protests, cutting across ethnic lines, have erupted across the country in major cities and in the ethnic regions. The military, also known as Tatmadaw, has suppressed these protests using extreme violence, torture, extra-judicial killings, rapes, resulting in death of an estimated 1,000 people and more, including a large number of children.Given that there have been internet shutdowns over a large region, restrictions on domestic media, and the country being closed to the international media, it is difficult to have a complete picture of the death and mayhem being caused in the country at the moment.Tatmadaw had earlier said that it is imposing these emergency measures for a year to bring the country to normalcy and establish peace. However, now Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun has suggested that it could extend its ongoing state of emergency order for as long as two years.On November 8, Myanmar's parliamentary elections were held. Observers had little doubt about the ability of Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD to see its majority renewed, but several of them expected a record abstention, especially because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a smaller majority than that achieved in 2015.Aung San Suu Kyi's first term had been marked by several stinging failures the stalled peace process, large-scale violence against Rohingyas, the limitation of civil liberties, the slow pace of pro-people reforms, massive land acquisitions, and the savage exploitation of natural resources all indications that the NLD was not in line with the programme that brought it to power in 2015.However, despite severely falling short in upholding democratic values, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are seen by many as the only legitimate person and group to lead the country and the only bulwark against a return of the brutal army to power. This was reflected in the election results, where NLD surpassed its 2015 performance and won 396 seats out of 642 (166 seats are reserved for the army, as per 2008 Constitution).The former army party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), in power before 2015, suffered a total defeat and won only about 30 seats nationally. Nevertheless, it is still the main opposition bloc, joining the 166 MPs appointed by the army.Ethnic parties, which made great efforts to agree and put forward joint candidacies to increase their chances of a failed election, are largely trying to secure a blocking minority in the national parliament. These elections marked the slow process of democratic transition which started in 2010, after five decades of rule by the Junta.The current political circumstances will only further escalate the conflict, create instability in the region and also affect the democratic transition of power in a country already riddled with ethnic conflict.The 2017 military offensive against the Rohingyas received widespread international attention and condemnation but overall, the Tatmadaws clearances operation against the ethnic armed organizations in Kachin, Shan, Karen, Chin and others continued. They caused death of more than 10,000 people and displaced nearly a million inside the country.An estimated million Rohingya refugees have taken shelter in Bangladesh and neighbouring countries. International community failed to stop the genocide and hold the persons accountable for it, despite cases in the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice. The UN and other international organizations responded with aid but their efforts have been limited and access hindered to many of these conflict-ridden border areas and camps.Post-coup, unfortunately many foreign powers including India failed to react immediately and demand urgent restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Many chose to participate in the celebration of Armed Forces Day on March 27 organized by the military, thereby lending credibility to the regime. India only recently, after criticism inside and outside, changed its position and demanded restoration of democracy in Myanmar, a welcome step.The UN security council on April 1, after two months, responded with the strong condemnation against military violence against the protesters, but refrained from using strong language and sanctions against military, under pressure from China and Russia. EU and US have issued sanctioned against the 11 persons associated with the coup including some other measures, but more is needed. This is definitely not enough. (Photo : Pexels/Oleg Magni) Logitech remote control Logitech has gone a long time without any hardware updates, and now the tech company announced that it will no longer manufacture Harmony universal remotes. Logitech discontinues Harmony remotes According to TechHive, Logitech's universal remotes have been among the best universal remotes on the market, especially in the recent years. The Harmony remotes were perfect for home theater users who want a traditional-style remote that can connect almost anything in a living room and a smart home. However, with massive tech companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon extending their reach into home control and HDMI-CEC connects controls for more devices, the market for universal remotes is more of a niche than ever. Also Read: Mozilla Firefox 86: 'Total Cookie Protection' to Safeguard Users From Online Tracking While Logitech considered selling off the division back in 2013 before keeping it in-house, the product line is now coming to an end, with remaining products sold through retailer until they are all gone. If you are thinking about picking up a Harmony remote, they are now labeled as "while supplies last." Logitech is now setting a goal to provide service and support for as long as customers are using the product but there will be no new features or updates anymore. Firefox ends support for Amazon Fire TV and Echo Show Meanwhile, Mozilla announced it is ending Firefox support for the Amazon Fire TV platform and Echo Show devices starting on Apr. 30. The Firefox browser will stop receiving security updates after that date, and users will no longer be able to install it either. That also means that users won't be able to reinstall if they ever decide to remove it from their device or if they perform a factory reset to start from scratch. Amazon gave Fire TV and Echo Show owners access to Firefox in 2017 just shortly after Google announced that it is blocking the YouTube app on the devices. It also launched Firefox to give users another option and to make it easy for users to access the Web from the comfort of their couch. As it turned out, Amazon added Firefox support just in time, because Amazon Fire TV users lost access to the YouTube app earlier than expected. The browsers allowed users to stream videos from the Google-owned platform on their devices even while the tech giants were not in good terms. At the time, Googled explained that its decision was born out of the lack of reciprocity. Google has supported Amazon products but, as a spokesperson for the company pointed out, Amazon does not carry Google products and prevented Google Cast users from accessing Amazon Prime Videos. After the tech giants went back to friendly terms, Amazon reinstated YouTube support on the Fire TV, which means users no longer need a browser to play its videos. According to Android Police, the Echo Show does not have a dedicated YouTube app yet, so owners will have to rely on Amazon's Silk browser. If you are using Firefox to stream videos, you will need to switch to Silk to keep watching the videos. Alternatively, users can always install the Android TV version of Firefox on your Fire TV by getting the APK from APK Mirror. Related Article: Mozilla Firefox Launches SmartBlock Feature That Comes with Improved Private Browsing This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sieeka Khan 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Geneva, April 10 : The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticised what it describes as a "shocking imbalance" in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines between rich and poor countries. "There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Friday, the BBC reported. The group's chief said a target of seeing vaccination programmes under way in every country by Saturday would be missed. The WHO has long called for fairer distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. It is leading the Covax scheme which is designed to get jabs to poorer nations. So far, more than 38 million doses have been delivered to around 100 countries under the scheme. Covax hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year. In particular, it wants to ensure that 92 poorer countries will receive access to vaccines at the same time as wealthier countries. "On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people have received a Covid-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it's one in more than 500," he said. The Covax scheme had been expected to distribute at least 100 million doses worldwide by the end of March, but only 38 million jabs have been delivered so far. "We hope to be able to catch up during April and May," Tedros said. He also criticised countries that have sought their own vaccine deals outside of the Covax scheme. "Some countries and companies plan to do their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing Covax for their own political or commercial reasons," Tedros said. "These bilateral arrangements run the risk of fanning the flames of vaccine inequity," he added. "Scarcity of supply is driving vaccine nationalism." Earlier this year, Tedros warned that the world was facing a "catastrophic moral failure" over vaccine inequality. He said a "me-first" approach would be self-defeating because it would encourage hoarding and prolong the pandemic. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text (Natural News) We have received word that the private information of more than 533 million Facebook users has been leaked to the public. Facebook users from 106 countries, including more than 32 million users here in the United States, had their Facebook IDs, full names, phone numbers, locations, birthdates, bios, and in some cases, email addresses leaked to public forums. Business Insider first broke the news, revealing that a sample of the leaked data was reviewed and determined to be a match. We also verified records by testing email addresses from the data set in Facebooks password reset feature, which can be used to partially reveal a users phone number, the Insider reported. One of the first to notify the world about the leak was Alon Gal, CTO of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock. Gal tweeted that all 533 million Facebook records were just leaked for free. This means that if you have a Facebook account, it is extremely likely the phone number used for the account was leaked, he added. I have yet to see Facebook acknowledging this absolute negligence of your data. According to Gal, bad actors will almost certainly use the leaked data for social engineering, scamming, hacking and marketing. A database of that size containing the private information such as phone numbers of a lot of Facebooks users would certainly lead to bad actors taking advantage of the data to perform social engineering attacks [or] hacking attempts, he further told the Insider. Why doesnt Facebook care about protecting the private data of its users? The breach apparently occurred back in January right around the time that fake president Joe Biden was installed into the White House. Gal learned about it in a low-level hacking forum. It is just the latest of many Facebook hacks that have occurred over the years, exposing millions upon millions of users private information to the public. In each case, there was nothing Facebook could do after the fact other than to make up excuses or ignore the problem. At no point has Facebook taken seriously the ease with which hackers have repeatedly been able to steal data from its servers. This latest incident is no exception. Individuals signing up to a reputable company like Facebook are trusting them with their data and Facebook [is] supposed to treat the data with utmost respect, Gal says. Users having their personal information leaked is a huge breach of trust and should be handled accordingly. One would think that Facebook would be all over trying to secure the private data of its users, if for no other reason than to protect its advertising cash cow. The reason why Facebook is free, after all, is because Facebook sells your data to third parties for a profit. If hackers are able to steal that data, though, then Facebook can no longer sell it because it is already out there for the taking. Perhaps the amount of data lost in these breaches is simply not enough for Facebook to care in terms of its own revenues. Still, the platform has a duty to protect its users private data for their benefit. Fecesbook has your real name and your phone number if anyone has you in their phones contacts, wrote one Zero Hedge commenter. A lot of people dont get this, warned another. Facebook has shadow profiles on virtually everyone who has ever used the internet or owned a phone Im sure Im barely touching on the full intrusive glory of it all. If you use modern technology, you are being tracked. More related news about Facebook and the evil tech giants can be found at Evil.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com President Joe Biden has a Sen. Joe Manchin problem. Following the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the Democrat from West Virginia is starting to exert more of his legislative muscle. As Biden attempts to move forward with his ambitious infrastructure package, Manchin is threatening to cause problems for both the administration and his own party. Democrats have increasingly floated the possibility of reforming or ending the filibuster -- a method of obstruction that requires a supermajority, or 60 votes, to end debate and move to an actual vote. Reforms could make it more difficult and costly for Senators to use the filibuster, while doing away with it would allow Democrats, who currently control both Congress and the White House, to enact Biden's agenda with a simple majority vote without the help of Republicans. On Wednesday, however, Manchin made his thoughts clear in an op-ed in the Washington Post by writing, "There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster." He expressed alarm at the use of the budget reconciliation process -- which allowed the American Rescue Plan to pass with no GOP votes -- and urged both Democrats and Republicans to find compromise. He told Axios that he will block the infrastructure plan if the administration doesn't involve Republicans in the negotiations, insisting that bipartisan support is possible. With a 50-50 split in the Senate and Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote, Democrats can't afford to lose Manchin's vote. Both he and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who represents the swing state of Arizona, have immense influence as a result of the party's slim majority. And if Manchin follows through on his threats, he could easily short-circuit the policy accomplishments that would define the Biden presidency. Political convention assumes the only way that Manchin can keep his seat in West Virginia -- a state where former President Donald Trump won by more than 38 points in both 2016 and 2020 -- is to play the role of the centrist. When many Democrats are clamoring for legislation that would diminish the role of fossil fuels, for instance, he has defended the industry (West Virginia is the second largest coal producer in the nation). When an increasing number of Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, are openly calling for eliminating or radically reforming the filibuster, Manchin is setting himself apart by upholding the traditions of the upper chamber in the name of deliberation and bipartisanship. But Biden can't afford to craft his agenda around Manchin. Doing so would be akin to repeating the mistakes Obama made when he continued to search for Republican support on issues like the economic stimulus and health care by trimming his sails, negotiating with himself and putting forth weakened legislation that was ultimately rejected by the vast majority of Republicans anyway. The challenge of getting Manchin to support the party's legislative objectives will fall largely on Biden's shoulders. Among the most daunting tasks for any President is to use the leverage of the White House to persuade hesitant senators to stake out positions that are good for the health of the nation and the party -- even if it subjects them to political risk. Manchin needs to understand that part of the responsibility of great leaders is to guide their constituents toward important goals and not just follow their existing preferences. Some of the legislators we remember best are those who took bold stands and used their power to persuade constituents that their decision was the right one. Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, a conservative Republican from Illinois, helped provide the votes necessary to end the weeks-long filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making a moral case that the time had come for the legislation. Manchin can't force the Democrats to make decisions based on illusory goals of bipartisanship with a Republican Party that shows little sign it is willing to compromise or engage in meaningful negotiation. How can Biden achieve a bipartisan agreement on voting reform, as Manchin suggests in his piece, with an opposition party that still clings to the false claim that there was massive voting fraud in the 2020 presidential election? The idea that Biden should include Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in legislative negotiations and that Democrats should substantially redesign bills around GOP demands is simply foolhardy. Biden seems to have learned this lesson as vice president, which is likely why he agreed to use the reconciliation process to ensure the country would get the Covid-19 relief package it needed. If the President listens to Manchin, he risks angering a huge portion of the electorate, all for the sake of the elusive possibility of winning over Republicans who have little reason to cross party lines. Trying to win bipartisan support also means putting forth legislation that would fail to meet the moment and provide Americans with what they need. For too long, Congress has failed to take decisive action on climate change, gun control and voting rights; these are not radical demands but issues that enjoy broad support. If Biden tries to appease Manchin, he could easily end up with few substantive accomplishments to speak of. When voters sit down to make their decisions in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election, they will be asking what Biden did for the country -- not what he did to try to win Senate Republican votes. If Manchin insists on withholding his vote for the sake of bipartisanship, then Biden and the Democrats must focus on exerting pressure back on Manchin -- either with the threat of a primary challenge or incessant grassroots opposition -- to prompt him to think differently about what the "safest" political path might be. Manchin must also remember that his position of power is not simply the product of his personal success in West Virginia -- it is built on the accomplishments of the Democratic Party, which worked hard to regain its standing during the Obama years. Elected in 2010, Manchin benefited from the hard work that Democrats undertook to strengthen the party and build a platform around the promise of finally addressing issues that have languished for years. If Manchin decides to stifle that progress, he will inevitably hurt the standing of the party he has benefited from in his rise to power. He will make it impossible for Democrats to deliver on their promises at a time when they control both the legislative and executive branches of government. If the party leadership turns on Manchin for obstructing their progress, he should remember that they too have the ability to squeeze his influence. One of the lessons Democrats often forget is that political parties must act from a position of strength. The most effective Presidents are those who put forth bold policy ideas and follow through by translating those ideas into law. Doing so requires taking political risks and embracing the challenges of political leadership, which often means persuading supporters to get on board rather than simply doing what is safe. As Democrats tackle voting rights and infrastructure, they face a critical turning point -- with Manchin posing a huge political hurdle. Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must remember that their party is bigger than one lone senator. The odds are Democrats will face dire outcomes in the 2022 midterm elections; their best bet going forward is to put together a robust legislative record that tackles the pandemic and makes a tangible difference in people's lives. Protecting the filibuster won't matter much when state-level voting restrictions could undercut Democratic votes and hand Republican victories. At a minimum, Democrats need to pressure Manchin into supporting a carve-out of the filibuster to grant an exception for the voting rights bill, as Georgia's 2018 gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has suggested. The clock is ticking. Democrats need to solve their Manchin problem before it's too late. Aichi prefecture in central Japan seems to be a hot spot for weird criminal activity these days, between people selling modified Pokemon from a hacked game, stealing piano covers from schools, and slashing womens car tires. And now we can add one more crime to the list: theft of womens shoes, and replacing them with brand new ones. 33-year-old Hiroaki Katsu, an office worker from Nagakute City in Aichi, was arrested on the theft charges. According to investigators, the man had about 20 pairs of womens shoes in his house, ranging in style from boots to loafers, flats, and pumps. The arrest came after Katsu was discovered to be the culprit that swapped out a pair of shoes valued at about 5,000 yen (US$45.53) from a 23-year-old female instructor at a music school in Nagoya. The incident occurred at about 10:50 a.m. on January 30, but the instructor only noticed something strange when she put her shoes on before heading home (its not unusual for people in Japan to change into slippers while at their workplace). The shoes she had worn to work were thoroughly broken in, so she thought it was strange that at the end of the day her shoes looked and felt like new. The woman contacted the police, suspecting that her shoes had been switched out. After an investigation led them to Katsu, police arrested the man on April 6, whereupon he confessed to the crime. Its not a mistake, he told authorities. Katsu and the instructor had never actually met before he stole her shoes. Though he was initially arrested for the theft of one womans shoes, he was found with a collection of shoes that seemed to belong to several different women. When asked, he confessed to stealing those shoes, too. I wanted to smell the scent of womens shoes, he admitted. Police consider the crimes to be premeditated, as Katsu had taken care to replace each pair of shoes with a brand new pair in the same brand, style, size, and color. They are currently investigating whether additional charges should be placed against him. - soranews24.com Victoria has reported its first positive coronavirus test since the state resumed its hotel quarantine system - putting its new procedures to the test following its most recent breakdown. The program was suspended in early February after an outbreak at the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn, but resumed on Thursday as the state re-opened borders to returning overseas Australians. On Saturday morning, the Victorian Health Department said they had reported one new case overnight. 'Yesterday there was one new case reported. The case was acquired overseas and is in hotel quarantine,' the department tweeted on Saturday. Victoria has reported its first positive coronavirus test since the state resumed its hotel quarantine system The state had a five-day lockdown in February after an outbreak at the Holiday Inn The new case is the first in Victoria since March 29 and there has been no community transmissions in 42 days. The state has been the hardest hit by the pandemic, registering 20,484 of the country's 29,390 total cases and 820 of its 909 deaths. Victorians were locked down for 112 consecutive days in the second half of 2020 after a mass outbreak brought the Melbourne to its knees. They faced another five-day lockdown in February following the Holiday Inn leak. The new case is the first Victoria has seen since March 29 and have had no community transmissions in 42 days Covid-19 Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar said the new system is 'as safe as can be' but admitted it would be reviewed on a daily basis to ensure there was not a repeat scenario. 'We have done everything we can to make this as safe as we can, and will continue to ensure that the program keeps ahead of this virus,' Ms Cassar said on Wednesday. 'It isn't a risk-proof program, we've been clear on that, but what we can do is ensure that we are... looking at the research and looking at what else we can do or other control measures that we need to put in place.' More than 100 travellers landed in Melbourne on Thursday, with police saying they had inspected every room to ensure it was secure. SBC officer criticizes pastor for praising wifes preaching Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Rod D. Martin, founder and CEO of The Martin Organization and an officer of the Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee, has come under fire for criticizing Arizona Pastor Josh King for praising his wifes ministry online. King, who leads the Second Baptist Church in Conway, Arkansas, and his wife, Bible teacher Jacki C King, are both graduates of Criswell College, a Christian liberal arts college and divinity school in Dallas, Texas. Both are also students at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary led by President Adam W. Greenway. Martin, according to data on his company website, serves on the boards of several charitable and educational institutions, including the Board of Trustees at Criswell College. He also serves on the Board of Advisors of the Liberty University School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Truett-McConnell University, the Board of Governors at Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership, and the State Board of Missions of the Florida Baptist Convention. In a tweet on Monday, Josh King shared a screenshot of his wifes ministry as a Bible teacher and keynote speaker, noting that she delivers: Solid. Biblical. Preaching. Jacki King's ministry appears to be similar to the ministry of Bible teacher Beth Moore who recently announced her departure from the Southern Baptist denomination. Reacting to Josh Kings promotion of his wifes ministry, Martin presented it as problematic for a Southern Baptist minister. In case you were wondering why some of the Conservative @BaptistNetwork's most vociferous opponents are so vocal. She also preached @CriswellCollege's chapel service. When asked, the college denied it was preaching. But just as here, her pastor husband boasted of it, Martin wrote in a statement on Twitter. In case you were wondering why some of the Conservative @BaptistNetwork's most vociferous opponents are so vocal. She also preached @CriswellCollege's chapel service. When asked, the college denied it was "preaching". But just as here, her pastor husband boasted of it. https://t.co/BvxNcwVQuL Rod D. Martin (@RodDMartin) April 6, 2021 Outspoken Southern Baptist Pastor Dwight McKissic, who founded and leads Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, quickly made it clear that he didnt see a problem with Kings support of his wife or her ministry. Grateful for Criswell College & their ministry consistent with Mrs. Criswell teaching a coed Bible class of 600 adults. Cornerstone Church will mail Criswell College a generous gift this week in honor of their support for people of color & women; historically marginalized groups, McKissic replied to Martin. Greenway, who recently defended the SBC Council of Seminary Presidents controversial statement on critical race theory and intersectionality, also appeared to disagree with Martins reaction to King. Southern Baptists will truly live up to our moniker as Great Commission Baptists when the outrage expressed toward the men of our tribe who never preach the Gospel (cf. Romans 10:14-17) exceeds the outrage expressed toward the women of our tribe who actually do, he tweeted. The Christian Post reached out to SWBTS for further comment on Thursday, but Greenway was not immediately available to provide further thoughts on the issue. Greenway did note in another tweet on Tuesday that SWBTS was the first seminary to grant degrees to women in 1914 and is the home of the oldest building continually operated for the theological education of females, Barnard Hall. A Vote banner hangs at an Amazon fulfillment center early on March 27, 2021, in Bessemer, Alabama. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images A first-of-its-kind vote to unionize an Amazon warehouse has failed. On Friday, the company defeated an effort from the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union to organize thousands of workers at its fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama. The final tally was 1,798 No votes for Amazon, 738 for the union, and 505 ballots challenged by Amazon that were not counted. But the story isnt over. The results have not been certified after the union immediately filed an objection to the National Labor Relations Board that oversaw the election, arguing that Amazon violated labor law in the weeks leading up to the vote. It says it will also present evidence to the NLRBs regional director to support whats called an unfair labor practice complaint for unlawfully interfering with the protected right of employees to engage in union activity. If the NLRB agrees with the union, it may set aside Fridays result, which would allow for a new election. Amazon has left no stone unturned in its efforts to gaslight its own employees. We wont let Amazons lies, deception, and illegal activities go unchallenged, which is why we are formally filing charges against all of the egregious and blatantly illegal actions taken by Amazon during the union vote, said Stuart Appelbaum, the unions president, adding that Amazons behavior during the election cannot be ignored and our union will seek remedy to each and every improper action Amazon took. The Bessemer campaign attracted an unusual degree of attention. Thats due in part to the parties involved Amazon is one of the most easily recognized corporate brand names in the world and to the support the union drew. In late February, President Joe Biden released a video telling Bessemer workers that they had a legal right to organize. Bidens message stoked national interest in the election, as did Amazons anti-union tactics. Amazon asked the NLRB to force workers to vote in person, despite the pandemic, but the NLRB rejected the request. During the vote count, Amazon challenged around 500 ballots, most of them likely Yes votes, according to Reuters, though this number isnt enough to change Fridays result on its own. Amazon also applied enormous pressure to workers. The company flyered warehouse bathrooms with anti-union material; workers received multiple emails and texts a day urging them to vote No. Darryl Richardson, a worker who supported a union, previously told Intelligencer that Amazon flew in managers from out of town to walk around talking to employees about why we dont need the union. On Twitter, Representative Andy Levin of Michigan, a Democrat, said that the goal of companies like Amazon is to create so much pressure, anxiety and fearand to make workers feel that the pressure will never go away as long as the union is around that workers feel they have no choice but to vote NO, like someone crying uncle when they have been threatened relentlessly for days, weeks and months. Amazons methods may threaten its victory. The Washington Post reported earlier on Thursday that Amazon pressured the U.S. Postal Service into installing a mailbox outside the Bessemer facility. The NLRB had previously rejected a request from Amazon to place mailboxes in the facility for in-person voting on the basis that doing so would appear to allow Amazon to surveil and potentially retaliate against workers. Even though the NLRB definitively denied Amazons request for a drop box on the warehouse property, Amazon felt it was above the law and worked with the postal service anyway to install one, Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, told the Post. Amazon also urged workers to use the mailbox by the first of March weeks before voting was scheduled to conclude. As the Post observed, Amazon defended the mailbox as a way to make it convenient, safe, and private for our employees to vote on their way to and from work if they choose to. Other tactics might not violate the law as it stands, however and advocates for labor say thats a problem. The PRO Act, which recently passed the House for a second time, would have restrained Amazons hand. Ryan Kekeris, an organizer with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, said that had the PRO Act been law, the election in Bessemer would have been nearly unrecognizable. Amazon wouldnt have had standing to change the proposed bargaining size, Kekeris added, which means that the union would have retained an initially proposed bargaining unit of about 1,500 workers instead of the nearly 5,000 that Amazon lobbied for. Amazon also wouldnt have been able to subject workers to captive audience meetings, during which the company presented anti-union material, and would have had to disclose the identities of anti-union consultants and lawyers it hired. And the infamous mailbox likely would have triggered PRO Acts card-check provision, he said, which would have allowed the union to submit a simple majority of signed cards to the NLRB without an election. Had that occurred, Kekeris believes, the workers would likely have already had a union at this point, and Amazon would be compelled to bargain under PROs first-contract provision. Though the loss is a blow for RWDSU, Fridays outcome is not the end. Beyond the challenging of the vote, other warehouses may also still seek to unionize; Bessemer is likely the first salvo in a longer war. As Amazon has spread throughout the country, so too has worker discontent. Amazon workers in Chicago organized a walkout on Wednesday, interrupting a 1:20 to 11:15 a.m. megacycle shift demanding an extra $2 per hour for the night shift and that the company respect their full 20-minute break. During the pandemic, workers in Chicago, New York City, Minneapolis, and elsewhere staged protests and walkouts decrying what they described as a high risk of COVID infection inside the companys warehouses. Amazon itself remains a tempting target for unions like RWDSU, who view the companys labor practices as an imminent danger to workers. Amazon has grown so large and so wealthy that any coordinated effort to unionize its warehouses nationwide may take years to win. This is a long fight. Friday was just one battle in it. Yangon: More than 10,000 Rohingya have massed near a crossing point with Bangladesh, Myanmar media said on Tuesday, as an exodus continues to swell with food supplies low and hostility towards them surging. The ongoing flight, that has already seen over 500,000 Rohingya enter Bangladesh since last month, casts doubt on the practicality of a Myanmar proposal aired on Monday to begin repatriation of the Muslim minority. Rakhine state has been emptied of half of its Rohingya population in weeks, and more are on the move as insecurity presses them to leave villages which have so far been spared the worst of the communal violence to rip through the state. Over 10,000 Muslims are arriving at the western grove between Letphwekya and Kwunthpin village to emigrate to the neighbouring country, the state-backed Global new Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday. Myanmars government refuses to recognise the Rohingya as a distinct ethnic group, instead calling them Muslims or Bengaliscode for illegal migrants. Read | Rohingya dispute: Bangladesh FM says Myanmar 'makes proposal' to take back refugees Authorities have tried to reassure fleeing Rohingya that they are now safe in Rakhine, the report added, but they want to leave of their own accord. Villagers are running short on food, while fear in ethnic Rakhine-majority areas has been kindled by the violence and reports of death threats by their Buddhist neighbours. In some villages they are scared to pass by Rakhine villages, said Chris Lewa, from Rohingya advocacy group the Arakan project, told AFP. On occasions when the Rohingya village chief decides to leave, the whole hamlet will follow, emptying a village in just a few hours. On Monday, Myanmars Minister of the Office of State Counselor, Kyaw Tint Swe, told Bangladesh his country was ready to return refugees subject to a verification process agreed in the early 1990s by the neighbours. Under that agreement nearly a quarter of a million Rohingya were repatriated from Bangladesh to Myanmar between the early 1990s and 2005, he explained. But refugees and rights groups say the verification process relies on documents most Rohingya do not have. Read | MEA says India is focusing on providing humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh The refugees also are also deeply fearful of what awaits back in Myanmar, with many recounting stories of rape, murder and arson. Inside Rakhine, conditions are deteriorating for those left behind. UN officials toured a conflict-hit portion of the state on Monday, noting the unimaginable scale of suffering. An EU delegation accompanying them on the government-steered day trip urged for an end to the violence after seeing villages burned to the ground and emptied of inhabitants. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Click here to read the full article. David Finchers Mank looks to be the frontrunner in the production design Oscar race. Production designer Donald Graham Burt and set designer Jan Pascale have each scored one previous nomination in this category. Burt won for 2008s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. However, Mank goes up against Christopher Nolans Tenet, for which production designer Nathan Crowley earned an Oscar nomination. Nolan is renowned for his in-camera effects and did not want to fake the thrilling action here. He pulled out all the stops, as did Crowley. Will the members of this branch favor the lavish sets of Old Hollywood, or will Crowley triumph for the grand vision of Tenet? The other contenders opt for simplicity in detail, but tell an important story The Fathers sets were integral to the storytelling surrounding the main character, a dementia patient who grapples with what is real, what isnt? It was up to the viewer to solve that puzzle with slight shifts distorting perception. Winner prediction: Mank Look out for: Tenet The Father Production design: Peter Francis; set decoration: Cathy Featherstone The key to The Fathers production design was the hallway. It was a labyrinth that connected the rooms. When you design a set, you want depth and something in the background to tell the story, says Francis. That corridor became even more important than wed anticipated. It links the various rooms, with the room of Anthony [the dementia patient played by Anthony Hopkins], significantly, at the end of the long hallway. Changes were made to subtly reflect dementia. Anthonys flat is dominated by ocher; [his daughter] Annes is a dusty blue-gray, but the colors subtly shift. So does the furniture. Francis points out that the armchairs in Anthonys living room show up in a different room in Annes. Ma Raineys Black Bottom Production design: Mark Ricker; set decoration: Karen OHara and Diana Stoughton Within the first 10 minutes, we pretty much see the bulk of everything that we did in the film, says Ricker. From the vaudeville tent where we first see Ma Rainey perform in front of a crowd, the film shifts to her band members getting off Chicagos L before moving to the studio where the men are preparing to record. Ricker researched photography and paintings, but one, in particular, depicting Chicago in 1906 from the New York Public Library, stood out. He had a visceral reaction to it and it became the touchstone for the films color palette. There was a cohesiveness to the colors and we kept the whole film to that, he says. Mank Production design: Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Jan Pascale Burt utilized locations around California, finding spaces that would help re-create 1930s Hollywood. Louis B. Mayers birthday party scene and the dinner finale at William Randolph Hearsts grand home, San Simeon, he says, were shot on the same stage. We built that set. We converted that set by switching out fireplaces, changing the paneling, by adding columns to the passageways. We added Gothic tracery to the doorways by changing doors so it could function for both scenes. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Russian President sent a message to II to express his "deep condolences" on the death of her husband, "Many important events in the modern history of your country are associated with the name of His Royal Highness. He rightfully enjoyed respect among the British and authority," Putin said in the message sent on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian leader wished II courage and mental fortitude, and also extended sincere sympathy to all members of the royal family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace announced earlier. --IANS int/ (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.) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Injection pen is an automated injection device which has an insulin cartridge, a dial to measure dosage and a disposable needle inside used for the delivery of parenteral syringe-based delivery of drugs. It is used mainly by patients with diabetes to inject insulin in a more simple, accurate and convenient way. Demand Scenario The global injection pen market was USD 34.06 billion in 2018 and is estimated to reach USD 55.49 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 7.22% during the forecast period Click Here to Get Sample Premium Report @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3930 Growth by Region North America holds the largest market share due to the rising prevalence of diabetes, favorable reimbursement scenario as well as increasing number of awareness programs in the region. On the other hand, the Asia-Pacific region will be the fastest growing region during the forecast period owing to better access to health care along with steadily increasing healthcare expenditure. China is considered to be one of the lucrative markets in the region due to the availability of raw materials and labor at significantly lower prices when compared to other regions. Drivers vs Constraints The market is mainly driven by rising incidences of diseases like diabetes and arthritis along with an increase in governmental healthcare expenditure and also favorable healthcare insurance policies in developed as well as developing countries. However, the global injection pen market is curbed by the preference of alternative drug delivery modes coupled with poor reimbursement scenario in developing countries. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/3930/Single Industry Trends and Updates Novo Nordisk A/S, a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company with more than 90 years of innovation along with leadership in diabetes care had announced a complete acquisition of Ziylo, which is a University of Bristol spin-out company for USD 800 million. This acquisition enables Novo Nordisk full rights to the companys glucose binding molecule technology which allows them to develop glucose-responsive insulins. Sanofi, a French multinational company invests USD 433 million with plans to build a new manufacturing plant for vaccines at its Sanofi Pasteur Canadian located in Toronto. This investment will expand its footprint in Canada to raise the production of its five component acellular pertussis antigen. Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/3930 Our son was around 2 years old when my husband and I started noticing that our vibrant, silly little boy was different. He still wasnt talking much and his expressive language had plateaued or regressed. His fine-motor skills were delayed. He had a lot of repetitive behaviors. Sometimes he wouldnt react or respond when you called his name. Weve since put all our effort into putting him on the path to success and happiness whatever that means for him. Its been both overwhelming and rewarding. Hes blossoming in speech and occupational therapies and attends an ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) school in Sugar Land (after a disappointing experience with Houston ISD). He and I have spent a lot more time together during the pandemic, time that has taught me a lot more patience and a quirky, more attentive way of looking at the world around me. Its not easy. Sometimes, he has fits of frustration and consequent meltdowns that stem from not yet being able to clearly communicate what he wants or not fully understanding what we want from him. Sometimes he gets overwhelmed when confronted with crowds or an otherwise mundane surprise like the car not being parked in the usual spot to pick him up, or a quick stop at the grocery store instead of going straight home. Still, I wouldnt trade him for anyone. He has an uncanny ear for harmonies and percussion and a unusual eye for shapes, patterns and light refractions. His favorite movie is Monsters Inc., and Golden Girls and Bobs Burgers will stop him in his tracks, drawing slack-jawed attention and squeals of laughter. He loves Bob Marley (perhaps his Caribbean roots), some electronic rock and lo-fi sounds (thats his dad), a random mix that includes Paul Simon, Selena, Erykah Badu and Missy Elliot (thats all me), and the mariachi-themed Disney intro to Coco. Hes really getting into coding. He is not at all into fruits, vegetables or anything with a fibrous texture. He loves kisses and snuggles, his favorite thing being to squeeze between me and his dad and plop his curly- and kinky-headed mass on one of us and a sprawling, skinny leg on the other. But, sometimes, he doesnt like snuggles at all and prefers the solitude of the outdoors, sitting on the highest step of the ladder that well allow, closing his eyes and turning his face up to the breeze and sunlight. Without even a glance, hell tell the vigilant lurker at the patio door: Im OK, Mommy. And I want that moment frozen in time, that hes OK. Because one day hell grow up into a man a Black man and possibly be misunderstood or, at worst, be perceived as a threat. More than anything, he is why I believe in police reform. Defund the police is an ill-conceived slogan, but the core tenets are crucial: reallocating funding and resources used for policing into other specialized social services that address mental health and disability issues, sex work, addiction and homelessness. We ask too much of our men and women in blue they must be enforcers and empaths, therapists and protectors, often with little training, less pay and understaffing, even as crime rates rise in Houston and across the nation. Its a recipe rife for missteps and abuses of the law which are acutely felt in communities of color. Sure, there are bad cops. There are also a lot of good cops. But both are working within a terribly inadequate system that is ill-equipped to serve an increasingly diverse, and neurodiverse, populace. I worry about a future in which my sons social awkwardness or frustration is interpreted as threatening or aggressive, or his sensory aversions as non-compliance. I wont always be able to pretend Im not checking on him through cracked patio doors. So while Mayor Sylvester Turner and his team debate policing policies and other lawmakers and activists call for reforms, there are many like me who cant afford for change to fall through the cracks. We need more awareness, better training and qualified solutions from our law enforcement. From our neighbors, we need understanding and acceptance. That way, Mommy will be OK, too. Clay is a copy editor and the HouWeAre newsletter editor at the Houston Chronicle. Senior citizens and other immune-compromised patients must not be called to hospitals for counselling for fear of them contracting virus in the air. DC file photo HYDERABAD: Patients who clear the Covid-19 test before going for elective surgeries for kidney, liver and cardiac diseases are ending up testing positive in post-operative wards. Their testing positive post surgery is being attributed to their lungs having the typical scarring of Covid-19. A senior doctor of a private hospital, on condition of anonymity, said, they had had 10 such patients. In three of these cases, the patients lungs turned out to be fully white, which means they were filled with virus. This is worrisome," the doctor said. Similar cases are being reported from other hospitals too. There is suspicion that this could be hospital-acquired Covid-19. This is because patients, especially in-patients, are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 that is in the hospital for more than two hours, according to a study carried out by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). While both government and private hospitals have separate pathways for Covid-19 patients, it is worrisome that other patients end up contracting the virus. A senior infection control specialist, who chose to remain anonymous, said, "These cases are being noted despite our infection control protocols, as the virus movement in the hospital air is high. The other alternative could be that the number of asymptomatic carriers in the public is very high. Contacts of healthcare workers, patient caregivers and family members interact with society, leading to transmission and movement of virus. As immune-compromised are susceptible to virus, they are acquiring it." Hospitals are finding it difficult to explain this challenge to patients who pick up the infection post surgery. Elective surgeries are finalised on various parameters, including when mere medication is no more effective. Patients have no option but opt for surgery. "Separate pathways in hospitals require extensive care and extremely strong protocols, which healthcare workers have to follow. In the second Coronavirus wave, it is estimated that every fourth person is a carrier of virus. We are approaching a peak. During this time, it is better that patients put off their surgery in case it is not required urgently," a senior doctor said. Similarly, senior citizens and other immune-compromised patients must not be called to hospitals for counselling for fear of them contracting virus in the air. They must be provided online consultation for some time to come. Dr Mustufa Afzal, senior infectious disease specialist at Care Hospitals, said, "In the second wave, those with comorbid conditions are getting serious within 12 to 24 hours. The spike of virus within the body is immediate, and double mutant is a cause for concern." Dr Ashih Chauhan, senior general physician, said, "Many patients are insisting on hospital admissions when it is not necessary. Trusting your family physician and opting for online consultation is the best way to protect oneself from variants of the virus. Patients panicking only aggravate their situation, as their basic parameters of blood pressures and sugars heighten in such circumstances." Smallholders suffer from low marketable surplus, poor holding capacity, low bargaining power and huge transaction cost in marketing their produce. Agricultural markets in India have been subject to reform processes with the stated intention of improving market access and participation for the primary producers. The three legislations introduced in 2020 are the latest in that direction. This article critically analyses market reforms in India with respect to smallholders bargaining position. It also provides insights on the ways and means to improve market participation and the bargaining position of smallholders. Agriculture in developing countries is characterised by the predominance of smallholders, and India is no exception. Small and marginal holdings account for 86.08% of the total operational holdings and 46.94% of the total operated area in the country (GoI 2019a). The data on ownership holding for the country also reflects this, with 85.41% of total ownership holding under marginal and small category covering about 53.28% of the total area owned (NSSO 2013). The 126 million marginal and small famers, operating on an average size of holding of 0.6 hectares (ha), accounts for roughly about 40% of the total marketable surplus (GoI 2017). The earnings of a farmer are determined by the first point of sale. The traditional marketing channels in India are state, cooperative and private trade. The total number of agricultural markets in India is 28,994, comprising 7,190 regulated markets and 22,505 rural primary markets (GoI 2011). The regulated agricultural markets cater to about two-fifths of the marketed farm produce. Pattern of market access across major crops shows small and marginal farmers to have poor access to regulated markets (Sharma and Wardhan 2015). The low market density resulting in highly fragmented markets for agricultural commodities is a major constraining factor. The development of market infrastructure in the country has not been in tandem with the demand for markets. The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) of 2004 had recommended availability of regulated markets within a radius of 5 kilometre (km), with an average coverage area of 80 square kilometre (sq km). The current coverage of regulated markets ranges from 114 sq km in Chandigarh to 11,215 sq km in Meghalaya, with an all-India average of 496 sq km (GoI 2019b). To meet the NCF standards, the country would need 41,000 regulated markets compared to the current 7,190. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 10, 2021 Cocaine Discovered By Some Residents Of Fish Town, Maryland County It is a little over two months since local Ghanaian fishermen resident in the seaside town of Fish Town in Maryland County went on their usual fishing expedition. Unsuspectingly, the Ghanaian fishermen discovered some enclosed floating boxes or packages. In addition to their limited catch of fish at sea, they returned ashore with a couple of the unknown packages. At the close of every fishing expedition, local fish traders from Harper and Pleebo would be along the beaches to buy fish for the local markets in Pleebo or Harper respectively. Astonished at the unusual packages that were spotted onboard the Ghanaian fishermens boat, curiosity struck traders and onlookers as it were. When the Ghanaian fishermen were questioned as to the content, they narrated the find was seen floating on the high sea and they made the decision to bring the packages onshore despite having absolutely no knowledge of their contents. Whispers and murmurs started to occasion the beach as more onlookers showed up. The Ghanaian fishermen who later fled Fish Town, according to eyewitnesses offered gifts to the local Chief of Fish Town as well as his councilmen. In effect, the Town Chief was compromised with a stash of cocaine. When fish traders and a host of others reached Harper and Pleebo, the news about the cocaine finds immediately attracted the attention of the local Drug Enforcement Agency in Harper City. Without any search warrant, the DEA agents descended on Fish Town. The home of the Town Chief, Wla-Nyemah Mack, was ransacked by the DEA agents and officers of the local Police Detachment. Scores of local journalists based in Maryland County who spoke on condition of anonymity said they could not break the story for fear of their lives. News of the cocaine find spread like wildfire and coincided with President George Manneh Weahs recent visit to the region. The finds are dangerous to the health of the children and people of Liberia. But, strangely, the cocaine fiasco is treated mutely. According to one highly placed source, Police 102, Prince Mulbah arrested and detained a local police officer in Harper after an alleged Nigerian drug peddler complained to 102 that the officer (name withheld) sold a fake drug (Cocaine) to him, especially at a time when the news about the Fish Town cocaine find was widely circulated. Our very reliable revealed officers of the local Drug Enforcement Agency assigned to the country, who could not afford to buy a bicycle are now seen with brand Apache and CVS motorcycles, the latest smartphones; while some are now acquiring parcels of land let alone openly indicating their possible exit from the DEA to venture into the private sector. The latest dramatic twist raises serious eyebrows as to the alleged complicity and duplicity of law enforcement in aiding and abetting the sale and distribution of contrabands. Questions lingering on the minds of many Liberians particularly those in Maryland are why didnt the DEA burn the cache of cocaine as is customarily done by the agency; and why didnt the DEA obtain a search and seizure warrant prior to ransacking the home of Town Chief, Wla-Nyemah Mack. The quasi dawn raid on the home of Town Chief Wla-Nyemah Mack was led by Joseph Tageddine; DEA Commissioner for Maryland County, along with Robin Boakai, Deputy DEA Commander, and Jacob Commehn, County Commander, Liberia National Police. Doses of vaccines rejected as countries tune their inoculation campaigns will go to poor countries where possible to counter a shocking imbalance in distribution, international health officials said on Friday. Australia has become the latest nation, alongside Greece, to recommend alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine for younger people due to the possibility of rare blood clots. European authorities reported 169 cases of a rare blood disorder among the tens of millions of people given the AstraZeneca vaccine. Credit:AP Australias decision in effect put paid to plans to vaccinate the entire nation by the end of October, highlighting a delicate public-health balancing act. Giving alternative vaccines to younger recipients will delay Australias inoculation campaigns by about a month, according to London-based science information and analytics company Airfinity. Taste of Thai will reopen this week after relocating from the former spot at the gas station off exit 3 to Black Mountain Square. The food truck is hoping to be open to the public on Thursday. A 12-year-old girl who entered the world as a healthy baby is just one of 120 people in the world and the only Australian to suffer from an ultra-rare fatal disorder. Trisha Sawhney was diagnosed with Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) when she was five years old after her parents Vandana and Neeraj Sawhney noticed she was struggling to keep up with other kids her age. Symptoms of the genetic neuro-degenerative disease typically come on from about two or three years old and can be mistaken for autism. 'Trisha was our first child, when she was born she was basically a normal child. All her check ups were fine,' Mr Sawhney told Daily Mail Australia. Trisha Sawhney was diagnosed with Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) when she was five years. She was an otherwise 'healthy' baby Trisha is pictured with her parents Vandana Sawhney and Neeraj Sawhney and their other daughter Samika But the couple began to notice something was off when Trisha was 15 months old - and her differences became even more obvious when she started kindergarten. Unlike other children her age, Trisha struggled to remember nursery rhymes and could not write her own name. The parents went back-and-forth with their doctor and thought maybe Trisha was simply 'taking her own time'. Their pediatrician then diagnosed Trisha with AGU and sent the family on to the Children's Hospital, admitting that they were not even aware of the condition. 'Their [the children's hospital's] reaction was ''there was nothing we can do'', ''there is no cure in this world'',' Mr Sawhney said. 'We were devastated.' Mr Sawhney said his wife has not been able to go back to work after giving birth to their second daughter Samika due to Trisha's disorder. The Melbourne couple then began their 'long journey', which has been both financially and emotionally draining, in the years that followed to seek answers for their daughter. Trisha's parents became worried when she was in kindergarten and she struggled to remember nursery rhymes and could not write her own name They contacted researchers and spoke with families of other children who have the same condition as Trisha. 'It's so ultra-rare there are only about 120 cases in the world,' Mr Sawhney said. 'Most of the kids around the world don't get detected that early, most of the kids are treated for autism for most of their lives.' They suspect Trisha is the only child in Australia with the disease. The Sawhney family, along with eight other families from around the world, are now on a mission to raise money for a clinical trial - which could change Trisha's life forever. 'We're really positive, the families currently involved, if we give these kids a chance, they might have a good life,' Mr Sawhney said. They need US$2million to produce the necessary medicine for the clinical trial at a university hospital in the United States. Trisha is suspected to be the only person in Australia with Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) 'The goal of this GoFundMe is to collectively help raise the $2million with other fundraising efforts,' the Australian fundraising page reads. 'We are making joint efforts with eight families around the globe, including GoFundMe campaigns in the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, and France. 'Additional funds collection will be needed later to pay for hospital expenses during the clinical trials. Which could be an additional US$2million.' The disorder is caused by mutations in the AGA gene, which causes proteins to accumulate in the brain, disrupting the functions of the cells. The life expectancy is between 35 and 50. 'If you look at her [Trisha] right now, she's a happy go lucky child,' Mr Sawhney said. Symptoms of the genetic neuro-degenerative disease typically come on from about two or three years old and can be mistaken for autism. Trisha is pictured However, she continues to struggle intellectually. Trisha is in Year 7 now but is working at the level of a Year 2 student. She was put into a special needs school this year. The 12-year-old has also developed scoliosis. Mr Sawhney said research on the condition was lacking due to limited funding. 'Big pharmaceuticals don't want to come forward cause it's not financially viable,' he said. 'Trisha is the only known child in Australia. All the funds we are collecting are going to the US. We are by ourselves in Australia really.' To help Trisha and her family, you can donate here. According to the CISF, the mob of around 150 first manhandled the polling staff at the booth The CISF booth commander tried to pacify the miscreants but the mob entered the polling booth and beat up the other polling staff on duty. PTI file photo Kolkata: The fourth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal witnessed unprecedented bloodbath on Saturday when the Central paramilitary forces gunned down four Trinamul Congress workers during an attack on a polling booth while ruling party workers allegedly shot dead a first-time voter outside a booth during a clash. Both incidents took place in Cooch Behar of North Bengal, the BJPs stronghold. The Election Commission said that the CISF had to fire in order to save lives of voters who came to vote, put in place certain restrictions, including extending the "silence period" from 48 hours to 72 hours for the fifth phase of polling West Bengal. It also barred the entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for the next 72 hours to prevent any possible law and order flare-up. The shocking incident took place at around 10.30 am when a group of TMC workers stormed a polling booth (No. 126) at Amtali Madhyamik Shiksha Kendra in Shitalkuchi Assembly constituency. Facing their attack, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) troopers, who were guarding the booth, fired on the mob and shot dead four persons Hamidul Haque, Monirul Haque, Samiul Mian and Amjad Hossain while injuring three others. According to the CISF, the mob of around 150 first manhandled the polling staff at the booth. Sources said they were not armed, but some were carrying bamboo sticks. "The CISF booth commander tried to pacify the miscreants but the mob entered the polling booth and beat up the other polling staff on duty. Few miscreants tried to snatch the weapons of CISF personnel deployed there. As a result, CISF personnel fired two rounds in the air but the mob did not pay any heed to the warning. In the meantime, a quick response team of the CISF and police also reached the spot. The mob further started advancing aggressively towards CISF personnel. Therefore, sensing imminent danger to their life, they fired seven more rounds towards the advancing mob of miscreants. While the above incident was going on, more police parties also arrived at the booth. It is reported that in self-defence they have also fired a few rounds," the CISF said. Polling was stopped immediately by the EC. The CISF's justification of "self-defence" was supported by the district police and administration in its preliminary report to the EC which, issuing the CISF a clean chit later, said, "Recourse to open fire by CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save lives of voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel and their own lives as mob had attempted to snatch their weapons." The TMC, however, described the shooting as cold-blooded murder" of its workers in its complaint to Chief Electoral Officer West Bengal Ariz Aftab. Spewing venom against the Central forces and Union home minister Amit Shah, an angry chief minister flew to Siliguri and announced that the Criminal Investigation Department would probe the killings. The TMC chief is likely to visit the kin of the deceased on Sunday though the EC has banned the entry of any politician of any level in Shitalkuchi. The tragic incident follows party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee's recent statements that the Central forces were acting in a biased manner at the behest of the BJP and asking voters to gherao them. On Saturday, her party landed in the dock after its workers shot dead a first-time voter, Ananda Burman (18), in the same district. The teenaged boy was standing in a queue outside a polling booth (No. 285) at Pathantuli Shalbari area when a scuffle broke out between TMC and BJP workers. Another person, close to him, also suffered bullet injuries. Despite the poll-violence, the 44 seats spread across five districts of West Bengal recorded a voters' turnout of 76.16 per cent on average till 5 pm. While Cooch Behar saw 79.73 per cent polling in nine seats, the figure stood at 73.65 per cent in five of Alipurduar seats, 75.49 per cent in 11 seats of South 24 Parganas, 75.03 per cent in nine seats in Howrah and 76.02 per cent in 10 Hooghly seats. Updated data is expected from the Election Commission on Sunday. Among the 11 seats in South 24 Parganas, five -- Jadavpur, Kasba, Tollygunge, Behala East and Behala West -- are actually located in Kolkata. The Election Commissions order said that in Cooch Behar, comprising nine Assembly constituencies where voting got over on Saturday, no political leader from any national, state or other party should be allowed to enter the geographical boundaries of the district for the next 72 hours. "The Election Commission of India further directs that the silence period for phase 5 (i.e. for polls scheduled on April 17) shall be extended to 72 hours and no campaigning shall be permitted during 72 hours before the close of the poll in order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections," an EC order said. The silence period is generally for 48 hours. KYODO NEWS - Apr 10, 2021 - 22:11 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Osaka Prefecture confirmed a daily record of 918 coronavirus infections Saturday, the prefectural government said, as Japanese authorities have been facing an uphill battle to control the spread of the virus ahead of this summer's Tokyo Olympics. In Tokyo, meanwhile, the metropolitan government reported 570 daily cases, the highest since a state of emergency in the capital was lifted last month. The central government on Friday expanded the list of prefectures that require stringent coronavirus countermeasures to curb rising infections without declaring a state of emergency, newly adding Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa. The quasi-emergency measures, which include requests for shorter operating hours at eateries and can be applied to narrower areas than an entire prefecture under a state of emergency, had been already introduced in Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi. But critics doubt the effectiveness of such limited measures, given growing signs that some areas are entering a fourth wave of the virus. The most recent indicator released by the health ministry on the infection situation in each prefecture showed that the conditions in Osaka, neighboring Hyogo and Nara in western Japan, as well as Miyagi in the northeast, have reached Stage 4, the worst level on the central government's scale that warrants declaring a state of emergency. Osaka and the wider Kansai area have experienced a surge in the number of people infected with COVID-19 variants, seen as more contagious. Hyogo also reported a daily record of 351 infections on Saturday. Okinawa's situation was also judged as equivalent to the worst stage while Tokyo and Kyoto were at Stage 3. Japan last month fully lifted its second state of emergency over the novel coronavirus that had been in place since January in Tokyo and some other regions before the torch relay for the Olympics began in the country. Despite concerns about the resurging infections, large numbers of people on Saturday flooded transport hubs in major population centers across Japan. The government response puzzled some travelers while others questioned the need for authorities to ask people to refrain from traveling across prefectural borders. "I did not expect measures would be extended to Okinawa," said a 52-year-old woman as she readied to depart Tokyo's Haneda airport on a two-day trip to the popular tourist destination in Japan's south. "I'll keep my fun to a minimum," added the woman who lives in Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo. A 49-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, expressed frustration while waiting to travel to Fukuoka in Japan's southwest to attend a memorial service with his wife and three children. "I cannot miss it, so I have to go even under such a situation," the man said at the airport. He questioned whether the government's decision to impose a quasi-state of emergency over the virus is worthwhile, saying, "I'll just have to make sure to wear a face mask and disinfect thoroughly." The airport and the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal were busy with travelers seemingly ignoring the government's request for people to not make unnecessary outings due to the worsening situation. At the express bus terminal near Shinjuku Station, Rieko Fukushima, a 59-year-old woman heading for orchestra practice in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, said her group shortened their practice plans but did not cancel them. "I have worries, but I want to build relationships with others in the orchestra," Fukushima said. In the capital's bustling Harajuku district, home to the world-famous Takeshita shopping street, many young people and families were shopping and eating out, although the area is still less crowded than before the pandemic. "I don't know the difference between the measures this time and from the state of emergency, so I don't know what to do," said a 19-year-old vocational school student who was shopping with her friend. "I don't think politicians have fully explained the issue to us." The quasi-emergency measures will come into effect Monday and last through May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa, and May 11 for Tokyo. In Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi, the measures are set to run through May 5. Authorities in the designated prefectures can ask restaurants and bars in densely populated areas to close by 8 p.m. under the countermeasures, which carry a fine for noncompliance. International law does not permit a nation to carry out military manoeuvres in the EEZ without the consent of the concerned coastal state New Delhi/Washington: The US Navy carried out a freedom of navigation operation in Indias exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Lakshadweep Islands earlier this week, without New Delhis prior consent, to challenge what the US said were Indias excessive maritime claims, a official US statement said. The operation was conducted by guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones on Wednesday, April 7, a statement by the commander of the US Seventh Fleet said. The US Navy said it had asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of Lakshadweep Islands, inside Indias exclusive economic zone without requesting Indias prior consent, saying further it had challenged Indias excessive maritime claims. The US Seventh Fleet claimed this operation was consistent with international law. Reacting to this on Friday evening, India said it had raised its concerns with the US through diplomatic channels, adding that the US warships movements had been continuously monitored. New Delhi made it clear that international law did not permit a nation to carry out military manoeuvres, especially involving weapons, in the EEZ and continental shelf without the consent of the concerned coastal state. The US announcement is being seen by observers as nothing short of a mystifying attempt to humiliate India, which is a strategic partner of the US in the four-nation Quad that supports freedom of navigation in international waters. There is also speculation that it may be part of an American attempt to placate China at Indias expense. The Americans have been operating their warships in the South China Sea as well, which has angered Beijing in the recent past. In a statement, the MEA said: The Government of Indias stated position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is that the convention does not authorise other states to carry out in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state. The MEA added: The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the Government of the United States through diplomatic channels. In its statement, meanwhile, the US Seventh Fleet said: USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside Indias exclusive economic zone, without requesting Indias prior consent, consistent with international law. India requires prior consent for military exercises or manoeuvres in its exclusive economic zone or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging Indias excessive maritime claims. It added: US forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis. All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. We conduct routine and regular Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), as we have done in the past and will continue to in the future. FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements. It is not the first time that the US Navy has conducted such an operation in Indias EEZ. The US defence department publishes an annual Freedom of Navigation Report identifying the excessive maritime claims that US forces operationally challenged. The last time the US Navy conducted such an operation was 2019. In an unclassified report to the US Congress in July 2020, the US Navy said it conducted an operation in the Indian Ocean region during the period from October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019, to preserve the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations by international law. LAS VEGAS There was less talking and more fighting from Kevin Holland, but distressingly similar results. Fighting just three weeks after he was heavily criticized for nonstop yammering during a one-sided loss to Derek Brunson, Holland dropped his second consecutive fight because of an inability to stop a takedown. Vettori won a unanimous decision, 50-44, on all three cards. He took Holland down repeatedly, hitting on 11 of 17 takedowns, and Holland wasnt able to get up. In the few moments of the fight in which it was in the stand-up, Holland looked like the electrifying prospect he has been regarded as by using his hands to fire at Vettori. But Vettori was far too complete of a fighter and was able to take Holland down almost at will. Holland jumped in to take the fight when Darren Till had to pull out with a broken collarbone, giving Holland the chance to make amends for the poor performance against Brunson. He was better this time, but not nearly good enough. Vettori is slowly moving toward a title shot and he wasnt going to be beaten by an opponent with such a gaping hole in his game. He landed 24 of 64 significant strikes, according to UFCstats.com, compared to Hollands 37 of 103. But Holland couldnt keep the fight on his feet long enough to be competitive. His left eye was swollen and at one point, referee Herb Dean had the cageside physician checking his eye. Vettori entered the fight ranked sixth, and he plans to attend next weeks fight at Apex between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum because he is trying to position himself for another shot at champion Israel Adesanya. Vettori lost a split-decision to Adesanya in a bout before Adesanya became champion. There is no one thing that Vettori excels at, but he has no gaping hole in his game and is average, at worst, in every aspect. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 10: (L-R) Marvin Vettori of Italy takes down Kevin Holland in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on April 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) More from Yahoo Sports: United Nations, April 10 : Over 2.3 million people in Niger could face food insecurity in the coming months, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). About 1.6 million of them are likely to face severe food insecurity as soon as May, a 30 per cent increase compared to projections made in November 2020, Xinhua news agency quoted the OCHA as saying on Friday. The humanitarian office projects the 2.3 million food-insecure people for "the lean season, between June and August". The western-most region of Tillabery is the most affected, with more than 30 per cent of its population, 686,500 people, at risk of severe food insecurity between June and August, OCHA said. Increasing hunger in the region comes with growing protection concerns, the humanitarians said. Armed attacks since the beginning of the year have claimed more than 300 civilian lives. OCHA said already 500,000 people in Tillabery need humanitarian assistance, including 125,000 internally displaced people and refugees. In February, UN humanitarian partners in Niger, which has a population of nearly 25 million, launched an appeal for $523 million, targeting aid for 2.1 million of the most vulnerable 3.8 million people in need, the humanitarian office said. LIMERICK City and County Council is seeking to appoint a multi-disciplinary team to prepare a public realm strategy for the city centre. With several high-profile projects currently planned or underway in the city centre, the local authority had published tender documents seeking expressions of interest from engineering consultancy services with experience in urban planning or urban design/architecture led projects. The deadline for receipt of tenders is April 15 and it is anticipated that contracts will be awarded later in the year following engagement with the preferred tenderer. According to briefing documents, published on the governments centralised e-tenders portal, the final strategy will focus on the enhancement, management, use and development of the public realm in the city in collaboration with all stakeholders. In reply to a query, a spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council told the Limerick Leader the development of a public realm strategy recognises the increasing importance and focus on the quality of the urban environment within the city centre. The aim of the strategy is to guide the enhancement, management, sustainable use and development of the public domain in collaboration with all stakeholders. It will recognise and take into account the Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework which includes objectives to support the development and growth of Limerick as a key urban centre in the Mid-West region and as a driver of national growth, he said in a statement. When completed, the new Public Realm Strategy will also feed into the Limerick Development Plan 2022-2028 which is currently being drafted by planners and which will come before councillors later in the year. One of the criteria in the current process is that the successful tenderer has provided technical services for projects of a similar size and scale in the past. The National Planning Framework also incorporates place-making policy priorities for Limerick city including public realm and urban amenity projects as well as other strategies such as the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy. CLEVELAND, Ohio A 27-year-old woman is accused of fatally shooting her mother inside her mothers home in the North Shore-Collinwood neighborhood, police reports say. Cleveland police arrested the daughter on suspicion of aggravated murder about 11:15 p.m. Friday at a home on Coit Avenue in East Cleveland, according to police reports. Formal charges have not been filed. Lashaun Thompson-Beal, 56, died in the shooting, according to police and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner. Thompson-Beals son about 10 a.m. Friday found her dead inside her home on Arrowhead Avenue near East 196th Street, according to police dispatch records. Officers found Thompson-Beal in the kitchen surrounded by a pool of blood and a fired bullet casing, according to police reports. Special Investigations Commander Michael Connelly, Fifth District Commander Sammy Morris and Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia were among the investigators at the home about noon. Thompson-Beals daughter had twice been accused of domestic violence against her mother, but formal charges were never filed, according to police and court records. Read more from cleveland.com: Man was beaten to death in Clevelands Kinsman neighborhood, medical examiner rules Man shot to death in Clevelands North Shore-Collinwood neighborhood Cleveland sex crimes detective arrested on domestic violence charge in Parma China's communist regime is detaining Christians in mobile brainwashing camps: report Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christians in at least one province of China are being held in secretive, mobile brainwashing camps to pressure them to renounce their faith which appears to be part of a planned clampdown on illegal social organizations, including house churches, according to reports. A Christian in the southwestern province of Sichuan, who was held captive for 10 months in some basement somewhere in a windowless camp run by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, shared his experience. It was a mobile facility that could just set up in some basement somewhere, the Christian, indemnified with a pseudonym, Li Yuese, told Radio Free Asia. He continued, It was staffed by people from several different government departments. It had its own (CCP) political and legal affairs committee working group, and they mainly target Christians who are members of house churches. China has more than 60 million Christians, at least half of whom worship in unregistered or so-called illegal underground churches. Such facilities appear to be part of the CCP's United Front Work Department and the state security police. Those caught taking part in church-related activities and are released on bail by courts end up in such camps for what the CCP describes as transformation, Li said. Lis church was raided by communist authorities in 2018. He was subsequently beaten, verbally abused and mentally tortured, which led him to start self-harming, including throwing himself against a wall. They use really underhand methods, Li explained. They threaten, insult and intimidate you. These were United Front officials, men, women, sometimes unidentified, usually in plain clothes. The police turn a blind eye to this. You have to accept the statement they prepare for you. If you refuse, you will be seen as having a bad attitude and they will keep you in detention and keep on beating you. He added, They were using brainwashing methods on those of us who were on bail from the detention center. Lis experience was similar to that of inmates of camps in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, RFA noted. Another Christian who was not named for security reasons was quoted as saying that such facilities are being used for brainwashing across China, for Protestants, the underground Catholic Church and the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement. The U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern has noted that Chinas Ministry of Civil Affairs plans to launch a campaign to toughen its clampdown on illegal social organizations, including those that hold gatherings in the name of religion. The Department of Civil Affairs in Sichuan published a list of Illegal Social Organizations on March 25, which included the names of Buddhist and Christian groups, including the heavily persecuted house church Early Rain Covenant Church. Gina Goh, ICCs regional manager for Southeast Asia, previously said that at a time when religion in China has to submit itself to the control of the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, its no longer a surprise that a house church is seen as an enemy of the state and clamped down upon. Chinas blindness to its violation of religious freedom needs to be continuously exposed so that Beijing knows it cannot get away with performing these evil acts, Goh said. According to a November 2020 report from the Pew Research Center, restrictions on religion in China have risen to a record level. Researchers found that China continues to have the highest score on the Government Restrictions Index out of all 198 countries and territories in the study. Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN is on track to strengthen its overseas presence to meet consumers rising demand. Progressing along these lines, the company opened a new poultry complex in Humboldt, TN. The complex, worth $425 million, consists of a processing plant, feed mill and hatchery. The project, situated in the Gibson County Industrial Park, will manufacture pre-packaged trays of fresh chicken for national retail grocery stores. The company has already hired hundreds of workers to prepare them to begin production by the end of April. This 370,000 square foot processing plant is likely to provide jobs to more than 1,500 people by 2023. Well, the payroll and payments to farmers from the newly-opened facility coupled with purchase of grain and utilities is anticipated to contribute worth $150 million to Tennessee annually. Incidentally, this marks Tyson Foods biggest investment in Tennessee so far. In August 2017, the company had unveiled $84 million worth expansion across Union City operations in Tennessee. Currently, Tyson Foods runs five product plants that employ nearly 5,000 people in the state. Other Growth Efforts Tyson Foods has been strengthening the production of consumer-ready products. Recently, the company unveiled that it is solidifying its case-ready meats business by reusing its plant capacity in South Carolina. Incidentally, Tyson Foods intends to open an idle Tyson-owned facility in Columbia and transform it into a meat-cutting facility. This facility will make retail ready, portioned packs of sliced pork and fresh beef along with ground beef for grocery and club stores in the eastern parts of the United States. Management stated that this facility, with its premium quality, pre-cut, pre-packaged fresh beef and pork, is likely to help the company cater to the burgeoning demand from its retail customers. In November 2020, Tyson Foods unveiled plans to construct new manufacturing facilities in China and Thailand. The company laid out plans to expand its production unit located in the Netherlands. These envisioned expansions are expected to add more than 100,000 metric tons of fully-cooked poultry capacity. Management believes that global population and income growth will continue to drive the demand for protein. Markedly, such investment plans help the company enhance its in-country operations as well as export capabilities worldwide. Story continues Wrapping Up Tyson Foods has been gaining on rising demand in its retail channel, thanks to increased at-home consumption amid the pandemic. In first-quarter fiscal 2021, the companys retail core business lines saw share growth for the 10th consecutive time. Apart from this, Tyson Foods is benefiting from its brand strength, robust geographical reach and the ability to manufacture locally in its international markets and cater well to the evolving global demand. Clearly, the newly-opened poultry complex in Humboldt will help Tyson Foods bolster its international presence and keep its growth story going. Notably, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 25.3% in a year compared with the industrys growth of 18.4%. Some Solid Food Stocks The Hain Celestial HAIN, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.7%, on average. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 13.6%, on average. The J. M. Smucker Company SJM, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 1.7%. Zacks Names Single Best Pick to Double From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research SherazMian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that its poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year. Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN) : Free Stock Analysis Report The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) : Free Stock Analysis Report United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Lifeway Research's latest poll reveal that Americans pondered more on the purpose of life during the pandemic. Conducted on September 9-23 last year, over 1,000 Americans participated in "American Views on Purpose in Life" survey, CBN News reported. The survey shows that 57 % of the participants said that they muse over the question "How can I find more meaning and purpose in my life?" for at least once a month. That's a considerable increase from the 51 % in 2011, the report added. About 21 % said that they think about life's meaning and purpose every day, a 3 % jump from the 18 % in 2011. Tying with them is the group that said they ponder the question on a weekly basis. Their 21% percentage is also an up from the 19 % in 2011. "During COVID-19, many experiences, pleasures, and metrics of success became irrelevant overnight," said Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway Research to Christian Headlines. "It is not surprising that more people thought about their purpose and what matters in life." The survey also reveals that the percentage of people believing on the prospect of an afterlife has decreased. Compared to the 67% of adults who "strongly agreed" that "there is more to life than the physical world and society" in 2011, less than 50 % now said that are sure of it. On a bright note, 42 % were marked as somewhat agreeing with the statement. In 2011, it was only 21 %. "In the midst of such a discouraging season, fewer Americans are convinced there is something more to this life than their daily activities," reckons McConnell. "A large majority still lean toward there being an ultimate purpose for a person's life, but instead of escaping the pandemic with thoughts of something greater, far fewer strongly hold such a view." "A growing number of Americans have become open to the idea that this might be as good as it gets," he added. For the 81 % who agreed that there is an "ultimate purpose and plan for every person's life," only 44 % said they "strongly agree." This is a sad decline from the 50 % in 2011. For the statement "I have found a higher purpose and meaning for my life," 59 % said they agree. Breaking into sex, age, education, and ethnicity classifications, Lifeway Research found that more women (85%) would tend to agree than men (76 %). Interestingly, more younger people are less skeptical with the 82% and 83 % from the 18-34 and 35-49 age brackets. Older folks who are at 65+ composed only of 74 %. The survey continues that African Americans (88%) and Hispanics (85%) are more likely to agree than their White (78%) counterparts. Geographically, the South (83%) are more contemplative than those from the Midwest (77%). In terms of education, undergrads or those who reached secondary years are the most likely to agree. Church affiliation and frequency in attending meetings played a role, too. Not surprisingly, those who are not affiliated with any faith group were the most likely to disagree, but only accounting to 26%. Christians who attend worship services for more than 4 times a month would be more likely to agree than those who attend less. Hadi Ghusoun, a retired English teacher in his late 60s, stands on the porch of his shattered house in Homs city in central Syria, March 11, 2021. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) An article published by the China Society for Human Rights Studies on Friday lashed out at the US for severe humanitarian disasters caused by its aggressive wars against foreign countries since the end of World War II, stripping Washington of the human rights highland as the Biden administration tries to wield weapons of "human rights violations" to crack down on China. The report was deemed by observers as China's "proactive move" to put US human rights atrocities under the spotlight, after the latter has long used such an issue as an excuse to interfere in China's domestic affairs. Together with the tense meeting between China's senior diplomats and US senior officials in Alaska last month, where Chinese officials dressed down US officials over human rights topics, the report sends a strong signal to Washington that it is unqualified to lecture China about human rights. The US has waged wars on foreign countries and regions such as North Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria under the banner of "humanitarian intervention," causing a massive loss of military lives, serious civilian casualties, as well as property damage, said the article titled "Severe Humanitarian Disasters Caused by US Aggressive Wars against Foreign Countries." Since the end of WWII to 2001, roughly 248 military conflicts occurred in 153 regions around the world, of which the US waged 201, accounting for 80 percent of all wars worldwide, according to the article. During the past 240-plus years after it declared independence on July 4, 1776, the United States has always been involved in wars except in less than 20 years. The large number of wars has devastated numerous lives and families. For example, in Afghanistan alone, there were an estimated 11 million who have become refugees as a result of the US-initiated war. The humanitarian crisis caused by military actions stems from the hegemonic mentality of the US, the article read, noting that it is ridiculous to expect a hegemonic country to defend human rights of other countries. Human rights is the most often cited excuse by the US to wage foreign wars, yet the video of US Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at Oakland on Monday went viral on Chinese internet, in which she admitted that "for years there were wars fought over oil; in a short time, there will be wars fought over water." To justify those wars, Washington even went further to fabricate lies. In 2003, the US launched military strikes against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties and making more than 1 million homeless. Years later, the US admitted that the evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was nothing more than a small tube of white washing powder. General Wesley Clark, a retired 4-star US Army general, told media in 2017 that he was told by one of the generals that the US was going to war with Iraq. Clark wondered if the decision was made because they found some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda, but he was told No. "There's nothing new that way. They just made the decision to go to war with Iraq," Clark said. "I guess it's like we don't know what to do about terrorists, but we've got a good military and we can take down governments." And he said, "I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem has to look like a nail." In 2018, the US, the UK, France and others launched air strikes on Syria, claiming that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. The air strikes led to hundreds of thousands of casualties and displacement of innocent civilians. But the evidence of the so-called use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government turned out to be nothing more than a staged video directed by the White Helmets, a group funded by US and UK intelligence agencies. Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told the Global Times that the report reminds people of some long-ignored facts that the "defenders of human rights" are the biggest executioners and makers of human rights problems, said Shen, adding that the approach the US takes to "defend humanity" is often at the root of large-scale humanitarian disasters. Yet the US, with hands all covered in the blood of innocent lives, posing itself as a "human rights fighter," points the finger at other countries, especially China, for so-called human rights violations. After Joe Biden took office as US president, the human rights weapon has been more frequently used to pull over allies and pressure China. Xinjiang cotton has fallen into the recent muzzle of the US' barrel of attacking China. In January, the US began barring entry of all cotton products and tomatoes from China's Xinjiang region, citing the excuse of "forced labor," which China has repeatedly denied with solid evidence and statistics. Lu Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, pointed out that when the US is floundering in a human rights crisis itself, it is trying to hurl mud at China, trying to paint a rosy picture for Americans: see, we are having a good life. Less than three months after taking office, Biden is facing several humanitarian emergencies, COVID-19 has claimed more than 560,000 lives in the country; anger from the "Black Lives Matter movement" has yet to subdue, Asian hate has further divided racial gaps; and the president is now facing border pressures as the US-Mexico border experiences yet another surge in undocumented entries. Observers noted that those deep-rooted humanitarian problems that are haunting the US, along the detailed report issued by the Chinese research institution, has tripped Washington off its human rights high horse. The Biden administration aims to crack down on China by picking up its weapon of human rights, yet how persuasive and efficient can it be when itself has committed ugly and disastrous humanitarian crimes worldwide, they asked. "The world needs human rights defenders, but the US is not qualified to act as such," said Shen, noting that the report shows that China cannot be always defensive, but also proactive. "And this is just the beginning." Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2020 shows disabled children in Surkh Rod district of Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented more than 10,000 civilian casualties in 2019, of these more than 3,400 had been killed, said a report of the body released. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Henchmen in the club Despite the ugly US human rights record, some countries still trod upon the heels of Washington to attack China for "human rights violations." Last month, the EU imposed sanctions on China over so-called human rights abuses in Xinjiang, marking the bloc's first move on such in three decades. Yet the move was hit back by China with fiercer sanctions, and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned the EU to stop acting like a "teacher of human rights." During two senior US officials' visit to Japan last month, the two countries also signed a joint statement, denouncing China's domestic affairs, including Xinjiang, Hong Kong and island of Taiwan. Then the spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry lashed out at Japan for being a US "strategic appendage." Yuan Zheng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that wielding the "human rights" stick often happens when US power is relatively weak. "The Biden administration hopes to use human rights and values as tools to glue allies together to confront China and heal rifts." Observers warned countries who are or planning to join the US human rights club. As the notorious US humanitarian crisis has been laid out in front of the world, its followers will also be nailed to the pillar of shame. The "moral responsibility" of the US is not enough to keep its allies on its side, and the best they can do is to play the role of cheerleader in the grand game of the China-US conflict, and those countries will also leave an ignominious mark in history, Shen said. The disastrous consequences of foreign wars launched by the US Infographic: Deng Zijun and Wu Tiantong/GT A half-century ago, I was the editor of a small daily newspaper in Northern California and one of my reporters dug up a terrific story. He learned that that the countys Board of Supervisors had privately compelled the countys sheriff to receive alcoholism treatment by threatening to take away some of his administrative powers. The sheriffs excessive drinking habits were well known to courthouse insiders and he had crashed at least one county vehicle while driving drunk, although it had been covered up. We published the story on the front page and it touched off a public firestorm. However, the popular ire was not directed at the errant sheriff, but rather at the newspaper and me for, it was said, besmirching the character of a very popular local figure. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The outcry underscored the bifurcated nature of California sheriffs simultaneously badge-carrying, gun-toting cops and elected political officeholders. Those twin roles have always been a little incongruent but in blue California, where demands for fundamental changes in criminal justice are strong, elected sheriffs are feeling the heat. An alligator's stomach was ripped open on Thursday, revealing bizarre contents, including the dog tag of a pooch that disappeared almost a quarter-century ago. Alligators are carnivorous predators and are comfortable eating a wide variety of things, as evidenced by Thursday's discovery. WCIV reports a 12-foot alligator was killed along the Edisto River in Charleston County, South Carolina after wandering onto private property. It was then taken to Cordray's, a meat market outside of Ravenel that is capable of butchering and processing both livestock and wild game. Cordray's posted about the alligator on Facebook, saying they 'dont usually open up the stomach' of alligators, but they did this time. Pictured: Hunter Ned McNeely, who owns the property where the alligator was found They measured the alligator, which was 12 feet long and weighed a massive 445 pounds. The only thing more shocking than the size of the alligator, however, was what was waiting for them inside. First, there were several bobcat claws, suggesting that the alligator may have eaten at least one medium-sized cat. There were also fragments of turtle shells, which likely found themselves defenseless from the massive predator. Additionally, there was one spark plug and the metal jacket from a bullet, things an alligator definitely shouldn't be eating. Arguably the most interesting discovery in the alligator's stomach were five identification tags for dogs. The alligator was 12ft long with plenty of surprises contained within its stomach The alligator was also extremely heavy, weighing in at a massive 445 pounds While the tags don't necessarily mean the alligator ate the dogs, that could certainly be the case. The writing on two of the dog tags were legible and one still had a working phone number attached. When staff members of Cordray's called the working number, they heard from a man who lost a hound dog 24 years earlier while hunting in the same general area where the alligator was killed. 'I talked to him and he was an older gentleman and he said that he had a lease down on the other side of the river from where the gator was killed, 24 years ago,' Kenneth Cordray said to WCSC. 'And thats what they always figured is the dogs got eaten by the gators.' Cordray estimated that the dog in question was probably around 80 pounds. The dog tags were found along a spark plug, bobcat claws, turtle shells, and a bullet jacket 'Pretty interesting,' Cordray's said on Facebook of everything found in the alligator's stomach. Ned McNeely, who brought the alligator to Cordray's, told WCSC that his property has plenty of swampland, so there are often alligators in the area. McNeely and Cordray were not able to estimate the alligator's age, but believed it was old. From here, the alligator will be repurposed in different ways by both Cordray and McNeely. Cordray's will turn the meat into steaks, summer sausage, and jerky, while also making a mount using the alligator's skin. Meanwhile, McNeely is considering doing a full mount or rug mount with the rest of the alligator. Chinese climber aims to be first visually impaired Asian to scale Mt. Qomolangma Xinhua) 11:02, April 10, 2021 KATHMANDU, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Hong, a 46-year-old visually impaired Chinese climber is attempting to summit Mt. Qomolangma this spring, a company organizing his expedition said. "If he manages to reach the top of Mt. Qomolangma, he will be the first Asian blind person to scale the world's tallest peak," Dawa Steven Sherpa, chief executive officer of Asian Trekking, one of the leading expedition organizing companies in Nepal, told Xinhua on Friday. Earlier, two mountaineers -- Erik Weihenmayer, an American mountaineer and Andy Holzer, an Austrian climber, both visually impaired, had reached the top of the Mt. Qomolangma in May 2001 and May 2017 respectively. According to Sherpa guides, the Chinese mountaineer who arrived in Nepal on March 30, set out for Mt. Qomolangma on April 3. He has been trekking to the base camp of the mountain and is expected to reach it on Sunday. "His team includes six Chinese and six sherpas. During the ascent of Mt. Qomolangma, four sherpas will directly support him," said the CEO Sherpa. The world's tallest peak has been a dream for many people with disabilities and some of them have already achieved their dreams by scaling the mountain. Its height was slightly increased to 8848.86 meters when Nepali and Chinese surveyors measured and jointly announced the new height in December last year. Sherpa said that the Chinese climber had been training hard with the aim of scaling the Mt. Qomolangma for the last three years. According to the Asian Trekking, he has already conquered Muztagh Ata, a 7,509 meter peak in China's Xinjiang autonomous region two years ago. Zhang is one of the 244 climbers who got climbing permits for Mt. Qomolangma from Nepali authorities. Bhisma Raj Bhattarai, mountaineering section officer at department of tourism confirmed to Xinhua that the Chinese blind climber and his team were given a permit this week. According to the Department of Tourism, which issues climbing permits, a total of 244 climbers representing 26 groups have taken climbing permits for the Mt. Qomolangma as of Friday. In January 2017, the Nepali government had decided to ban double amputees, persons without arms and legs and blind persons from attempting to climb the world's tallest peak. But, in March the same year, the Nepal's Supreme Court ordered not to implement the government's restriction on people with disabilities to summit Mt. Qomolangma. By taking the advantage of court order, Chinese climber Xia Boyu, who lost both legs to frostbite on Mt. Qomolangma over four decades ago, reached the summit of the world's highest peak in May 2018. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) In brief: Amazon has been criticized for treating its workers poorly in the past, with said critics citing the company's hyper-focus on productivity and efficiency as the primary reason. To improve the tech giant's working conditions, employees of its BHM1 fulfillment center in Alabama attempted to unionize -- unfortunately, the initiative failed to rally enough votes to pass. Of the 3,000 employees who participated in the vote, 1,700 chose to reject unionization, while 738 voted in favor of it. The remaining 500-or-so ballots would not change the outcome of the vote, so they have not been tallied yet, according to CNBC. Even if they were all pro-unionization, the movement's detractors would've won by around 200 votes. That's not a massive margin of victory for Amazon and its anti-union employees, but it's still a decisive one. At least, for now -- the results of the vote are being challenged by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). In a news post published today, the organization suggests conduct from Amazon created an "atmosphere of confusion, coercion, and/or fear of reprisals," and thus interfered with workers' freedom of choice. The RWDSU accuses Amazon of "bombarding" workers with signs, ads, texts, and calls that spread anti-union sentiments, as well as illegally collaborating with the USPS to install a ballot drop box near the BHM1 warehouse. While it will be up to the National Labor Relations Board to determine the validity of these objections in an upcoming hearing, there is at least some evidence to support that last accusation -- the bit about the ballot drop box. BREAKING: More Perfect Union has obtained emails showing that Amazon privately pressured USPS to install an illegal ballot dropbox during the union election in Bessemer, AL. The emails directly contradict public statements by USPS about the box's origins. There's more. pic.twitter.com/1inCZKibO3 More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 8, 2021 A pro-union group known (aptly) as More Perfect Union took to Twitter to post screenshots of alleged emails between USPS employees. The group claims these emails show that Amazon "privately pressured" the USPS to install an "illegal ballot dropbox" at BHM1. We'll let you read the emails and decide the truth for yourself. If they're legitimate, they don't paint Amazon in the best light, but perhaps the company will come forward with some counter-evidence of its own. Masthead credit: Jonathan Weiss A burning car is pictured during a protest in the Loyalist Tigers Bay Area of Belfast, Northern Ireland (Photo : REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff) Pro-British loyalist militants in Northern Ireland said on Friday there had been a "spectacular collective failure" to understand their anger over Brexit and other issues as there was some respite in street clashes following a week of riots. Despite appeals for calm from London, Dublin and Washington, the nightly unrest in pro-British areas spread further into Irish nationalist parts of Belfast on Thursday, where police responded to petrol bomb and stone attacks with water cannon. Advertisement A number of loyalist protests planned for Friday night were postponed in what posters put up in pro-British areas said was a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family following the death of her husband, Prince Philip. However some masked individuals threw bricks and missiles at police in a loyalist area of Belfast where television footage showed a British Union Jack flying on a flagpole nearby. The clashes have been some of the worst violence in Northern Ireland in years and have raised concern about the 1998 peace accord that largely ended three decades of sectarian and political bloodshed during which 3,600 people were killed. The Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), which says it speaks for the Ulster Volunteer Force, Red Hand Commando and Ulster Defence Association militant groups, said it was not involved in the riots and it called for calm. However it warned in a statement that border arrangements with EU-member Ireland must be negotiated. The loyalist paramilitaries, as they are known, laid down their weapons in the years that followed the Good Friday Agreement. But the LCC said Unionist anger had been misunderstood. "To date there has been a spectacular collective failure to understand properly the scale and nature of Unionist and Loyalist anger," it said. The council cited concerns over post-Brexit trade barriers as well as policing following a decision last week not to prosecute Irish nationalist rivals Sinn Fein for an alleged breach of COVID-19 regulations at the funeral last June of a former IRA leader. LONG HOT SUMMER? After the United Kingdom left the European Union at the start of this year, checks and tariffs were introduced on some goods moving from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland as the province now borders the bloc via EU member Ireland. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised there would be no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland as result of Brexit, and unfettered trade between the province and the rest of the United Kingdom would continue. But critics of the departure deal's Northern Ireland Protocol say a border is now in effect in the Irish Sea, leaving unionists, who want to stay in the United Kingdom, feeling betrayed. "We have repeatedly urged HM Government, political leaders and Institutions to take seriously our warnings of the dangerous consequences of imposing this hard border on us and the need for earnest dialogue to resolve matters. We reiterate that message now," the LCC said. A new protocol must be negotiated, it said. Police do not believe the violence is being sanctioned or organised by paramilitary groups, though they said on Friday that some with connections to those groups may have been present at the clashes. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said she feared the protests could set the tone for a violent summer when thousands of pro-British Protestants hold marches, a tradition the mainly Catholic nationalists who want to be part of a united Ireland see as provocative and often lead to clashes. "We have communities that are bracing themselves perhaps for a very difficult weekend, deep concerns that violence might extend further and that this might set the tempo and the scene for this summer," McDonald told Irish national broadcaster RTE. The United States, which has traditionally taken a close interest in Irish matters, on Thursday warned that the Good Friday Agreement which it helped broker should not become a casualty of Brexit. April 10, 2021 After The Bear Showed Its Teeth The Ukraine Filed For Peace? First the Ukraine said it would use force to recover the renegade Donbass region as well as Crimea. It then moved heavy troops towards the contact lines. The ceasefire at the contact line was broken multiple times per day. Several Ukrainian soldiers died while attempting to remove a minefield in preparation of an attack. It became clear that a war in Ukraine's east was likely to soon braek out. A successful war would help Ukraine's president Zelensky with the ever increasing domestic crises. A war would also give the U.S. more influence in Europe. The U.S. and NATO promised "unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty. Russia gave several verbal warnings that any Ukrainian attack on the renegade provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk or Crimea would cause a serious Russian intervention. There was never a chance that the U.S. or NATO would intervene in such a war. But it was only after Russia started to move some of its troops around that sanity set in. It dawned on the Ukrainian leadership that the idea of waging war against a nuclear armed superpower was not a good one. Late yesterday it suddenly decided to file for peace (machine translation): The Armed Forces ruled out the use of force to "liberate" Donbass KIEV, April 9 - RIA Novosti. "Liberation" of Donbass by force will lead to mass deaths of civilians and servicemen, and this is unacceptable for Kiev, said Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak. "Being devoted to universal human values and norms of international humanitarian law, our state puts the lives of its citizens in the first place," the General Staff's press center quoted him as saying. According to Khomchak, the Ukrainian authorities consider the political and diplomatic way to resolve the situation in Donbass a priority. At the same time, he added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are ready for an adequate response both to the escalation of the conflict and to "the complication of the military-political and military-strategic situation around the country." Zelensky himself chipped in (machine translated): Zelensky spoke for a truce in Donbass MOSCOW, April 9 - RIA Novosti. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the need for a new truce in Donbass after visiting the contact line. The head of state wrote on Facebook that shooting at the front lines had become "a dangerous routine." "After several months of observing a complete and general ceasefire, we returned to the need to establish a truce," Zelensky said. As the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak emphasized earlier, the use of force to "liberate" Donbass is unacceptable for Kiev, as it is fraught with casualties among the civilian population and military personnel. At the same time, last week he said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will strengthen the grouping of troops in the Donbass and in the Crimean direction - in response to the "build-up" of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine. It seems that order has come from Washington to stand down - at least for now. U.S. reconnaissance flights near Russia's border continue. One should therefore consider that the sudden call for a renewed ceasefire might be a ruse. But if it is not why was all of this allowed to happen in the first place? Posted by b on April 10, 2021 at 14:44 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group, speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank's human-like robot named "pepper" during a news conference in Chiba, Japan, June 18, 2015. Alibaba was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators Saturday for anti-competitive tactics. Reuters Alibaba Group, the world's biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators on Saturday for anti-competitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party continued to tighten its control over fast-growing tech industries. Party leaders worry about the dominance of China's biggest internet companies including Alibaba at a time when the industry is expanding into finance, health services and other sensitive areas. The party says anti-monopoly enforcement, especially in tech industries, will be a priority this year. Alibaba was fined for ''abusing its dominant position'' to limit competition by retailers that use its platforms and hindering the ''free circulation'' of goods, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced. It said the fine was equal to 4% of its total 2019 sales of 455.712 billion yuan ($69.5 billion). The move is a new setback for Alibaba and its billionaire founder, Jack Ma, following a November decision by regulators to suspend the stock market debut of Ant Group, a finance platform spun off from the e-commerce giant. It would have been the world's biggest initial public stock offering last year. Ma, one of China's richest and most prominent entrepreneurs, disappeared temporarily from public view after criticizing regulators in a November speech. That was followed days later by the Ant Group suspension, though finance specialists said regulators had already been worried Ant lacked adequate financial risk controls. Alibaba, launched in 1999, operates retail, business-to-business and consumer-to-consumer platforms. It has expanded at a breakneck pace into financial services, film production and other fields. Twelve companies including Tencent Holdings, which operates games and the popular WeChat messaging service, were fined 500,000 ($77,000) each in March on charges of failing to disclose previous acquisitions and other deals. In February, the government issued anti-monopoly guidelines aimed at preventing anti-competitive practices such as signing exclusive agreements with merchants and use of subsidies to squeeze out competitors. Regulators said in December they were looking into possibly anti-competitive tactics by Alibaba including a policy dubbed ''choose one of two,'' which requires business partners to avoid dealing with its competitors. Also in December, regulators announced executives of Alibaba, its main competitor, JD.com, and four other internet companies were summoned to a meeting and warned not to use their market dominance to keep out new competitors. (AP) Agartala, April 10 : In a very significant political development in BJP ruled Tripura, a newly formed tribal based party 'TIPRA Motha' is heading towards capturing power in the politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) defeating the ruling party candidates. The outcome of the elections to the TTAADC is a major setback for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance, which wrested the power in Tripura in 2018 after defeating the CPI-M led Left parties after 25 years. According to the trends and results of the 28-member TTAADC, for which the crucial elections were held on April 6, the 'TIPRA Motha' either won or was leading in 19 seats, the BJP in six and its junior ally IPFT in two seats and a local party in the remaining one seat. The counting of votes is underway in 16 sub-divisional headquarters across Tripura on Saturday. Amalgamating various local tribal based parties and leaders and members of other parties, the 'TIPRA Motha' headed by Tripura's royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman was formed just a few months ago and fielded candidates in all the 28 seats while the BJP-IPFT alliance also put up candidates in all seats. Tripura's oldest tribal based party Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), a former ally of the Congress, is also a partner of the 'TIPRA Motha'. The Communist Party of India -Marxist (CPI-M) led Left Front, the Congress and other parties have also fielded candidates in the 28 seats of the TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction of over two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and home to over 12,16,000 people, of which 90 per cent are tribals. Over 85 per cent of the 8,65,041 voters on Tuesday had cast their votes in the election to the TTAADC, which was constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in June 1985 for the socio-economic development of the tribals, which constitute one third of Tripura's four million populations. The five-year tenure of the TTAADC, considered as mini-state Assembly in terms of political significance, expired on May 17 last year and the BJP-led state government promulgated the Governor's rule by appointing a retired IAS officer as Administrator next day for a period of six months and then extending the term for another six months on November 17. After months of political tussle, the BJP and IPFT weeks before the TTAADC polls on April 6 had decided to jointly fight the elections. The opposition CPI-M, which was governing the TTAADC until May 17 last year, has also suffered a setback in the elections as it has a strong base among the tribals since erstwhile princely state had merged with the Indian union in October 1949. The IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for the creation of a separate state by upgrading the TTAADC while 'TIPRA Motha' had recently raised the demand for a "greater Tipra land' (greater areas for the indigenous tribals). The IPFT's and 'TIPRA Motha' demands, were however, strongly opposed by all the political major parties including the BJP, the CPI-M and the Congress. Of Tripura's four million population, one third are tribals and they played a crucial role in political affairs of the northeastern state. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text When you think of the biggest art heist in the world, your mind likely fills with romantic images of slinky cat burglars, "Oceans Eleven" schemers in three-piece suits or Tom Cruise dropping down from a glass ceiling. In all likelihood, you did not immediately think of seedy car repair shops and a bunch of mafia guys named Bobby. But thats the portrait painted by This Is a Robbery, Netflixs wildly engaging four-part docuseries hitting the platform Wednesday. With a new true crime doc dropping seemingly every day, the genres a dime a dozen right now. But both novices and experts will find much to enjoy in this gripping retelling of the Isabella Stewart Gardner robbery in which 13 works of art were lifted on March 18, 1990 by a pair of mystery men dressed as cops. For the uninitiated, heres the low down: As Bostons many St. Patricks Day parties raged on, two police officers asked to be let into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum late at night. When a young security guard let them in, it was quickly apparent they werent cops at all; they duct-taped the guard and left him in the basement as they cased the museum. For 81 minutes, a veritable lifetime, motion sensors tracked them as they took paintings off of walls and brutally cut them out of their frames. In the morning, the next security guard showed up, discovered the crime and the theft became international news. Among the seemingly random assortment of paintings stolen were Rembrandts Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee and A Lady and Gentleman in Black and Vermeers The Concert. The paintings and the perpetrators have never been found. The frames hang empty on the museums walls today. Its the art worlds biggest unsolved crime but This Is a Robbery director Colin Barnicle makes a compelling case that the Gardner heist isnt unsolved at all. We talked to Barnicle about the series, his theories and the most intriguing mystery that didnt make it into the final cut. How could the Gardner art robbery stay unsolved for this long? One of the great mysteries of the robbery is its longevity. In over 30 years, theres never been an official suspect. But Barnicle argues thats not due to a lack of leads. I actually dont think theres any secrecy with the guys, with the criminal elements. I think they robbed the art, and then there was a small crew whose life expectancy was not long thereafter, Barnicle says. As the documentary lays out, most roads point back to a few suspects: a team of Boston mafia members allegedly led by Bobby Donati and Bobby Guarente. It was common knowledge among local gangsters, Barnicle argues, that purloined paintings could be used as bargaining chips. If your buddy ended up in jail, you could use knowledge of a stolen artwork to get a generous plea deal. But life was short for the Donati boys a number of the key members were killed in unrelated gang violence in the years after the robbery, leaving fewer and fewer people with direct knowledge of the theft. If you're carrying around a Chinese vase, you probably think its stolen, Barnicle says. You probably don't think its stolen in the largest art heist of all time It looks like something you might hold flowers or ash a cigarette in. I do think some of the stuff is around, but the people who have it might not know exactly the provenance of it, he adds. The Degas drawings you might think somebody was sitting in the stands at Suffolk Downs in East Boston and drew it. As that knowledge was lost, Barnicle believes the art was simply dispersed among small-time crooks and their friends where some of it may reside today. One informant, Barnicle says, saw the stolen eagle finial that once topped a Napoleonic flag above a grease pit at a repair shop in Connecticut. The secrecy was part of their idiocy, Barnicle says. They didnt know art. Whats with the seemingly haphazard selection of stolen works? The 13 stolen works range from massively influential, near-priceless works to petty decorative items, which has always lent credence to the theory the robbers werent sophisticated art thieves. I think they had a shopping list but once it became unwieldy, they just decided to walk around, Barnicle says. It seems like [the robbers] had not worked together all that much. One guy seems to be taking his time and unscrewing things, and one guy is punching glass out of frames. Barnicle also speculates the thieves went in thinking they could roll up the art like your kids finger paintings. But upon arriving, they learned that the canvases were too thick, or the paintings were done on wood. The works were also potentially bigger than they anticipated; the suspect vehicle was described as a hatchback, hardly a car big enough to haul off huge, wall-sized paintings. Thwarted in their initial plan, they wandered from room to room, plucking smaller drawings off walls and taking a few low-value items like the Chinese bronze Gu and the eagle finial. Using logs from the motion detectors, investigators saw it only took about 20 minutes, Barnicle says. As for the remaining 60-some minutes, he thinks the robbers were stuck in the museum. I do know they carried police radios and there was a party on the street that night, he says. So I think there was a reticence to carry them out, one under each arm, with the possibility of a party breaking up. Once the party ended in the wee small hours, the robbers likely loaded up the car and drove off into infamy. Whats the biggest mystery that didnt end up making it into the documentary? The decades of twists and turns couldnt all make it into the four-hour docuseries, which meant some fun pieces ended up on the cutting room floor. Barnicles favorite is the mystery of the Blue Room. The documentary talks extensively about the museums Blue Room, where a Manet titled Chez Tortoni was taken. But Barnicle says the production team noticed in crime scene photos that even more paintings were missing. Associated Press There's three or four paintings missing in that room, he says. We talked to conservators and they thought it was odd that there were so many missing paintings in that room. Its very clear that there's at least three others [missing] the morning of the crime, he adds. Those paintings, however, are on display today. So at some point, they did reemerge and find their way back onto the gallery walls. The scenes were initially included in the documentary, but it was ultimately decided they were more distracting than edifying since they couldnt provide any answers. Like so many mysteries of the Gardner robbery, this one might have to remain an enigma. A judge has ruled in favor of landlord Vornado Realty Trust after it sued co-working firm Regus for terminating a lease at a major San Francisco office complex. The proposed San Francisco Superior Court ruling on Wednesday said the termination was null and void, and the 2018 lease at 345 Montgomery St., which is worth $90 million over 15 years, remains in effect. Regus has until May 7 to appeal the ruling. Former President Donald Trump owns 30% of the building, which is part of the former Bank of America headquarters and retail center. He was not involved the lawsuit, according to court documents. The Montgomery street building is next to 555 California St., the citys fourth-tallest building. Judge Harold Kahn wrote that Regus terminated the lease in 2019 with the justification that the city rejected its plans to install exterior signs. But Kahn wrote that the city did not make a final decision on the signs and that the Planning Department was moving to approve the signs. Vornado and other consultants were also still seeking to get the signs approved when the lease was terminated. Former Planning Department Director John Rahaim, who was called as a witness during the trial, said that signs would have been approved at the building, the judge wrote. A Planning Department spokeswoman told The Chronicle last year that the city had initially identified the building as a historic resource but later reversed that decision, allowing signs to be installed. Vornado and IWG PLC, which owns the Regus brand, didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit predated the coronavirus pandemic, which has made the once-booming co-working business more challenging. IWG said in January it was closing more than 100 unprofitable locations, the Financial Times reported. IWGs rival WeWork is shrinking its locations in the Bay Area and around the world. The 555 California St. complex remains a top office location, with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America renewing their leases in the past year. Vornado sought to sell or refinance the property last year, along with a New York tower partly owned by Trump, but the plans were scrapped. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf The Election Commission (EC) has issued a notice to Mamata Banerjee for her completely false, provocative and intemperate statements against central forces performing election duty in West Bengal, provoking a defiant TMC boss to declare she will continue doing so until the CRPF stops working for BJP. The notice issued on Thursday night said the West Bengal Chief Minister prima facie violated various Sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Model Code of Conduct with her remarks against the central forces. The Chief Minister has been asked to respond to the notice by 11 am on Saturday. prima facie, completely false, provocative and intemperate statements made by Mamata Banerjee attempts to berate and vilify Central Paramilitary Forces during electoral process are causing extreme demoralisation amongst ranks and file of these forces, the notice said. It lauded the CAPFs for rendering a yeomans service since late 80s election after election, especially in ensuring area domination and causing deterrence for anti-social hooligans with their sheer presence. Banerjee, on the campaign trail, reacted angrily. She repeated her accusation that the poll watchdog was doing the BJP and Home Ministers bidding. I will continue speaking about the CPRF until they stop working for the BJP. Once they stop doing that, I will salute them. I do not care anything about your (ECs) showcause letters. You are working at the behest of the BJP. I wonder why there is no MCC violation when the PM campaigns on polling days, Mamata told a rally at Jamalpur in Purba Bardhaman. Banerjee, at her election rallies, has often accused central forces of intimidating voters under instructions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and also asked women to restrict their movement. This is the second notice to Banerjee in the last few days. On Wednesday, the poll body had issued her a notice over her alleged appeal for votes along communal lines, saying it was in violation of the model code and the Representation of People Act Volunteers organize bags of food Friday during a food giveaway at Spirit of Faith Church, 105 E. Dunlap St. Dot Foods donated most of the food, which is the third time they have done so. Rotary Club, Kiwanis and Central Illinois Food Bank also helped with the giveaway. For the first time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used the Bayraktar Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Donbas, the Ukrainian Military Portal reports. Yesterday, medium-altitude attack unmanned aerial vehicle Bayraktar TB2 worked for the first time in the East of Ukraine," the website informs, RIA Novosti reports. A strike drone flew from the southern part of Ukraine through Kherson, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, and after completing the assignment returned to the take-off point. The mission of the drone is unknown. OTTAWA, ON, April 10, 2021 /CNW/ - The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create stress and anxiety for many Canadians, particularly those who do not have ready access to their regular support networks. Through the Wellness Together Canada online portal, people of all ages across the country can access immediate, free and confidential mental health and substance use supports, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We remain at a critical point in the race between vaccines and variants. The Government of Canada's longer-range forecast presentation on March 26th, predicted a strong resurgence in the absence of enhanced public health and individual measures. Two weeks later, this strong resurgence is showing in national surveillance data we are seeing now. National case counts are plotting along the strong resurgence trajectory of the March 26th forecast. This clearly shows that we need stronger control to combat variants of concern that are driving rapid epidemic growth in many areas of the country, even as vaccine supply and programs continue to accelerate. Community-based restrictions and strict adherence with individual measures will be needed to flatten the curve of infections where more contagious variants of concern are circulating. As COVID-19 activity continues in Canada, we are tracking a range of epidemiological indicators to monitor where the disease is most active, where it is spreading and how it is impacting the health of Canadians and public health, laboratory and healthcare capacity. At the same time, the Public Health Agency of Canada is providing Canadians with regular updates on COVID-19 vaccines administered, vaccination coverage and ongoing monitoring of vaccine safety across the country. The following is the latest summary on national numbers and trends, and the actions we all need to be taking to reduce infection rates, while vaccination programs expand for the protection of all Canadians. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,045,278 cases of COVID-19, including 68,010 active cases and 23,251 deaths reported in Canada; these cumulative numbers tell us about the overall burden of COVID-19 illness to date. They also tell us, together with results of serological studies, that the vast majority of Canadians remain susceptible to COVID-19. As vaccine delivery ramps up at an accelerated pace, there is cause for optimism that widespread and lasting immunity can be achieved through COVID-19 vaccination. We now have multiple safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines with unique advantages that are authorised for use in Canada. Vaccine coverage is increasing across Canada, with benefits being seen in prioritized high-risk populations. Ramp up of vaccine supply and acceleration of vaccination programs will return further benefits to protect more Canadians, over the coming weeks and months. However, with the current acceleration of COVID-19 activity, approaching the peak of the second wave, and a concerning rise in the proportion of cases that involve more contagious variants of concern, strong public health measures and individual precautions must be sustained where COVID-19 is circulating. The latest national-level data show a 7-day average of 6,873 new cases daily (Apr 2-8). For the week of March 28 to April 3, there were an average of 115,654 tests completed daily across Canada, of which 5.1% were positive for COVID-19, an increase from 4.3% the week prior. Sustained high infection rates are also impacting COVID-19 severity indicators, which are levelling off (deaths) or increasing (hospitalisation), particularly in areas with elevated disease activity. The rise in severe and critical illnesses is placing renewed strain on the health system and healthcare workforce. Provincial and territorial data indicate that an average of 2,560 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (Apr 2-8), representing a 7% increase over last week, including 860 of whom were being treated in intensive care units, which is 23% higher than last week. During the same period, there were an average of 30 COVID-19-related deaths reported daily. While COVID-19 continues to impact people of all ages in Canada, infection rates are highest among those aged 20-39 years of age. As well, we are seeing an increased number of adults under the age of 60 years being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, including in intensive care units. This is a reminder that serious illness can occur at any age and evidence indicates that variants of concern can be associated with more severe illness and increased risk of death. In addition, circulation of COVID-19 in younger, more mobile and socially connected adults is an ongoing risk for spread into high-risk populations and settings. As of April 8, a total of 24,995 variant of concern cases have been reported across Canada, including 23,611 involving B.1.1.7 variants, 1,039 P.1 variants and 345 B.1.351 variants. Although B.1.1.7, which is now confirmed in all provinces and two territories, continues to account for the majority of variants of concern in Canada and has likely replaced the original virus in some areas, there has been a concerning rise in P.1 cases in recent weeks. Early evidence suggests that the P.1 variant may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, making it even more important to control its spread. Several jurisdictions have highlighted social gatherings as an important driver for spread. Yet, amid a rising proportion of cases involving variants of concern, escalating infection rates in many areas of the country, and increasing severity trends, a high degree of caution must be maintained until vaccination programs are further expanded. A combination of strong and sustained community-based public health measures and strict adherence to individual precautions is crucial in order to suppress rapid epidemic growth. Canadians are urged to remain vigilant, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices that keep us and our families safer: stay home/self-isolate if you have any symptoms, think about the risks and reduce non-essential activities and outings to a minimum, avoid all non-essential travel, and maintain individual protective practices of physical distancing, hand, cough and surface hygiene and wearing a well-fitted and properly worn face mask as appropriate (including in shared spaces, indoors or outdoors, with people from outside of your immediate household). Aiming to have the fewest interactions with the fewest number of people, for the shortest time, at the greatest distance possible, while wearing the best-fitting mask is a simple rule that we can all apply to help limit the spread of COVID-19, as vaccine programs expand to protect all Canadians. Canadians can also go the extra mile by sharing credible information on COVID-19 risks and prevention practices and measures to reduce COVID-19 in communities and by downloading the COVID Alert app to break the cycle of infection and help limit the spread of COVID-19. Read my backgrounder to access more COVID-19 Information and Resources on ways to reduce the risks and protect yourself and others, including information on COVID-19 vaccination. SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada For further information: Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected] The Archbishop of Canterbury has hailed Prince Philip as an 'outstanding example of Christian service' who was 'a master of putting people at ease and making them feel special'. Justin Welby joined other religious leaders including the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, in paying tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, following his death aged 99 yesterday. His comments came as the British public defied public health advice to stay at home and continued to lay flowers for Philip during socially distanced vigils at royal palaces today. The Archbishop said in a statement: 'I join with the rest of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in mourning the loss of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and give thanks to God for his extraordinary life of dedicated service. The Archbishop of Canterbury has hailed Prince Philip as an 'outstanding example of Christian service' who was 'a master of putting people at ease and making them feel special' 'Prince Philip continually demonstrated his unfailing support and unstinting loyalty to Her Majesty The Queen for 73 years. 'He consistently put the interests of others ahead of his own and, in so doing, provided an outstanding example of Christian service. 'During his naval career, in which he served with distinction in the Second World War, he won the respect of his peers as an outstanding officer. 'On the occasions when I met him, I was always struck by his obvious joy at life, his enquiring mind and his ability to communicate to people from every background and walk of life. 'He was a master at putting people at their ease and making them feel special. 'The legacy he leaves is enormous. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which he founded in 1956, has inspired generations of young people to help others and instilled in them a vision for citizenship and a desire to serve their communities. 'His work with countless charities and organisations reflected his wide- ranging, global interests in topics including wildlife, sport, design, engineering and inter-faith dialogue. 'In his powerful advocacy for conservation his was a prophetic voice for over half a century, as he brought people from around the world to a new concern and commitment to action for the future of our planet. 'As we recover and rebuild after the terrible trial of the coronavirus pandemic, we will need fortitude and a deep sense of commitment to serving others. 'Throughout his life Prince Philip displayed those qualities in abundance, and I pray that we can take inspiration from his example. 'I also join many people in giving thanks for the marriage of Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip, and for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 'Theirs was a marriage grounded in friendship and mutual respect and sustained by shared faith in Christ. 'I pray that God will comfort Her Majesty and the rest of the Royal Family at this time. May His Royal Highness rest in peace and rise in glory.' It comes as bouquets, flowers, cards, Union Flags and balloons were moved away by staff at palaces across the country this morning almost as soon as they were left. But royal aides insist they will all be saved and looked at by the Royal Family inside the grounds of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. Palace security have even put up signs urging people not to congregate, but waves of mourners are still arriving to pay their respects to Her Majesty's devoted husband, who dedicated his life to public service and supporting her through their 73-year marriage. Tributes have poured in from far and wide following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh Well-wishers, all respecting social distancing and wearing masks, laid their tributes and briefly stood to pay their respects, with some wiping away tears or quietly singing hymns before returning home. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is at Windsor, where the Queen is in residence, in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship, before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel today, where he will rest over the weekend. He is expected to be in the Royal Vault during his private family funeral at St George's Chapel next Saturday, and will remain there until the Queen dies and they are buried together in the memorial chapel in a hugely scaled back event due to Britain's ongoing lockdown, with only 30 relatives able to attend. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus. Details about Prince Philip's 'peaceful' death have emerged, with his wife of 73-years understood to have been at his bedside when he slipped away yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill late on Thursday, according to the Daily Telegraph. The couple's children then rushed to comfort their mother yesterday, with Prince Charles staying with the Queen until late last night. Gun salutes marking the death of the Duke of Edinburgh are to take place across the UK, in Gibraltar and at sea at Midday. There will also be cannons firing across the Commonwealth, including in Australia, where a salute rang out in capital Canberra overnight. Saluting batteries will fire 41 rounds at one round every minute in cities including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well as Gibraltar and from Royal Navy warships, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. Gun salutes have been fired to mark significant national events since as early as at least the 18th century. They were used to mark the deaths of Queen Victoria in 1901 and Winston Churchill in 1965. The public is being encouraged to observe the gun salutes, which will be broadcast online and on television, from home. Japanese authorities have rejected four shipments of New Zealand honey since more stringent testing was introduced for the weed killer glyphosate in January. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) introduced mandatory testing for all honey headed to Japan from January 20 in response to concerns about glyphosate levels following random testing in Japan, which prompted authorities there to start testing all New Zealand honey at the border. Some honey was already en route when the more stringent testing was introduced, and variability in testing between international laboratories has also caught out some producers. Shipments of honey from Taranakis award-winning Egmont Honey, Northlands organic producer Mills Farm, and Timarus 100 per cent Pure New Zealand Honey were rejected by Japan in February. The three companies confirmed they authorised the disposal of their honey in Japan. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in products like Round-Up. Japanese authorities have warned MPI that if 5 per cent of imported honey exceeds its glyphosate limit, it will stop our honey exports to Japan. That trade was worth $71 million last year, double the value of 2019, according to Stats NZ. Honey manufacturers point to Japans low standard for glyphosate, at no more than 0.01 parts per million, considered the detectable level, compared with New Zealands regulation of 0.1ppm and the European Union standard of 0.05ppm. They say that is because Japan does not have a separate classification for honey, but lumps it in the default others category in the rules. By contrast, the specified Japanese limit for flour, rye and buckwheat is 30ppm, corn is 5ppm and most of the commonly eaten vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and carrots is 0.2ppm. An Arizona veteran who worked as a congressional staffer died while camping in Death Valley National Park in California with his wife who was able to be rescued on Friday. Alexander Lofgren, 32, and Emily Henkel, 27, were found on a steep ledge near Willow Creek in the desert park, but Lofgren was dead, according to a statement from the Inyo Creek Sheriff's Office. Lofgren worked as a caseworker in the district office of Congressman Raul Grijalv, KGUN reported. He previously served in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan. Henkel was flown to Lemoore Naval Air Station for treatment, and there was no immediate word on her condition. It was unclear how Lofgren died. However, temperatures in Death Valley reached 100 degrees on a couple days this week, according to Accuweather. The Tucson residents, described as experienced campers, failed to return Sunday from a camping trip and were reported missing Tuesday. Authorities searched hotels and major tourist attractions along a highway and checked Lofgren's back-country itinerary. On Wednesday, park staff found the couple's missing Subaru. According to the Sheriff's Office, a note in the car stated: 'Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days' worth of water.' Alexander Lofgren, 32, top, and Emily Henkel, 27, are pictured in an image released by Inyo Creek Sheriff's Office The Sheriff's Office posted a picture of the their white 2018 Subaru Forester with Yakima roof rack and several dogs near what is believed to be Tucson at some point before their Death Valley trip That proved to be 'a crucial tip in directing search efforts,' the Sheriff's Office said. The Sheriff's Office posted a picture of the their white 2018 Subaru Forester with Yakima roof rack and several dogs parked near what is believed to be Tucson at some point before their Death Valley trip. Saguaro cactuses, seen in the picture, do not grow in Death Valley but are common in the Tucson area. On Thursday, the couple was spotted from the air, but crews couldn't hoist them up and weren't able to reach them in the remote area until shortly after 11.30am on Friday, authorities said. A Facebook page for Henkel, a photographer, is filled with incredible photos from her voyages in nature She was flown to Lemoore Naval Air Station for treatment, and there was no immediate word on her condition Family members posted on Facebook that she was 'safe' after she was found on Friday Democrat Congressman Raul M. Grijalva posted about Lofgren's death on Twitter 'This has been a tremendously difficult operation in a very unforgiving geographic area of Inyo County, I sincerely hope for healing and recovery for all involved,' Sheriff Jeff Hollowell said in the statement. Custody of Lofgren's body was transferred to the Inyo County Coroner. An investigation will follow to determine the cause and manner of death. Congressman Grijalva, a Democrat, released a statement about Lofgren's death on Twitter. 'To know Alex was to know someone who loved life, loved his family, and loved helping others. Words cannot begin to describe the void this immeasurable loss leaves in the hearts of his colleagues and his family,' Grijalva wrote. 'Alex lived a life of service and always put the needs of others first. After serving our country in Afghanistan, he came home to Arizona to serve veterans right here in Southern Arizona as a caseworker in my office.' He continued: 'The passion he dedicated to work each day touched countless lives. No matter the situation, Alex met those he helped with a smiling face, a caring heart, and unrivaled empathy.' 'Alex will forever be a part of our family, and my heart is with his family, his loving partner Emily, and his colleagues who mourn him today,' he added. A Facebook page for Henkel, a photographer, is filled with incredible photos from her voyages in nature. Family members posted that she was 'safe' after she was found on Friday. Death Valley, in the Mojave Desert in eastern California, is one of the hottest and driest places in the world. It had highs in the 90s this week. The rugged park has claimed several lives over the years. In January, an experienced climber who was descending a canyon plunged to his death when he was caught in a rockslide. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Saturday announced he has been hospitalized for COVID-19. "I am now admitted in a hospital for Covid treatment," Roque said in a statement. "This is to say that COVID-19 is more transmissible now so we have to do extra precaution." On March 15, Roque announced that he was diagnosed with COVID-19. More than a week later, on March 25, he said he already tested negative for coronavirus infection. It is not clear from his latest statement when he tested positive again and if he is experiencing symptoms. Roque previously disclosed he has diabetes and hypertension. In a March 25 online briefing, he expressed his regret for not taking a COVID-19 shot when he was offered one during the first day of the rollout at the Philippine General Hospital on March 1. During that time, however, only medical frontliners are eligible for the limited available doses. The country started vaccinating senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, the next in the priority line, during the last week of March. Despite another battle against COVID-19, Roque said he will announce quarantine restrictions for Metro Manila and four nearby provinces while in isolation. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is set to decide on Saturday whether to recommend the extension or lifting of the enhanced community quarantine in the capital region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, subject to the approval of President Rodrigo Duterte. The greater Manila area has been under ECQ, the strictest quarantine level, since March 29 due to an exponential rise in infections. 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 Sergio Perez already didn't have a great starting position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, but an electrical problem almost prevented him from even starting the race. According to Christian Horner, they have never seen the problem before. While everyone was busy with the warm-up lap for the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Sergio Perez was suddenly left standing at the side of the track. With a black screen on his display, the cause was clear: electrical problems. Miraculously, the Mexican managed to get his car running and worked his way up to fifth place. According to Christian Horner, it was certainly a noticeable problem for the RB16B. "It was an electrical issue. I think we've started to understand it. So we need to address that, obviously, in time for the next race in Imola, but, you know, it was a frustrating problem that we haven't seen before" the team boss told the Talking Bull podcast. A decisive intervention After the race, Perez was praised for his performance in the race, but Red Bull's Paul Monaghan also praised the way he got his car running again - without communication from the team. Horner agrees. "A great presence of mind with him to reboot the car and get it going again. Ctrl, Alt, Delete and away you go again." "I think that his recovery drive thereafter was fantastic. He was very decisive in his overtaking and had great pace. And to come from the back of the field was a great performance," Horner concluded. Next week the Mexican will be back in action at the Imola Grand Prix, hopefully, this time from the front. New Delhi: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone blessed her followers' feed with an adorable picture of hers when she was a toddler which will surely melt your heart! The 'Piku' actress took to Instagram to introduce us to Deepika when she was an innocent, cute toddler with big wide eyes. In the photo, a baby Deepika is seen sitting on the floor with a woollen cap, sweater and socks to keep her warm and cosy. She is seen smiling and looking at the camera with her adorable big doe-eyes. The actress added a hilarious caption to the photo, saying, "Indranagar ki gundi hoon main!" and added a laughing emoji. She gave picture credits to her mom, calling her Mama Padukone. Fans were thrilled to see the cute throwback picture and gushed over it in the comments. Here's the picture: On the work front, Deepika was last seen in the 2020 film Chappak based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. She will be next seen in the upcoming sports film 83 based on India's victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. She will also star in the Indian adaption of the American comedy film The Intern alongside megastar Amitabh Bachchan and YRF's next film Pathan alongside Shah Rukh Khan. The 35-year-old has also been roped in for Karan Johar's period-drama 'Takht'. Peltzman Effect might be the reason behind the increasing COVID-19 cases post vaccination. Peltzman Effect has been termed after Sam Peltzman, an economist at the University of Chicago, who first described it in 1975. According to the theory, when safety measures are mandated, people's perception of risk decreases, making them take riskier decisions. Peltzman postulated about mandating the use of seatbelts in automobiles, leading to more accidents. It implies that safety perception increases risk appetite. In other terms, people become more careful when they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected, according to his theory. In the case of Covid-19, vaccines are giving a sense of security, leading to increased risky behavior, that is low adherence to preventive measures -- mask usage, social distancing and hand sanitization. As a result "...the very optimism that is necessary to encourage widespread acceptance of the vaccine will undoubtedly contribute to the overconfidence" and lead people to forgo the preventive measures. "Consciously or not, even those who have not received a Covid-19 vaccine may forgo masks and social distancing if they know that others are receiving the vaccine," the doctors added. Although pandemic fatigue is a reason for low adherence to preventive measures, the Peltzman effect cannot be ignored. The theory is also evident in the drastic decline in the usage of PPE kits by the healthcare workers. This risk-taking behaviour can be dangerous for general public. But for a health care worker dealing directly with Covid-19 patients, it can prove detrimental and impair the health care services, as is seen in the recent report of 37 doctors in a Delhi hospital testing positive even after taking both doses. The doctors, reportedly, got infected while attending to Covid-19 patients at the hospital. Source: IANS The increase in the number of people being inoculated gives rise to a "misplaced sense of security in 'herd immunity' long before widespread immunity is truly present," said doctors from New York University's Langone Health in a comprehensive review of the Peltzman Effect, published in the ACP Journals on March 2.As a result "...the very optimism that is necessary to encourage widespread acceptance of the vaccine will undoubtedly contribute to the overconfidence" and lead people to forgo the preventive measures."Consciously or not, even those who have not received a Covid-19 vaccine may forgo masks and social distancing if they know that others are receiving the vaccine," the doctors added.Although pandemic fatigue is a reason for low adherence to preventive measures, the Peltzman effect cannot be ignored. The theory is also evident in the drastic decline in the usage of PPE kits by the healthcare workers.This risk-taking behaviour can be dangerous for general public. But for a health care worker dealing directly with Covid-19 patients, it can prove detrimental and impair the health care services, as is seen in the recent report of 37 doctors in a Delhi hospital testing positive even after taking both doses. The doctors, reportedly, got infected while attending to Covid-19 patients at the hospital.Source: IANS While it is a known fact that vaccines neither give immediate protection or full protection (against infection as against death), the sense of security unfortunately starts much earlier, even before the actual injection: people wear masks with less caution, do not maintain distance as soon as they reach vaccination centres -- the Peltzman effect. Authorities in Texas have arrested one Seth Aaron Pendley who was allegedly plotting to blow up an Amazon Data Centre in Virginia with the intention of disabling the internet. Reuters According to a statement released by the Department of Justice, (reported by Vice) Pendley allegedly revealed to an undercover agent that he planned to attack web servers that were providing services to the CIA, FBI and other federal agencies. His intention was to take down the oligarchy thats present in the US today. Also Read: From Email To Video Streaming: How Our Online Actions Impact Our Environment The FBI got to know about Pendleys plot upon warning from one of his friends. He was an active member of the extremist website MyMilitia.com, where he announced his plans. According to the DOJ, a user by the name of Dionysus on the platform wanted to conduct a little experiment that would draw a lot of heat. When one user asked him what outcome he was looking for, Dionysus replied, death, while also iterating in a separate post that he wasnt a dumba** suicide bomber. He was one of the Capitol rioters The DOJ, in no time, figured out it was Pendley and started to scour his social media feeds where they found that he was one of the rioters that attacked the Capitol and interacted with the police with a broken glass piece he 'swiped' from the Capitol. Later, DOJ has revealed that Pendley had conversations with an FBI informant on the texting app Signal where allegedly, Pendley stated that he planned on using C-4 explosives to attack Amazons data centres to disable 70 percent of the internet. Also Read: Asias Largest Data Centre Opens In Navi Mumbai, Spread Across 600-Acres Reuters He knew his plan wasn't enough In a criminal complaint against Pendley, hes stated that even if he had managed to succeed, it wouldnt have disabled 70 percent of the internet, as AWS data places are mostly centrally located, and he hadnt got all the details worked out. Pendley has now been charged with Intent to attack data centres. If found guilty, Pendley could be looking at up to 20 years in federal prison. ALSO READ: How A Giant Web Of Submarine Cables Connects India To The Internet And World Biden Administration 'Caves' on Beijing 2022 Olympics Boycott Discussions After the Chinese Government Issues Warning of 'Robust Chinese Response' to a Potential Boycott Protest and News Conference Outside of the White House on Saturday, April 10, at 1:00 P.M. NEWS PROVIDED BY Christian Defense Coalition April 9, 2021 WASHINGTON, April 9, 2021 /Standard Newswire/ -- A State Department spokesman indicated in an exchange with reporters Tuesday that the U.S. was discussing whether to skip the Olympics in Beijing as part of a boycott with allies. Tragically, after a threat from the Chinese Government, the Biden Administration pulled back and later said; "We have not discussed and are not discussing any joint boycott with allies and partners." It is deeply troubling President Biden has been bullied and intimidated by the Chinese government into reversing course on any Beijing Olympic boycott discussions. This "flip flop" and reversing of position by President Biden shows a troubling lack of commitment to human rights in China and betrays all those being oppressed and brutalized by the Chinese Communist Party. Human rights activists will have a protest and news conference outside of the White House on Saturday, April 10, at 1:00 P.M. on the south public sidewalk on the corner of 16th St. and H St. NW. They will be calling for President Biden to lead a coalition of nations to boycott the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games and stand for human rights in China. Here is a link to a news article of 180 worldwide human rights groups urging a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics: https://thehill.com/policy/international/537363-180-human-rights-groups-urging-boycott-of-beijing-olympic-games. Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington, D.C., has been an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses in China for over 40 years. In 2008, he was involved in an effort to boycott the Beijing Summer Olympics and was arrested in Tiananmen Square during the Olympics speaking out for human rights. He was threatened with six months in prison and is currently banned from China. Rev. Mahoney states; "It would be unconscionable for America to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games while China is committing genocide against the Uyghur's, oppressing Hong Kong, bulldozing churches, persecuting religious minorities and crushing free speech and human rights against their own citizens. "We call upon America and the world not to give the Chinese Communist Party an international propaganda platform before billions of people worldwide through the Olympic Games. How can we honor a country where Uyghur's are living in concentration and forced labor camps, Hong Kong democracy leaders are sitting in prison with no bail, Christian Churches are bulldozed, political and religious dissidents are daily being brutalized and persecuted and so many more human rights atrocities? "Simply stated, America must say no the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games." For more information or interviews contact Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741 SOURCE Christian Defense Coalition CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741 Location: Milwaukee - Wisconsin Job Description The Finance BI Solutions Manager is responsible for delivering financial and management reporting for the Finance organization and its partners. The Finance BI Solutions Manager role is a highly collaborative role working with the Finance function and the IT organization to establish an enterprise analytics platform. The Finance BI Solutions Manager must understand the finance reporting and analytics environment in the broader context of the enterprise's business systems and data architecture. This position is expected to provide thought leadership in information design and visualization tools, along with educating members of the organization on how to best use the reporting and analytics environment. The role will be a key liaison between the Finance organization, IT and finance business partners in helping Rockwell Automation migrate to centralized reporting using a Microsoft Power BI technology platform. Essential Functions: Lead the Finance BI Solutions Team and manage the finance reporting and analytics roadmap Understand and document analytics requirements from the Finance organization, creates technical documentation, and delivers data models/views according to those requirements Designs, develops and tests new Finance Business Intelligence applications using Azure Analysis Services and Power BI, including incremental enhancements and support of the existing platform Collaborates with the Finance organization, Information Technology and the Data Analytics & Insights teams to deliver business intelligence and analytics outputs that meet users reporting needs and to resolve system issues Collaborates with business systems analysts and product owners from other functions to define requirements for usage of Finance Business Intelligence data sets Establish and govern a Finance data & analytics implementation roadmap including strategic priorities for development of information based capabilities Responsible for a report lifecycle framework including decommissioning legacy BI solutions Understands required system security to ensure data is shared appropriately, in compliance with Rockwell's Safeguarding Sensitive Information policy Proactively monitors industry trends and identifies opportunities to implement new technologies Introduces and accelerates new technologies and methodologies to support digital transformation Basic Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, information technology and/or business administration Legal authorization to work in the US is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening Preferred Qualifications: Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience Advanced knowledge and experience with Power BI, Power Query, advanced DAX for business, DAX Studio, and Tabular Editor Other Power Platform knowledge and experience in technologies like Power Apps and Power Automate is desirable Working knowledge of SAP, Hyperion Financial Management (HFM), Hyperion Planning (HP), Oracle EPM and Microsoft productivity tools preferred Must exhibit excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills Experience with Agile development, SCRUM/SAFE methodologies, and system/process documentation Ability to translate technical issues into terms understandable and actionable for different audiences Adept at leveraging systems to drive efficiencies and develop creative solutions for reporting needs Experience building and/or implementing strategic financial reporting and analytics roadmaps Strong leadership and negotiation skills with business and technical groups Ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and changing business requirements Project Management experience (scope, schedule, status, issues, risks management, dependencies, decisions) IPC (Information Processing Capability) Strong analytical skills; ability to distill information from disparate data sources and the capability to tell the "story" behind it, as well as recommendations for next steps Ability to manage competing demands, accept criticism and constructive feedback, while being extremely adaptable and flexible Exercise judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action Ability to understand complex data structures with project interdependencies and drive reporting solutions for the stakeholders. Temperament Good listening skills to assess customer needs and understand requirements Successfully transfers skills and knowledge to other individuals or groups Intellectual curiosity and the ability to question partners across functional areas Seeks and incorporates relevant perspectives when assessing a situation, making a decision or presenting Ability to ask the right questions and challenge status quo when necessary Accepts Role Requirements Ability to work effectively across time zones, businesses, and functions to resolve issues Experience working with Offshore team resources Collaborate within various IT, business capability teams and business stakeholders to achieve maximum business value Ability to manage multiple assignments and projects with varying deadlines from multiple customers Enthusiasm for relationship building and partnership across the organization at all levels Actively pursues personal continuous learning and development of skills #LI-MM1 We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (see application details). Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 08:49:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group should work closely together to contain the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure fair and efficient distribution of vaccines across all countries, the institutions' Development Committee said on Friday. "Timely delivery of safe and effective vaccines across all countries is critical to ending the pandemic, especially as new variants emerge," the joint ministerial committee of the World Bank and the IMF said in a communique following a virtual meeting. (IMF-World Bank) - - - - VIENNA -- The U.S. promise on lifting unilateral sanctions must be put into action immediately, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Friday, after a meeting with other senior diplomats concerning the Iran nuclear deal. "Regarding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, China and the parties concerned clearly expressed their concerns at the meeting, and it must be lifted immediately," Wang told Xinhua after the talks on the resumption of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the United States and Iran. (JCPOA-Iran Nuclear Talk) - - - - LA PAZ -- Bolivia on Friday said it decided to keep its border with Brazil closed for another seven days to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, especially the Brazilian variant of the virus considered to be more contagious and possibly more lethal. Bolivia first closed its border with Brazil on April 2, with provisions for cross-border trade, and was to lift the ban on Friday. (Bolivia-Coronavirus) - - - - WARSAW -- The total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Poland exceeded 2.5 million on Friday, with the pandemic leaving over 57,000 dead, the country's health ministry reported. With 28,487 new cases confirmed in a 24-hour span, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that the numbers seem to have started falling. He warned, however, that the sharp rise in cases one to two weeks earlier will now have its effect on hospital occupancy. (Poland-COVID-19) - - - - UNITED NATIONS -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the steps announced by the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) and the World Bank Group Development Committee to address debt crises and other financial distress to economies arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement issued via his spokesperson, the UN chief said developing economies had struggled to secure enough financial resources to cope with the onset of the coronavirus crisis, "let alone to recover from it." (UN-Guterres-IMF-World Bank) Enditem Armenia ex-Ambassador to Vatican on Armenians' emigration and reasons Catholicos of All Armenians takes remains of St. Gregory the Illuminator to Artsakh Armenian ballet master Vilen Galstyan dies at 80 Putin shares expectations from upcoming meeting with Biden Armenia 2nd President: Number of people who emigrated without returning has grown, only solution is shift of power EU bans flights of Belarusian airline companies in its airspace US deals blow to major Chinese companies Armenia acting PM: 62% of weapons obtained were obtained between 2018 and 2020 Armenia acting PM: Meghri corridor issue and transfer of villages of Kazakh region were a topic in November 2020 Armenia ruling party MP drops mandate Citizens of Armenia's Artashat greet acting PM by chanting 'Turk' and 'traitor' Armenia Ombudsman reminds PM's ex-chief of staff about shortcomings in activities during war Armenia 3rd President: We must start bringing back people who know everything about troops Armenia MOD hosts consultation with deputy commanders and battalions' commanders Armenia Ombudsman says acting PM's plan won't ensure restoration of Armenian citizens' rights Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan's failure to return POWs is equivalent to war crime Armenia 3rd President receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Prosecutor General speaks at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum "Armenia" bloc: We plan to meet with residents of Shirak Province Armenian water resources come under Azerbaijani control, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, Jun. 4 digest Armenia acting PM: Health insurance is inevitable Armenia Investigative Committee launches criminal case regarding keeping of bodies and remains of deceased servicemen Opposition "Armenia" bloc representative: Authorities are actually busy bribing voters Armenia legislature passes law to help ease requirements for future teachers Russia ambassador visits Meghri, Armenia border checkpoint (PHOTOS) Armenia ruling party's candidate for anti-corruption commission member not elected Armenia acting premier: There will be statement in coming days about exposure of high treason Dollar loses value in Armenia Armenia acting PM: Our task is to support our farmers so that engaging in agriculture is planned activity China Daily: Water tribe prospers ashore in Fujian China calls for closer security, economic cooperation with Afghanistan Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: There was proposal from Azerbaijans Aliyev on Meghri issue CIS Observation Mission continues to monitor snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Nepal reports first death from 'black fungus' Armenian analyst: High-ranking US delegation's visit to Armenia can't be viewed as support to incumbent authorities "Armenia" bloc: Things can't get any worse in the country from the perspective of censure Edmon Marukyan calls on people to vote for Bright Armenia Party to establish unity in the country Armenia Ararat Province deputy governor sacked Russian Ambassador says Russia makes significant contributions to ensuring of Armenia's security Azerbaijan reports 3 deaths from mine explosion in Karvachar Sarkissian to Nigmatulin: Armenia, Kazakhstan have lot in common ECHR fails to accept Azerbaijan's application against Armenia Government as new and separate case Head of Armenia's Verin Shorzha: Azerbaijanis operating equipment to move from one military post to the other Iran produces trial batches of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine President welcomes Catholicos of All Armenians who has arrived in Artsakh Armenia PM chief of staff: Possibility of full-scale war still exists in region Alaska offers free COVID-19 vaccines to everyone Two Azerbaijan reporters die in landmine explosion in Artsakhs Karvachar Over 120 Nobel laureates urge G7 countries to step up efforts to tackle climate change Downtown Yerevan murder solved, murder suspect is foreigner Armenia former President Kocharyan: These authorities really have nothing to say Armenia parliament holding 2nd special session in one day Armenia ruling party MP unexpectedly admits that member candidate for anti-corruption commission is his wife Court fines 12 Australian media outlets 1.1 million for reporting on Cardinal George Pell Armenia MFA: Azerbaijan instrumentalizes captured people as political hostages, tools to pursue other goals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: These authorities have not kept any of their promises in 3 years UN Security Council will make a recommendation on the next Secretary-General on June 8 Armenia ombudsman: Water resources have come under Azerbaijan army control Turkish actress faces 2 years in prison for 'insulting' rapist US lawmakers call for Turkey to be held accountable for repeated religious freedom violations 72 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Candidate for post of Head of State must undergo psychiatric evaluation Armenia legislature continues special sitting Israel defense minister changes tone over Iran nuclear deal during US visit Armenia parliament to convene 2 special sessions Friday University of Nevada new School of Medicine to be named after Kirk Kerkorian World food prices reach highest level in 10 years Newspaper: Armenia ruling party to hold fundraiser Saturday Newspaper: Russia does not manifest very active efforts in trilateral talks with Armenia, Azerbaijan US to donate 25mn doses of coronavirus vaccine Armenia is elected UN World Tourism Organization Executive Council member for period of 2021-2025 Armenia 2nd President meets with leaders and officers of Police, MOD and National Security Service of various years Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative: Incumbent authorities' mistakes are irreversible Armenia ombudsman: Any persecution, trial of captives is gross violation of international law Europe sees progress in latest rounds of Iran nuclear talks Armenian analyst: Turkey wants to push Russia out of the South Caucasus Young Armenian says brawl with Azerbaijanis in front of Azerbaijan Embassy in Moscow might have been organized Catholicos of All Armenians leaves for Armenia's Syunik Province and Artsakh on pontifical visit Armenian and Russian Prosecutors General meet in St. Petersburg 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 She's known for her glamorous ensembles while portraying Samantha Jones in Sex And The City. And Kim Cattrall was sure to impress fans when she revealed she could still fit into a jumper her mother gave her in 1973, when she was aged just 17 in a snap she shared via Instagram on Friday. The actress, 64, looked cosy in the cable-knit cardigan that featured a man on a horse chasing down a deer. 'Still fits!' Kim Cattrall, 64, slipped into a cosy jumper her mother gave her in 1973 when she was just 17 for a snap she shared via Instagram on For the photo, Kim styled her golden locks into a sleek, straight style and kept a surgical face mask on amid the coronavirus crisis. Kim revealed to fans her mother had given the attire to her when she experienced her first winter in New York City as a teen. In her caption, she wrote: 'My Mum bought me this sweater to keep me warm through my 1st NYC winter of 1973. Still have it. Still fits.' While she is well known for her role in Sex And The City, Kim revealed last year she would not be taking part in the HBO Max reboot. Sweet: Kim revealed to fans her mother had given the attire to her when she experienced her first winter in New York City as a teen Iconic: Kim is known for her glamorous ensembles while portraying Samantha Jones in Sex And The City (pictured with Sarah Jessica Parker) Only recently, it was revealed that the revival would be titled And Just Like That... as Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays show lead Carrie Bradshaw, promised fans a new SATC adaptation that properly reflects the times we live in. She confirmed that the HBO Max miniseries will address the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it has had on the show's iconic setting of New York City. Sarah also recently clarified that there will not be a fourth main character replacing Kim's Samantha, after the British actress refused to return to the franchise. Not returning: Kim revealed last year she would not be taking part in the HBO Max reboot (pictured with Sarah, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis) In perfect Carrie Bradshaw fashion, she told YouTuber Adam Glyn: 'We're not looking to create a fourth character, we have New York City as a fourth character and it will be an interesting new character that we are excited about.' Candace Bushnell, 62, who wrote the 1996 book on which the show is based, said the new instalment will work without Samantha, recently telling Page Six: 'You know what, I think it's fine. Kim is a grown woman. 'She is 64 and she's made a decision that I'm sure she has 10 very good reasons for and I respect her for that.' She added: 'Kim should be happy and I think she is happy. I think that her character Samantha is always going to be an inspiration to them. So somehow, I imagine she'll be there in spirit and as an inspiration.' Advertisement A gun salute rang out around the world today in honour of Prince Philip who died yesterday aged 99, with Royal Navy warships firing 41 shots over 40 minutes from midday in unison with batteries across the UK and Gibraltar after similar events in his beloved Commonwealth. Crowds gathered on Tower Bridge to watch members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire their cannons from the Tower of London as shots also echoed around the capital from the historic barracks seven miles away at Woolwich, finishing at 12.40pm precisely. HMS Diamond, a 8,000-tonne destroyer dubbed 'the jewel in the naval crown, set sail from Portsmouth on Friday with her flag at half mast and held its gun salute in the Channel in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, a celebrated sailor and war hero. She is the modern successor to the destroyers Philip served on during the Second World War as part of his 14-year naval career. HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, fired her 4.5 inch main gun from Oman in the Gulf, where she is based. On land 'Solemn' 41-shot salutes took place from the wharf at the Tower of London, in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh as well as from Naval bases in Portsmouth, Plymouth and the Rock of Gibraltar. The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired on the Parade Ground at the historic Woolwich Barracks using the same guns also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. An artillery salute has already taken place at Parliament House in Adelaide this morning, with similar commemorations repeated across the Commonwealth. And as tributes to the Queen's husband poured in from around the globe, it also emerged: Prince Philip spent his final days at Windsor, enjoying fresh air and spring sunshine, before becoming gravely ill on Thursday night. Her Majesty was with him when he died on Friday morning; Her Majesty's sons rushed to comfort her today yesterday. Prince Andrew, who lives in the grounds, arrived shortly after Prince Edward. Prince Charles was there last night; Prince Harry has spoken to his father the Prince of Wales and cousins Beatrice and Eugenie after Philip's death and plans return to Britain - but pregnant Meghan Markle is expected to stay in California; Members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire during a 41-round gun salute for Prince Philip from the wharf at the Tower of London held at Midday today The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery also fired to mark the passing of Philip, at their historic Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks. The same guns were also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953 Sailors firing the Death Gun Salute with the Salting Gun to mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, aboard the Daring-class air-defence destroyer HMS Diamond at sea in the Channel Crew members of the HMS Montrose firing a 41-round gun salute to to mark the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, in Duqm, Oman The Death Gun Salute was fired by the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery to mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Cardiff Castle Members of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired their 41-round gun salute from Edinburgh Castle, high above the Scottish capital On the dockside in Gibratar, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment fired their Death Gun Salute to celebrate the life of the Duke of Edinburgh A woman wipes away tears as she queues to lay flowers at Buckingham Palace as the guns fire in the Duke's memory Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Clark salutes as members of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute at Edinburgh Castle while in London a family hugs as they reflect on the Duke's death outside his London home as the shots rang out Used shells shrouded in smoke lie on the ground at the Tower as Britain's Armed Forces saluted war hero the Duke of Edinburgh Spectators watch the volley of gunfire from Tower Bridge as the shells exploded in the London skyline after Midday The Honourable Artillery Company, the City of London's Reserve Army Regiment wear ceremonial attire and drive in their liveried Pinzgauer vehicles at The Tower of London She is the modern successor to the destroyers the Duke of Edinburgh served on during World War Two as part of his 14-year naval career. Pictured is Philip (right) with the Queen and Captain John Edwin Home McBeath on HMS Chequers, which the prince served on Officials told the public to observe the gun salutes, which will be broadcast online and on television, from home. Philip's funeral is set to be 'next Saturday' after eight days of national mourning: Prince won't lie in state before ceremonial service at Windsor - as royals face dilemma over who to invite because of 30-person Covid rule Straight to the point in death as in life, the Duke of Edinburgh always insisted he wanted a funeral with minimal fuss. His wish for what is known as a 'royal ceremonial funeral' similar to the Queen Mother's rather than a full state funeral had already been granted. But the pandemic will have a major impact upon those plans. Last night, the Queen and her senior officials were discussing how best to proceed. With final approval down to Her Majesty, a decision is likely to be announced today. Sources say it is almost certain, however, that any aspect of the arrangements likely to draw a crowd will not take place, meaning the ceremonial aspects will be limited and mourners will number no more than 30. Under the previous plans known in the royal household as 'Forth Bridge' his body would have been embalmed immediately and taken to the Albert Memorial Chapel by St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Mail understands that Philip's coffin was last night at the castle, where the Queen is in residence, most probably resting in her private chapel of worship. But over the weekend it is likely be moved to the Albert Memorial Chapel, which was built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum. Philip's coffin is likely to lie there with little ceremony resting on two simple wooden platforms called catafalques. Under pre-Covid plans, it would have been brought to London today by road and taken to St James's Palace to reside temporarily in the intimate Chapel Royal. The College of Arms said yesterday there will be no lying-in-state and Philip's coffin would lie at rest at Windsor Castle ahead of his funeral in St George' Chapel, most likely next Saturday. It is likely to have been draped with his personal standard which bears references to his Danish and Greek royal heritage, his Mountbatten roots and Edinburgh title and a floral wreath from his family. A vigil by his children Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward is likely to take place at Windsor. On the day of his funeral, Philip's coffin is expected to be carried by bearers from the Queen's Company, First Battalion Grenadier Guards. The duke will be placed on a gun carriage belonging to the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, drawn by a Royal Navy gun crew. The carriage a personal request by Philip is the one that carried Queen Victoria at her funeral in 1901. A planned cortege through Windsor is now unlikely to take place. But inside Windsor Castle, events are likely to be largely the same, but with fewer mourners. The coffin will be met by a guard of honour from The Rifles and a band in Horseshoe Cloister, surrounded by houses built in the 15th century for the chapel's 'singing men'. Twelve singers known as lay clerks still live there, and they will perform during the service, with a bell tolling throughout. On the grass south of the West Gate will be Royal Navy pipers. A bearer party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin into St George's Chapel via the West Steps, lined by the Household Cavalry, where the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury will wait. The coffin will be taken into the Quire the resting place of most of the monarchs buried at the chapel. Inside or under the Quire are Edward VII, Henry VI, Edward IV, George III, George IV and William IV, Henry VIII and Charles I. Philip's catafalque will be placed on a black marble slab, which is the entrance to the Royal Vault. The hymns requested by the prince are believed to include his favourite seafarer's anthem, For Those In Peril On The Sea. At the end of the service a Psalm and the 'ashes to ashes' text will be read as a piper plays a lament. The coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault and will remain there until the Queen dies and they are buried together in the memorial chapel. The day after the funeral, flags will be brought back to full mast, although the Court will remain in mourning for three more weeks. Advertisement It comes after floral tributes laid by members of the public outside palaces were quickly removed last night as the nation faced an eery seven days of eerie socially distanced mourning. In London, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode out from their base at Napier Lines, Woolwich Barracks, onto the Parade Ground. There were 71 horses, 36 of them pulling six 13-pounder field guns dating from the First World War. The same guns were also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: 'His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh was a constant supporter and ambassador of the armed forces. 'We celebrate his life of service and offer our condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family.' Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter said: 'His Royal Highness has been a great friend, inspiration and role model for the armed forces and he will be sorely missed. 'The Duke of Edinburgh served among us during the Second World War, and he remained devoted to the Royal Navy and the armed forces as a whole. 'A life well lived, His Royal Highness leaves us with a legacy of indomitable spirit, steadfastness and an unshakeable sense of duty. From all of us who serve today and who have served, thank you.' The Honourable Artillery Company fired a salute at the Tower of London, the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery will fire from Cardiff Castle, and the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery will fire at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast and Edinburgh Castle. It comes as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the most senior officer in the Royal Navy, added to the tributes to Philip. In a statement released on Saturday morning, he said: 'His genuine empathy, affection and engagement with the Royal Navy resonated with us all. 'His generous spirit, his delight in all aspects of the Naval Service, and his deep understanding of our values, standards and ethos made him such a close friend to the Service for over eight decades.' Philip joined the Royal Navy after leaving school, beginning at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in May 1939, and was singled out as best cadet. During the Second World War, he served on several ships - firstly on HMS Ramillies - and saw active service against German, Italian and Japanese forces. In March 1941, he was a searchlight control officer on the battleship HMS Valiant and was mentioned in despatches for his part in the battle of Matapan against the Italian fleet. Shortly afterwards, he was awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour. He rose rapidly through the ranks, earning promotion after promotion, with some believing he could have become First Sea Lord - the professional head of the Royal Navy. But the Duke stepped down from his active role in the forces to fulfil his duty as the Queen's consort. In recognition of his long-standing connection with the Royal Navy, the Queen conferred the title of Lord High Admiral on the Duke to mark his 90th birthday in June 2011. Princes Andrew and Edward are supporting their mother the Queen at Windsor Castle today as she grieves the death of Prince Philip and begins life without her 'strength and stay' throughout their 73-year marriage and her 68-year reign. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship at their Berkshire home before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel later today, where he will rest during seven days of national mourning ahead of his hugely scaled-back funeral next Saturday. Their youngest child Prince Edward was the first to arrive to support his mother again today, having made the short trip from his Surrey home. Prince Andrew, who lives in Windsor Castle's grounds, was also seen arriving after 10am. Prince Charles stayed with the Queen until late last night. Meanwhile Britons have defied public health advice to stay at home and continued to lay flowers for Prince Philip during socially distanced vigils at royal palaces today as the country marks his death at the age of 99. The bouquets, flowers, cards, Union Flags and balloons are being moved away by staff almost as soon as they are left - but royal aides insist they will all be saved and looked at by the Royal Family inside the grounds of Windsor and Buckingham Palace. Palace security have even put up signs urging people not to congregate, but waves of mourners are still arriving to pay their respects to Her Majesty's devoted husband, who dedicated his life to public service and supporting her through their 73-year marriage. Well-wishers, all respecting social distancing and wearing masks, laid their tributes and briefly stood to pay their respects, with some wiping away tears or quietly singing hymns before returning home. Philip is expected to be laid to rest in the Royal Vault during his private family funeral at St George's Chapel next Saturday, stripped back due to Britain's ongoing lockdown, with only 30 relatives able to attend. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus. His grandson Prince Harry is expected to return to the UK and be among the small number of mourners at the funeral, but it is unlikely his pregnant wife Meghan will accompany him, weeks after the couple accused the Royal Family of racism in their bombshell Oprah interview while Philip lay in hospital. Details about Prince Philip's 'peaceful' death have emerged, with his wife of 73-years understood to have been at his bedside when he slipped away yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill late on Thursday, according to the Daily Telegraph. Soldiers stand straight as guns fire at the Tower of London today as the salute could be heard all over the city Stoic members of the Honourable Artillery Company and Beefeaters watch on fire a gun salute at The Tower of London Tourists and well-wishers stood and watched in silence, many filming with their mobile phones, during the firing at the Tower of London The giant and historic Woolwich Barracks in south-east London echoed with the sound of 41 shots in 40 minutes Members of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute at Woolwich Barracks in London In Scotland the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired in unison at Edinburgh Castle Guns fired for 40 minutes at the parade ground at Woolwich barracks this afternoon in memory of Philip, the longest-serving Queen's consort in British history Members of the Honourable Artillery Company moved their cannons to the wharf at the Tower of London ahead of the salute The public stand in silence as a Death Gun Salute is fired at midday to commemorate the passing of Britain's Prince Philip The sparkling guns were wheeled into position in the minutes before Midday at the Tower of London's wharf Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery carry boxes of blank shells in advance of today's gun salute Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery place empty shells into boxes in advance of a gun salute to commemorate the death of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks A box of blank shells prepared for the gun salute to commemorate the death of Philip Well-wishers watch as members of the Household Cavalry mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as they ride past Buckingham Palace HMS Diamond, a 8,000-tonne destroyer dubbed 'the jewel in the naval crown, set sail from Portsmouth on Friday. She is seen in a file photo Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, leaves Windsor Castle with her window wound down to show her appreciation to well wishers who have gathered at Windsor Castle follow the death of the Duke of Edinburgh The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrive at Windsor Castle to join the Queen today. Prince Edward was the first to arrive, with his wife Sophie in tears Prince Andrew arrives at Windsor Castle to visit his mother the Queen, as she mourns her husband Prince Philip today The Duke of York drove himself (pictured) to support Her Majesty minutes, arriving shortly after his brother Edward People gather outside the gates of Buckingham Palace in London despite the warnings to stay away A couple hug outside Buckingham Palace as they watched people lay bouquets for Philip this afternoon Two children carrying tulips and a Union Flag walk to the gates of the palace having waited patiently in queues Britain continues to mourn the Duke of Edinburgh and the public are still arriving at Windsor to lay bouquets, which are being cleared away by officials because of the pandemic Children laid flowers in memory of the 'Iron Duke', who died at Windsor yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill A security official stands alongside a sign requesting the public not to leave floral and other tributes to Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh outside Buckingham Palace, after his death yesterday But despite the warnings, still the mourners come, with these children sent by their parents to lay a bouquet together at the palace As the guns rang out at Midday, Manchester City and Leeds United players stood for a two minute silence prior to kick off at the Etihad Soldiers from a mounted regiment salute as they pass Windsor Castle, where Philip will rest until his funeral in a week's time Mourners came to Buckingham Palace through the night and as dawn broke to lay flowers for Prince Philip, who died yesterday aged 99 Elaine and Maya Jamieson from Berkshire, leave flowers outside Windsor Castle this morning, where the Duke's coffin is resting in his wife's private chapel Flowers continue to be laid at the gates at the top of Windsor's famous Long Walk despite warnings to stay away due to Covid restrictions Buckingham Palace has staff who are moving tributes into the palace as they arrive, and are sweeping away squashed or dead blooms this morning A mourner in a beret and mask arrived after 7am to pay her respects despite advice not to travel due to Covid restrictions A woman gestures as she sings next to tributes left in honor of Britain's Prince Philip in front of Buckingham Palace A worker clears away the tributes, which are being taken inside the royal palaces where Philip's family and aides will look at them Windsor Castle staff stood silently at the entrance today as Britain mourns Prince Philip for a second day Carriagemen pause and pay their respects to Prince Philip, a man who was an accomplished horseman, polo player and carriage racer The flag at half mast at Buckingham Palace at dawn today, as Britain continues a period of eight days of mourning Tributes continued to be placed into the evening, as piles of flowers were left on the ground outside Windsor Castle Dozens of London black cabs lined The Mall just hours after the Duke of Edinburgh 's death was announced by Buckingham Palace - in a poignant tribute to the royal who drove a taxi around the capital for fun The Mail understands that Philip's coffin was last night at the castle, where the Queen is in residence, most probably resting in her private chapel of worship. But over the weekend it is likely be moved to the Albert Memorial Chapel, which was built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum. Philip's coffin is likely to lie there with little ceremony resting on two simple wooden platforms called catafalques Windsor resident Craig Truter and his children were among those who left tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh at Cambridge Gate. His sons Ranger, 6, and Bale, 4, laid hand-made paper crowns with the initials HRHPP (His Royal Highness Prince Philip). Mr Truter said his children had made the crowns 'as a sign of respect' for the duke, and they saw members of the royal family 'quite frequently'. He added that his family had been 'lucky enough' to have been among the members of the public invited inside the castle grounds during the wedding of Princess Eugenie in 2018. At the Queen's central London home, guards in red could be seen marching in the courtyard as a slow but steady stream of people arrived to lay bouquets at the front gates. Nikoletta Peto visited the palace shortly after 9am. Ms Peto, 39, who is originally from Hungary said: 'I have lived here for 15 years and I felt like it's important to give a flower to someone who is so respected and who has done so much for this country. 'So definitely I wanted to come, even though because of Covid I was shielding for over a year.' She added: 'I felt like I have to do it because I think it is how it should be.' Rebecca Connoll laid some flowers with her five-year-old son Harvey. She said: 'My husband's in the Army, he's in the Household Cavalry, so he does a lot of big events with the royal family. 'So we just thought we'd come and pay our respects.' She added: 'We watched it on the news yesterday and we watch a lot of the royal things, we come down and watch the parades, he knows quite a lot about the royal family.' The Queen is thought to have been at the bedside of her 'beloved husband' of 73 years Prince Philip when he passed away 'peacefully' at Windsor Castle yesterday. The Duke of Edinburgh, the nation's longest-serving consort, died in his private apartment just two months and a day before what would have been his 100th birthday. Though palace officials declined to 'go into any specifics' about the nature of his passing, it is understood his frail condition worsened overnight on Thursday and that insiders had warned he was 'gravely ill'. However, any talk of whisking the elderly duke to hospital was reportedly quickly dismissed by the Queen. Philip, who recently spent a month being treated for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition, is thought to have died suddenly and unexpectedly, but peacefully in the company of his dear 'Lilibet'. The Telegraph reported that the duke had wanted to pass away 'in his own bed' and 'on his own terms'. One well-placed source told the paper: 'He spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home. They operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind. But he didn't really care about that.' They added: 'There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital.' In a short but poignant statement at noon, Buckingham Palace said: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.' As tributes poured in from around the world, the Palace's focus was on the royal family's aching personal bereavement. 'They are a family in mourning,' one official said last night. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was seen leaving Windsor Castle hours after the news of his father's passing. The Prince of Wales, 72, drove from his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire to the 94-year-old monarch's Berkshire residence ahead of the public announcement of the duke's passing. Sitting in the front passenger seat of a silver Tesla, the prince looked on as he pulled away. It is not known whether Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had accompanied him on what is their 16th wedding anniversary. A source close to Charles said he was 'comforted' by the fact he and his father had been in touch more regularly than ever in recent weeks and months - and that they 'had said all the things that needed to be said'. The source said: 'It is some small comfort today that the prince was in much more regular contact with his father in recent weeks and months than he otherwise might have been. He was the only family member who was able to visit him in hospital and he was at Windsor as recently as the week before last. They spoke a great deal.' Friends were at pains to point out that the relationship between father and son was also warmer than it had ever been. One said: 'The idea that their relationship was strained, certainly in recent years, couldn't have been further from the truth. And that's an important thing to remember in all that is being written. 'There was genuine love, affection and understanding there. Which is all anyone holds dear at the end.' There was no immediate personal reaction from the wider Royal Family, such was their grief. But in a previously recorded tribute to his father, Philip's youngest son Prince Edward told ITV: 'My parents have been such a fantastic support to each other during all those years and all those events and all those tours and events overseas. To have someone that you confide in and smile about things that you perhaps could not in public. 'To be able to share that is immensely important.' Recalling his humour 'which always came through and the twinkle in his eye', Edward added that he would remember his father 'for what he has done in his public life for all the organisations he has supported and influenced'. Philip's daughter Princess Anne told the broadcaster: 'Without him life will be completely different.' Harry and Meghan posted a message on their website thanking the duke for his service. 'You will be greatly missed,' it read. The prince was last night said to be 'likely' to fly from his home in the US, although it is unclear whether his heavily pregnant wife will join him. At around 10.40am there was a flurry of police activity at the castle before Prince Andrew, who lives closest at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, arrived at a back entrance to the Queen's private apartments five minutes later. Then at 11.15am another family member, believed to be Prince Edward, arrived to console their devastated mother. News of Philip's death, after being confirmed by the on-call royal doctor and disseminated to members of the Royal Family, was relayed to the Prime Minister and relevant arms of government - via a simple message: 'Forth Bridge is down', the official codeword for the Duke of Edinburgh's death. Around the country, Union flags began to be flown at half-mast and will remain so until after the funeral next Saturday. Crowds of mourners left flowers in tribute to Prince Philip outside royal residences last night despite pleas by officials to stay away because of covid restrictions. Thousands of members of the public arrived at Windsor Castle - where the Duke of Edinburgh passed away - over the course of the afternoon. Hundreds stood in quiet reflection to look at floral tributes lined up outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. At Sandringham, where the Duke spent much of his time after retiring from public life in 2017 until the onset of the pandemic, flowers, cards and poems were also left outside the main entrance to Sandringham House. Mourners were seen in tears outside both the Palace and the castle - where bouquets began piling up in early afternoon despite the Cabinet Office and Royal Household requests not to lay flowers in view of the pandemic restrictions on non-essential travel and large gatherings. With England gradually easing itself out of a national lockdown amid the Covid-19 crisis, officials are desperate to avoid crowds from forming on the scale of those seen when Diana, Princess of Wales died in 1997. Then, tens of thousands of bouquets were left at both Buckingham Palace and her former home, Kensington Palace. A royal official stationed outside Windsor Castle urged mourners not to come with flowers, but said the floral tributes which had already been left would be moved inside the castle grounds, where the Royal Family could look at them. Thousands of tributes were posted online with heartfelt words for Her Majesty - who was described by one well-wisher as having 'lost the brightest jewel in her crown'. Flags were flown at half-mast across the country while thousands flocked to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to leave flowers and mourn. But Palace officials and No10 encouraged the public not to congregate in large groups amid coronavirus restrictions, as mounted police asked people to obey socially distancing measures. Families gather at the gates of Windsor Castle at the top of the Long Lane, with one woman bowing her head in tribute A child leaves flowers at Windsor with a drift of spring daffodils behind her this mornings The bouquets and flowers are being regularly removed by royal staff due to the ongoing pandemic Prince Harry 'speaks to Charles, Beatrice and Eugenie as he plans to return to Britain but pregnant Meghan Markle will stay in California' after they pay tribute to Prince Philip on Archewell website saying: 'Thank you for your service' In a post on their Archwell website, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: 'Thank you for your services... you will be greatly missed' Prince Harry has spoken to senior members of the Royal Family as he plans his return to Britain for Prince Philip's funeral- but pregnant Meghan Markle will stay in the US. The Duke of Sussex is said to be making arrangements for his first trip home since the pair quit royal life and moved out to California, as well as their interview with Oprah last month. Meghan is expected to skip the journey and stay in their California home as she is pregnant with the couple's second child. Sources say Prince Harry has already spoken to family members including Prince Charles, Beatrice and Eugenie, according to the Mirror. The source said: 'He said he wants to be with everyone and was already making arrangements to come home.' Earlier today the couple paid a short tribute to Prince Philip following news of the Duke of Edinburgh's death. In a post on their Archwell website, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid tribute to his grandfather with the two line message: 'Thank you for your services... You will be greatly missed.' The 21-word post, which takes up the whole of the website's main page, was first revealed by their friend Omid Scobie, co-author of their biography Finding Freedom. Prince Harry's return to the UK for his grandfather's funeral will be a pivotal moment for a divided Royal Family still nursing deep wounds over his and Meghan's bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview. Advertisement Many brought bunches of daffodils, tulips, lilies and roses to pay tribute to Prince Philip. Some left cards with poignant messages and poems. Others simply wanted to reflect on the royal's life and achievements, their heads bowed in thought. Mourners were seen in tears outside both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, where bouquets began piling up from early afternoon. There were similar scenes at Balmoral and Sandringham in Norfolk. A royal official stationed outside Windsor Castle said the floral tributes which had already been left would be moved inside the grounds where the Royal Family could look at them. In view of current pandemic restrictions on large gatherings, officials are desperate to prevent crowds from forming on the scale of those seen when Princess Diana died in 1997. Then, tens of thousands of bouquets were left at both Buckingham Palace and her former home, Kensington Palace. An emotional Sheila Reddicliffe, 78, from Windsor, laid flowers at the castle gates, saying: 'I'm so upset. It's very sad he didn't reach 100. He had such a wonderful life. He's been an absolute rock for this country.' Some children left handmade cards with drawings and messages. One, from seven-year-old Haarys, read: 'Dear Queen Elizabeth I'm sorry about your husband.' Tayla Lawrence, Aroosa Hussain and Alayna Ismail, all 20, went on a three-day hike as part of the Duke of Edinburgh's bronze award they completed while at Windsor Girls' School together. Miss Lawrence said the scheme was 'inspiring' and helped her gain 'map and directions skills' she otherwise wouldn't have learnt. The University of Surrey student said the duke's legacy 'will live on through the award and all the students that do it'. British Airways employee Jan McMackin, 57, said: 'We came here when we heard the sad news. We felt that they are quintessentially what Britain is all about, it is about duty and honour, we really wanted to come and pay our respects to both the Queen and Prince Philip.' Outside Buckingham Palace, crowds gazed on the floral tributes lined up against the low wall. Maximilien Roesner, 24, who laid a bouquet of red roses by the front gates, said: 'I'm absolutely saddened. He lived a life dedicated to service to the United Kingdom, and I think he is one of the strongest men and a truly inspirational person.' At Sandringham, well-wishers left flowers at the foot of the wrought-iron Norwich Gates. Youngster Skyla Bates, who was accompanied by her grandmother Marlene Overson, 48, from nearby West Lynn, said: 'I wanted to put flowers down for the Queen because she might be crying.' Julie Hallifax, of Clenchwarton, Norfolk, who took her four children aged four to 11, to lay flowers, said of the duke: 'He was just a lovely guy. I just remember him as a good old character who made everyone laugh.' Flowers too were left outside the gates of Balmoral Castle. One bunch was wrapped in brown paper with the words: 'May you rest in peace Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh. Thank you for your legacy.' A candle is seen among flowers outside Windsor Castle. Bouquets were left in tribute to Prince Philip A view of Windsor Castle, as people gathered to bring flowers after Britain's Prince Philip passed away A man takes a photograph of a balloon and floral tributes left outside Buckingham Palace, London Floral tributes are left outside Buckingham Palace, following the announcement of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99 A young child holds a floral tribute as well-wishers take photographs at the gates of Buckingham Palace People react as they gather outside Buckingham Palace in central London on April 9 after the death of Prince Philip A young boy laid flowers at Cambridge Gate at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, following the announcement of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh Mourners stand outside Buckingham Palace in central London today following the death of the Duke on Friday morning A boy leaves flowers next to a Union flag in front of the gate at Buckingham Palace in London, after the announcement of the death of Prince Philip A mourner cries outside Buckingham Palace after the heartbreaking announced on Friday afternoon A woman wearing a Union flag face covering wipes away tears as she sits outside Windsor Castle on The Long Walk in Berkshire A mourner shed a tear outside Buckingham Palace after it was announced that Prince Philip had passed away Windsor Castle saw children praying for the late Duke of Edinburgh today as crowds started to gather outside A lifelong supporter of the Royal Family comes to lay some flowers in memory of Prince Philip as members of the press stand around him People gather outside Buckingham Palace, London, following the announcement of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99 People gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire after the announcement regarding the death of Prince Philip on Friday A young boy lays flowers in front of the gate of Buckingham Palace in London after the heartbreaking announcement today Windsor Castle is pictured as crowds start to gather outside following the announcement that HRH Prince Philip has died today A Union Flag lies next to flowers outside Buckingham Palace in central London today as crowds gather to pay tribute to the late Prince A woman arrives to lay a bunch of flowers outside Buckingham Palace in central London on Friday afternoon after the announcement of the death of Prince Philip People prepare to leave flowers in front of the gate of Buckingham Palace in London, on Friday. Buckingham Palace officials say Prince Philip died this morning The Union flag flies half mast at The Tower of London on April 09 following the death of Prince Philip The flag flew half mast at Buckingham Palace after Prince Philip died. Visitors laid floral tributes Flags are lowered to half mast following Prince Philip's death. The silhouette of the Houses of Parliament can be seen Union Flags fly at half-mast on top of Downing Street after it was announced Prince Philip died on Friday morning aged 99 Flags at half mast at Balmoral (left) Holyrood Palace (right) in Scotland where they changed to a larger Lion Rampant on the announcement of the death of Prince Philip The Union Flag flies at half mast to mark the death of the Duke Of Edinburgh at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on Friday A flag flies at half mast behind the stands in honour of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, ahead of Ladies Day of the 2021 Randox Health Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse The Duchy of Cornwall flag flies at half mast at their headquarters in Poundbury on Friday afternoon as the nation mourned An official notice announcing the death of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is placed on the gates of Buckingham Palace in central London Britons expressed their sorrow at the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh and passed on their good wishes to the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family Who will attend Philip's funeral under 30-person Covid rule? The question of who will be allowed to attend the ceremony for the funeral of Prince Philip is made more difficult due to Covid-19 restrictions. Under lockdown guidelines in England, a maximum of 30 people are permitted to attend a funeral, in addition to the clergy. Eight senior royals are said to be within the 'firm of eight' chosen to represent the family, and look certain to be there on the day. They are William and Kate, Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex, the Prince of Wales and Camilla, The Queen herself and Princess Anne. Between the principals they have five children who may also attend. But there are a number of other Royals who would be keen to pay their respects including Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, his wife the Duchess of Sussex, The Duchess of York, as well as Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and their husbands. Others who may attend include friends and heads of Commonwealth countries. The funeral was originally planned to have 800 in attendance. Advertisement The sporting world also paid tribute with a two-minute silence at Aintree racecourse. Premier League footballers will wear black armbands this weekend. A woman called Charlotte captured the mood when she posted on Twitter: 'What a life you led. I don't think the Queen could have done it without you. You were the brightest jewel in her crown.' Corra Linn wrote: 'To give you an idea of my emotional state right now, I spent the morning crying to Fearless and it looks like I'll be spending my afternoon crying about Prince Philip.' A woman called Elizabeth posted: 'Am not embarrassed to say I'm crying, and have poured a glass of Fizz to toast his amazing life of service Rest in Peace, Prince Philip.' Andy Oddy put: 'Politics aside you have to feel for the Queen as a human being. I recall when my own grandfather died aged 94 - it devastated my Gran after 72 years together.' A man called Henry added: 'Love is forever Red heart. No matter what your views are on the #RoyalFamily at this time Queen Elizabeth has just lost her soul mate of 73 years. 'I can't begin to imagine how devastated she must be feeling inside right now. Broken heart. Rest in eternal peace #PrincePhilip.' A former butler to Princes Charles tweeted: 'I am saddened to learn of the death of HRH Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh. A gentleman who I was proud to have served during my time in the Royal Household. I send my condolences to the Royal Family.' Royal biographer Ingrid Stewart posted: 'A very sad day indeed. Sending condolences to Her Majesty The Queen on the passing of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He has been a constant strength and guide during her reign.' Kate Jamieson put: 'So, very sad to hear that Prince Philip has died. A man dedicated to Queen and Country in more ways than one. Fair winds and following seas.' Philip's funeral is set to be 'next Saturday' after eight days of national mourning: Prince won't lie in state before ceremonial service at Windsor - as royals face dilemma over who to invite because of 30-person Covid rule How Prince Philip's funeral will be held There will be no lying in state and no state funeral for Philip, in accordance with his wishes. His ceremonial royal funeral and burial are expected to take place in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace will confirm the arrangements for the duke's funeral in the next day or so. Philip helped draw up the details himself and was determined there should be a minimum of fuss. Members of the public usually leave flowers at the gates of Buckingham Palace, but stay at home advice means people are forbidden from going out unless necessary. At some point, there will be gun salutes in the duke's honour - if the military are able to facilitate this. Union flags on royal buildings where the monarch is not in residence will fly at half-mast. The Queen has to decide whether the royal family enters Court Mourning - dressing in black and using black-edged writing paper - or the alternative, shorter Family Mourning - dressing in black - and how long this will last. Some official engagements may continue, but social engagements - all on hold anyway because of the pandemic - are usually cancelled after the death of a senior member of the royal family unless in aid of charity. The Government decides on the length of any National Mourning. A nationwide two-minute silence could take place, as it did for the Queen Mother on the day of her funeral. Parliament is likely to honour the duke, with politicians gathering for special sessions in both the Commons and the Lords. But arrangements will depend on what the Government is advising in terms of MPs socially distancing in Parliament. The Queen may record a televised speech in tribute to her husband, just as she did for the Queen Mother in 2002, but it will depend on how she is feeling. The rest of Philip's family are likely to release their own statements about the royal patriarch. Traditionally, the duke's coffin would have been moved to the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace to remain at rest for several days, but this is unlikely to be necessary if there is no longer a London element to the plans. The monarch and the royal family will pay their respects in private, as will household staff. Philip's children are likely to hold a private vigil at some stage around the coffin if restrictions permit. A military involvement is expected to take place within the grounds of Windsor Castle. The duke's coffin will not lie in state and the funeral will not be a state one; instead it is set to be a ceremonial royal funeral. The duke's funeral is expected to take place at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel eight days after his death. Advertisement Straight to the point in death as in life, the Duke of Edinburgh always insisted he wanted a funeral with minimal fuss. His wish for what is known as a 'royal ceremonial funeral' similar to the Queen Mother's rather than a full state funeral had already been granted. But the pandemic will have a major impact upon those plans. Last night, the Queen and her senior officials were discussing how best to proceed. With final approval down to Her Majesty, a decision is likely to be announced today. Sources say it is almost certain, however, that any aspect of the arrangements likely to draw a crowd will not take place, meaning the ceremonial aspects will be limited and mourners will number no more than 30. Under the previous plans known in the royal household as 'Forth Bridge' his body would have been embalmed immediately and taken to the Albert Memorial Chapel by St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Mail understands that Philip's coffin was last night at the castle, where the Queen is in residence, most probably resting in her private chapel of worship. But over the weekend it is likely be moved to the Albert Memorial Chapel, which was built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum. Philip's coffin is likely to lie there with little ceremony resting on two simple wooden platforms called catafalques. Under pre-Covid plans, it would have been brought to London today by road and taken to St James's Palace to reside temporarily in the intimate Chapel Royal. The College of Arms said yesterday there will be no lying-in-state and Philip's coffin would lie at rest at Windsor Castle ahead of his funeral in St George' Chapel, most likely next Saturday. It is likely to have been draped with his personal standard which bears references to his Danish and Greek royal heritage, his Mountbatten roots and Edinburgh title and a floral wreath from his family. A vigil by his children Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward is likely to take place at Windsor. On the day of his funeral, Philip's coffin is expected to be carried by bearers from the Queen's Company, First Battalion Grenadier Guards. The duke will be placed on a gun carriage belonging to the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, drawn by a Royal Navy gun crew. The carriage a personal request by Philip is the one that carried Queen Victoria at her funeral in 1901. A planned cortege through Windsor is now unlikely to take place. But inside Windsor Castle, events are likely to be largely the same, but with fewer mourners. The coffin will be met by a guard of honour from The Rifles and a band in Horseshoe Cloister, surrounded by houses built in the 15th century for the chapel's 'singing men'. Twelve singers known as lay clerks still live there, and they will perform during the service, with a bell tolling throughout. On the grass south of the West Gate will be Royal Navy pipers. A bearer party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin into St George's Chapel via the West Steps, lined by the Household Cavalry, where the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury will wait. The coffin will be taken into the Quire the resting place of most of the monarchs buried at the chapel. Inside or under the Quire are Edward VII, Henry VI, Edward IV, George III, George IV and William IV, Henry VIII and Charles I. Philip's catafalque will be placed on a black marble slab, which is the entrance to the Royal Vault. The hymns requested by the prince are believed to include his favourite seafarer's anthem, For Those In Peril On The Sea. At the end of the service a Psalm and the 'ashes to ashes' text will be read as a piper plays a lament. The coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault and will remain there until the Queen dies and they are buried together in the memorial chapel. The day after the funeral, flags will be brought back to full mast, although the Court will remain in mourning for three more weeks. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: 'During the coronavirus pandemic, and in light of current government advice and social distancing guidelines, modified funeral and ceremonial arrangements for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh are being considered by Her Majesty The Queen. Details will be confirmed in due course.' The Queen has entered an eight-day period of mourning following the death of her husband today aged 99 - as arrangements for his funeral, codenamed Operation Forth Bridge, have begun. The Mail understands that Philip's coffin was last night at the castle, where the Queen is in residence, most probably resting in her private chapel of worship. But over the weekend it is likely be moved to the Albert Memorial Chapel, which was built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum. Philip's coffin is likely to lie there with little ceremony resting on two simple wooden platforms called catafalques The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Great Park in June 2018, during the polo at the Guards Polo Club Prince Philip is expected to be buried in Frogmore Gardens in the grounds of Windsor Castle, the site of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's mausoleum (pictured) Royal fans have been told not to attend any part of the events that make up the funeral due to Covid restrictions. They have also been asked not to lay flowers that could encourage crowds which may spread the coronavirus. The number of people wanting to pay tribute to the Duke could present difficulties for police forces due to England's ban on gatherings of more than six people or two households. Buckingham Palace instead invited well-wishers to sign a book of condolences - but only online, to avoid crowds and queues. Police officers on horses stopped crowds forming in front of a sign announcing his death on the railings of the palace today. During the eight days of mourning The Queen will not carry out any duties even in private under Covid restrictions, laws will not be given the Royal Assent and affairs of state will also be paused. Following these eight days, a further period of official Royal Mourning is expected to continue for 30 days. Scores of people will be involved in the days ahead, from military guards and the clergy, to staff at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, who will be making sure the household continues to run smoothly during this traumatic time for the Queen. The Queen and her children and grandchildren will enter a period of mourning for their patriarch, which could last several weeks. Official engagements, most of which are presently online, can continue during this time, although most are postponed or cancelled, but it depends on the wishes of the monarch. In non-pandemic times, social engagements would usually be cancelled, except those for charitable causes. There are various types of mourning, but Royal - also known as Court - Mourning, includes the royal family, royal households and the Queen's representatives in the UK and abroad wearing black and also using black-edged writing paper. Most of Britain's monarchs are buried in Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel, but both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are in a mausoleum in Frogmore Gardens. After her husband's death, Victoria lived largely in isolation at Balmoral until she died on January 22, 1901. Her 40 years of mourning severely damaged the monarchy. Following the Duke's death, Union flags will fly at half-mast around Britain, but Philip will not lie in state and there will be no state funeral. The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the royal household, will be in charge of arrangements. The Queen and Philip at Windsor Castle in October 2018 after Princess Eugenie's wedding Operation Forth Bridge The Duke's funeral arrangements are codenamed Forth Bridge, after the Scottish landmark and Unesco World Heritage Site. The railway bridge, crossing the Forth Estuary in Scotland, which opened in 1890, remains one of the greatest cantilever trussed bridges. Plans for the aftermath of the duke's death have been in place for many years, and were updated and reviewed regularly by Buckingham Palace staff in consultation with the Queen and Philip. Complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, Forth Bridge has been adjusted to take account of the crisis. The Royal Households have a long history of making detailed plans for royal funerals. Arrangements for the Queen Mother's - codenamed Tay Bridge - were 22 years old by the time she died at the age of 101. London Bridge is the codename for the Queen's funeral plans. In 2004, thieves broke into a car which belonged to a palace press officer at a motorway service station and made off with a briefcase which contained the secret plans regarding the Queen . Advertisement The Queen is also expected to broadcast a televised message to the nation at some stage over the next few days, although this is dependent on how she feels. In normal times, there would be early morning rehearsals over the next week for a gun carriage and procession through the streets of London, and another in Windsor. The day before his funeral, the coffin would be moved across the road from Chapel Royal to the Queen's Chapel to allow an easier transfer to the gun carriage. The funeral itself would be held in Windsor, while a military procession would take place from St James's Palace, down Marlborough Road and up The Mall. The gun carriage holding the coffin would then pass around the Queen Victoria Memorial, Buckingham Palace and up Constitution Hill to Wellington Arch. Members of the military would lead the procession, with the royal family and household walking behind - but the Queen would be expected to go straight to Windsor. At Wellington Arch, there would be a royal salute before a ceremonial transfer sees with the coffin moved to a Land Rover hearse or car and taken to Windsor. On arrival in Windsor, there would be a slow procession driven up the Long Walk with drummers, military and members of the royal family following behind. It would move up the Long Walk, through Cambridge Gate and then onto Park Street, High Street, past the Guildhall and Castle Hill and in through the Henry VIII gate. The arrangements are codenamed Forth Bridge, after the Scottish landmark and Unesco World Heritage Site. The railway bridge, crossing the Forth Estuary in Scotland, which opened in 1890, remains one of the greatest cantilever trussed bridges Plans for the aftermath of the duke's death have been in place for many years, and were updated and reviewed regularly by Buckingham Palace staff in consultation with the Queen and Philip. Complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, Forth Bridge has been adjusted to take account of the crisis. The duke's funeral was due to have a strong military presence in recognition of his naval career and his links with the armed forces. But the prospect of creating a spectacle that could potentially attract hundreds of thousands of people means there is no longer expected to be a military procession in London or any processions through Windsor. A military involvement is expected to take place within the grounds of Windsor Castle. The funeral service is expected to take place at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in an official wedding photograph in 1947 Those servicemen and women taking part will rapidly begin their preparations, from practising routines to polishing helmets and swords. Royal dressers will be fastidiously choosing and preparing black mourning ensembles. Thames Valley Police will be tasked with dealing with the security needed in the days ahead, and preventing mass gatherings. The Royal Households have a long history of making detailed plans for royal funerals. Arrangements for the Queen Mother's - codenamed Tay Bridge - were 22 years old by the time she died at the age of 101. London Bridge is the codename for the Queen's funeral plans. In 2004, thieves broke into a car which belonged to a palace press officer at a motorway service station and made off with a briefcase which contained the secret plans regarding the Queen . But the case and its confidential contents were found and returned by a member of the public. It was once said that Philip, who was known for his acerbic wit, was amused by the fact that many of those involved in the planning of his funeral had themselves died before him. Not all royal death arrangements have been so meticulously ordered. Queen Victoria died at the age of 81 in 1901 after a period of ill health, but the Earl Marshal, who was responsible for the funeral, had no plans in place. The complex arrangements, including transporting Victoria's body across the Solent from the Isle of Wight and facilitating a two-hour military procession through London involving thousands of people, had to be organised from scratch in 10 days. In contrast, her son, Edward VII, insisted his own funeral was planned well in advance. The sun on his face and a rug on his lap: RICHARD KAY reveals Prince Philip's final days at Windsor Castle with his 'Lilibet' - the Queen - as he neared 100 For the Queen there was one saving grace: that she and Prince Philip were together at the end. After more than seven decades of their lives entwined in both love and duty, this may be the smallest of consolations. His austerely decorated bedroom overlooking the East Terrace at Windsor Castle was still linked by the dressing room that gives on to his wife's more comfortably furnished suite. But it was his physical presence so reassuring in the aftermath of so much family drama from which in recent weeks she has drawn strength. No longer the decisive man of action who had devoted a lifetime to supporting her, she was now able to repay him. Domestic timetables such as mealtimes were torn up to accommodate him when he felt he was strong enough to join her. Even with failing health signalling that his life was drawing to a close, the two were still able to enjoy time with each other as they always had. In recent weeks he would often sleep for much of the day, but there were moments of great lucidity and joyful togetherness. For the Queen there was one saving grace: that she and Prince Philip (pictured in March 2021) were together at the end. After more than seven decades of their lives entwined in both love and duty, this may be the smallest of consolations Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is pictured leaving King Edward VII's Hospital in central London on March 16, 2021 Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle, where The Queen and the Duke are returning together for the second national lockdown Even with failing health signalling that his life was drawing to a close, the Queen and Prince Philip (pictured in 2020) were still able to enjoy time with each other as they always had Some are bound to focus on that looming centenary of Philip's 100th birthday in June, which will no longer be the celebration once envisaged. Pictured: Philip in 2020 His austerely decorated bedroom overlooking the East Terrace at Windsor Castle was still linked by the dressing room that gives on to his wife's more comfortably furnished suite. Pictured: The Queen and Philip in 2015 No longer the decisive man of action who had devoted a lifetime to supporting her, she was now able to repay him. Pictured: The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward Prince Philip is pictured with (far left to right) Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Mrs C.J. Latta and American opera singer Dorothy Kirsten Prince Philip, in his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines, attended a Parade to mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge in 2017. It was his final solo appearance at the official engagement One such moment came when he dropped his reading glasses. A footman in attendance leapt forward to pick them up. 'Never mind,' the duke said, raising his arm. 'I'll do it.' And so he did, bending down to the floor. On another occasion the Queen was overheard reflecting that her husband of 73 years was refusing to use his hearing aid. 'It means we have to shout,' she said. Some are bound to focus on that looming centenary of Philip's 100th birthday in June, which will no longer be the celebration once envisaged. But the duke was not a sentimental man. For him it was far more important to die at home in his own bed, the date immaterial. That it should have been at Windsor Castle where his mother Princess Alice, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was born was of infinitely more significance. In recent days he had been often confined to his room, but in the weeks since his release from hospital last month he spent 28 days in the King Edward VII's and St Bartholomew's hospitals he has been calmer and quieter. Food would be sent up on a tray but he often had little appetite. Routines inevitably had to change. He cancelled his 7.30am calling tray of morning tea that a valet or page would bring to his room where, among the few personal possessions he always kept on display, there were two framed photographs one of his wife and the other of his mother. Intriguingly, among the family photographs of children and grandchildren he always kept on his office desk at Windsor, was one of Prince Charles and Princess Diana taken on their wedding day. During her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June 2012, the Queen cut a solitary figure at St Paul's Cathedral without the Duke, who was in hospital with a bladder inflection at the time The Queen and Philip welcomed a new great-grandchild - their eighth - with the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Pictured left to right in June: Prince Philip, Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth, Doria Ragland, and Meghan The Queen and Philip, pictured at Broadlands in 2007, shared an irreplaceable bond - united at key moments of history, witnessed from the unique viewpoint of a monarch and her consort The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke pictured against a platinum-textured backdrop in recognition of their special anniversary in 2017. The Queen is wearing a cream day dress by Angela Kelly and a 'Scarab' brooch in yellow gold, carved ruby and diamond, designed by Andrew Grima, and given as a personal gift from the Duke to The Queen in 1966 The Queen and Prince Philip enjoy the spectacle, as a swarm of bees cause concern prior to The Queens Company Review at Windsor Castle in April 2003 On those days when he felt strong enough to venture out of his room, he dressed in a shirt and jumper, pressed trousers and polished shoes. There was a valet to draw a bath but according to insiders at least until very recently Philip was still dressing himself. On warm days he asked for a chair to be taken outside and he would sit in the sunshine with a rug over his legs. Often he would nod off. Walking was difficult and around his apartment he used a stick. Occasionally he would allow himself to be pushed in a wheelchair but staff were wary of suggesting it. 'When it first appeared in the private rooms he shouted: 'Get that bloody thing out of my sight!', recalls an aide. This unwillingness to betray any sign of frailty was characteristic. Philip and the Queen laugh at the Royal Highland Games at Braemar in September 2003, in front of Tony and Cherie Blair Princess Elizabeth photographed in Clarence House in July 1951, with the Duke of Edinburgh Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the Imperial State Crown, and Prince Philip, in uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, wave from Buckingham Palace in London after the Coronation in June 1953 Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after her coronation, on June 2, 1953. With her are (left to right): Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother The Queen holds the Orb and Sceptre at her Coronation in June 1953, which took place at Westminster Abbey in London The Queen at a polo match with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1955 The then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke with their two young children, Princess Anne and Prince Charles, outside Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire on September 19, 1952 A man speaks and gestures as he brings flowers to Buckingham Palace after Prince Philip died at the age of 99 But for the pandemic, things might have been so very different. At Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate Philip had adjusted to a new kind of life, sometimes with the Queen but often alone or entertaining friends such as Countess Mountbatten, the former Lady Penny Romsey, to whom he taught the sport of carriage driving. When lockdown commenced last March Philip was whisked to Windsor to join the Queen. He did return to his beloved Wood Farm thanks once again to the Queen. After cutting their stay at Balmoral last summer to just six weeks, they then spent three weeks at the Norfolk bolthole. With its simple furnishings and modest size, it was the closest the couple came to leading an ordinary non-palace life. On one occasion at a picnic a domestic servant, unfamiliar with royal tradition, mixed a salad dressing only for the Queen to exclaim when she arrived a little after her husband: 'I can't believe the Duke of Edinburgh has made the vinaigrette, he knows I like to do it.' Philip himself loved the solitude of north Norfolk. When he was there alone he had just a valet and a cook to take care of him. But after his illness and with the country in a third lockdown the prospect of him returning to Wood Farm was impossible. Instead, he had only one ambition: he was determined not to end his days in hospital. 'When he came back to Windsor he said he was not going back to any hospital,' an insider said. The Queen wearing a tartan skirt with corgis beside her and Prince Philip wearing a kilt in Balmoral in 1994 The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh laugh as they bid farewell to Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina at Windsor Castle after their state visit in April 2014 Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, on honeymoon, photographed in the grounds of Broadlands looking at their wedding photographs, on November 23, 1947 Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne at Balmoral in September 1952 The infant Prince Charles is pictured in the lap of his mother, the then Princess Elizabeth, with his father Prince Philip in 1948 Instructions were issued that he should be made as comfortable as possible and if that meant changing timetables for meals so be it. 'His entire life had been conducted to strict routines and since retiring he didn't have to follow them and it was agreed that it should continue like that for him,' says an insider. 'No fuss was the constant refrain,' says the insider. Even so he was well enough to still speak to family and close friends on the telephone unlike the Queen, Philip was not a fan of Zoom calls. The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne at Balmoral in August 1972 The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne preparing a barbecue on the Estate at Balmoral Castle in August 1972 Prince Philip and Prince Charles share a joke at a Guards Polo Club tea party in 1999 Princess Elizabeth, Britain's future queen, and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten shown at Buckingham Palace following their engagement, in November 1947. On her engagement finger, Elizabeth wears a three-diamond ring which she wears to this day The Queen toasts Prince Philip at the opening of the Millennium Dome in London on New Year's Eve 1999 But he was frustrated by Covid restrictions which didn't just limit visits by the family but also meant difficulties in the nursing care he needed. There was no dramatic decline in his health but it was gradual. Earlier this week, staff said Philip was 'on good form'. He was still reading and writing letters. Remember, this was a man who prided himself on his fitness and who rarely complained. Even so he was not pain free. And rehearsals for his death were already under way. Late at night, a team of footmen at Buckingham Palace had been practising the placing of the official typed statement about the duke's death. Yesterday the task was conducted by two of the Palace's foot-women. Philip, who did so much to modernise Buckingham Palace, would surely have approved. Queen 'was at Philip's bedside when he died': Prince Charles leaves Windsor Castle hours after his father's death The Queen is thought to have been at the bedside of her 'beloved husband' of 73 years Prince Philip when he passed away 'peacefully' at Windsor Castle yesterday. The Duke of Edinburgh, the nation's longest-serving consort, died in his private apartment just two months and a day before what would have been his 100th birthday. Though palace officials declined to 'go into any specifics' about the nature of his passing, it is understood his frail condition worsened overnight on Thursday and that insiders had warned he was 'gravely ill'. However, any talk of whisking the elderly duke to hospital was reportedly quickly dismissed by the Queen. Philip, who recently spent a month being treated for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition, is thought to have died suddenly and unexpectedly, but peacefully in the company of his dear 'Lilibet'. The Telegraph reported that the duke had wanted to pass away 'in his own bed' and 'on his own terms'. One well-placed source told the paper: 'He spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home. They operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind. But he didn't really care about that.' They added: 'There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital.' In a short but poignant statement at noon, Buckingham Palace said: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.' As tributes poured in from around the world, the Palace's focus was on the royal family's aching personal bereavement. 'They are a family in mourning,' one official said last night. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was seen leaving Windsor Castle hours after the news of his father's passing. The Prince of Wales, 72, drove from his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire to the 94-year-old monarch's Berkshire residence ahead of the public announcement of the duke's passing. Sitting in the front passenger seat of a silver Tesla, the prince looked on as he pulled away. It is not known whether Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had accompanied him on what is their 16th wedding anniversary. A source close to Charles said he was 'comforted' by the fact he and his father had been in touch more regularly than ever in recent weeks and months - and that they 'had said all the things that needed to be said'. The source said: 'It is some small comfort today that the prince was in much more regular contact with his father in recent weeks and months than he otherwise might have been. He was the only family member who was able to visit him in hospital and he was at Windsor as recently as the week before last. They spoke a great deal.' Friends were at pains to point out that the relationship between father and son was also warmer than it had ever been. One said: 'The idea that their relationship was strained, certainly in recent years, couldn't have been further from the truth. And that's an important thing to remember in all that is being written. 'There was genuine love, affection and understanding there. Which is all anyone holds dear at the end.' There was no immediate personal reaction from the wider Royal Family, such was their grief. But in a previously recorded tribute to his father, Philip's youngest son Prince Edward told ITV: 'My parents have been such a fantastic support to each other during all those years and all those events and all those tours and events overseas. To have someone that you confide in and smile about things that you perhaps could not in public. 'To be able to share that is immensely important.' Recalling his humour 'which always came through and the twinkle in his eye', Edward added that he would remember his father 'for what he has done in his public life for all the organisations he has supported and influenced'. Philip's daughter Princess Anne told the broadcaster: 'Without him life will be completely different.' Harry and Meghan posted a message on their website thanking the duke for his service. 'You will be greatly missed,' it read. The prince was last night said to be 'likely' to fly from his home in the US, although it is unclear whether his heavily pregnant wife will join him. At around 10.40am there was a flurry of police activity at the castle before Prince Andrew, who lives closest at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, arrived at a back entrance to the Queen's private apartments five minutes later. Then at 11.15am another family member, believed to be Prince Edward, arrived to console their devastated mother. News of Philip's death, after being confirmed by the on-call royal doctor and disseminated to members of the Royal Family, was relayed to the Prime Minister and relevant arms of government - via a simple message: 'Forth Bridge is down', the official codeword for the Duke of Edinburgh's death. Around the country, Union flags began to be flown at half-mast and will remain so until after the funeral next Saturday. As the Queen lost her husband, and the country mourns one of its greatest servants, it also emerged: Prince Charles was seen leaving Windsor Castle this evening, hours after the news of his father's death broke. The Prince of Wales drove from his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire to the monarch's Berkshire residence this morning Buckingham Palace announced the death of Prince Philip at just after midday Friday- and described the Queen's 'deep sorrow' Philip has served Britain since his youth and the world is mourning his death at Windsor Castle, with the Royal Family releasing this photo and tribute shortly after his death Good-looking and blond-haired, the Prince of Greece impressed the young Princess by jumping over the college tennis nets at their first publicised meeting. Pictured: Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in a wedding photograph in 1947. The couple were married for 73 years (pictured in a portrait taken to mark the 60th anniversary of The Queen's Accession in 2012) As with all major royal announcements, including births, marriages and deaths, Prince Philip's passing was marked with a statement displayed outside Buckingham Palace. It was later removed to avoid people gathering around it in the pandemic A period of official mourning has begun that will last for a month. Uniformed staff from the Royal Household and officers in the Armed Forces will wear mourning bands. Following tradition, a formal notice announcing Philip's death was posted on the gates at Buckingham Palace by two mask-wearing members of staff. But it was removed within an hour in an effort to deter crowds from forming during a time of pandemic. Palace officials asked members of the public not to gather outside any royal residence and to consider making a donation to charity instead of leaving flowers. An online book of condolence was set up on the royal website www.royal.uk. It is likely that Covid requirements will force wholesale changes to the funeral plans, which have been in place for many decades. Philip's coffin should have been brought from Windsor to London to lie in state, but such an undertaking, which could attract crowds, is likely to be scrapped. Instead it will remain at Windsor until the funeral. Philip was the longest-serving consort in British history and retired from public life in 2017, largely moving to Sandringham in Norfolk. At the start of the first lockdown last year he returned to Windsor to be with his wife and according to sources they have since enjoyed some of their happiest months together. Boris Johnson paid tribute last night to the duke, saying he would be remembered for his 'steadfast support' of the Queen. The Prime Minister added: 'He was an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable. 'With his Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.' First Sea Lord pays tribute to Royal Navy veteran Prince Philip and highlights praise for his 'bravery and enterprise' during WWII Battle of Cape Matapan By Tom Pyman for MailOnline The First Sea Lord has paid tribute to Royal Navy veteran Prince Philip, highlighting praise he received for his 'bravery and enterprise' during the Battle of Cape Matapan in the Second World War. The Duke of Edinburgh was a midshipman aboard HMS Valiant off the southern coast of Greece when he earned his honourable citation. A young naval officer, he was praised for his actions in the decisive Battle of Cape Matapan against the Italian fleet in March 1941. Philip had been in control of the searchlights as the ship battled an Italian cruiser when he spotted an unexpected second enemy vessel nearby. He survived unscathed amid his shattered lights as enemy cannon shell ripped into his position. His commanding officer said: 'Thanks to his alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8in gun Italian cruisers.' Shortly afterwards, he was awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour. Yesterday, the Navy's most senior officer, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin added to the tributes to Philip. The Duke of Edinburgh, who has died at the age of 99, joined the Royal Navy in 1939 the year the Second World War broke out - when he was still a teenager. By 1942, he had risen to the rank of first lieutenant after bravely fighting in the Battle of Crete and the conflict at Cape Matapan. Left: Philip in 1946. Right: Philip in 1945, when he was serving on HMS Valiant The First Sea Lord's poignant tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, released in a statement yesterday Philip's key role in the Battle of Cape Matapan The Battle of Cape Matapan was a naval conflict which took place between British Empire and Axis forces on the south-western coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece in March 1941. The Fleet's brilliant commander, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, boldly decided to engage the Italian fleet at night, a tactic with which he knew the Italians were unfamiliar. Philip's role was to operate Valiant's midship searchlight which, as he recorded later, 'picked out the enemy cruiser and lit her up as if it were broad daylight'. Before long, one target was blazing, and he trained the light on a second, focusing on its bridge at such close quarters 'that the light did not illuminate the whole ship'. Broadsides were fired and, 'when the enemy had completely vanished in clouds of smoke and steam, we ceased firing and switched the light off'. In the fierce engagement in the dark, three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers were sunk and its one battleship severely damaged. The Italian Navy's morale never fully recovered from this substantial defeat in the war. Admiral Cunningham, in mentioning Philip in despatches, praised his skill with the searchlight. Valiant's captain had reported that 'the successful and continuous illumination of the enemy greatly contributed to the devastating results achieved in the gun action', and 'thanks to his (Philip's) alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8in-gun Italian cruisers'. Philip is said to have later 'just shrugged' when congratulated by his mother, Alice, and told her: 'It was as near murder as anything could be in wartime. The cruisers just burst into tremendous sheets of flame.' The morning after the battle Philip counted 40 rafts containing survivors and noted 'there must have been a good many empty ones as well'. Advertisement In a statement released on Saturday morning, he said: 'His Royal Highness served the Royal Navy with distinction during wartime, mentioned in dispatches for 'bravery and enterprise' during the Battle of Cape Matapan. 'He met the then Princess Elizabeth for the first time during his training at Britannia Royal Naval College, and since her accession to the throne remained and enduring friend and supporter of the Royal Navy with a deep understanding of our ethos and values. 'Serving as Lord High Admiral of the Fleet and Captain General Royal Marines he involved himself in every aspect of the Royal Navy, through official visits, patronage and association with naval charities and clubs. 'His humour and generosity of spirit generated great affection amongst the countless sailors and marines he met each year. 'His genuine empathy, affinity and engagement with the Royal Navy resonated with us all. He will be deeply missed.' The battle in the Mediterranean, south-west of Greece, took part in March 1941, when Philip was just 20 years old. The Fleet's brilliant commander, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, boldly decided to engage the Italian fleet at night, a tactic with which he knew the Italians were unfamiliar. Philip's role was to operate Valiant's midship searchlight which, as he recorded later, 'picked out the enemy cruiser and lit her up as if it were broad daylight'. Before long, one target was blazing, and he trained the light on a second, focusing on its bridge at such close quarters 'that the light did not illuminate the whole ship'. Broadsides were fired and, 'when the enemy had completely vanished in clouds of smoke and steam, we ceased firing and switched the light off'. In the fierce engagement in the dark, three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers were sunk and its one battleship severely damaged. The Italian Navy's morale never fully recovered from this substantial defeat in the war. Admiral Cunningham, in mentioning Philip in despatches, praised his skill with the searchlight. Valiant's captain had reported that 'the successful and continuous illumination of the enemy greatly contributed to the devastating results achieved in the gun action', and 'thanks to his (Philip's) alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8in-gun Italian cruisers'. Philip is said to have later 'just shrugged' when congratulated by his mother, Alice, and told her: 'It was as near murder as anything could be in wartime. The cruisers just burst into tremendous sheets of flame.' The morning after the battle Philip counted 40 rafts containing survivors and noted 'there must have been a good many empty ones as well'. While serving on HMS Whelp, the future Queen's consort was even there in Tokyo Bay to witness the historic surrender of Japanese forces in September 1945. Pictured: Philip (front row, second from left) with his fellow officers on HMS Whelp It was after leaving Gordonstoun school that Philip joined the Royal Navy. His training began at Britannia Royal Naval College, in Dartmouth, in May 1939 three months before Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. Pictured: HMS Whelp, which Prince Philip served on The then Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, working at his desk after returning to his Royal Navy duties at the Petty Officers Training Centre in Corsham, Wiltshire, August 1st 1947 The duke later spoke of how he coped when his shipmates died or were wounded. 'It was part of the fortunes of war,' he said. 'We didn't have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun, you know asking 'Are you all right are you sure you don't have a ghastly problem?' You just got on with it.' At the age of 21, Philip was one of the youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be made First Lieutenant and second-in-command of a ship the destroyer escort HMS Wallace of the Rosyth Escort Force. In July 1943, Wallace was dispatched to the Mediterranean and provided cover for the Canadian beachhead of the Allied landings in Sicily. Philip also served as First Lieutenant on the destroyer HMS Whelp in the Pacific, where he helped to rescue two airmen in 1945. The men's Avenger bomber crashed into the ocean during the Allies' Operation Meridian II against the Japanese. The duke, who was 23 at the time, sent the battleship to the spot where the plane had gone down. The bomber had flooded and rough seas were preventing the men from getting into their dinghy. Philip, who first spoke publicly about the incident in 2006 for a BBC Radio 4 documentary, remarked in a typically matter-of-fact manner: 'It was routine. If you found somebody in the sea, you go and pick them up. End of story, so to speak.' He alerted the sick bay, arranged for hot food to be waiting for them and found new uniforms for the airmen. The men had no idea who their rescuer actually was until they were told he kept a picture of Princess Elizabeth in his cabin. The royal wedding took place just two years later. Philip (fifth from left, front row) at the Royal Navy Petty Officer's School in Corsham, Wiltshire, in 1947. Philip distinguished himself in his service in the Second World War While serving as First Lieutenant on HMS Whelp, Philip was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the surrender agreement with Allied forces. Speaking in 1995, Philip said: 'Being in Tokyo Bay with the surrender ceremony taking place on a battleship which was what? 200 yards away. You could see what was going on with a pair of binoculars' Meanwhile, a former naval chief revealed yesterday told how Philip once suggested raids on smuggling ships in the Caribbean would only raise the prices of drugs in London. Sir Mark Stanhope, who was First Sea Lord from 2009 to 2013, remembered the duke as an 'extremely talented sailor' who could have risen to the top of the Navy. Instead, Sir Mark said the duke was 'never shy' in telling first sea lords where he thought they were failing. 'I remember one particular conversation I had where I raised the success at the time of Royal Navy warships interdicting drugs smugglers in the Caribbean where the drugs captured were ultimately destined for the streets of London,' Sir Mark told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'His instant response to me then was really quite challenging. He countered the then policy of such interdiction saying it simply raised the price of drugs on the streets of London and had no long lasting effect. He had a point indeed. 'He remained pretty unconvinced I think from my arguments and with his usual wry smile said we better move on to better things. I was delighted to seek calmer seas. To this day I'm not sure whether he was winding me up or not.' Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and his model wife Sarah are enjoying life Down Under after relocating their family from Los Angeles to Sydney last month. And it seems the couple, along with their three children - sons Kalan Alexander, 16, Aidan Patrick, 14, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 10 - are here to stay. On Saturday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Murdochs will be in Australia 'for years, not months, as initially believed.' Here to stay? Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and his model wife Sarah (pictured) will call Australia home 'for years not months' after relocating their family from Los Angeles to Sydney The family, who are based in their Bellevue Hill compound, Le Manoir, have certainly settled into life in Sydney after Sarah was seen at the Royal Easter Show in Olympic Park with her children. The publication also confirmed that the Murdoch kids are enrolled in Sydney schools. Sarah has also recently returned to the social scene, stepping out to attend the Australian Ballet's opening night of New York Dialects. Settling in: The family, who are based in Bellevue Hill, have settled into life in Sydney by enrolling their kids in schools and even attending the Royal Easter Show She was met with Sydney's elite, including the likes of Vogue Australia editor Edwina McCann, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Roslyn Packer. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Fox Corporation for comment. The Murdochs quietly slipped into Australia from the US on their private jet last month. While no reason was given for the family's return Down Under, a new report claimed that it was the political climate in the US that helped make the decision for the family to leave LA in favour of their Sydney home. 'Feeling the cold winds of political change': While no reason was given for the family's return Down Under, a new report claimed that it was the political climate in the US that helped make the decision for the family to leave LA in favour of their Sydney home Earlier this month, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the family 'felt the cold winds of political change' when Joe Biden assumed power over Donald Trump, after the family-owned Fox News appeared to favour the Republican Party throughout the election campaign. The publication also claimed things 'got pretty rough' for their children at school. A source said: 'The school communities here are very close knit, and it extends into the wider families and the circles and parties they all go to. That Hollywood set is very pro-Democratic. Politics: Earlier this month, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Murdochs 'felt the cold winds of political change' when Joe Biden (pictured) assumed power over Donald Trump, after the family-owned Fox News appeared to favour the Republicans during the election campaign 'They are mostly big fundraisers for Biden, so you can imagine how well it went down when one of their classmates' dads is at the helm of the biggest anti-Biden machine in the country.' Despite their life in Los Angeles, where Lachlan is Executive Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, the couple has always maintained their Bellevue Hill abode. It's not known how long the glamorous family plan to stay in Australia, although a large 90th birthday for patriarch Rupert is said to be planned for July this year in California. Debra Jo Hunter, 52, was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Thursday in Jacksonville A Florida woman who went viral when she coughed on a customer at a Pier 1 store last year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. Debra Jo Hunter, 52, was also ordered by a Jacksonville judge on Thursday to pay a $500 fine, serve six months probation and participate in a mental health evaluation along with anger management. She was also ordered to cover the costs of the victim's COVID-19 test, said David Chapman, communications director for the state attorney's office in Jacksonville, in an email. Hunter received credit for one day already served in jail. She was arrested last June after she was recorded deliberately coughing on the other customer during an argument with employees inside the store. On June 25, 2020, Hunter (left) warned 'I'll get real close to you and cough on you' before carrying out the threat (right) Victim Heather Sprague (above) had begun recording Hunter's heated encounter with the employees, when Hunter spotted her and became further enraged According to investigators, the victim, Heather Sprague, had begun recording Hunter's heated encounter with the employees over an item return. Hunter saw her and made a rude gesture before walking up and saying she would cough on her. And then she coughed on her, an arrest affidavit said. Sprague, who is being treated for a brain tumor, told the judge she spent days anxiously searching for a place where she and her family could be tested for the coronavirus. The tests ended up being negative, she said. Hunter's husband told the judge they had faced numerous hardships leading up to the incident, including losing everything they had in a house fire, FirstCoast News reported. 'It was like air being inflated into a balloon, and it finally got to the point where she couldnt handle any more air,' Hunters husband said in court. 'And then she finally rubbed up against something and just popped.' Hunter told the judge her family has paid the price for her mistakes, adding that her children continue to lose friends, and that they don't go out in their community anymore. 'I watch as my kids lower their heads and turn the opposite direction, so they won't be recognized or approached,' Hunter told the judge at sentencing (above) 'I watch as my kids lower their heads and turn the opposite direction, so they wont be recognized or approached,' she told the judge. 'And I know exactly what they're feeling because I do the same thing.' Sprague said the encounter left her stunned and fearful. 'I worried for the health and safety of my children, and wondered how in the world I could possibly isolate to protect them - in a household of 12 - if I had been intentionally infected,' she said. She told the judge she believes there should be accountability for Hunters actions, which is why she chose to report the incident. Duval County Court Judge James Ruth said that he is not on social media, and had not yet seen the full viral video of Hunter coughing in Sprague's face as she filmed the tantrum. During sentencing, Sprauge testified that Hunter had displayed the 'double bird' hand gesture before intentionally coughing on her, a remark that appeared to surprise the judge. During sentencing, Sprauge testified that Hunter (above) had displayed the 'double bird' hand gesture before intentionally coughing on her 'OK, excuse me, a double bird?' the judge asked. Ruth said that he wanted to see the video, which the prosecution then played for the court. 'Oh my!' Judge Ruth responded to the footage. 'So that's what you said? A double flip?' 'I believe that's what they call it your honor,' Sprague said. Before ordering jail time, Judge Ruth said he was struck by the fact that Hunter's testimony focused less on how she may have harmed the victim and more on how her actions affected her own family. 'Her children didn't create this problem and her husband didn't, and she talked about how it changed her world and she was getting nastygrams on Facebook and things of that nature and they can't go to their country club or wherever,' Ruth said. 'But I have yet to see any expression, or a significant expression on her regret about the impact it had on the victim in this case!' the judge added. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 19:33:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Battles between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the Houthi militia intensely raged over the control of the country's oil-rich province of Marib during the past 24 hours, a military official told Xinhua. According to the local military official who asked to remain anonymous, "ferocious armed confrontations occurred during the past 24 hours as the government forces attempted to repulse an all-out Houthi offensive against Marib." He said that the Houthi military offensive was successfully repulsed by the government forces supported by scores of local tribesmen following several hours of intense fighting. The ferocious battles resulted in the killing of nearly 25 soldiers of the government forces and 33 members of the Houthi group so far, he added. The Houthis had managed to achieve limited on-ground progress towards Marib's western areas during the past several days, the official said. Warplanes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened and carried out a series of airstrikes targeting the Houthi-held locations in Marib during the past 24 hours. Intense fighting erupted during the past months as the Houthis tried to advance on Marib, where hundreds were killed or injured from both sides in the non-stop armed confrontations amid heavy airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition. Escalation of fighting between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia has so far displaced thousands of families from western Marib. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni military conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem Benefit, a leading fintech and electronic financial transactions services company in Bahrain, has reached an agreement with top telecom services operator Batelco to move its core IT infrastructure to the group's recently established data centre in Hamala. This is the third data centre of the company and the second to achieve Tier III certification for design and build from the Uptime Institute, a global authority that specializes in evaluating global Data Centers through a series of performance-based assessments designed to measure progress and efficiency of all Data Centers across the world. With an area of 12,236 sq m, the centre is equipped with a total capacity of 2.7MW that services 250 working racks. Batelcos Hamala Data Center is the largest enterprise data center in Bahrain. Prior to signing the contract, representatives from Benefit visited the Hamala facility, where a number of operational, technical, and security features were outlined by the Batelco team. Benefit Company CEO Abdulwahed AlJanahi said: "We are very proud of this important milestone which serves to strengthen the Company's electronic platforms with the newest up-to-date systems. Our partnership with Batelco follows on from a study of the best available solutions, and this collaborative effort shows the power of national companies coming together to achieve a collective vision for the Kingdom and the region." The Benefit Company manages and operates very advanced systems. Investing in infrastructure and electronic systems is always at the top of our priorities to maximize customer confidence, stated Al Janahi. "Furthermore, it shows our commitment to our role as a national institution in advancing the level of banking sector services and contributing to the image of Bahrain as a regional hub for financial technology and advanced payment systems," he added. Batelco Enterprise General Manager Abderrahmane Mounir said: "We are very pleased to sign this contract with Benefit, a national entity in the banking and finance sector, as this reflects on Batelcos efforts in supporting this vital sector and also Benefits trust in Batelcos infrastructure and capabilities." "In hosting their entire IT infrastructure at Batelcos Data Center, Benefits requirements to safeguard large volumes of mission critical data and ensure a seamless customer experience for its end-users, can be reliably met," noted Mounir. "Establishing and equipping a Data Center of this level is part of our national contribution towards developments taking place within all sectors in Bahrain and in particular those that fall in line with the national vision for the growth of the digital economy," he added. According to him, Batelcos Data Center is designed to serve the growing demand from companies that require sophisticated and cutting-edge IT management services, along with premium collocation services, to suit all corporate needs while eliminating the cost for companies to maintain their own disaster recovery solutions. The range of key Benefit services to be moved to Batelco Data Center includes the switching of Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sale (POS), GCCNet, Bahrain Credit Reference Bureau (BCRB), Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS), Payment Gateway (PG), Bahrain Cheque Truncation System (BCTS), BenefitPay as a national eWallet across Bahrain and Know Your Customer Electronically (eKYC), he added.-TradeArabia News Service Lindsay Boylan, 36 Former aide Lindsay Boylan, 36, was the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment in a Medium post on February 24. She claimed that the governor asked her to play strip poker and kissed her on the lips without her permission when she worked for him in 2017. Lindsay Boylan, 36 Charlotte Bennett, 25 Charlotte Bennett, 25, came forward a few days after Boylan and claimed that Cuomo sexually harassed her last June while she was working as a health policy adviser in his administration at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Bennett accused Cuomo of 'grooming' her and asking inappropriate questions about her sex life. She also claimed that he told her he was open to dating women in their 20s. BENNETT said the governor asked her about her love life - including whether she ever had sex with older men - and talked about his own, saying that age differences didn't matter in relationships and he was open to dating women over 22. During a meeting alone in his office, the governor said he was lonely and talked about wanting to hug someone, Bennett said. She said she swiftly complained to Cuomo's chief of staff and was transferred to another job. She said she spoke to a lawyer for the governor, but didnt insist on further action because she liked her new post and wanted to move on. Charlotte Bennett, 25 Anna Ruch, 33 Anna Ruch was the third woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment and the only one thus far who did not work with him in a professional capacity. She claimed that Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her just moments after they met at a September 2019 wedding in Manhattan. Anna Ruch, 33 Ana Liss, 35 Ana Liss, 35, a former aide, said Cuomo asked her whether she had a boyfriend, once kissed her hand at her desk and called her by patronizing names, including 'blondie,' 'sweetheart' and 'honey.' At a reception, the governor hugged her then put his arm around her lower back and waist as they posed for photo, Liss said. She said she eventually asked for a job transfer. In an interview, Liss said she was 'not claiming sexual harassment per se,' but felt the administration 'wasn't a safe space for young women to work.' Liss, who previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015, told the Wall Street Journal that during her time in his administration, the governor had subjected her to unsolicited advances, including touching her lower back, kissing her hand and quizzing her about her love life. Ana Liss, 35 Karen Hinton, 62 The oldest allegations against Cuomo came from Karen Hinton, who served as a press aide for him when he led the US Department of Housing and Urban Development two decades ago and she was a consultant for the agency. Hinton told the Washington Post about a 2000 incident when she said Cuomo summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event. She said she tried to pull away from Cuomo when he pulled her back and held her before she managed to escape the room. Karen Hinton, 62 Unnamed sixth accuser The most damning allegations leveled against Cuomo to date came from a sixth accuser, whose name has not been released. The accuser, who is a member of Cuomo's staff, alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor's mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone, according to the Times Union of Albany. It first reported on her accusation last month; she then gave more detail in her first interview on the matter, published Wednesday. The woman spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy, although her identity is known within the governors circle, the Times Union reported. The woman, an executive assistant, told the Times Union the governor gave her kisses on the cheek and inappropriately tight hugs for years and made remarks including, 'If you were single, the things that I would do to you' and 'I'm single and ready to mingle.' Then, one day in November, she was summoned to his Executive Mansion office to help him with a cellphone problem, she said. He got up from his desk, started groping her and told her 'I don't care' after she tried to deflect him by saying he was going to get them into trouble, and then he slammed the door, she said. Then he reached under her blouse and clutched one of her breasts over her bra, she told the newspaper. The woman told a colleague this winter about the alleged encounter, and the co-worker told a supervisor in early March, according to the newspaper. Cuomo called the report 'gut-wrenching' in a March statement and said: 'I have never done anything like this.' Another female aide, who has remained anonymous, claimed he called her to his Executive Mansion last year, reached under her blouse and fondled her Jessica Bakeman Jessica Bakeman claimed in a first-person article for New York Magazine that she was sexually harassed by Cuomo on several occasions since the start of her journalism career in 2012. Bakeman added her voice as the seventh accuser as she detailed inappropriate touching by the governor as he continued to deny all of the claims. 'He took my hand, as if to shake it, then refused to let go,' Bakeman wrote of an interaction with Cuomo as she said goodnight at a holiday party in 2014 when she was only 25 years old. 'He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.' At the time Bakeman had been working for what is now Politico New York and claimed that red flags went up as her 'job was to analyze and scrutinize him'. 'I didn't want a photo of him with his hands on my body and a smile on my face,' she wrote. Jessica Bakeman, a reporter who once covered the Cuomo administration, was the seventh woman to come forward with claims of harassment 'But I made the reflexive assessment that most women and marginalized people know instinctively, the calculation about risk and power and self-preservation. I knew it would be far easier to smile for the brief moment it takes to snap a picture than to challenge one of the most powerful men in the country.' In an earlier 2012 incident while she was working for USA Today, Bakeman also claims that Cuomo kept her pinned to his side as he told a story to her male colleagues. 'He left it there, and kept me pinned next to him, for several minutes as he finished telling his story,' she said. 'I stood there, my cheeks hot, giggling nervously as my male colleagues did the same. We all knew it was wrong, but we did nothing.' The reporter, who now works in Florida, claimed that Cuomo 'never let me forget I was a woman' as she also alleged that he made frequent attempts to humiliate her, including calling out her purple phone instead of answering her question during a press gaggle. Alyssa McGrath, 33 McGrath, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo's office, told The New York Times that he looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret. McGrath didn't say the governor made sexual contact with her but thought his behavior was sexual harassment. She recalled Cuomo kissing her on the forehead and gripping her firmly around the sides while posing for a photo at a 2019 office Christmas party. Alyssa McGrath (pictured) is one of two aides who have come forward to accuse the governor of harassment Sherry Vill, 55 Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct during a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred on Monday. She alleges Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her 'aggressively and in a sexual manner' on both cheeks in May 2017 while he was touring her home in Greece, near Rochester, as he inspected local flood damage. Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek and her attorney held up multiple photos showing the Governor inside her home. The same photos appear on Cuomo's Flickr account, as well as multiple others that show him kissing and greeting residents as he toured the town. None of the women in the other photos have accused the governor of inappropriate behavior or wrongdoing. A Russian exile was strangled by a mystery killer who attempted to make the murder look like suicide, just days after the Salisbury poisonings. Kremlin critic Nikolay Glushkov, 68, was found dead at his London home on 12 March 2018. An inquest hearing on Friday heard that paramedics immediately raised concerns that he had been murdered because of the way suicide paraphernalia appeared to be deliberately placed. A post-mortem examination concluded that Mr Glushkov died at the hands of a third party, due to compression of the neck, followed by the staging of a scene. Chinyere Inyama, the senior coroner for West London, gave a medical cause of death as compression to the neck and added: From all the documentation, all the evidence gathered, Nikolay Glushkov died from an unlawful killing. Read more: Evidence heard raised the possibility of a professional killing, after experts found that Mr Glushkov was rapidly incapacitated within seconds and had no injuries suggesting violent struggle. Police are still appealing for information to find the murderer and have made no arrests, or interviewed any suspects, in the three years since Mr Glushkovs death. The Metropolitan Police are appealing for people who were in the area around his home in New Malden, south-west London, to recall anything unusual or suspicious, including sightings of a black Volkswagen van that has not been traced. In a statement to the inquest, Mr Glushkov's daughter said she and her father's partner, Denis Trushin, turned up at his home at around 10pm because he had failed to get in touch with her since the previous evening. Natalia Glushkova said she saw her father lying on the floor and found him to be cold to the touch after checking if he was breathing. His watch and religious cross were on the bedside table, she added. He only ever removed his watch and cross when he went to sleep or to take a shower. Police investigate Nikolai Glushkov's mysterious death at his London home Paramedic Dominic Biel described the scene as suspicious and recalled how Mr Trushin said: Don't touch anything until the police come here - someone's killed him. A pathology report summarised to the court said Mr Glushkovs injuries could be consistent with a neck-hold, applied from behind, and the assailant being behind the victim. It added: There is a lack of injuries to suggest prolonged grappling or restraint with the third party, and a lack of injuries of a defensive nature to the upper limbs. This would suggest the victim had been rapidly incapacitated - garroted sleeper holds are known to cause unconsciousness within seconds. A police report, also summarised at the hearing, said the findings indicated that the deceased had fatal pressure applied to his neck, and a staged scene was set up to simulate a case of suicidal hanging. The inquest heard that bruising to the victim's neck was not explained by the ligature mark. Mr Glushkov fled Russia after being accused of fraud during his time as deputy director of the Russian airline Aeroflot, and was friends with exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky who died himself in 2013. The murder came almost exactly a week after former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury. Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Scene of attack Members of the emergency services in hazard suits fix the tent over the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March 2018. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Victim - Sergei Skripal The retired Russian colonel and former double agent for MI6 was in a critical condition in hospital for more than two months after being exposed to novichok in Salisbury. He was given refuge in the UK after being jailed in Moscow for treason. Mr Skripal came to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap in 2010 in which four men were exchanged for ten Russian "sleeper agents" in the US. In this image he is speaking to his lawyer from behind bars in Moscow in 2006. AP Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Victim - Yulia Skripal Yulia Skripal was struck down by a novichok poison alongside her father Sergei. Facebook Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Scene of attack A police officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi where the pair dined at before falling ill. It was boarded off whilst investigators worked on the building and later found traces of the chemical weapon within it. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Scene of attack Large areas of central Salisbury were cordoned off by police following the discovery of the Skripals. Traces of nerve agent were also found in The Mill pub. PA Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Victim - Nick Bailey Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, rushed to the aid of the Russian ex-spy and his daughter who were targeted with a nerve agent. He was hospitalized after aiding them and didn't leave until three weeks after the attack. Wiltshire Police/Rex Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation - Skripals home Police believe they were poisoned at home, and detectives found the highest concentration of novichok on the front door of Mr Skripals house. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Theresa May visits scene of attack Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May spokes with Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Kier Pritchard near where the Skripal's were found. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning and suspended high-level contacts, including for the World Cup on March 14. Theresa May told parliament that Russia had failed to respond to her demand for an explanation on how a Soviet-designed chemical, Novichok, was used in Salisbury. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Skripal days before attack Sergei Skripal days before he was exposed to Novichok, that has left him fighting for life. ITV News Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation - military involvement British soldiers were deployed soon after the attack to help a counter-terrorism investigation into the nerve agent attack. One of the places they were asked to help out with was Skripal's home and it's surrounding. They were asked to remove a vehicle connected to the agent attack in Salisbury, from a residential street in Gillingham. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation Personnel in protective coveralls and breathing equipment cover an ambulance with a tarpaulin at the Salisbury District Hospital. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation The investigation extended to the grave of Sergei Skripal's son Alexander in London Road cemetery. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation The Counter Terrorism Policing Network requested assistance from the military to remove a number of vehicles and objects from Salisbury. EPA Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Home Secretary visits scene of attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the scene of the nerve agent attack at the Maltings shopping centre on 9 March. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time Yulia Skripal, speaking for the first time, said she felt lucky to have survived the nerve agent attack in Salisbury which left her fighting for life. Ms Skripal said her life had been turned upside down by the assassination attempt. But the Russian national added she hoped to return to her homeland one day, despite the Kremlin being blamed for the attack. Reuters At the time, they were in a critical condition in hospital amid an escalating diplomatic row with the Kremlin, which denied involvement despite British authorities naming two Russian agents as responsible. Mr Glushkov, who had two children, was due to attend a commercial court hearing on the day he was found dead but did not arrive, sparking concerns among friends. He was a close friend of exiled Russian oligarch Mr Berezovsky, who was himself a friend of murdered spy Alexander Litvinenko. Mr Berezovsky was found hanged in the bathroom of his Berkshire home in 2013. Police said a post-mortem showed no sign of a violent struggle, and an inquest recorded an open verdict after hearing conflicting evidence. Mr Glushkov worked for Mr Berezovskys LogoVaz car company in Russia, before becoming the first deputy general director for Russias flag carrier Aeroflot in the late 1990s. He served a five-year term for money laundering and fraud in Russia, then fled the country after being handed a two-year suspended sentence for fraud in 2006. Police cordon off the home of Moscow businessman Nikolai Glushkov (Reuters) In 2017, he was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and a 1 million ruble fine in absentia for allegedly defrauding Aeroflot a case that continued at the time of his death. His LinkedIn page listed him as a private consultant in financial services since 2011. Police described Mr Glushkov as a retired financial director and said he had lived in the home in Clarence Avenue for two years. The inquiry is being led by the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command, which has not made any arrests despite contacting over 1,800 witnesses, reviewing 200 hours of CCTV footage and collecting 1,200 pieces of evidence. Investigators are appealing for information on a black Volkswagen van that was seen in and around Clarence Avenue on the evening of 11 March 2018, the day before Mr Glushkov was found dead. Neither the vehicle nor the driver have been traced despite public appeals, and it remains an important line of enquiry. Anyone with information is asked to call 0800 789 321 quoting Operation Bulblet, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Additional reporting by PA Apr. 10MANCHESTER A traffic stop in town led to drug and weapons charges for an Arizona man. Jesse Reid Foley, 31, of Red Rock, Arizona was arraigned Thursday in Salem District Court on these charges: * Carrying a loaded firearm without a license. * Possession of a large-capacity feeding device. * Unlawful possession of ammunition. * Violation of an abuse prevention order. * Possession of a Class B substance (cocaine). * Possession of a Class E substance. * Operating a motor vehicle with registration suspended. * Driving an uninsured motor vehicle. * Open container of alcohol in motor vehicle. Foley was arrested after Manchester police report pulling over the gray Toyota Tundra he was driving on Beach Street near Summer Street about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was stopped because police determined the truck's registration was not valid. During a subsequent on-scene investigation, police say they searched the Toyota and found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun, and several fully loaded magazines totaling 47 rounds of ammunition. Foley does not possess a Firearms ID Card or a License to Carry in Massachusetts. During the search, police say they also located drugs and drug paraphernalia, and two open containers of alcohol. "Illegal firearms are a danger to our community and to law enforcement," Chief Todd Fitzgerald said in a prepared statement. "This is an example of how diligent police work can lead to a dangerous weapon being taken off the streets. I commend the two who conducted the arrest Patrolman Richard Chute and Detective Michael Richard for a job well done." Naomi Wolf laments 'war on religion' amid ongoing COVID restrictions, emergency powers Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A prominent liberal has become an outspoken critic of restrictions on religious faith implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in response, has launched a campaign committed to preserving the freedom to worship and other freedoms that governments imposed limits on. Appearing on Fox News Primetime Monday, Naomi Wolf, a former adviser to Democratic politicians and outspoken feminist, reacted to the anti-religion nanny states war on Easter. Host Mark Steyn prefaced the interview with Wolf by highlighting examples of law enforcement officials in western democracies, including Canada and the United Kingdom, interrupting church services that took place on the days leading up to Easter because of concerns that the gatherings violated COVID-19 restrictions. There is a war on humanity. There is a war on religion. There is a war on human assembly, she said. Big tech wants to drive everyone indoors and dissolve the bonds between people. The real pandemic, which is now an endemic, its turning into something we live with every year, has provided cover for very dark forces to terrorize human assembly and to do what youre right to point out is illegal, Wolf added. She further slammed western governments for assaulting the ways in which human beings gather strength and community from each other so that there will be ... kind of new overlords. Wolf suggested that the attacks on the right to worship that have emerged during the coronavirus pandemic are a signal of something darker: Tyrants on the left and the right, totalitarian states, always go after churches and synagogues and mosques, always try to target outspoken clergy and target the idea of faith because thats where people derive strength and community from. Steyn asked Wolf to describe her organization that is actually committed to turning this around by demanding no more permanent emergencies. Wolf spoke about her platform, Daily Clout, which she founded to enable everybody to pass legislation and run for office, not just the elites or the insiders. In the face of this crisis, a group of citizens have started a Five Freedoms campaign, Wolf explained. As you mentioned, number one is no mask mandates, no emergency law. Our Constitution forbids emergency powers in an open-ended way. Freedom to assemble worship, to engage in trade forever, its unlawful to restrict worship or trade or assembly in our democracy. Number four is no vaccine passports, super scary technology Ive been talking about. And number five is open schools immediately, she added. Wolf mentioned that the Five Freedoms campaign was getting a ton of traction and that leaders from Idaho, Missouri and South Dakota have signed on to aspects of the commitment. Additionally, Wolf noted that she has been asked to update a book she wrote in 2008 titled, The End of America that outlined 10 steps to fascism. Emergency law is the tenth step and in Massachusetts, I live under emergency law. Next door, New York lives under emergency law; theres emergency law in California. This is the end of democracy and they are not giving up these powers, she warned. Before introducing Wolf, Steyn discussed a tragic element to the diminished state of the Christian churches a year into [the lockdowns]." According to Steyn, If ever there were a huge opportunity for religious ministry, a world in which everything else is dead, movies, shows, sports, concerts, restaurants, all the noisy distractions of the secular, consumerist life, [now] is surely it. Yet, for the most part, starting with the social justice pontiff in the Vatican blaming COVID on climate change, the churches blew it, he lamented. Saddest of all, an unchurched year has seen church membership in the U.S. fall for the first time below 50% of Americans, which is a pity because when the churches fall silent, the only religion left is the state. In the most prominent example of western government officials attempting to break up a church service on Easter weekend, a Canadian pastor forcefully told a police officer and public health officer who entered his church without a warrant to vacate the premises. Artur Pawlowski, the Polish-born pastor of Street Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, appeared on Fox News Primetime Tuesday, after the video of his exchange with the law enforcement officials went viral. Steyn played a clip of the encounter at the beginning of the segment with Wolf. Reinhard Butikofer, member of the European Parliament and former chair of the German Green Party, speaks about the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, April 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) West Needs to Push Back Against Beijings Imperial Arrogance: European Parliament Member The Chinese regime recently sanctioned more than 20 officials, politicians, and researchers from the UK, EU, Canada, and the United States in retaliation for coordinated sanctions on Chinese officials involved in human rights violations in Xinjiang. I think this is unprecedented, Dovile Sakaliene, a member of Lithuanias Parliament who was sanctioned by China, said at an online panel discussion on April 8. For the first time sanctions are applied for defending human rights and not for human rights violation. The blacklisted officials and their families are prohibited from doing business with Chinese companies or traveling to China. But the sanctions are not helping the Chinese regime, Miriam Lexmann, another member of the EU Parliament who was sanctioned, said at the same event. It is only allowing more people to see what China is capable of doing, she said. Around 1 million Uyghurs have been held in secret internment camps in the northwest Xinjiang region, according to United Nations experts. Inhabitants in the regime are also subject to heavy surveillance and forced sterilization. The U.S. government has estimated that 100,000 Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslim minorities in China may be subject to forced labor following detention in re-education camps. No one anywhere should be trampled upon their dignity, no one anywhere should be made to work against their will, in the cotton fields, no one anywhere should be sterilized because of their ethnicity, Sakaliene said. The Chinese Communist Party has shot themselves in both legs, she said. First by sanctioning 10 EU individuals and entities and then expanding the sanctions to more European countries. They are completely disregarding the differences between the authoritarian regime and democratic countries and feel that they have become such a superpower, that they can be completely arrogant and completely disregard us. Sakaliene said that since both the United States and Europe are big markets, they could use this to pressure the Chinese regime. Lexmann said that Western countries need to shift their business and cooperation from China to other democratic countries. By supporting economic cooperation among democracies, they can at least ensure that their money is not supporting human rights violations nor undermining our democracies. She also pointed out that democratic countries need to look at the developing countries that are being exploited by Beijing. The Chinese regime is using a massive global infrastructure investment plan called the Belt and Road Initiative to expand its interest in Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, and South America. If the West does not do anything to counter this initiative, then the regime will be able to scoop up strategic infrastructure in these countries, creating an enormous negative impact, Lexmann said. When asked the question, how can we criticize China when we have our own problems? Sakaliene replied that, in democracies, despite whatever human rights problems they face, they acknowledge them and try to solve them. Totalitarian regimes, however, deny their problems or try to shift the spotlight elsewhere. Sakaliene recounted that this tactic was used by the Soviet Union against the United States during the Cold War. [The] Soviet Union would say to [the] United States that there is racism there. So how can you talk about human rights to us? she said. Reinhard Butikofer, member of the European Parliament and chair of the parliaments Delegation for Relations with the Peoples Republic of China, rejected the underlying premise of the question. I would not agree with the statement that says, you can only criticize a devil if youre an angel, Butikofer said. Sakaliene hoped the partnership between Europe and the United States could be further utilized to counter the Chinese regimes aggression, such as against Taiwan. Seeing the growing levels of aggression, of imperialism, and of bad arrogant attitude, I am worried, she said. Numerous Forest Protection Officers were out patrolling Lower Sycamore in Arizona on April 3 when a surge of people came to attend this unauthorized event. U.S. Forest Service-Tonto National Forest More than 5,000 people gathered together at Tonto National Forest early April for an illegal party. Forest officials were patrolling near the area when they found the unauthorized event. A permit is required for non-commercial groups of 75 or more to use or occupy forest service land. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Forest protection officers in Arizona broke up an unauthorized and illegal party that gathered more than 5,000 people together at Tonto National Forest last Saturday. In a Facebook post, the U.S. Forest Service wrote that officials were patrolling near the Lower Sycamore Creek Recreation Area on April 3 when they discovered thousands of people who were gathering illegally. Officials say campers and partiers restricted access by taping off sections of the main road to designate their camping area and vehicles were parked all along the main roads. "Two quads colliding -- one person was medevac'd out by helicopter due to the restrictions caused by the partiers," forest service officials said. Investigators say violations for visitors included DUIs, double riding, speeding/reckless vehicle operation, user-created vehicle staging areas in the burned area, camps blocking roadways, illegal use of fireworks, and target shooting with unknown backstops. KPHO reported that by the end of the night, there had been seven crashes and multiple reports of stolen off-highway vehicles. The Tonto National Forest did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment. According to the agency, a permit is required for non-commercial groups of 75 or more to use or occupy forest service land. Read the original article on Insider Years ago, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh paid a fleeting visit to the Surrey town of Dorking. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of wellwishers penned in behind barriers. Those at the front had been standing there for many hours. Among them was a small child holding a single daffodil. The Queen made her way along the barrier, smiling, chatting, collecting tributes. But she failed to notice the little girl with her daffodil. Not so the Duke of Edinburgh. Walking, as ever, a few paces behind the Queen, he spotted the disconsolate child as she realised she'd missed her moment. He immediately went over to her, clasped her firmly under the arms, hoisted her over the barrier and told her to run and give her flower to the Queen. It was the Duke at his best. Undoubtedly, he was capable of great kindness and compassion. Prue Leith is pictured above joking with Philip at a Dukes Award ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2017 And it was a vivid demonstration of just one of the many ways in which he was such a support to his wife. It's why, on their golden wedding anniversary in 1997, she said of him: 'He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.' His manner was undoubtedly forthright he could be one of the most irascible and downright rude figures in public life, and his gaffes are, of course, legendary. But they were frequently misinterpreted and seldom as offensive as the media liked to suggest. The Indians, for example, were delighted when, visiting a factory near Edinburgh, he said a fuse box was so crude it 'looked as though it had been put in by an Indian'. His manner was undoubtedly forthright he could be one of the most irascible and downright rude figures in public life, and his gaffes are, of course, legendary. But they were frequently misinterpreted and seldom as offensive as the media liked to suggest The Asian community was reported to have been outraged by the remark, but a leading Indian newspaper had nothing but praise for him. 'At last someone speaks the truth. He's absolutely right, our electrical systems in India are appalling. Every Indian has to have about six transformers and seven circuit breakers between the grid and their computer because of surges and blackouts and so on. We really have got to get a grip.' 'His roughnesses,' according to one former Foreign Secretary, 'came from the fact he led an extremely boring life and every now and again felt compelled to stir the waters.' I encountered that roughness myself. It was long ago, when I presented a prime-time TV programme (I also wrote books about his family and my father was a Fleet Street editor reasons enough not to like me). I was asked to help present prizes to Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award winners. For many years they had been too numerous for him to do all the presentations personally, and I was one of several 'celebrities' asked to help him. Each of us was put into a state room at St James's Palace with a group of recipients, and we were told that when we had done our stuff the Duke would come into all the rooms, we would each be presented to him and he would chat to the young people. He came into my room as planned, he spoke genially to all the young recipients, quizzed them, joked with them, congratulated them heartily on their achievements, but when he was introduced to me the smile vanished from his face. He looked me up and down I would swear he snorted and turned on his heels and walked off without either a handshake, a hello or a thank you. I am told Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, got much the same treatment. A former director of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), of which Prince Philip was president for almost 60 years, worked with him for 17 years and never lost his admiration for him. He said: 'He was pretty fantastic, he was pretty daunting and could be pretty awful. 'He would turn up here and be in a foul mood and make life very difficult. He could be quite rude to people, and unkindly rude, but after two or three hours he was invariably in a good mood again.' How the Duke behaved was often dictated by how people behaved towards him. And like the classic bully, he liked it when people stood up to him. The explorer David Hempleman-Adams, the first person to have reached the Geographic and Magnetic North and South Poles as well as climb the highest peaks in all seven continents, puts it all down to the 50-mile expedition he did for his Bronze Award at the age of 13 My sister-in-law, Prue Leith, was chairman of the RSA at one time and did stand up to him. She said: 'Once, in a discussion on world population, he was banging on a bit about how too many people had too many children, and I found myself saying, 'That's a bit rich, coming from someone with four children' the sort of crack you're not meant to make at Royals. He just laughed and said, 'Touche.' ' Like her predecessor, Prue encountered every mood. 'One day he came to an RSA event in honour of Dame Judi Dench, and was cross that there were two photographers, loudly demanding an explanation from me in front of the half-dozen VIPs waiting to be presented. 'Since I had no idea why we had two photographers, and anyway was unaware that we should not have, I joked, 'No idea, sir, maybe it's because one of them is useless and the other is back-up.' 'What utter rot,' he said and stamped off, leaving everyone embarrassed. 'I hissed at the barman to get him a drink pretty damn quick, and left him to his own devices. Of course, being the pro he was, he got on and talked to everyone else, and by dinner time he was completely delightful company.' Not everyone thrived in his presence. One former director of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award broke into a sweat whenever he met the Duke his shirt would be wringing wet and he had to give up the job. The Duke's Award, as it is commonly known, was his crowning glory. He was passionate about helping young people achieve their potential. The explorer David Hempleman-Adams, the first person to have reached the Geographic and Magnetic North and South Poles as well as climb the highest peaks in all seven continents, puts it all down to the 50-mile expedition he did for his Bronze Award at the age of 13. But this was just one of the 800 charities the Duke was involved with. He was also passionate about wildlife and conservation and was the founding table-thumping president of the World Wildlife Fund. How the Duke behaved was often dictated by how people behaved towards him. And like the classic bully, he liked it when people stood up to him, writes Penny Junor (pictured) He was a great advocate for science, technology and design he owned one of the first mobile phones ever produced and was the first member of the family to own a laptop. He was a sportsman, an ornithologist, an oil painter; he was a pilot, a yachtsman and an international equestrian. He founded the world-famous Guards Polo Club and wrote the international rule book for carriage driving. He was a patron of the arts, he bought or commissioned more than 2,000 works, he collected political and Royal cartoons and books he had more than 13,000. It was he who suggested converting the bomb-damaged private chapel at Buckingham Palace into the Queen's Gallery and putting works of art from the Royal Collection on display for the public. He ran the estates at Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral and was always thinking of new and better ways of doing things. He was the ultimate professional, a punctilious time-keeper, a passionate ambassador and lobbyist, a tireless speaker and phenomenally hard-working. And, when in a good mood, tremendous company. His death robs the country of one of its most colourful figures. And whatever one's view of him, there is no denying that he will leave a big hole in public life that will be hard to fill. It will be a duller, blander, poorer place without him. While bitter partisanship continues to divide Americans, there is some hope amid the rancor. Over 158 million votes two thirds of those eligible were cast in the 2020 election. If we really are committed to government by its citizens, we should be building on that record; not finding ways to stop people from voting. Georgia, for example, is heading in the wrong direction. Simply put, the new Georgia law is, as the New York Times described it, a partisan power grab. Given stunning defeats in the presidential and U.S. Senate races, the Republicans decided to turn the clock back and to shut out certain voters. Specifically, the bill cuts ballot drop boxes in the Atlanta area from 94 to 23. It cuts the time for absentee ballot submission from 180 to 78 days. It adds new ID requirements and, most disturbing, allows the partisan legislature to oversee and replace election officials as they see fit. Lets be brutally honest here: the new Georgia voting laws are designed to suppress minority votes. The Georgia governor and his party have chosen to change the rules rather than try to win over the voters who made the difference last year. Meanwhile, two states away, Kentucky is moving in the other direction. On a bipartisan basis, Kentucky has affirmed early and mail-in voting, and has given counties more flexibility to reach voters. The bill passed overwhelmingly and leaders were quick to take a bow claiming that they had successfully put politics aside to ensure full voting rights. The difference between the two states? The GOP lost in Georgia and blamed it on election fraud. This gave them the excuse to impose new restrictions. In Kentucky, GOP candidates won and the party did not feel the need to close out any voters. Pennsylvanias approach to election reform offers some hope for actual improvements if they can avoid the temptation to poison the discussion with false narratives of widespread voter fraud. Court decisions at every level in Pennsylvania have said conclusively that there was no discernible voter fraud. Pennsylvania did, in fact, conduct a fair and free election. It is equally true, however, that some glitches in the Act 77 mail-in voter system occurred. While the pandemic raged, election officials and the Supreme Court had to make quick decisions about the requirements of the law. Did failure to sign the cover envelope invalidate the entire ballot? Could mail-in ballots postmarked by election day but received afterwards still count? Should citizens who voted early be allowed to correct ballots before election day? Another issue that caused heartburn and confusion was the inability of county election bureaus to pre-canvass. They were not even legally allowed to prepare to count early ballots prior to election day. Then, the decision to count in-person voting on election day first gave a false early impression of a substantial GOP lead. The fact is that early and mail-in votes easily wiped out that advantage but not until the big lie about a Trump win had taken root. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Allowing local election boards to pre-canvass, and providing their operations with more financial and logistical support, will do more to make elections secure than hearings, efforts to rewrite history, or attempts to placate a president unable to accept the fact that he lost the state. If the bipartisan committee on election reform focuses on these real issues and listens to the recommendations of the County Commissioners Association, we can have fair and free elections with the added convenience of mail-in voting and fail-safe security at the ballot box. Of course, much of the legislative activity in Pennsylvania and other states would be rendered moot if the federal government can muster the votes for HR 1. This landmark legislation would standardize voting requirements among the states and set ground rules for redistricting that would curtail the partisan gerrymandering that has stacked the deck for the majority parties across the country. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that would actually expand voting rights. It would increase voter registration venues and make early voting and mail voting more accessible; not less. The reality is that the bill is facing an uphill battle in the Senate. While not all Republican Senators are living in denial about the last election, most seem content to put principle aside if it means securing their own seat. While we wait for common sense to prevail in Washington, we can hope that states like Kentucky and maybe Pennsylvania can provide examples of what reasonable compromise looks like. Changing the rules to suppress minority voting is not reform. Instead, we should insist on a bipartisan approach to address legitimate glitches in our elections. If the objective really is providing full and fair participation in our democracy, we should expect no less. Mark S. Singel is a former Democratic Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of Pennsylvania. To prevent the surge in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has imposed night curfew in nine cities of Rajasthan with effect from Saturday till April 30. As per an order by the Rajasthan government, it said, "Night curfew imposed in 9 cities-Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Abu Road starting from 8 pm to 6 am, till April 30." "In Udaipur, the night curfew will start from 6 pm to 6 am", the order informed. Faced with a surge in Covid-19 cases, Jodhpur Police Commissioner, J Mohan on April 7 said that challans will be sent to the homes of those who flout Covid-19 norms. Speaking to ANI, Mohan said, "Some people misbehave with cops or run away when being penalised for violating Covid-19 guidelines. CCTV cameras will be used to check those who roam around without masks or flout social distancing. Challans will be sent to their homes." On April 7, the has written to the Centre about the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines and has sought 30 lakh doses to continue with the inoculation drive. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said: "The present stock of vaccines in Rajasthan will finish in the next two days." Many state governments have recently complained of vaccine shortage to the Union government and have asked it to send more vaccines to keep up the vaccination drive. The Centre has, however, refuted the claim of the vaccine shortage. (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.) Christian wedding photographer sues New York over LGBT anti-discrimination law Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Christian wedding photographer has filed a complaint against New York over a state law that requires her to service same-sex wedding ceremonies despite her religious objections. Emilee Carpenter of Emilee Carpenter Photography sued multiple state officials, with the lawsuit being filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. Named defendants include New York Attorney General Letitia James; Jonathan J. Smith, interim commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights; and Weeden Wetmore, district attorney of Chemung County. At issue, according to the litigation, are provisions in state law that require businesses like Carpenters to provide services. This included New York Executive Law 296.2(a), which unlawful discriminatory practices because of sexual orientation in any place of public accommodation. the Accommodations Clause forces Emilee to celebrate same-sex engagements or weddings and would require her to promote messages that violate her religious beliefs or require her to participate in religious ceremonies that violate her religious beliefs, something she cannot do, stated the lawsuit. Likewise, the Publication Clause prohibits Emilee from asking prospective clients questions sufficient for her to learn whether they are seeking photography services celebrating same-sex engagements or weddings so that she can be honest with them about the photographs she does and does not create. According to the lawsuit, Carpenter would also refuse to do weddings that include irreverent themes like vampires or Halloween and would also oppose doing business with entities that promote abortion, such as Planned Parenthood. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm that has argued religious liberty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, is representing Carpenter. ADF Legal Counsel Bryan Neihart said in a statement released Wednesday that the government should not treat some people worse than others based on their religious views. Creative professionals like Emilee should have the freedom to create art consistent with their beliefs without fear of the government closing their business or throwing them in jail, Neihart said. Emilee serves all people; she just cannot promote messages which contradict her religious beliefs about any topic, including marriage. In recent years, several legal battles have been fought between states and Christian business owners over anti-discrimination laws that require them to service events they morally object to. The Carpenter complaint comes as Congress debates the Equality Act, a federal bill recently passed by the House of Representatives and is being considered by the Senate. If enacted, the Act would add gender identity and sexual orientation to federal anti-discrimination law while also removing various religious liberty exemptions. The changing criteria for the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca in Spain is eroding the trust of the public in the Covid-19 vaccine. This week saw two modifications to the age groups that will receive the shots in the space of just 24 hours, given the fears that the medication could be linked to a tiny number of rare blood clots registered in the inoculation campaign so far. On Wednesday the Spanish authorities decided they would use the vaccine for the 60-65 group, only to do a U-turn and opt for the 60-69 group the following day. The Madrid deputy health chief, Antonio Zapatero, claimed on Friday that of the 29,000 appointments scheduled for Thursday in the Zendal Hospital and the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, just a third 10,800 people turned up. The previous week such missed appointments only accounted for 3% of the total. The doubts about the Anglo-Swedish vaccine are also being felt in some regions of Spain, albeit not as keenly as in Madrid. A report from Friday, which contained data from the day before, showed a negligible effect on the campaign across the country, with a total of 420,296 Covid-19 vaccines administered. Thats the second-highest figure of the campaign so far, with 453,682 injections recorded on Wednesday. According to the data Madrid went from 47,919 injections to 40,622. The general fall across the country was 7%, half that seen in Madrid. There are people who believe the AstraZeneca vaccine to be bad, when the bad thing is to not take it Inmaculada Cuesta, from the vaccines group at the General Council of Nursing, Regions such as the Canary Islands, Aragon, Galicia and Castilla y Leon report that there has been no fall in the number of people coming for their vaccines, despite the latter having suspended the use of the AstraZeneca shots even before the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced its conclusions about possible links to rare blood clots. Murcia, meanwhile, and Catalonia said that there had been some cases of rejection of the shot in the case of the former, and a fall in the rhythm of appointments in the case of the latter. Andalusia reported that there seemed to have been some falls in certain provinces, such as Cadiz, while in others, such as Jaen, there was no difference. Castilla-La Mancha reported on Friday a fall of 15.5% in appointments. A civil guard receives his Covid-19 vaccine in Valencia last month. Monica Torres Given this situation, the experts are all in agreement. Inmaculada Cuesta, from the vaccines group at the General Council of Nursing, says that there is more uncertainty than fear, a lot of disorientation and misinformation. She adds: There are people who believe the AstraZeneca vaccine to be bad, when the bad thing is to not take it. This perception, that there are good and bad vaccines, has also been rejected by Carmen Cervera, the secretary of the Spanish Immunology Society, who has no doubt that there has been an impact on the public due to so many controversial decisions. We have to insist on what is important, which is that in less than a year we will have four vaccines that, from the first dose, will be avoiding Covid deaths, which is the objective, she says. Despite the fears, the majority of people cited across Spain are turning up for their vaccine. Paloma Martinez, aged 61, arrived on time for her appointment at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on Thursday. She was convinced that she would be given the AstraZeneca shot, but said that she was relaxed about it. I have spoken to my doctor because I have had a number of mini-strokes but she told me that there is no problem, she said. I have opted to get information and not to be swayed by any news stories Ive seen. Im sure that everything is going to be fine. Ill finally be able to hug my children and my grandchildren! What the data says This week saw the EMA confirm that among the possible side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine there could be very rare cases of blood clots, EL PAIS data expert Kiko LLaneras reports. The authority insisted, however, that the risk is very small and that the use of the vaccine should continue. The British authorities, meanwhile, have concluded the same and have recommended that the under-30s be given a different vaccine given that the effects of Covid-19 are less serious in that age group. The EMA puts the risk of blood clots as one case in every 100,000 people vaccinated, while the British authorities estimate one in 250,000, and vary this rate according to age. On the basis of this data, the risk of suffering a blood clot after having the vaccine is: 20-29 years: Risk of 2 in 100,000 30-39 years: Risk of 1.5 in 100,000 40-49 years: Risk of 1 in 100,000 50-59 years: Risk of 0.8 in 100,000 60-69 years: Risk of 0.5 in 100,000 Meanwhile, according to estimates by Imperial College, one in every 166 people with Covid-19 die, a rate of 0.6% although the lethality of the virus is, of course, very different according to age: 20-29 years: Risk of 30 in 100,000 30-39 years: Risk of 75 in 100,000 40-49 years: Risk of 200 in 100,000 50-59 years: Risk of 450 in 100,000 60-69 years: Risk of 1,000 in 100,000 +90 years: Risk of 15,000 in 100,000 (1 in 6) The conclusions based on this data are that the risk of dying from Covid-19 are much higher than that of suffering a rare blood clot after receiving the vaccine. For those aged 60 to 69, the risk is 2,000 times greater. The vaccine also reduces the risk by a factor of 10 for someone who is aged 25 years old. Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno closed his campaign on Friday in N'Djamena, seeking to extend his three-decade long rule - the sixth time he has run for office. Arriving at a stadium in the capital for a rally, he greeted his supporters from the top of a truck. Speaking at the rally, Deby told thousands of supporters that "there are Chadians who call themselves leaders of political parties or civil society, who want to damage the headquarters of CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission)". "They have been arrested," he said. Citing a statement from the country's Interior Ministry, local media has reported that authorities arrested several people this week, including opponents to the government and activists, on suspicion of planning attacks against polling stations and trying to disrupt Sunday's elections. The arrests came after opposition groups accused the government of repression. In a statement this week, Human Right Watch said security forces had "cracked down on protesters and the political opposition in the lead-up to the country's presidential election, harming Chadians' right to freely choose their elected representatives." Amnesty International accused the authorities of "stepped up restrictions on civic space in recent months with long internet shutdowns, arbitrary arrests, and violations of freedoms of protest and peaceful assembly." While giant portraits of Deby line the streets of N'Djamena, and the incumbent leader has campaigned on promises of building schools, paving roads and improving living conditions, some were adamant they did not believe in the promises and were planning to boycott the vote. "I know that it's Deby who's going to win, it's fraud everywhere so I don't vote this year," said Casimiro, a young resident of N'Djamena. Deby is widely expected to win in the first round, in part because two of the leading opposition candidates withdrew from the race as part of a boycott and a third man considered a top contender chose not to run. The only remaining opposition candidate that has had the resources to campaign outside the capital is Albert Pahimi Padacke, a one-time Deby ally who served as prime minister from 2016 to 2018. Padacke has argued that the opposition boycott only benefits the president. One of the remaining opposition candidates, Bruce Guedimbaye Mbaimon, has accused Deby's party of using state resources to campaign. Deby, a former army commander-in-chief, first came to power in 1990 when his rebel forces overthrew then-President Hissene Habre, who was later convicted of human rights abuses at an international tribunal in Senegal. Deby has continued to win re-election over the years, last drawing 61.5% of the vote in the last 2016 election. In 2018, the country approved a new constitution that allows Deby to run for two more six-year terms. The landlocked nation of Chad is home to nearly half a million refugees from neighboring Sudan, Nigeria and Central African Republic. Another 330,000 Chadians are internally displaced, the majority in the volatile Lake Chad region where Boko Haram militants are active. Chad has been an oil producing nation since 2003, which has increased standards of living but has also made the country vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices. The country also has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and female literacy is only about 14% according to U.N. statistics. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The front door of the Garfield County Jail, pictured Friday, announces that it is closed to the public. As of Friday, 16 inmates and seven employees at the jail were confirmed as positive for COVID-19. Insatiable Shipping Companies Set the Table for the Suez Canal Ship Debacle Labor Notes Crude Greeks decide its time to go very large Lloyds List Credit Suisse Scandal Toll Goes Ever Higher as Rivals Thrive Bloomberg This crisis is different: the dramatic rebound in the global economy FT Stabilising the economic outlook Philip R. Lane, European Central Bank Redefining insurance supervision for the new normal Bank of International Settlements Managing Divergent Recoveries IMF Assets Have Tanked at Two of the Worlds Biggest Short Sellers Institutional Investor The Nope theory to explain volatility in equity markets FT. Net Options Pricing Effect. #COVID19 Ethical, Legal, and Scientific Challenges for COVID-19 Vaccine Passports Bill of Heath, Harvard Law Antibody evasion by the P.1 strain of SARS-CoV-2 Cell. From the Abstract: [N]ew strains have emerged with multiple mutations: P.1 from Brazil, B.1.351 from South Africa and B.1.1.7 from the UK. We show that, surprisingly, P.1 is significantly less resistant to naturally acquired or vaccine induced antibody responses than B.1.351. The article seems to reach no conclusion on B.1.1.7 one way or the other. Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine under scrutiny at EMA after 4 serious cases of unusual blood clots Fierce Biotech Science Brief: SARS-CoV-2 and Surface (Fomite) Transmission for Indoor Community Environments CDC (MNA). Trashing aerosols* (despite) and fomites: Findings of these studies suggest that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection via the fomite transmission route is low**, and generally less than 1 in 10,000, which means that each contact with a contaminated surface has less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of causing an infection People can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 through contact with surfaces. However, based on available epidemiological data and studies of environmental transmission factors, surface transmission is not the main route by which SARS-CoV-2 spreads, and the risk is considered to be low. The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus. In most situations, cleaning surfaces using soap or detergent, and not disinfecting, is enough to reduce risk. Go long plexiglass, I suppose. NOTES * To be fair, we get confused and faction-straddling language like aerosol droplets. Since droplets are ballistic (falling within a radius under gravity) and aerosols float (like cigarette smoke, filling a space), this entire science brief is deeply confused at the ontological level; saying aerosol droplets is like saying rocky smoke; its an oxymoron, confused at the ontological level. When is Walensky going to get a handle on this? ** Now that we know that the virus persists in excrement, there is a case to be made for fomite transmission via that path. I dont think the case has been made yet, and the case for aerosol transmission from excrement has been made. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the World Trade Network Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia Is airborne transmission an important and mitigatable aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic? A panel discussion OBrien Institute of Public Health, University of Calgary (recording). Important. Speakers: Dr. John Conly (WHO), Dr. David N. Fisman (epidemiologist, University of Toronto) Dr. Kim Prather (Atmospheric Chemist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography). Live twitter thread: (A corollary of airborne transmission is that HCWs (health care workers) should be supplied with N95, not surgical, masks.) I dont think WHO sent their best: Conly: 'you need to consider the harms of N95 masks' Acne Eczema Conjunctivitis CO2 retention Low O2 saturations in pregnant women In this order. Honest. Q for HCWs: given the choice, would you risk death/long covid/onward transmissions with FRSM, or with N95? David R Tomlinson (@DRTomlinsonEP) April 9, 2021 Acne? Really? Thats one of the hold-ups? The House vote on Wednesday inviting all South Carolinians to proudly pack a handgun on their hip no training required, background check demanded or questions asked was driven by the idea that its time to take back our Second Amendment rights from a government that has been steadily chipping away at them. The reality is, well, different. Set aside the federal government, where modest congressional restrictions have been more than outweighed by a breathtaking pro-gun reversal of long-established Supreme Court precedent, and other states, whose laws have no bearing on South Carolina, and consider our state's history. A quarter-century ago, the only South Carolinians who could legally carry guns were police and 2,700 other people who passed a criminal background check and demonstrated to SLED that they had a legitimate business need for them. They included people who had to make large bank deposits for their businesses, for instance, and of course judges and legislators because, well, SLED is a state agency. That summer, the Legislature passed the "Law Abiding Citizens Self-Defense Act of 1996," which, as I explained at the time, meant that any adult who pays a $50 fee and passes an eight-hour training course and an FBI background check can carry a concealed weapon in all but a handful of places. Today, 560,000 South Carolinians have concealed-carry permits. The Legislature has tightened our gun laws a couple of times since then. After a botched shooting attempt at Ashley Hall by a woman who had just purchased a gun despite being legally adjudged mentally ill, the Legislature voted in 2013 to require state probate courts to send the names of people judged mentally ill to the FBIs background check database. Two years later, the Legislature allowed judges to make temporary forfeiture of guns part of the criminal sentences for batterers. With rare exceptions, though, the past 25 years have been a headlong rush to further liberalize our gun laws. The gun lobby complained that it was just too onerous to spend eight whole hours learning about S.C. law on the use of deadly force, handgun safety and storage practices, so the Legislature scaled back the law to require training of unspecified duration. The more fragile gun owners complained that they could get shot if they had to leave their guns in their cars when they went into bars, so rather than telling them that maybe they shouldnt be frequenting those bars, the Legislature let them carry their guns into bars. They complained about how inconvenient it was that they couldnt carry their guns in Georgia, so the Legislature said, well, OK, well let Georgia permit holders carry their guns in South Carolina (thus triggering reciprocity), even though their requirements for a gun permit are ... well, similar to what the House now wants our requirements to be. They complained that they shouldnt have to back down from a fight, so the Legislature passed the stand your ground law, which says you can shoot someone whenever you feel threatened. Even if your fear is completely disconnected from reality. Even if you carelessly kill the wrong person. As happened in one high-profile case in the Midlands, where a judge agreed with S.C. House Democratic Leader Todd Rutherford that his client couldnt be charged with a crime for mistakenly killing an innocent bystander. After his daughter was followed home. By a carful of menacing girls. Seriously. As the prosecutor explained with only slight sarcasm, the law means someone who claims to fear for his life "could shoot a 4-year-old playing in her front yard and still be immune from prosecution." And now the gun lobby and its fellow travelers are complaining that people have to conceal their guns rather than proudly (or menacingly) display them for all the world to see. And they have to take a perfunctory training course. And pass a criminal background check. So on Wednesday, 69 Republicans rode to the rescue of our possibly law-abiding gun owners (with no background checks, whos to know?), voting to liberalize South Carolinas gun laws. Yet again. Eleven Republicans joined 36 Democrats in voting no. There are, unfortunately, some legislators who honestly believe the misleadingly named Constitutional Carry bill is a good idea. Who are so drunk on the Kool-Aid of conspiracy that they believe its their only hope of surviving the marauding gangs of deep-state agents who are coming to confiscate their guns. And strap N95s over their mouths. And noses. Mostly, though, the people who voted for H.3096 are simply afraid of angering the gun lobby and the paranoid crowd theyve suckered into believing their Orwellian vision of American dystopia. And thats the problem: Our legislators are afraid of offending the 20% of voters who control the GOP primaries, but they arent afraid of offending the majority of us: the rational South Carolinians, who arent part of either fringe, who oppose radical laws aimed at turning South Carolina into the Wild West or turning it into California. Of course, thats our fault, because either we dont vote in the Republican primary which is where Republicans win or lose, just as the Democratic primary is where Democrats win or lose or we dont hold decisions like this against our legislators. Im not ready to say we should all vote against otherwise responsible representatives who supported H.3096. But those of us who have an otherwise responsible Republican House member who supported this bill should reach out now and let him or her know how disappointed we are. And that well be watching the next vote on this and other gun bills. And that we intend to vote in the Republican primary in 2022. And then we need to follow through. CLEVELAND, Ohio A 57-year-old man died after someone attacked him in the citys Kinsman neighborhood, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner. The medical examiner on Friday ruled the Dec. 21 death of Jonathan Wainwright a homicide. He died from blunt force injuries to his head and body. Police initially were unsure if Wainwright had been attacked or if he suffered a medical condition, according to police reports. Wainwright was found dead about 12:45 p.m. on Kinsman Road and East 77th Street. An ambulance took him to University Hospitals. No arrests have been made in the case. The ruling gives Cleveland 190 homicides for 2020, the most since there were 195 in 1982. There have been 39 homicides in Cleveland through April 9, 2021, up from 30 through the date last year. Read more from cleveland.com: Stow police officer injured in hit-and-run crash during chase Cleveland sex crimes detective arrested on domestic violence charge in Parma Man shot to death in Clevelands North Shore-Collinwood neighborhood Canadas Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau held a virtual meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC). The UCC delegation, led by UCC National President Alexandra Chyczij, briefed Minister Garneau on the current situation in eastern Ukraine and presented recommendations for actions that Canada and allies should take in support of Ukraine. "We are grateful to Minister Garneau for the opportunity to discuss the latest developments and Russias increasing aggression against Ukraine. Minister Garneau underlined Canadas unequivocal support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, and condemned Russias recent escalations," Chyczij stated. She added that "in order to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine, it is vital that Ukraines allies respond strongly and forcefully." As Ukrinform reported, the Russian armed forces have recently been building up troops near the state border of Ukraine in the north, east and south, as well as in the occupied Crimea. In addition, the number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine by the armed formations of the Russian Federation has increased; there are losses among the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In parallel, the Russian Federation is conducting a propaganda campaign to justify possible aggression against Ukraine. On April 6, it also became known that, against the background of a buildup of troops to the Ukrainian border, Russia had begun a control check of the army's combat readiness. ish PANAMA CITY, April 9 (Reuters) - Panama has approved the emergency use of China's Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19, the health ministry said on Friday. The ministry said the authorization would help the Central American country secure the vaccines needed to inoculate its population against the virus. (Reporting by Elida Moreno, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon) A petition calling for a statue to Prince Philip following his death yesterday aged 99 has already been signed by thousands of people. Save Our Statues launched a change.org campaign calling on Boris Johnson to erect a monument to the Duke of Edinburgh in London. The page has been signed more than 4,000 times since it was set up last night and heartbroken signatories left tributes to the Queen's husband. Prince Philip died yesterday morning - with the Queen reportedly at his bedside - following nearly eight decades of public service. Thousands of people have signed the petition for a permanent memorial to the Duke of Edinburgh, who died yesterday at 99 He was the nation's longest serving consort and passed away in his private apartment just two months and a day before his 100th birthday. The Save Our Statues petition said: 'The Duke of Edinburgh served our country for 78 years, serving 13 in the Royal Navy and then 65 as Britain's longest serving consort, including 22,000 engagements and supporting 780 organisations. 'We say there should be a prominent statue of the Duke in London to recognise the above, as well as his great personal dedication and support to Her Majesty the Queen.' Thousands of supporters signed the petition - which has a target of 5,000 - and many left a tribute to the late Prince. One wrote: 'Prince Philip embodied true service, by which I mean he dedicated his life to it in spite of it being against his very instincts. 'There is no higher ideal of service, and we as a nation cannot afford to let such sacrifice go unhonoured.' Another put: 'It goes without saying that such a long serving, prominent member of the Royal Family of the greatest country in the world should have a statue.' One woman posted: 'I want the Duke of Edinburgh to be remembered with a fitting tribute to the man, the environmentalist, the longest serving consort, the oldest public servant and a very funny decent man.' The online petition has already been signed by more than 4,200, less than 24 hours after it was set up in his honour Another commented: 'He dedicated his life to Queen and Country. Stood by his family and devoted his life to Our Majesty Queen Elizabeth, his interest in the world industry and helping the young see there strengths through the Duke of Edinburgh was amazing. 'Stand easy Sir and fly high with the Angels, may our Majesty and the family stay strong and find the courage over these next days weeks and months ahead. We Salute you.' A man said: 'Prince Philip was, like Her Majesty, utterly devoted to his duty and the country.' He added: 'He is a shining example for our youth and should be immortalised by a statue.' Another wrote: 'Definitely deserves a well placed statue in memory of a man who served this nation well!' And one more added: 'I think this is an excellent way of paying tribute to a wonderful gentleman who has served this country well since 1939. 'He saw military action in the Royal Navy during WW2 and has been an amazing Consort to Her Majesty The Queen all these years.' Statues of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were unveiled in Canterbury in March 2015 The Duke had a statue erected for him and the Queen at Canterbury Cathedral in 2015. Her Majesty unveiled the stone carvings - made to mark her Diamond Jubilee - by sculptor Nina Bilbey, 47, from Wells-next-the-Sea, in Norfolk. They stand near two statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - the only other monarch to reach a Diamond Jubilee - next to the West Door of the building. Ms Bilbey posted a picture of the monuments she made on her Instagram yesterday after it was announced Prince Philip had died. She wrote: 'My statues of the Royal pair on Canterbury Cathedral 2015. He asked me if I had to leave lots of stone on behind the ears to help hold them up. RIP The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.' It comes after a day of mourning which included a gun salute which rang out around the world in honour of Prince Philip. The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery also fired to mark the passing of Philip, at their historic Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks. The same guns were also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953 Royal Navy warships fired 41 shots over 40 minutes from midday in unison with batteries across the UK and Gibraltar after similar events in his beloved Commonwealth. Crowds gathered on Tower Bridge to watch members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire their cannons from the Tower of London as shots also echoed around the capital from the historic barracks seven miles away at Woolwich, finishing at 12.40pm precisely. Members of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired their 41-round gun salute from Edinburgh Castle, high above the Scottish capital Members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire during a 41-round gun salute for Prince Philip from the wharf at the Tower of London held at Midday today HMS Diamond, a 8,000-tonne destroyer dubbed 'the jewel in the naval crown, set sail from Portsmouth on Friday with her flag at half mast and held its gun salute in the Channel in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, a celebrated sailor and war hero. The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired on the Parade Ground at the historic Woolwich Barracks using the same guns also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. An artillery salute has already taken place at Parliament House in Adelaide this morning, with similar commemorations repeated across the Commonwealth. New York Mills, N.Y. An Oneida County man was accused of breaking into a 67-year-old mans home Thursday night and beating him, according to the New York State Police. New York Mills police officers responded to the reported home invasion at 8:04 p.m. on Maple Street, troopers said in a news release today. Zachary Wojcik, 31, from New York Mills broke into the home of the unidentified 67-year-old man and caused injuries to the mans face, troopers said. The man also suffered a severe cut to his leg, troopers said. Wojcik was also accused of attacking another man at a house on Main Street in New York Mills, troopers said. He was attacked while barbecuing in his backyard, troopers said. Wojcik was charged with first-degree burglary, a felony, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, troopers said. State police have taken over the investigation, troopers said. Wojcik was taken to the Oneida County Jail for arraignment, troopers said. The 67-year-old man was originally taken to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Utica, but was later transferred to Upstate University Hospital for further treatment, troopers 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. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)- 11 dogs from Indiana are nominees for the 2021 Hero Dog Awards. One of those dogs is living in West Lafayette. Emily Harmon and her service dog Oakley attend Purdue University. Harmon has wanted to attend college at Purdue University ever since she can remember. She says if not for Oakley she wouldnt be living out her dream of being a Boilermaker. "I have a brain condition Chiari Malformation, said Harmon. She does different medical alerts. She can alert me before I have a headache before I get dizzy before I pass out and she can alert me to my heart rate as well as psychiatric things. I have PTSD she does several things to help with that." Chiari Malformation is a condition in which brain tissue extends into your spinal canal. It occurs when part of your skull is abnormally small or misshapen, pressing on your brain and forcing it downward. Harmon had surgery to try and correct the issue not long after she was diagnosed in 2017. It wasnt as successful as shed hoped. She also suffers from anxiety and depression. All of these conditions are something Oakley is trained to spot. "She's trained to recognize when I start to disassociate so she can guide me out of places," said Harmon. "She does deep pressure therapy so when my heart rate starts to elevate she will alert." For all those reasons Oakley has been nominated for the 2021 American Humane Hero Dog Awards. Each year they pick a service dog to honor for their life-saving abilities. Emily says that's exactly what Oakley has done for her. "She has saved my life since I've had her, said Harmon. I have a will to live because I have her. When I am really struggling and I am really thinking about bad things I remember that I have a dog that depends on me. She's just lifesaving I could not do anything without her." To learn more about the Hero Dog Awards click here. To vote for Oakley to become the service dog of the year click here. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) The Philippine National Police is looking into reports of armed strangers knocking on doors in some Misamis Occidental houses. Misamis Occidental is currently trending on Twitter following rumors of a group of peoplebelieved to be cult memberswandering in the province, claiming they would knock on doors in some households at night and kill whoever opens the door. The issue was touched during a virtual briefing on Saturday, where PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana said authorities are now gathering information to confirm the rumors. "We'll have to secure, perhaps, initial information from the regional director of PRO (Police Regional Office) 10. Rest assured such information will be communicated specifically to concerned individuals affected," he said. The PNP warned if the armed group is associated with a leftist organization, the New People's Army in particular, "we'll see to it that appropriate action will be taken by the police." "Kung ito naman po ay maituturing na mga nasa hanay ng gobyerno (If they are from the government's rank) then it will also have to be validated based on pieces of evidence that we can gather from there," Usana added. Mekong Delta long-term future relying on renewables, illustration photo The latest draft of the National Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8) calculates with an expected commercial power capacity estimated at 491 billion kWh by 2030, and 877 billion kWh by 2045. To develop power capacity, the total installed power generation is planned to hit 137.2GW, contributed by 27 per cent coal-fired power, 21 per cent thermal gas, 18 per cent hydropower, and 29 per cent renewable energies, as well as 4 per cent imported energy by 2030. By 2045, the capacity of installed power is planned to be around 276.7GW, supplied by 18 per cent coal thermal power, 24 per cent thermal gas, 9 per cent hydropower, and 44 per cent of renewable energies, as well as 2 per cent of imported energy. The PDP8 highlights the evolvement of renewables, in addition to hydropower, with a significant increase from 13 per cent in 2020 to nearly 30 per cent in 2030 and 44 per cent in 2045, while most other sources will be reduced, said Le Anh Tuan, deputy director of Can Tho Universitys Research Institute for Climate Change. In the view of Tuan, the draft PDP8 is different in many ways to its predecessor, removing 5,000MW of coal thermal power and significantly raising the contribution ratio of renewable energies. However, Tuan also raised some issues like capital sources, the suitability of green finance solutions, and banking that are all also mentioned in the Politburos Resolution No.55-NQ/TW dated October 2, 2020 on the orientation of Vietnams National Energy Development Strategy until 2030 and outlook to 2045. It will be tough for coal power projects to mobilise capital in the future, because numerous global financial institutions are divesting from this sector. Tuan also assessed that the draft PDP8 is more focused on environmental troubles and sustainable development. However, the plan still relies heavily on an old thinking focusing on coal-fired power, with new projects mainly expected to use imported coal. Under the plan, three coal thermal power plants will be developed in the Mekong River Delta. A project in Hau Giang province and two in Soc Trang province are expected to generate around 5,000MW, which will significantly impact the environment of the region one that is crucial for rice cultivation and aquaculture. Why dont we focus on other energies that can replace coal? Vietnam is a promising land for wind and solar energy. We can even export power instead of importing from Laos and China as mentioned in the PDP8s draft, Tuan argued. He explained that developing coal-fired power plants in this region stands in contrast to Resolution No.120/NQ-CP issued in 2017 on sustainable and climate-resilient development of the delta. In this region, in addition to solar and wind power, biomass at small scale is quite suitable to develop, which would help the use of eco-friendly technologies and the reliance on coal thermal power, Tuan suggested. Tran Huu Hiep, former director of the Economics Department of the National Steering Committee for the Southwest Region, noted the role of the competitive power market and asked to remove the monopoly in this sector. Developing coal thermal power is risky. Raising dependence on imported fuel like coal and gas will also bring risks for national energy security, said Hiep. Meanwhile, we have yet to make use of renewable energy potentials, and capital for this energy will be from many sources, including local and foreign investors. Hiep added that while the PDP8 should consider developing coal thermal power projects, especially in the next 10 years, there should also be a stronger focus on renewables like solar, wind, and biomass in the Mekong Delta. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, senior climate change advisor at Oxfam in Vietnam, said that developing renewable energy in this region would pay attention to its characteristics. Around 75 per cent of the regions total power output serves aquaculture, while the remainder is spent for factories and consumption. Therefore, developing renewables in the delta will offer doubled benefits for both the energy sector and the regions aquaculture and husbandry, Huy said. $2 billion for Mekong Delta development At the regular governmental meeting last week, the government discussed the budget allocation for the Mekong Deltas sustainable development goals. Climate change, natural disasters, and saline intrusion are getting more serve. Thus, the sustainably development of the delta is an urgent task that makes it necessary to mobilise resources and implement various solutions. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved to apply for international loans of about $2 billion from the World Bank, as well as German and French organisations, for the task. The PM assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to accomplish the master plan in collaboration with other ministries and localities. On the banks of the Amazon River, in a village without electricity or drinking water, Andrea Rodrigo makes the yuca flour that her family sells in markets along Perus remote borders with Brazil and Colombia. The 21-year-old Peruvian woman and seven of her neighbors recently paddled for half an hour down the vast river to two Indigenous communities where they put up posters for their political party, the Agricultural Peoples Front of Peru. Known as Frepap, it is the political arm of a messianic religious group called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact, which merges Old Testament Christianity with Andean culture. Adherents believe their leader, Jonas Ataucusi Molina, is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the Amazon is the promised land or the land without evil, leading the faithful to populate remote forests bordering Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. Amid widespread disgust with traditional politicians and an extremely fragmented electorate, Frepap has emerged as a potential favorite in legislative elections Sunday, when Peruvians will also cast ballots for president. Observers say its surprising growth as a political force has to do with the roots it has put down and the proselytizing it has done in remote communities and poor neighborhoods, as well as weariness with seemingly endless corruption scandals among the establishment parties. All of Perus former presidents since 1985 have been accused of corruption, with some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions and one taking his own life before police could capture him. Despite being prosecuted, one is currently running for president and another is seeking a seat in parliament. In the last 12 years, 57 former governors and 2,002 ex-mayors have been prosecuted or are fugitives. An official audit in 2019 found that corruption was consuming $17 million a day in Peru, enough to feed the countrys poor. I would like to see more members of Congress from Frepap, teaching people not to steal, Rodrigo said as she adjusted her hair covering. Hanging on the wall of her hut was a painting of a blue fish, the symbol of the party created in 1989 by the late shoemaker Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal, founder of the religious movement and father of its current leader. In a January 2020 special election called after President Martin Vizcarra dissolved congress, Frepap stunned prognosticators by winning 15 of 130 seats to become the third largest bloc in the country's fragmented legislature. In the year since, Frepap has maintained its image as separated from the scandals and without attitudes that reflect religious fanaticism or radical conservatism, said anthropologist Carlos Raez, who has studied the party. Polls suggest no single party may win even 10% of the legislative vote Sunday, and analysts say Frepaps clean image and backing in distant or impoverished communities far away from media and pollsters could produce another electoral surprise. Almost one third of voters are undecided. Frepap candidates appeal to voters with promises to fight for agricultural development, oppose corruption and defend the rights of the poor. They are staunch religious conservatives, opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. On a recent day, Milca Copa, a teacher in a town near Rodrigos village, was one of three Frepap candidates who crossed the Amazon with a message for voters: She was one of them. I have walked in the mud, I have lived without water, without electricity, without internet, Copa told supporters. Frepap does not come one day and leave," she added, to applause and chants. "We live here. For more than 30 years, Israelite communities have popped up in the Amazon as the faithful migrated there from the Andes or desert areas along the Pacific, obeying their founder's call to populate the rainforest. Many of the faithful live in Mariscal Ramon Castilla province, a forested area larger than Belgium and divided by the Amazon River near Colombia and Brazil. The first people to join the Israelites of the New Universal Pact were poor Andean migrants, sometimes sick or orphaned, who had no contacts in the cities, experts say. They were drawn to the movement because it offered them a way to survive in communities, in agriculture, said Juan Ossio, a professor of anthropology at Perus Pontifical Catholic University who has written a book about the Israelites. Frepaps political opponents say its members are united but also impenetrable, and express concerns about the messianic group's rise on the political stage. They are very hard-working, very united, but very closed, said Julio Tuesta, the Popular Action party mayor of San Jose de Cochiquinas, a village on the banks of the Amazon. What makes me doubtful is that they mix religion and politics. What will it be like when they have more power? But Pablo Rodrigo, Andreas father, said the group's political gains have won their people respect. In the hamlet of Jose Carlos Mariategui, he and his neighbors grow rice, lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapples, papayas and yucas. Several months ago he bought an electrical generator and a computer to draft community agreements. God says if you work, you will be flooded with bread," Pablo Rodrigo said. "But if you are idle, you will be poor. Its a humble but honorable life, he added: We dont drink, we dont smoke, we live in peace. (Image credit: AP) (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Voting specifically, who deserves to vote and who gets to make decisions about it is an issue Texas has struggled with in three centuries, as shown in Citizens at Last, a new documentary about the fight for womens right to vote in Texas produced by Austins KLRU-TV. The film will be released this week to all PBS stations statewide. Filmmaker Nancy Schiesari, a professor of radio, television and film at the University of Texas at Austin, drew on archival materials and interviews with academic historians to tell the complicated story of a long campaign full of passion, daring and disappointments. The torch was passed from one generation of activists to the next, from the first proposal in 1868 to the involvement of Texas women in a nationwide movement to legislation in 1918 in which women won the right to vote in Texas primary elections and finally to ratification in 1919 of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, when Texas became the first Southern state to ratify the amendment, which prohibits the denial of the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of gender. The films title comes from the words of suffragist Jane Y. McCallum, who wrote of the amendments final 1920 passage, With what high hopes and enthusiasms women stepped forth into a world in which they were citizens at last! On ExpressNews.com: Rancher Florence Terry Griswold early San Antonio suffragist leader Focusing on the last decade of that long journey and on the contributions of Texas suffrage leaders, Citizens at Last, tells a story of intersectional feminism. Suffragists mainly white and middle-to-upper-class women relied on alliances with temperance (Prohibition) activists, with organized labor and with advocates for the rights of Black and Latinx women, one of whom, Jovita Idar of Laredo and San Antonio, is featured in the documentary. Texas suffragists were approached by the leadership of the Southern States Woman Suffrage Association, a group that frankly campaigned for votes for white women only and the Texans declined to be part of their effort. Dissed outrageously by the legendarily corrupt Texas Gov. James E. Ferguson, who fulminated against the suffragists and told them to get back to the home tasks for which God made them, women all over the state successfully campaigned in 1918 against Ferguson (a wet candidate funded by brewers) and in favor of dry candidate Lt. Gov. Will Hobby. The life of Rena Maverick Green, a San Antonio suffragist who came up in research for the film, was almost a template for one type of activist: the affluent white woman who took advantage of the protection and credibility afforded by her status to share her views with women of her own class as well as others. Like national womens rights leaders such as Carrie Chapman Catt and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Green had been widowed early and used her own full name, signaling an unusual independence at a time when married women typically were known as Mrs. (husbands full name). Her relationships were bona fides of her respectability. Born Mary Rowena Maverick in 1874 in Sedalia, Mo., to Mary and George Maverick, her birth surname identified her as a member of a locally prominent clan. She was the granddaughter of Samuel Maverick, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence; cousin of Mayor and U.S. Rep. Maury Maverick Sr.; and the widow of Robert B. Green, a former county and district court judge who was a Texas state senator at the time of his death in 1907 at 43 from an unexpected heart attack. On ExpressNews.com: La Villita was Mayor Maury Maverick Sr.s passion project When the couples marriage was announced in 1897, Rena Maverick was described simply as her fathers pretty and accomplished daughter. Through her nine-year marriage, she seems not to have been active outside the home, rearing four young children, acting as sponsor to the Belknap Rifles militia and drill team captained by her husband and tending to his political career. After a few years of rusticating on the family ranch, Green moved back to San Antonio and threw herself into the cause of womens suffrage, of which she was one of the most prominent advocates in Bexar and surrounding counties. By the mid-1910s, she was president of the local chapter of the Equal Franchise Society, a state-by-state organization primarily for upper-class women; and became state chair of the National Womens Party. While the organizational meetings usually took place in high-end hotel restaurants, Green was one of several speakers who took the cause to rural women at county fairs and whistle stops from special trains that barnstormed through counties beyond the reach of big-city rallies and meetings. At the same time, she was the leader of an effort that got the first female San Antonio police officers hired in 1918 at a time when women suspected of prostitution were inspected by jailhouse employees (covered here Sept. 8, 2018). Like many suffragists who came to believe in the importance of votes for women for their potential influence on issues neglected by most traditional politicians such as food and drug purity and female workers safety Green had a favorite cause, historic preservation, which she pursued for the rest of her life. A cofounder of the Conservation Society of San Antonio, she was one of its early presidents and at the forefront of major projects such as restorations of the Spanish Governors Palace, Cos House at La Villita and San Jose Mission as well as saving Travis Park from becoming an underground parking lot. Her edition of the Memoirs of Mary Maverick her grandmother and a keen observer of frontier society life is still in print. At the time of her death in 1962, she was praised in a Conservation Society tribute for her cheerful countenance (and) her gentle yet firm and positive manner, a viewpoint that was always objective. It was a style that, combined with seemingly boundless energy, surely helped her persuade many to take up the cause of votes for women. Citizens at Last will be broadcast on KLRN-TV at 10 p.m. on May 18 and may be viewed online at video.klrn.org. For an extended version, go to citizensatlastfilm.com/stream-extended historycolumn@yahoo.com | Twitter: @sahistorycolumn | Facebook: SanAntoniohistorycolumn An Austrian man, who was bizarrely fined 500 (Rs 44,000) for loudly farting near police officers, has had it reduced to 100 (Rs 9,000) after an appeal. The outlandish incident had taken place last year in June, when the unidentified man was slapped with a fine in Vienna after 'offending public decency' by 'farting provocatively' at police. Representational Image/iStock However, he then challenged the harsh penalty, in what must have been a rather unusual day in court for everyone present. According to LADbible, the man told the courts that his flatulence was a 'biological process' - well, not sure anyone can argue with that. He also claimed that breaking wind should be seen as a right under freedom of expression, even if he had done so deliberately. After hearing the accused's argument, the administrative court reduced the penalty from 500 euros to 100 euros, pointing to the mans lack of a criminal record while saying he only had average culpability of the offence. Also read: One Woman Is Making Rs 3 Lakh A Month By Posting Videos Of Farting Around! Representational Image/medicalnewstoday.com In Austria, freedom of expression is not limited to just speech, but also covers noises and communication in other forms. The judge said that although breaking wind is technically a form of communication it was a 'form of expression that transcends the boundaries of decency'. Also read: Woman Blows Up Money To Treat Her Dog's Farts, Only To Find Out It Was Her Husband Representational Image/Reuters Paul Eberstaller, university assistant at the Juridicum, told local newspaper Der Standard, that the ruling shows how problematic the offence of decency is, particularly when comparing public and private life. If a private person had been a victim in this case, public decency would not be violated. In addition, the authorities would probably not pursue complaints from private individuals. At the same time, legal protection is often lacking in the event of actual problems, he said. The man must be relieved to have his hefty fine reduced, but he must still be irked to pay 100, for such a small 'biological process' crime. Also read: Man Claims His Deadly Farts 'Can Kill Mosquitoes'. Truth? - It's Impossible Imperial Valley News Center FBI Announces $10,000 Reward to Help Locate Maico Encarnacion Lopez Sacramento, California - The FBI Sacramento Field Office is announcing a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maico Encarnacion Lopez, a 45-year-old Mexican national. The FBI, Kern County District Attorneys Office and Arvin Police Department are seeking assistance from the public to locate Encarnacion Lopez, who is suspected of murdering a woman on or about September 11, 2011, and fleeing to avoid prosecution for the crime. Photos of Encarnacion Lopez and identifying information, including known aliases, are noted on the FBI wanted poster that is available online in both English and Spanish. Encarnacion Lopez, who is considered armed and dangerous, is believed to have ties to California and Mexico but his current location is unknown. On September 12, 2011, Arvin Police Department officers discovered the womans body during a welfare check at a residence located on the 100 block of Monroe Avenue in the Kern County community of Arvin, California. Encarnacion Lopez and the victim had a relationship and shared two children. Law enforcement believes Lopez fled Kern County after the alleged murder. A felony complaint against Lopez Encarnacion was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern, Bakersfield Judicial District, on March 2, 2012. The Kern County District Attorneys Office unsealed the warrant for Lopezs arrest on March 12, 2020. Anyone who may have information regarding the location of Encarnacion Lopez may contact the local FBI office or nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips may also be submitted at tips.fbi.gov and can by submitted anonymously. Additional posters featuring fugitives and cases in need of additional information from the public are available on the FBI Sacramento Divisions Most Wanted page, https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/wanted. Link to posters: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/maico-encarnacion-lopez Watertown, NY (13601) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Nearly 40 percent of the Marines are choosing not to get COVID-19 vaccines, according to new data. CNN reported on Saturday that some 75,000 Marines have had one or two doses of a vaccine, and 48,000 have refused - a rejection rate of 38.9 percent. It is considerably higher than the rate of rejection among the general public which, according to a recent NPR poll, is around 25 percent. As of Thursday, nearly 20 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated. The Marines says there are a number of reasons for them choosing not to get the vaccines but they would not pinpoint one. Officials previously said that wider spread hesitancy among the armed forces was down to the speed at which the vaccines were developed and a fear over long term side effects. CNN reported on Saturday that 75,500 Marines have received vaccines but 48,000 (38.9 percent) have chosen not to 'We fully understand that widespread acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to defeat the pandemic. The key to addressing the pandemic is building vaccine confidence. 'Service members who decline one day can change their mind and become vaccinated when next the opportunity presents itself,' Marine Corps spokeswoman Col. Kelly Frushour said. One of the highest rates of rejection was at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where 57 percent have refused the shot. Because all of the shots have only been given emergency FDA approval, the government can't force it on them. Three vaccines have been approved in the US; Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson. The general public has been generally enthusiastic but there is more hesitancy in certain communities. A recent NPR poll found that one in four Americans would not get a vaccine if they were offered it. Republican men are among the most hesitant, according to CBS. They think it's unnecessary. Others are distrustful of the media and think there are long-term vaccine side effects that are not being reported. It plays into the wider divide among Americans that has existed since the pandemic began. Generally, Democratic cities, states, leaders and voters have taken more extreme precautions and have been more fearful of the virus. Republican leaders have not applied restrictions that have been as harsh. His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who has died aged 99, had connections with our broadcast area, not least of which was with the Guinea Pig Club. On the death of founder Sir Archibald McIndoe in 1960, Prince Philip became President of the Guinea Pig Club based here in East Grinstead. He is remembered by many for his unique combination of wit and wisdom. Our condolences go to to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family. His Royal Highness Prince Philip pays tribute to World War II RAF survivors and members of the Guinea Pig Club in 2016 Patrick Madden and Ryan Sibley's 15-month-old daughter and 4-year-old son were fast asleep in the back seat of their sport utility vehicle Thursday at about 11:40 p.m. when the family arrived back to their Uptown New Orleans home after a trip to the beach in Alabama. Like most parents of slumbering little ones, Madden and Sibley wanted to make the transition from back seat to bed as smooth as possible. So Madden, 41, waited in the running SUV with Audrey and Aidan while his wife went to unlock the house's security gate and front door. But when Sibley, 39, told him she couldn't find the gate key, Madden got out to help. +2 9-month-old Westwego boy taken in stolen truck found safe on Hollygrove front porch, police say A 9-month-old boy who was inside a pickup truck that was stolen from a house in Westwego on Friday was found safe about 30 minutes later after Within seconds, a car appeared in front of their house in the 2000 block of Gen. Pershing Street, and an occupant hopped into the couple's Toyota Highlander, which was still running. Madden dashed over to the SUV and managed to touch the door handle just before the vehicle sped away with his children inside. "It happened so quickly," Sibley said. "It felt like it was a second." Fortunately the thief or thieves didn't go far. They sped two blocks on Gen. Pershing toward the Mississippi River and turned downriver on Baronne Street before abandoning the SUV in the next block near Milan Street. Madden and Sibley, who'd hysterically called 911 while chasing the SUV on foot, found their children safe and sound inside the vehicle. There was no sign of the thieves. "I think they [the children] woke up when we got there because we were yelling," Sibley said. After armed robberies, NOPD warns drivers to be careful while pumping gas or approaching vehicles The New Orleans Police Department has reminded people to be aware of their surroundings as they pump gas or approach their vehicles following 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 New Orleans Police Department confirmed it is investigating the auto theft. No arrests had been made as of Friday evening. Madden and Sibley said the officers were very compassionate when they responded to the scene. Though neither got a look at the person or people who took their SUV, Madden and Sibley described the suspect vehicle as a dark-colored Honda CR-V. The frazzled but grateful couple said they got very little sleep Thursday night. Their sense of security has been shaken. Madden and Sibley said they weren't inside the house when their vehicle and children were stolen. They were standing in the front yard, right next to the vehicle. The theft has become an excruciating lesson learned. "You just have to be careful. You can't be vigilant enough," Madden said. The couple knew of the recent spike in carjackings and auto thefts reported in New Orleans. They are now more acutely aware of incidents in which children were involved, including the Jan. 29 abduction of a 9-month-old boy who was inside his father's truck when it was stolen from the driveway of a Westwego home. The suspect in that case dropped the infant on the front porch of a house in New Orleans' Hollygrove neighborhood about 30 minutes later. As Sibley frantically chased after her own SUV Thursday night, breathlessly providing details to the 911 call taker, she said she knew in her heart that her children would be OK. "I said to myself, 'They're stealing cars, not kids,'" she recalled. Sibley said she's been sharing the story with anyone who will listen, not for attention but because she wants others to know it can happen -- and it can happen in an instant. "The more people know, the more they are aware. Maybe that's one way to make this go away." she said. by Francis Khoo Thwe The generals now resorting to the death penalty and martial law. Junta, the country is returning to "normality". There were dozens more killed yesterday. The appeal of foreign ambassadors to Myanmar. The UN envoy refused entry into the country. Yangon (AsiaNews) - Nineteen opponents of the military junta were sentenced to death for killing a soldier during clashes between the population and the security forces. The pro-junta Myawaddy television channel reports the killing took place on March 27 in North Okkalappa, a district of Yangon, a hotbed of resistance to the military. Myawaddy also announced that martial law has been imposed in that district (see photo). This will mark the first time since the coup that the junta has resorted to the death sentence. Although pro-democracy demonstrations continue to arise throughout the country, according to junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun, the country is returning to normal and "soon" ministries and banks will reopen after months of civil disobedience. Several sources claim that dozens of people were killed in Bago yesterday. According to Zaw Min Tun, 248 civilians and 16 law enforcement officers were killed. He denied that the army uses automatic weapons. According to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners, 614 people have been killed, including 41 children. The number of prisoners has risen to 2,800. The number of people killed by the junta is confirmed in an appeal by several foreign ambassadors to Myanmar. The appeal states: Over 600 civilians have been killed in Myanmar, many of them while protesting for hard-won democratic rights and freedoms. Children were murdered. Thousands of people have been injured or detained just for giving voice to their desire for freedom and democracy. We are humbled by their courage and dignity. We are united to accompany the grief of their families and friends. We stand together to support the hopes and aspirations of all those who believe in a free, just, peaceful and democratic Myanmar, where the rights and the potential of all people can be fully respected and developed. Violence has to stop, all political detainees must be released and democracy should be restored. The countries that have signed the document include: Australia, Canada, United States, Switzerland, South Korea, Norway, New Zealand and many European Union countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Holland , Spain, Sweden. Meanwhile, the junta has refused entry to the UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, who wanted to visit the country and some political prisoners. From Bangkok, where she began a series of visits to Asean countries, she declared: I am ready for dialogue. Violence does not lead to any sustainable and peaceful solution. As NATO escalates threats against Russia and China, a bitter conflict has erupted in the Turkish state machine over the Montreux Convention, an international treaty signed in 1936 governing passage between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Sections of the navy are objecting to President Recep Tayyip Erdogans talk of using plans for an Istanbul Canal to scrap the Convention, which limits warship deployments to the Black Sea. This could allow NATO to deploy warships from the Mediterranean, at will, to threaten Russias coast. Turkish authorities on Monday, April 5, 2021, detained 10 former admirals after a group of more than 100 retired top navy officers issued a statement that government officials tied to Turkey's history of military coups. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File) The Istanbul Canal would accommodate large tanker and merchant shipping, bypassing the narrow Bosporus straits by linking the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. In 2018, the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong worried that the project could trigger an arms race in the Black Sea, adding: China is watching closely. At that point, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yldrm had said the Istanbul Canal would not be subject to the Montreux Convention. This issue is more even explosive since Bidens inauguration as US president, after Ukraine announced plans to invade Crimea with NATO support and seize Russias Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol. This issue was widely discussed in Turkish media after a reporter asked Parliament Chairman Mustafa Sentop whether Erdogan might dissolve the Montreux Convention. Sentop, a member of Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), replied, Technically, yes. On April 3, 104 retired Turkish admirals issued a declaration opposing the opening of the Montreux Convention to discussion. They said: The opening of the Montreux Convention to debate as part of Canal Istanbul and the authority of the annulment of international treaties is met with concern. The admirals, all longstanding NATO officials, declared that questioning the convention is not in Turkish national interests. They noted that it governs not only the passage through the Turkish Straits, restoring full sovereignty to Turkey over Istanbul, Canakkale, the Marmara Sea and the Straits, but also is a major diplomatic victory for Turkey. Two days later, the Turkish government had ten of the admirals arrested and alleged that they were preparing a coup, referring to the failed NATO-backed coup attempt of July 15, 2016. Sentop said Expressing ones thoughts is one thing, preparing a declaration evoking a coup detat is another. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the admirals aimed to harm our democracy, negatively affect the morale and motivation of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel, and gratify our enemies, while Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu warned: Do not let them try our patience. Erdogan said the admirals declaration cannot be labeled as freedom of speech and repeated that he might cancel the Convention: We currently have neither any efforts nor intention to leave the Montreux Convention. However, if such a need presents itself in future, we will not hesitate to review every convention to introduce a better one for our country. And we will open them to international discussion. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Erdogan to oppose scrapping the Montreux Convention. The Kremlin press service published a brief announcement, declaring: In regards to Turkeys plans for construction of the Istanbul Canal, Russia emphasized the importance of preservation of the 1936 Montreux Convention in order to ensure the regional stability and safety of the regional Black Sea straits regime. Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed: Any attempt to revise the convention affects the interests of our country. We see this convention as a key factor in stability and security in the Black Sea basin, especially regarding warship traffic. Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexey Erkhov had said that the dredging of an Istanbul Canal would not invalidate the Montreux Convention, which would still be binding on Turkey. On Wednesday, Erdogan accused the bourgeois opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) of trying to whitewash this declaration that has coup sentiments. He also said some of the admirals were CHP members. The declaration has divided the CHP and its allies, including the far-right Good Party. While CHP leader Kemal Klcdaroglu called the governments response an artificial agenda, the CHPs Kurdish-nationalist ally, the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), said Erdogans decision to invent a coup threat from a written statement is nothing but political cunning and opportunism. While Good Party leader Meral Aksener criticized the declaration, calling it silly behavior, his Izmir deputy Aytun Cray defended the retired admirals and their statement. In reality, Turkeys government and bourgeois opposition parties are aligning themselves with the NATO imperialist powers war drive amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the Erdogan governments murderous herd immunity policy on the pandemic, prioritizing the profits of big business over lives, daily new cases reached 54,740 and the death toll 276 on Wednesday. Both figures are records since the pandemic began. There is mounting social anger and strike activity in the working class in Turkey and internationally against the social murder imposed by the ruling classes reactionary health policies. The Turkish governments threats to scrap the Montreux Convention come as NATO tightens its ranks to prepare for war, threatening both Russia and China. In particular, tensions between Russia and the NATO-backed regime in Ukraine on the Black Seas north shore are the highest since the far-right forces overthrew Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014 in a US- and German-backed coup. While the Turkish government has signed major arms deals with Ukraine and backs NATOs Ukraine policy, its relations with NATO, Russia and China are all deeply fraught. A critical factor in Ankaras increasingly difficult relations with Washington was its fierce hostility to US ties with Kurdish nationalist forces in the now decade-long war for regime-change in Syria. While the Islamic State (ISIS) militias gained power in Syria and invaded Iraq, the imperialist powers turned to Kurdish nationalist groups as a proxy force. Erdogan could not adapt to these sudden, violent shifts in imperialist war policy, and his imperialist allies came to see him not as a strategic partner, but as an unreliable one. Washington and Berlin responded with an attempted military coup against Erdogan in 2016, while Biden was Barack Obamas vice president. The coups failure further undermined Ankaras relations with NATO. Despite threats of US sanctions, Turkey bought S-400 air defense systems from Russia and signed a strategic natural gas pipeline agreement with Moscow. Though Turkey and Russia repeatedly were on the verge of direct conflict in the NATO proxy wars in Libya and Syria, as well as in the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan war, they always managed to avert a direct clash, which would risk precipitating all-out global war between NATO and Russia. Erdogan has worked to improve relations with Washington after Bidens inauguration as president, though despite all his efforts, conflicts continue between Washington and Ankara. US officials oppose Turkeys purchase of a Russian-made S-400 air defense system and Ankaras broader relations with Russia and China. This week, the US State Department imposed sanctions on a Turkish defense agency and four of its officials after Ankara refused to abandon plans to purchase the S-400 system. Erdogan also criticized Bidens comment denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a killer. Erdogan said that this term for Putin was unacceptable. In these explosive conditions, discussion of canceling the Montreux Convention is a warning to workers around the world of the rapidly accelerating threat of war between the major powers. A pygmy rabbit rescued from the Beezley Hills facility eats owl clover in its new enclosure. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife scientists and Bureau of Land Management firefighters rescued 33 endangered pygmy rabbits last week after the Sutherland Canyon fire roared through the rabbits breeding facility. (Courtesy of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) With the number of Covid-19 cases increasing rapidly in the city, the Hyderabad City Police has asked people to protect themselves by compulsorily wearing masks, with City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar stating that it was mandatory to wear a mask even if one was alone in a car. In a recorded message shared on social media platforms including Twitter, Anjani Kumar cited a Delhi High Court judgement and said that even if a person was driving alone in a car, he or she needed to wear a mask. The vehicle could be required to be stopped at a traffic signal or the person could purchase anything from the roadside by rolling down the windows, thus getting exposed to a street-side vendor, the Commissioner said. The car was IN the definition of a public place, he said, reiterating that wearing a mask was for the safety of oneself, family, and dear ones. In a separate message in connection with the forthcoming Ramzan month, the Commissioner said the city was known for its haleem, and there were about 6,000 to 8,000 cooks involved in the making of the delicacy. Please take the Covid-19 vaccine. Protect yourself, protect your customers, protect your family members. There are more than 2,000 haleem outlets in the city. So its important to take precautions and make haleem in a hygienic way and celebrate Ramzan in a safe and protected way, the Commissioner said, winding up the message saying Yahi aap se umeed hai, yahi aap se guzaarish hai. Berlin, April 10 : Germany's largest university hospital, Berlin's Charite, has sounded the alarm over the country's worsening third wave of coronavirus infections. "If the numbers of seriously ill Covid-19 patients exceed those experienced during the second wave, we will be in a critical situation," said Martin Kreis, a board member at Charite, DPA news agency reported. At the beginning of the year, the number of severe Covid-19 cases in Charite's intensive care units reached its absolute limit. The hospital was unable to accept patients from other parts of Germany as a result. "We will continue to do everything in our power to care for patients from the Berlin area," said Kreis. The number of people entering intensive care units at Charite has increased significantly over the past two weeks, with the 30-60 age group particularly badly affected because they are less likely to have received a vaccination. Though most of the hospital's workforce is now vaccinated, but many are suffering from exhaustion and trauma over the many coronavirus-related deaths, Kreis said. Germany is battling a third wave of infections driven mainly by the British variant of the virus. The Robert Koch Institute for disease control said Saturday that 24,097 cases and 246 deaths had been registered within 24 hours. The seven-day incidence figure per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 120.6. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guwahati, April 10 : The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday has ordered re-polling in four polling stations in three assembly constituencies in southern Assam, where normal balloting were held in the second phase of polling on April 1, officials said. The Election Commission Secretary Ajay Kumar Verma in a letter to the Assam Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade said that considering all the reports and other circumstances, the EC has ordered re-polling in four polling stations on April 20. Quoting the EC order, the elections officials said that the re-polling would be held in Indira M.V. School (Right) under Ratabari (SC) assembly constituency, Madhya Dhanchari Lower Primary School under Sonai assembly segment, Khothlir Lower Primary School and Mualdam Lower Primary School both under Halflong (ST) assembly seat. Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker and BJP candidate Aminul Haque Laskar, who is contesting from the Sonai Assembly constituency as a BJP nominee, was quizzed twice while five police personnel attached to him were suspended after they allegedly opened fire at the public during the second phase of polling on April 1. Cachar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Keerthi Jalli has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. District Development Commissioner B.C. Das has been asked to conduct the probe and submit a report in this regard. Laskar, however, told the media that the security personnel opened fire to protect his life during a clash between the rival political parties. The opposition parties have demanded his arrest. At least six polling personnel were suspended in Assam's Dima Hasao district after it was found that a booth -- Khothlir Lower Primary School -- with 90 valid voters registered 181 votes during the second phase of polls on April 1. The repolling would be held at the Mualdam Lower Primary School in connection with the ballot mismatch in Khothlir Lower Primary School. The Election Commission earlier suspended the presiding officer, three other polling officials and an armed escort official associated with Indira M.V. School under Ratabari (SC) assembly constituency after an EVM was found in a BJP candidate's wife's vehicle on April 1. The Karimganj District Magistrate (DM) Anbamuthan MP (Repeat Anbamuthan MP) has ordered a magisterial inquiry and the police arrested three people in connection with the EVM found in a BJP candidate wife's vehicle. The three-phase elections to the 126-member Assam assembly were held on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The results would be declared on May 2. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text ( ) has revealed that the planned Colter appraisal well on the south coast of England has passed an important administrative milestone and remains on-track for drilling in the fourth quarter of this year. The explorer noted that an authorisation for expenditure has now been signed, ascribing a 7.5mln total cost for the well which would equate to just over 1mln of costs to United. Colter was first discovered in 1986 within the same play as Wytch Farm, the UKs largest onshore oil operation producing some 450mln barrels of crude to date, and, whilst the original Colter well was seen to be exposed to only 4mln barrels of resources the whole feature is believed to be larger. It is estimated that Colter may host a possible 15mln barrels of prospective resources (a mid-case estimate). The planned appraisal well is guided by modern 3D seismic data analysis and it aims to confirm the discovery in an up-dip location. About 2:50 a.m. at the station, 430 S. Racine Ave., the man approached her from behind and punched her in the head, causing her to fall to the ground, police said. While on the ground, he continued to punch her and took her purse. Fashion designer Jonathan Anderson knows more than many of his peers how to read the room. The London-based creative director of JW Anderson (the W is for William, his middle name) and Loewe was linked to one of last years viral style moments when singer Harry Styles shared an image of himself wearing a patchwork cardigan, designed by Anderson, at rehearsals for a TV appearance. It was the start of lockdown, and the fashion world was in a state of flux. After the cardigan became a hit on social media (and has since been acquired by Londons V&A Museum), Anderson did something totally un-fashion: he released the pattern, plus a how-to video, to the public. Designer JW Anderson is using his partnership with UNIQLO to help break gender stereotypes around childrenswear. Then, when brands were scrambling to replicate a runway-style digital experience for fashion week, Anderson once more went against the grain, sending a show in a box to the editors, buyers and celebrities who would normally be front row. Whacky, yes, but all part of fashions Great Democratisation, where consumers are more actively communicating directly with brands, which in turn are targeting new audiences, with sales not the only end goal. By Oliver Hirt, Pamela Barbaglia and David French ZURICH (Reuters) - and Jean-Pierre Mustier's blank-check firm are among investors expressing interest in Credit Suisse's asset management arm, three sources told Reuters, as the Swiss lender explores options for the unit after a run of costly scandals. U.S. investment firm State Street Corp is also eyeing a rival bid for all or part of the Swiss bank's fund management business, while European asset managers including Germany's DWS are waiting in the wings, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former UniCredit boss Mustier's blank-check firm Pegasus Europe, which focuses on financial services investments, is due to list in Amsterdam between the end of April and early May, two sources said. A spokeswoman for said the bank had no plans to sell all or any parts of its asset management business. BlackRock, State Street, DWS and Pegasus Europe all declined to comment. Switzerland's second biggest bank has been reeling from its exposure to the collapses of Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital Management, with a 4.4 billion Swiss franc ($4.75 billion) charge hitting its balance sheet after Archegos failed to meet margin commitments. The scale of the charge - close to three times the investment bank's profit last year - and a 25% drop in its shares since the end of February mean boss Thomas Gottstein needs to take radical action. The sources said is in the early stages of a strategic review of its asset management arm and has yet to entertain in-depth discussions with interested parties. The bank will need to wait for former Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio to take over as chairman in May before any decision on whether to sell or spin off the unit can be taken, the sources said, cautioning no deal was certain. Credit Suisse's latest run of problems started when its asset management arm was forced to suspend $10 billion of supply chain funds that invested in bonds issued by Greensill Capital after the UK firm lost insurance coverage for its loans. "They have started talks with some of the parties, but not due diligence, no data room yet. Some of the potential buyers want the entire business, others just parts," one of the sources said, referring to the bank's asset management unit. "Credit Suisse is still in crisis mode and they have not decided how to proceed yet." OVERHAUL Credit Suisse in March announced an overhaul of the asset management unit amid the fallout from the Greensill debacle, bringing in former UBS executive Ulrich Koerner to lead the unit and separating it from wealth management. It said at the time the creation of a separate asset management division would serve to emphasize its strategic importance for the bank. Gottstein also raised the prospect of parting ways with the business in a Bloomberg Television interview in March, saying the idea of separating the unit was "potentially part of the plan", and that "having a holding company around that could be something we are pursuing". The bank's fund management business had 440 billion Swiss francs of assets under management in 2020 and a loss before tax of 39 million Swiss francs. The sources said the business could be valued at roughly $3.7-4 billion, with one adding Credit Suisse is likely to opt for a cash and stock deal that would allow it to extract future returns from the business. "A potential disposal of Credit Suisse's asset management business has been discussed in the past," said Filippo Alloatti, a portfolio manager and credit analyst at Hermes. "They themselves saw the business as lacking scale and discussed merging it with someone else." Credit Suisse is expected to try to retain a stake in any deal involving the business, which could also be spun out and listed in Zurich, the sources said. The business could also be listed through a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), potentially involving Mustier's vehicle or another blank-check firm, they said. France's richest man Bernard Arnault is sponsoring Mustier's SPAC along with French investment firm Tikehau Capital and former banker Diego De Giorgi, who worked closely with Credit Suisse's new investment banking boss Christian Meissner at Bank of America. Formal discussions with Mustier or his team cannot take place until Pegasus Europe finalises its listing in Amsterdam due to regulatory restrictions. Former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam is also raising about $250 million for his own SPAC firm to invest in financial services businesses in the developed and developing world. (Reporting by Oliver Hirt, Pamela Barbaglia and David French, additional reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, Brenna Hughes-Neghaiwi and Tom Sims; Writing by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Jan Harvey) (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.) Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak announced the starting of a bilateral meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which they will discuss in a tete-a-tete format the settlement of the conflict in Donbas, the participation of the Turkish side in the Crimean platform on August 23, 2021 and bilateral cooperation of the two countries. "At these minutes, the tete-a-tete meeting is taking place between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A very wide range of issues they are considering. Surely, they will talk about the situation in Donbas and about the Crimean Platform, as well as about bilateral cooperation," Yermak said on the air of the Ukraine 24 television channel. According to the head of the President's Office, "after the end of the tete-a-tete, the planned meeting of the nineth Strategic Ukrainian-Turkish Council will start, while the composition of the Ukrainian delegation is quite large, representing all spheres of activity from economic to military." "There is a very rich program and a very warm visit. Turkey is our strategic partner. We feel Turkey's support. I think that a number of important documents will be signed today. We hope for a very good result," Yermak said. BRIDGEPORT James McClain was flush with cash and allegedly eager to buy drugs, according to police. Laquan Victoria was fresh out of prison with a folding knife in his pocket, they said. On Friday, the 33-year-old Victoria was charged with felony murder, murder and first-degree robbery for the death of the 58-year-old McClain, found stabbed near Went Field on March 19. This is a very serious case and the defendant has a serious prior criminal record, Senior Assistant States Attorney Nicholas Bove said Friday afternoon as Victoria watched the court proceeding via video, his arms resting on the bar of his cell in the courthouse lockup. Superior Court Judge Kevin Doyle agreed. He ordered Victoria held in lieu of $1.3 million bond and continued the case to April 27. Shortly before midnight on March 19, police said they received a call of a man unresponsive on the sidewalk at the intersection of Norman Street and Railroad Avenue. They found a man later identified as McClain with a stab wound in his chest, his wallet missing. A friend of the victim told detectives that earlier that night, he and McClain had gone to a store on State Street to get cash out of the ATM machine there, police said. Cash in hand, McClain had then been approached by a man identified later as Victoria, police said. Police said the victims friend told detectives the last time he saw McClain, McClain and Victoria were walking south on Iranistan Avenue supposedly to buy drugs. The following morning, police said officers were called to the corner of Iranistan Avenue and Seeley Street for an attempted robbery. Police said a young woman told them a man had threatened her with a knife and attempted to rob her. Police said Victoria was stopped nearby and found with a small folding knife in his waistband. While being booked in the Police Department, police said Victoria pulled several items out of his pockets including a wallet that contained McClains identification and debit card. Police said they also noticed that Victoria had blood on his pants. They said the DNA of the blood matched McClains DNA. Police said Victoria is also a suspect in an earlier stabbing. On March 12, a woman was robbed and stabbed in a Fairfield Avenue apartment building. Police said the victim has since identified a photo of Victoria as her assailant. She's just weeks away from welcoming her second child, a little boy. And Binky Felstead updated fans on her pregnancy on Friday as she shared a snap of her 32-week scan to Instagram Stories, saying everything was 'looking good'. The former Made In Chelsea star, 30, also revealed her son is set to weigh 'around 8 pounds' making him a similar weight to what her daughter India, three, was at birth. Not long to go: Binky Felstead updated fans on her pregnancy on Friday as she shared a snap of her 32-week scan, revealing everything was 'looking good' (pictured on Thursday) Updating fans, Binky penned: 'All looking good thank you to everyone for asking! They think he's going to be around (or just over) 8 pounds. India was 7.13! 'Struggled to get a good clear 4D pic as his little face was partly pushed up against my tummy & was too cosy / stubborn to move for a clear shot!' Binky also shared a hilarious clip of herself and beau Max Darnton larking around while waiting for their appointment. In the short video, Binky pinched Max's face mask and pinged it back onto his face, causing them both to burst into giggles. 'All looking good': The former Made In Chelsea star, 30, revealed her son is set to weigh 'around 8 pounds' making him a similar weight to what her daughter India, three, was at birth She said: 'Patiently waiting to go into our scan like two adults ... Actual tears rolling down my face.' The sweet scan update comes after Binky joked about her growing tummy as she quipped: 'How can this bump get any bigger!' Binky looked gorgeous in a brown silk midi maternity dress with bow-ties on the neckline and sweetly cradled her growing baby bump for the snap. Writing a humorous captioned, the reality star joked about her growing baby bump and revealed she was due to give birth in eight weeks. Larking around: Binky and her beau Max embraced their playful sides while waiting for the scan, with her cheekily pinging his mask and laughing Binky penned: 'A cute lil maternity dress for the warmer days coming. How have I got 8 weeks to go & how can this bump get any bigger - I'm going to be ginormous!!!' The reality star recently revealed that she's found the perfect venue for her nuptials as she shared a throwback snap from a previous holiday to Greece. Binky was left over the moon when her beau Max Darnton popped the question in September. Taking to Instagram in March, the star revealed she had picked the 'most perfect venue', adding that 'couldn't be more excited' for their big day. The image saw Binky standing in an idyllic location in Greece, showcasing her pre-pregnancy figure in a white bandeau top and denim shorts. Radiant: The pregnant star looked sensational as she rested her hand on her bump while on the way to the scan appointment 'How can this bump get any bigger!' Binky joked about her growing tummy on Thursday And with the use of emojis, the star suggested that she's got a lot coming up for her what with a destination wedding and a baby on the way. She penned: 'Picked the most perfect venue & I couldn't be more excited !! LOTS to look forward to .... looks like I'm going to be a very busy', alongside a bride, a sun and a baby emoji. Binky and Max, who is managing director at a global executive search and consulting firm, have been in a relationship since January 2019 after meeting at countryside private members' club Soho Farmhouse. In September 2020, the couple announced that they were engaged after 19 months of dating. The reality star revealed the good news via Instagram as she shared a picture of her kissing the businessman, 31, while holding up her hand to show off the sparkling diamond ring. Good news! Binky recently revealed that she's found the perfect venue for her nuptials as she shared a throwback snap from a previous holiday to Greece She penned: 'Picked the most perfect venue & I couldn't be more excited !! LOTS to look forward to .... looks like I'm going to be a very busy', alongside a bride, a sun and a baby emoji Gushing about the proposal, which took place after he asked her daughter India, three, for permission to pop the question, she wrote: 'The easiest 'Yes' EVER! Binky then revealed in December that she was pregnant with her second child and first with husband-to-be Max. In August, Binky admitted she wouldn't be with Max if 'marriage wasn't in the plan', but insisted she didn't 'mind' when the couple decide to tie the knot. The media personality, who shares daughter India with ex Josh Patterson, discussed her romance in an interview with Hello!. The TV star said: 'I've always wanted to get married, but I never minded when. I've never been one of those girls who have their picture perfect wedding in their head and know what ring they want, but it would be nice to have that one day.' Good morning, friends! An excellent new summary of whats going on with faith in the NT by Nijay Gupta: Mark Twain once said, wryly, Faith is believin what you know aint so. Many Christians, including myself, would have much to disagree with in Twains description, but one thing he got right about virtually all modern readers of the English Biblethey assume that faith is about beliefs. Now, there must be some connection between faith and beliefhence the historical Christians creeds begin with credo, I believe in. But is there more to faith than belief? While this is an evergreen conversation in biblical and theological studies, several significant studies have been published in the last decade or so on faith language in the New Testament and its world. Two broader conversations that have inspired these works are divine and human agency in the Bible and the infamous pistis Christou debate. Divine and human agency involves questions about how biblical writers imagine and construe what roles humans play in religion and salvation, and what roles divine agents play. In the past, scholars have focused on keywords and concepts like law, works, justification/righteousness, covenant, and grace. But lately it seems that the Greek terminology pistis (often translated as faith) has been pushed into the spotlight. If you have followed the Wheaton Plaque story, heres the next chapter, by David Swartz. The language on the plaque implicates more than just young Wheaton alumni. It reflects a troubling discourse embedded in the midcentury white evangelical missionary enterprise. Consider, for example, Through Gates of Splendor (1957), the widely read chronicle of the slayings written by Jim Elliots widow Elisabeth Elliot. She recalled that their first encounters with isolated, unconquered, seminomadic remnant of age-old jungle Indians . . . thrilled their young blood. Would they someday be permitted to have part in winning the Aucas [a pejorative term meaning savage in the lowland Quichua language] for Christ? As they engaged these warriors face to face, however, the young missionaries worried about living close to fundamentally untrustworthy stone age peoples. There was hope that the Huaorani could be redeemed, but the spiritual and cultural distance between civilized white Americans and the inscrutable Indians seemed enormous. In a raw concluding chapter, Elliot described dragging mutilated corpses to a common grave during a violent tropical stormall while worrying that these natural born killers were waiting in the jungle to strike again. The Life magazine correspondent who accompanied the search party noted the eerie, grim, fantastical scene as helicopters descended into a cove and as guards with fingers on triggers stared tensely into the jungle. Everything about Elliots narrative suggested the savagery and otherness of the Huaorani. Way to go, Kaydence! Editors note: The original version of this story gave the impression this incident took place at Walt Disney World Resort, which is not correct. This incident took place at a hotel in Orlando, not on Walt Disney World property. We apologize for the confusion. MAYHILL, N.M. (KRQE) A New Mexico teens vacation to Orlando turned into a rescue mission when she saved a young girls life. Thirteen-year-old Kaydence Henslee, of Mayhill, was on spring break in Orlando, Florida with her family enjoying some time at the pool when she saw a toddler floating face down in the deep end. I was scared and nervous and afraid, but my instincts kicked in, Kaydence said. I just saw her kind of floating, Kaydence recalled. She wasnt technically on the bottom when I was there. When I pulled her out, her lip was purple. The child was later identified as 3-year-old Haven Williams from Missouri. Havens mother, Ashley Williams, said she stepped away from the pool for just a couple of minutes. I just remember seeing another woman run across and yell into the bar area for someone to call 911 because a baby had just drowned, Ashley said. I was like, Oh my gosh. I didnt think it was my baby. Ashley said it finally clicked when she recognized her daughters swimsuit. I just pushed through the crowd, Ashley said. I felt that feeling of losing my child. A bystander performed CPR and Haven was rushed to the hospital that Saturday afternoon. Haven did not fully recover until 5 a.m. the next morning. Even the doctors are saying that whoever got her out of the water did it at a perfect time because if she would have been under the water a little longer, it would have been a different outcome, Ashley said. Way to go, Laurel! HONOLULU (KHON2) Hawaii third-grader and Girl Scout Laurel wrote an essay that is literally out of this world. Laurel took part in the first-ever Making Space for Girls Challenge. Her essay out of 700 entries was one of 21 submissions picked to be included in a journey to the International Space Station. To do the essay, I thought about the stuff we could do in the future and what I think would be nice to have, says Girl Scout Brownie Laurel S. from Troop 861. It makes me feel like the essay was special, so they chose it for its creativity. Laurels submission included an essay and a Zoom interview. The topic? What space travel will be like in 10 years. My space dream is to take a car ship to Mars, says Laurel. We might also build an elevator into space. If we do, it will have to have bathrooms, beds, a kitchen, and a TV. This is because the elevator will take 10 days to get into outer space. I think its like a different dimension out there with other things that we can discover like new planets and new maybe sources of life. The mission of the Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. 80% of all female tech leaders, business tech leaders, were Girl Scouts, says Shari Chang, CEO of Girl Scouts of Hawaii. Over 92% of every female astronaut was a Girl Scout. 100% of all female Secretaries of State were Girl Scouts. Its a program that really provides girls with an opportunity to learn how to lead and become better leaders for their communities. Selected items will go to space in the SpaceX Mission 23, scheduled to launch in August, 2021, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Finland wins! (CNN) To say the past year has been a difficult one for people across the globe is something of an understatement. Not only has the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the deaths of over 2.6 million people worldwide, it's also led to a massive shake up in everyday life for many of us. But despite the devastating events of the last 12 months and the resulting decline in mental health in a number of destinations, there's been no change at the top spot when it comes to ranking the happiest country in the world. For the fourth year running, Finland has come out on top in the annual list powered by data from the Gallup World Poll, with Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands following in second, third, fourth and fifth position respectively. While the United States moved up from 18th to 14th place and the United Kingdom dropped from 13th to 18th, Australia held its 12th place position. "We need urgently to learn from Covid-19," said report co-editor Jeffrey Sachs, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. "The pandemic reminds us of our global environmental threats, the urgent need to cooperate, and the difficulties of achieving cooperation in each country and globally." Virus news: (AP) Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nations new COVID-19 infections, or nearly 197,500 new cases, in the latest available seven-day period, according to state health agency data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000. The heavy concentration of new cases in states that account for 22% of the U.S. population has prompted some experts and elected officials to call for President Joe Bidens administration to ship additional vaccine doses to those places. So far, the White House has shown no signs of shifting from its policy of dividing vaccine doses among states based on population. With real pockets, please: BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KRON) A first grader in Bentonville, Arkansas is gaining national attention after she asked Old Navy to make girl jeans with real pockets. It was part of a school assignment at Evening Star Elementary that required 7-year-old Kamryn Gardner to write a persuasive letter. Dear Old Navy, I do not like that the front pockets of the girls jeans are fake. I want front pockets because I want to put my hands in them. I also would like to put things in them. Would you consider making girls jeans with front pockets that are not fake. Thank you for reading my request. Kamryns words were pretty powerful, considering Old Navy actually responded! Old Navy also sent Kamryn four pairs of jeans with real pockets. O my, finally: SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ordr, the leader in security for all connected devices, today announced a dramatic increase in its channel partner portfolio, including new international partnerships in Europe and APAC. Ordr grew the number of active strategic partners by three-fold, while expanding into new regions and vertical industries. Today, Ordr channel partnerships broadens Ordr's reach to over 50 countries, with international sales growing by more than 400% in the past 6 months. As the number of connected devices on corporate networksfrom IP-enabled video surveillance cameras, medical devices and smart displays to building automation systemshas grown exponentially, they have become lucrative targets for attack. These connected devices, including critical and expensive Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), Internet of Things (IoT) and Operational Technology (OT) devices, commonly run legacy software, cannot support endpoint security agents, and cannot be patched easily and are thus an inherent risk to an organization. The only way to reduce threat exposure is to first identify every connected device, understand its behavior and the risks it brings, then proactively apply proactive segmentation policies through firewall rules or NAC policies that permit only necessary and safe communications. Ordr launched an IoT and Asset Discovery Program for partners last year to help their customers quickly address asset inventory needs, and uncover shadow IoT devices and their corresponding risks. The program participation by partners has grown by three-fold. Thanks to Ordr's unprecedented visibility, this program has accelerated sales cycles and has netted key customer wins for partners across critical verticals including manufacturing, higher education, healthcare and financial services. Carousel Industries, an active participant in the Ordr IoT and Asset Discovery Program, has been announced as Ordr Partner of the Year due to its demonstrated excellence in delivering, integrating and building solutions enabled by Ordr. "In the past year, Carousel Industries has built a methodology to seamlessly incorporate the management of IoT and connected devices into their existing network and security practises. Carousel has been able to use the IoT and Asset Discovery Program insights to more effectively position Ordr for device visibility, NAC acceleration and segmentation use cases and help our joint customers better take advantage of their infrastructure investments," said Eric Berkman, VP Channel Sales, Ordr. "We are honored to be Ordr's Partner of the Year," said Jason Albuquerque CIO/CSO of Carousel Industries. "The number and complexity of threats that we defend against on a daily basis, requires a proactive approach to security. A critical strategy in protecting an organization's most sensitive assets, is having complete visibility of all devices on the network, with the capability to automatically generate policy protections and network segmentation. That is a critical value proposition and this is why we partner with Ordr." Ordr's focus on global channel partnerships provides new opportunities to protect customers of all sizes around the world from the inherent vulnerability in any network-connected device on a corporate or guest network. Ordr has signed with global distributor SYNNEX Corporation, leveraging their GOVSolv GSA Schedule program. From a feature perspective, Ordr boasts deep product integrations that include network and security leaders such as Cisco, Splunk, Check Point, Anomali and Fortinet. "We are excited to be one of Ordr's first Value-Added Resellers (VARs) in the DACH region. We not only trust in their leadership but worked with Ordr on one of their largest German customers and were impressed with the ease of deployment of such a large scale rollout. Ordr is our choice for IoT and unmanaged device security, and we are excited to represent Ordr throughout the region," said Fritz Eberhart, CEO, Secadm, now part of MCL Group. "Massive attacks against government entities have underscored the need for greater vigilance," said Ed Somers, Vice President Public Sector, SYNNEX. "Along with new legislation like the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), the urgency to protect government organizations with solutions like Ordr will increasingly become the norm, not the exception." To learn more about Ordr's partner program, please visit: https://ordr.net/partner/#channel-partners About Ordr Ordr makes it easy to secure every connected device, from traditional IT devices to newer and more vulnerable IoT, IoMT, and OT. Ordr Systems Control Engine uses deep packet inspection and advanced machine learning to discover every device, profile its risk and behavior, map all communications and protect it with automated policies. Organizations worldwide trust Ordr to provide real-time asset inventory, address risk and compliance and accelerate IT initiatives. Ordr is backed by top investors including Battery Ventures, Wing, and TenEleven Ventures. For more information, visit www.ordr.net and follow Ordr on Twitter and LinkedIn. SOURCE Ordr Related Links https://www.ordr.net Denton, TX (76205) Today Cloudy with occasional rain showers. High 76F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers in the evening, then cloudy overnight. Low around 65F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Amazon.com warehouse workers in Alabama voted against forming a union by a more than 2-to-1 margin in a major win for the retailer, but the union hoping to reignite the U.S. labor movement said on Friday it would challenge the results, citing election interference. Haiti - Environment : Flood advisory lifted, but caution still required On Friday April 9, the Meteorological Forecasting Center of the Haitian Hydro Meteorological Unit (UHMH) lifted the flood and landslide ADVISORY in effect since April 4 in Haiti. Nevertheless, the Civil Protection Directorate (DPC) continues to call on the population to be cautious. Let's remember that during this first major phenomenon of the rainy season 7 deaths and more than 2,600 affected families were reported. The departments of North, North-East and North-West recorded flooding, in some cases significant. On the instructions of President Moise, Prime Minister Jouthe is on tour in the far North. He met at the Departmental Emergency Operations Center (COUD) of Fort-Liberte with the local authorities of the North-East and the brigadiers of the DPC on emergency responses to the victims. While aid efforts continue in the most affected communities, the DPC recalls that the country is at the middle of the rainy season, and calls on the population living in the areas most vulnerable to dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena, to better prepare for the risks of flood, landslide and landslide. HL/ HaitiLibre Galveston, TX (77553) Today Rain showers early with some sunshine later in the day. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially overnight. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. A user with the screen name Dionysus wrote that he was planning to conduct a little experiment that he said would draw a lot of heat and could be dangerous, prosecutors said. According to the statement, when another user asked what Dionysus wanted, he responded, death. A confidential source provided the F.B.I. with the users email address, which was registered to Mr. Pendley, prosecutors said. We are indebted to the concerned citizen who came forward to report the defendants alarming online rhetoric, Mr. Shah said in the statement. In flagging his posts to the F.B.I., this individual may have saved the lives of a number of tech workers. We are also incredibly proud of our F.B.I. partners, who ensured that the defendant was apprehended with an inert explosive device before he could inflict real harm. It was not immediately clear on Friday night if Mr. Pendley had a lawyer. Prosecutors said a search of Mr. Pendleys Facebook account had shown that he had told an associate that he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, when swarms of Trump supporters attacked police officers and disrupted Congress as it was certifying the results of the presidential election. Mr. Pendley told the associate that he had not entered the building but that he had taken a piece of glass from a Capitol window. Mr. Pendley later told an undercover agent that he had taken a sawed-off rifle to Washington but had left it in his car that day. A three-day eviction notice landed on the front door of ArcLight Cinemas Culver City, California location last week. Landmark Theaters in River Oaks closed Houstons only dedicated first-run specialized theater. And in Boca Raton, Florida, a landlord won a nearly $900,000 judgment against a Regal theater for nonpayment of rent. The Arclight notice, dated March 29, states that parent company Pacific Theaters Exhibition has not paid March 2021 rent of $181,900.40. (That projects to just under $2.2 million for a full year.) The notice states that it is due in full, payable to collections agent Caitlin Brannon. Reached at her office, Brannon confirmed the notice but would not further confirm its status beyond, Its in legal now. More from IndieWire When legal restrictions were in place, many theaters could argue against rent. In Los Angeles, that defense dissolved when the city authorized operations in mid-March. Arclight and Pacific are both operated by the privately owned Decurion Corp.; sources say the company told distributors that their theaters will reopen only when available films and less stringent audience limits allow for profitability. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. These are small chains, totaling 19 theaters, but their total gross in 2019 was $114 million. The Culver City theater, which opened in 2015 after major renovations, has 12 screens and grossed $4.9 million in 2019. A theater with that performance might expect food and concession sales, along with rentals, to bring the annual total to around $8 million. In addition to $2.2 million in rent, expenses would include at least $2.5 million in film rentals along with salaries and operating expenses. Neither Pacific nor the landlord would comment, but the context is self evident: A large, state-of-the-art complex is a major investment for both parties and its design doesnt lend itself to other uses. Further negotiations are very likely before the landlord would kick anyone out. Exhibitors hold an edge, especially when the deal is expensive; even if another operator moved in, it likely would negotiate for a reduced deal. Story continues By contrast, Regal Boca Raton looks like a win for the landlord. The 16-screen building, built in 1988, was inherited from Cobb Theaters in a merger. A judge ordered Regal to pay nearly $900,000 $79,129 by April 12, with another $807,118 by April 23. In what could be a scary precedent for theaters, this judgement is retroactive to last April. Many theaters have been open since late summer in Florida, which was far less restrictive in its closures. Last year, landlord Terranova gave Regal a minimal break on rent 20 percent off for the four months of state-mandated closing, with an extended payment plan. In the lawsuit, the landlord insisted that once theaters could open, Regal owed full rent the same position held by the Arclights Culver City landlord. In the Houston suburb of River Oaks, Landmark ceased operation days before its lease ended March 31. Though only three screens, it was the citys prime specialized first-run theater with no real alternatives. That leaves the countrys fourth-largest city without a dedicated art house. Texas reopened early among the states and the theater began operation in September, but Landmark paid no rent for a year. Landlord Weingarten Realty said it offered a compromise for owed rent and a renegotiated lease going forward. In a statement, Landmark said the issue of paying past rent was a barrier to the deal. Local cinephiles continue the drive to reopen the theater. Richard Linklater has been a supporter; he said his film education came as a River Oaks patron and suggested that all parties, including the city, needed to focus on its cultural importance. Sources suggest other specialized operators may have interest. Located in a prime shopping center in an upscale part of Houston, the complexs future remains in question. Landmark is otherwise working to reopen most of its theaters. It has lost seven locations since the start of 2020. The New York 57 West and the single-screen Ken in San Diego were headed for closure before the pandemic started. Landmarks management of the Harbor East in Baltimore, ended last month; that location will be revamped under new management. Landmark is also leaving the Minneapolis Edina 4 theater. The landlord of the Tivoli in St. Louis, closed since last March, just announced a new tenant for the location with the expectation of reopening. Also closed was their Ritz at the Bourse, one of their three Philadelphia sites. We have opened 18 of 44 Landmark locations, prioritized getting open in most markets with at least one location, and are working toward getting most or all of the remainder opened within the near future, Landmark President and COO Paul Serwitz told IndieWire. Their theaters, a crucial player of specialized films, see limited benefit from Godzilla vs. Kong and other upcoming wide-release hits. Meanwhile, Oscar contenders face both home viewing competition and an older audience far more reluctant yet to venture into theaters. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. During the coronavirus crisis, vaccine researcher Peter Hotez has become one of the countrys most trusted explainers of science and so beloved in Houston that Antones recently named a poboy after him. At the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, he and his team have developed a COVID-19 vaccine set to be manufactured in India. Hes also dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Could you give us an overview of the situation now with COVID-19, the variants and the vaccines? In the U.S., were seeing a mixed picture. In some parts of the country, were seeing what some are calling the fourth wave. Its hitting the upper Midwest pretty hard. Michigan is the worst-affected state. Also up in the northeast New York, New Jersey, New England those numbers are starting to go up. We might be beginning to see that in Florida now. Theres been about a 20% increase in cases over the last 14 days. Most of that is due to one of the variants of concern, the B.1.1.7 variant that first arose in the United Kingdom. We all predicted this was going to happen; we just didnt know how extensive its going to be. The good news is were also vaccinating the American people. I think well be vaccinated fully or close to it by the summer. So we know theres an end to this fourth peak. Its just a matter of how big the amplitude is whether the peak is a small hill or whether its a mountain. With the B.1.1.7 variant, weve heard alarming news lately about children. Could you talk about that? The B.1.1.7 variant first arose in southeast England in September. By December it dominated the British Isles. Its a bad actor. Its more transmissible than anything weve seen before, with higher hospitalization rates and higher mortality rates. To make things worse, were starting to see now, in the upper Midwest, a number of young adults getting very sick. The COVID-19 narrative has always been that it affects older individuals. That was never entirely true, especially among African American and Hispanic populations. But were seeing now a lot of young adults get sick. That gives me pause for concern as does its transmissibility among young people. We have to think of B.1.1.7 like a different virus. There are similarities to the one we know, and the good news is the vaccines work really well against the B.1.1.7 variant. Well get to the other side and be in good shape by the summer, but I am worried about what happens to the country over the next two months. So far, no vaccine has been approved for children. Is that of concern with the B.1.1.7 variant? It it does concern me. We now have safety data and even some efficacy data showing that the the PfizerBioNTech, could be used in 12- to 15-year-olds, but that vaccine has not been released yet for emergency use for that age group. MORE COVID NEWS: Houston teens join COVID vaccine trial in hopes of returning to normal I think it will be. So probably pretty soon were going to start vaccinating adolescents, and I think by the fall school year, middle schools, junior high schools, high schools are going to have a very high percentage of both the students and the teachers and staff vaccinated. So were looking at a great fall school year, at least for the middle schools and high schools. But I am concerned right now until we halt transmission by the summer about how we navigate everything from from now until the end of May. The CDC recently said that people who have been vaccinated can think about flying again, that its that they dont need to fear for their own safety, as far as COVID goes, if they are masked and vaccinated. But is the equation going to be very different for parents traveling with small children? How would you advise a parent whos making plans for summer vacation? So heres what we know. We know most of the vaccines that have been approved for release in the U.S. give very high levels of protection against symptomatic illness as much as 95 percent and new data shows that they seem to dramatically reduce asymptomatic infection. Thats because were stopping the shedding of virus in people who are vaccinated, even if theyre exposed to the virus. Based on the performance features of the vaccines, Im optimistic we can vaccinate our way out of this epidemic. That means that if youre vaccinated, you can do normal things. The problem now is, until we get a high percentage of the U.S. population vaccinated, theres still going to be a lot of transmission. That transmission is going to continue at least until the end of May. So even though youve been vaccinated and can fly safely, theres still a lot of transmission. I would avoid bringing the kids on a flight at this point. As we move into the summer and transmission goes way down, then its going to be a lot easier to think about doing family events and family travel. So youre feeling good about where we are with COVID now? We are going to be in a much better place by the summer. Our quality of life is going to improve dramatically. I dont know that itll be completely normal, but its going to be pretty damn close to it by the summer. Its just a matter of being mindful for the months of April and May not being reckless, having that situational awareness and trying to get everybody to the other side. I actually thought we would be here, at this place, sooner. But then the B.1.1.7 variant really accelerated. And as I said, in terms of transmissibility and severity of illness, its like a different virus. Could you tell us more about those new studies showing that people who have been vaccinated dont seem to be getting infected or shedding virus? The first hint of this came from a study in Israel that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It was the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and by the way, it was going out in an area where the B.1.1.7 variant was dominant. So now we have a pretty good glimpse into what its like to vaccinate a population where you have the B.1.1.7 variant, which is our situation currently. Number one, it confirmed the high levels of protection seen in the Phase Three trials in a real-life situation. So that was that was exciting. MORE FROM LISA GRAY: Dr. Peter Hotez's battle against the 'anti-science confederacy' is a lifetime in the making But also, it was highly effective 92 percent in stopping documented infection, PCR positivity from both symptomatic and asymptomatic infection, and roughly about 90 percent from asymptomatic transmission. So its everything youd hope for in a vaccine really outstanding performance characteristics. Im guessing the Moderna and the Johnson & Johnson will be similar. That means that if you can achieve high levels of vaccine coverage upwards of 80 percent you can start looking at halting virus transmission. Were not there yet. Were still in the early stages of vaccination. But now were vaccinating 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 people a day in this country. Do the math: Within two months, we should be able to get a really, really high percentage of people vaccinated. Thats good news, at least for the U.S. The news is not so good from our neighbors to the north and south. Canada is not doing well in terms of rates of vaccination, and Mexico is doing even worse. Europe is very spotty. The U.K. is doing the best, but theres a lot of variability across Europe right now. What about the rest of the globe? How are we doing with things like new vaccines coming online and the ability to deliver them? The rest of the globe is in bad shape. In Africa essentially nobody is vaccinated. Latin America is not doing a lot better. As good as the vaccines are in the U.S. program, theyre very innovative in their design. That was great in terms of getting early vaccines out there for the American people. But because theyre innovative in their design, our ability to make lots of them is slowed. Its still a young technology, and we dont have capacity to produce the number of doses that we need. And the number of doses is daunting. Look at sub-Saharan Africa: You have 1.1 billion people. You have 650 million people in Latin America. So just in Africa and Latin America alone, thats 1.7 billion people times two doses. Youre talking close to 4 billion doses of vaccine. We dont have that capacity for mRNA vaccines, and I dont think we have that capacity for adenovirus vaccines. Thats not their strength. The science policymakers didnt put enough attention into expanding that portfolio to make available simple, durable, low-cost vaccines. Thats where we come in at Texas Childrens Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Weve done just that: We use an older technology, the same one used to make hepatitis B vaccine, and theres no upper limit to the amount you can make. You can make lots of it. In fact, our collaborators at Biological E are now making 1.2 billion doses of this vaccine. Its finishing Phase One/Phase Two clinical trials and going to move into Phase Three trials soon. We hope itll be released for emergency use in India no later than the summer. Then assuming that it does well in performance and Phase Three trials internationally, potentially it could be released by the World Health Organization for pre-qualification as we head into the fall. Were really excited about making that contribution. What do you think the world will look like as we begin moving out of this hunkered-down phase? Will the floodgates just suddenly open and well be back to normal? Lets look at the U.S. By later in the summer, I think quality of life is going to look something thats close to normal. We may not need masks. I think well have restaurants and bars fully open. I think well be able to do sporting events and concerts. I think flying domestically will not be an issue. As people start flying and using using cars, I think youre also going to see the oil and gas industries pick up. Thats important because my youngest son is in the oil and gas industry, and we want him to do well. [Laughs.] I think were gonna see all of those things pick up, but with some asterisks, right? Were going to be a bit isolated because Canada and Mexico are proceeding at a much slower rate. Israel will be fully vaccinated. The U.K. will be fully vaccinated. But I dont know where else in Europe maybe some of the Western European countries. Africa will still be treacherous to travel to, and Latin America as well. That will have an impact on our economy especially here in Houston, which is such an important gateway city. What else is important? What should we be thinking about now? Theres a few things. We still have some vaccine-hesitant groups. A poll came out of PBS NewsHour that shows that vaccine hesitancy is changing. In the fall, when we were looking at this with colleagues in Texas A&M and with the Kaiser Family Foundation, we identified two major vaccine hesitant groups. That was African American population and what some people call Trump voters; others call them Republicans or white Republicans you get the idea? BY THE NUMBERS: How vaccine skepticism in Texas' Trump country threatens herd immunity Now the vaccine hesitancy rates in Black and brown communities has declined. Thats still higher than it should be, but it has declined. I was on a podcast last week with with one of the Baptist churches in Richmond, Va., that serves the Black community. It was hosted by a pediatrician there, but he had the pastor on as well. I was asking him, before and after the podcast, Does that sound right? Are you seeing vaccine hesitancy declined? He said, Absolutely. There are still some issues, but its gotten a lot better. I said, What do you attribute that to? And he goes, Part of that is docs like you reaching out. I think thats helped. But the other thing he said, which I thought was really interesting, is that a lot of the clergy in the Black churches have created an informal network and said, Weve got to do something about this. And they did a lot of advocacy. I give them a lot of credit for that. Now, we still have the high rates of vaccine hesitancy among what the PBS NewsHour recalls white Republicans. This comes out of this health freedom movement thats been so awful here in Texas over the last few years around childhood vaccinations. Were going to have to work on that. Ive been trying to go back on conservative news outlets, reaching out to them. The big concern that I hear from them is theres this kind of obsession about vaccine mandates. Weve kind of got to get around that. I say to them, Look, we dont even have the vaccines here to mandate. So except for a couple of specific examples, I dont see vaccine mandates as a big issue. And then they still get really worked up about vaccine passports. So Im of the opinion now, lets not press on that yet. One, we dont have the vaccines here. And by pressing on this issue, its just going to make people dig their heels in about not getting vaccinated. I think as we move through the summer, a lot of this will will improve and go away. But lets not poke that bear right now. There are two exceptions that I see that warrant mandated vaccines. First of all, college campuses. When my youngest son went off to college, he had to be vaccinated against meningococcal infection meningococcal B, and meningococcal ACWY. Why? Because thats a deadly bacterial infection that could be transmitted in dorms and in institutional settings. So I think its going to be very reasonable for universities and colleges to mandate that the kids be vaccinated, with maybe some exceptions. Rutgers University has already done this. Cornell has already done this. I think others will follow suit. The other place where vaccine mandates will probably become necessary are hospitals. Last week Houston Methodist became, I think, the first hospital to mandate vaccinations for the simple reason that people need to know that when they go to a hospital, the person taking care of them is not going to infect them with with COVID-19 especially because hospitals settings have so many immunocompromised individuals or people with debilitating underlying illnesses. Thats going to be very reasonable. On HoustonChronicle.com: Why the COVID vaccine inspired a boom in volunteering across Houston But beyond that, we have to proceed slowly because it could have a backlash. These conservative groups are really getting jazzed up about this. You see it on Fox News: Some of the anchors are just really revving this issue up. You see it on social media outlets like Twitter as well. So when you appear on conservative outlets like Fox, are they asking you to weigh in on vaccine passports? They have been although Laura Ingraham really went after me last week on Fox News, so I dont know that theyre invite me back anytime soon. But well see. I dont know what that was about. What did she say? She had my picture up with Tony Fauci and Vivek Murthy and called us I dont know the merchants of something or other medical merchants of doom or something like that. Its ridiculous. The problem is that its a QAnon dog whistle. It gets people worked up. After that, I got a couple of hate emails that were very QAnon-like. [Laughs.] As if my jobs not hard enough. I dont know whats going on with Fox News these days. Even the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by the Murdochs and News Corp has been putting out some outrageous stuff not so much the main paper, but the Wall Street Journal opinion section. I dont know why theyre doing it. Its hurtful to the country. Any closing thoughts? Im extremely optimistic for the country. I cant say this enough. I think that by the summer, were gonna have something that resembles a normal quality of life. Its really a blessing to live in the United States, where we use science to get our way out of this. Thats a lesson too. When the U.S. has been faced with a crisis, time and time again, science and scientists have come through for this country. The invention of radar and the Manhattan Project helped get us out of World War II. Science got us out of the Cold War. Its what put humans on the moon. When weve needed to do big things, science and scientists came through. Its important for the American people to continually hear that, especially now. When you get someone like Laura Ingraham demonizing and targeting scientists, it shows a lack of awareness of American history. My response was, You know what? Im going to send her an American history textbook so she can understand what what the greatness of this country is built on. Science and scientists are a component of that. We know that here in Houston. I think thats something very special about Houston, Texas. Yes, the oil and gas industry is critical for our economy, but guess what thats built on too? Its built on the backs of petroleum engineers and geologists. Its an evidence-based endeavor. And then theres our Texas Medical Center and NASA! I mean, this is the greatness of our city. Its built on science, scientists and engineers. When we think about moving forward as a city you know, what should this city look like over the next 50 years? I think we need to continue in that spirit. Do you have plans to celebrate when the pandemic is over? I dont have plans to celebrate. Ill tell you what I do have plans to do: sleep. I havent had a good nights sleep in 14 months, so thats what I look forward to more than anything. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. lisa.gray@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 22:35:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people died and over 40 injured in a road mishap in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, a local police officer confirmed on Saturday. The mishap occurred when a truck carrying over 50 people skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in the state's Etawah district. The injured were admitted to a local hospital. According to media reports, the victims in the ill-fated truck were devotees returning from a temple situated in Agra district of the state. They belonged to Pinahata village in Etawah district. The police personnel and locals had to pull out the victims from the gorge. Enditem President of the Royal Australian College of GPs Karen Price said she was considering stopping offering AstraZenecas vaccine to people under 50. [AstraZeneca is] preferred not to give it in that age group, but its not a contra-indication, she said. Can you imagine how a lawyer might feel if someone did have a catastrophic reaction? The uncertainty and litigation risk warrants pause. Right now in Australia, we dont have an alternative vaccine. What would happen if we had an outbreak? What would happen if someone could not get their vaccine and they suffered a severe consequence of COVID? Loading Dr McMullen said the AMA had been trying to negotiate with the federal government about indemnity insurance for the vaccination rollout for some time. We all have professional indemnity insurance, but also the indemnity insurers are worried if there is a large issue with a vaccine and the possible insurance risk there, she said. Jared Dart, a Queensland GP and director of the Australian General Practice Alliance, which represents practice owners, said he would stop all AstraZeneca vaccines for under 50s for the next two weeks. I need to get a clearer understanding of the medico-legal risks for me as a doctor and our practice, to work out the best course of action, he said. Im aware of many GPs who have called and told patients that for now, they are not proceeding with the under 50s for AstraZeneca. Weve got essentially a tidal wave of patients coming to us asking advice when the science is not settled. A federal Department of Health spokeswoman said the government would continue to provide comprehensive information to GPs as we have done right through the GP vaccination program and they should contact their insurers. The Department of Health has been discussing with insurers and the medical profession whether additional indemnity protection may be required for the COVID vaccination process. Those discussions are ongoing, the spokeswoman said. Given insurance products differ in both their scope and application, we would encourage GPs to contact their insurers if they have concerns about the scope of their medical indemnity insurance arrangements. The move last week to prefer Pfizers vaccine over AstraZenecas for those under 50 has complicated Australias already delayed vaccine rollout. Loading People under 50 are not banned from getting AstraZenecas vaccine but must weigh the risks and benefits with their doctor. Only about 130,000 to 150,000 doses of Pfizers jab arrive on our shores every week, meaning some patients under 50 could opt for AstraZenecas more-available jab to get immediate protection. This is a particular issue for unvaccinated healthcare workers who could be on the front line of a new outbreak. The federal government said it would prioritise Pfizers vaccine for healthcare workers under 50, but much of that vaccine continues to flow to aged-care, which is still weeks away from being fully vaccinated. Some healthcare workers simply cannot access a Pfizer vaccine at all at this stage. It feels like they have basically left our members out hanging. Andrew Hewat, Victorian Allied Health Professionals In Victoria, about 25 per cent of frontline healthcare workers in phase 1a the highest risk group of the vaccine roll-out still have not received their first vaccine dose. Federal figures are not available. Loading Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association assistant secretary Andrew Hewat said many members of the union were now caught almost in no-mans land. They dont know how long its going to take to get them vaccinated if they wait for Pfizer. And especially in Victoria, they are highly sensitive to the implications of an outbreak, having lived through 2020. Its a real worry for them, he said. The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved a further easing of restrictions on social gatherings and event centres across the state on Friday. According to a statement by the Lagos Safety Commission on Friday, the easing of restrictions on social and event centres takes immediate effect. The governor made due consultation and deliberations with relevant stakeholders and MDAs including the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Lagos State Safety Commission and approved the further easing of social centres across the State with immediate effect, the statement said. The Lagos government in March commenced vaccination for residents in a bid to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infection. As of Thursday, a total number of 217,720 persons have been vaccinated in Lagos, comprising of 106,259 males and 111,461 females. The state has also experienced a decline in the number of positive cases being recorded. Fresh guidelines Disclosing fresh guidelines for event facilities, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile, said failure to comply with the directives will attract penalties stipulated by the Lagos state Infectious Diseases Regulation 2020. With this further easing of restrictions, event centres are allowed to have a maximum of 500 people irrespective of their capacity. There is also an upward review of events duration allowable for social gatherings from maximum of two hours to a maximum of six hours. Full guidelines for social/event facilities are as follows: All event centres must hold a valid license of the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture prior to operating as an event center in the State. All event centres must be duly registered and verified on The Lagos State Safety Commission website www.lasgsafetyreg.com prior to holding any event. An Event Safety Clearance must be obtained from the Lagos State Safety Commission through the website www.lasgsafetyreg.com for any proposed event or exhibition. Safety Marshals shall be deployed by an accredited event safety consultant from Lagos State Safety Commission for every social event with attendance exceeding over 200 people. Occupancy limit at any event must not exceed 50% of the maximum design capacity of the hall, wherein Occupancy Limit stickers provided by the Lagos State Safety Commission must be boldly pasted at the entrance of the event hall. Maximum allowable capacity for Event Centers irrespective of occupancy limit is 500 people. Deep cleaning must be carried out before and after every event. Physical distancing shall be maintained between seated guests and a maximum number of seated guests should be 6 (six) people on a table of 10 (ten)persons. ADVERTISEMENT Event duration should not exceed a maximum period of 6-hours. All guests and service providers at the facility must wear a nose mask and make use of hand sanitizers All guests and service providers must endeavor to wash their hands before entering the venue or in the alternative use hand sanitizers. Temperature checks must be taken at all entry points into a facility. Guests and service providers with temperature (above 37.5) are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team on ground. Hand sanitizers must be positioned at the entry points and different spots within the hall. All event centers must endeavor to display standard COVID-19 safety signs. The signs must be bold and installed at conspicuous locations. Event centre owners/ planners/vendors would be responsible for any breach of protocols by their staff. Mrs Akinbile urged event centres operators to comply with the guidelines, as a violation of the protocols will attract fines and penalties in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020. From London to Moscow, The Courier unveils the real life of a Cold War spy For a generation of movie and television fans a spy is someone who jets around the world, flirting with the opposite sex and getting into the occasional fight or car chase. Whether your favourite spy be Sidney Bristow, XXX or the leader of the pack James Bond they all live pretty much the same life. The weird thing that in comparison to real life things are a way off the scale. In real life your traditional spy will be doing more simple tasks in order to get information back to their handlers, and fights and car chases are the last things they want as they just draw attention to themselves. World-Entertainment By David Griffiths Saturday 10 April 2021, 11:00AM Benedict Cumberbatch portrays real-life British spy British spy Greville Wynne in the engrossing The Courier. Photo: IMDB Luckily for serious cinema lovers that unrealistic portrayal of a spy is nowhere to be seen in the new Cold War thriller The Courier. Directed by Dominic Cooke (On Chesil Beach), The Courier tells the story of British spy Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch Doctor Strange). Wynne had no super power or even special abilities instead he was a simple businessman recruited by a MI6 Agent named Dickie Franks (Angus Wright Maleficent) and a CIA Agent named Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan Patriots Day) to become the go between with their Russian asset. Wynne then finds himself in a position where he has to lie to his wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley Wild Rose) as he keeps making business trips to Russia so he can meet up with and get information from Russian defector Oleg Penkovsky (Mereb Ninidze Jupiters Moon), who himself has to live a double life to feed the information across. Rather than rely on roof-top shootouts or car chases through cities Cookes film explores the psychological and mental trauma that spies and defectors have to face. While Wynne and Penkovsky do become firm friends, with quite a few drinking sessions, the stress on the two men throughout the film is apparent. The brilliant screenplay by Tom OConnor (The Hitmans Bodyguard) explores the wonderful bond that developed between the two men and reveals a Cold War bravery that few people would ever have known existed. The film reveals the secret tactics that the pair used to exchange information and also reveals the stress the two pretty much constantly lived under. The tension that the screenplay grouped with Cookes directional skills manages to create genuinely has its audience on the edge of its seat. Even scenes that seem basic, such as either Wynne or Penkovsky being followed become high drama moments where the audience is totally pulled into to experience what the characters at hand are feeling. The film is further enhanced by the brilliant acting performances of its two leads. For some people Cumberbatch is just another Marvel super-hero but here he reminds audiences just what a brilliant actor he can be. His performance here in The Courier is equal to anything he delivered in The Imitation Game and he is well supported by Mereb Nindie, who clearly shows here that he deserves to be appearing in Hollywood films. If you are wanting to see spies jumping out of planes or driving cars off cliffs, then The Courier is not for you. If instead though you want to see a film that tells a little known story for history while showing the psychological stress and trauma that being a spy can cause for a person and his associates then this is a film that you simply must see. A brilliant screenplay and an amazing performance from Cumberbatch makes The Courier one of the must see films of 2021. The Courier opens in Phuket on April 12 and while it is yet to be classified it is for a mature audience. 4/5 Stars David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus Ukachi Ogujuba is a volunteer for an agric tech firm and a smallholder farmer in Imo State. In this episode of our Women in Agriculture, she shares her experience. PT: Agriculture has sub sectors, which of the sub sectors are you active in? Ms Ogujuba: I am studying Agricultural Economics but presently I am practicing small scale farming. I am a volunteer in an agricultural organisation, Agro Hive. I am not into the production or processing of crops, animals or any agricultural services. I just work for people in the agric sector. PT: Agro Hive deploys ICT in providing quality human resource management services to agribusinesses, what role do you play in this organisation. Ms Ogujuba: I work with the marketing and sales department of Agro Hive, which is an agric tech that specialises in updating people in the agricultural sector on how to use tech for agriculture. As I said earlier, Im in the marketing and sales department where we market and sell our products and services. And also to make it known to people that these are what we do at agro hive. It was in the last programme we were able to get people to enroll in the agro skill 2.0 which was held last year during the pandemic. It was a virtual training. PT: There are different agritech organisations in Nigeria, what prompted you to join them? Ms Ogujiuba: When I was seeking admission, I was going for medically inclined courses like medicine and other health related courses but then I gained admission into the agriculture departments. Over time, I got to fall in love with it. I wanted to do more and learn more. Thats why I joined Agro Hive. It was at that point when I was trying to gain my stand in Agriculture that I happened to meet the CEO of Agro Hive who was also a student in my schools Animal Science Department in 2018. We spoke and she told me about Agro Hive and I was interested just to build my career and know more about the agricultural sector. PT: Can you tell us the difference between when you had not become a volunteer and now? Ms Ogujuba: Theres been a lot of difference as I was battling with taking JAMB again and then focusing on the agric thing. I felt like just staying in this place as I didnt want to go back home. My uncle called and said So Ukachi, you want to waste my money and go and learn how to cultivate cassava for me. These were his words as I cant forget them. All these challenges of family members against what you do, you not wanting to go into it and trying to find a base on it. Along the line I gotta love it. I thought it like this; going into the medical line is saving lives also is going into the agriculture sector, because when you put food on ones table its also a way of saving lives. And joining Agro Hive really changed a lot for me even to my social media life. Im filled with the hunger to learn more daily. PT: As a volunteer, can you share some interesting experiences youve had working for the past three years maybe on the field or other aspects? Ms Ogujuba: One major experience is the agro skill 2.0 which was held last year around April may. We were trained on how to use different forms of tech for agriculture, feed production, etc. Another experience I had was a training we had where we trained secondary school students in the importance of agriculture which gave me the ground to give what I have to me. Another one was where we interviewed farmers and had them share their experiences with me. PT: Are there financial benefits attached to being a volunteer? Are you paid any stipends at all? Ms Ogujuba: None for now, but from volunteering to becoming a staff. But Im still under the volunteering level. But during Agro Skill 2.0, where we had some Internet related stuff we were given a token for data. PT: What challenges did you face during the training, talking with farmers who are experienced may not be easy. Ms Ogujuba: The challenges I had were personal, I am a shy person. At first, how will I train these people, some had bigger body size. But I faced them and overcame. PT: As a volunteer and a student what plans do you have for yourself in the next five years? Ms Ogujuba: My plans for now is to graduate first, do my one year compulsory service then go ahead for masters and then follow what happens. I really want to build a ground in the Agricultural sector. PT: Do you have plans of going into any other subsector? ADVERTISEMENT MS Ogujuba: I do have plans of going into animal production PT: How do you plan on establishing? Ms Ogujuba: I have plans of going back to school to study animal science then know more about animals. In my school while in a department, you just have to take basic courses of other departments. As now, I only have the basic knowledge on animal production but I want to get the concrete knowledge on animal production and basically venture into organic production of animals. I hope along the line I will get the knowledge I require. PT: Youve had interactions with younger people so can you tell what you think is the problem in the sector when it comes with younger Nigerian with agriculture. Ms Ogujuba: The major problem youths have in agriculture is funds. I have talked with a lot of people and once I put this to them they start complaining about funds as some I have talked with people who have ponds but no sufficient resources to operate. These resources include lands and funds. So others who are not into Agriculture think its a dirty job and suffering, this is because they dont have the knowledge of it. They judge from what they see. Farming requires patience but the youth are not that patient. In summary, they lack lands, funds, knowledge and patience. PT: In the field, were you opportune to meet real farmers (commercial farmers) not students or intern farmers? Ms Ogujuba: I did but most of them actually didnt study agric. PT: Why do some persons who did not study agriculture end up practising it? Ms Ogujuba: I put this to the situation of Nigeria. Some might have hunted for jobs but nothing coming through and might have the funds or the knowledge and resources to venture into agriculture and they did. Farming doesnt require you to undergo the kind of study an engineer needs in school. You can learn from watching people and learning from your experience and theirs. The school knowledge is very important but you can do start without it and overtime acquire it to be certified and have a sounder knowledge on agriculture. PT: As someone who has been to the field, do you think the Nigerian youth have the potential to really do well when it comes to agriculture? Ms Ogujuba: Nigerian youths have a lot of strong potential but they really need to be supported. From the government and the environment. PT: Aside volunteering and schooling, are there other agricultural related activities you are into? Ms Ogujuba: I farm on a small scale on a two hectares of land. The land belongs to my late parents, I cultivate maize and cassava on the land. I hire labourers to assist me on the land because I cannot do it alone. I sell the produce in the market, its just a small business for my siblings and I but Im always in town so Im in charge of the farm. President Bidens $2.25 trillion infrastructure bill proposed last week has placed conventional infrastructure stocks into the spotlight again. Out of that massive amount of proposed funding, the largest part of the plan, with a budget of $650 billion, focuses on American homes, school buildings, and underground water infrastructure. The plan would also make a massive investment of $621 billion in the country's roadways, railways, and bridges. The plan doesnt just aim at a massive overhaul of the countrys infrastructure; it also aims to create nearly 19 million jobs. In order to fund the plan, President Biden plans to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. That would pretty much unwind the lower corporate rate at 10.5% placed by the previous Trump administration. The plan, the centerpiece of Bidens agenda to rebuild the economy, will now need to pass Congress, with Republicans lining up against what they call a Trojan Horse for social welfare spending and excessive tax increases. President Biden said he will meet with the Republicans to negotiate the plan in the coming weeks but warned that inaction is not an option. Debate is welcome. Compromise is inevitable. Changes are certain Well be listening. Well be open to good ideas and good faith negotiations but heres what we wont be open to. We will not be open to doing nothing, President Biden said. But assuming this plan will go forward, here are some stocks that will benefit greatly--and theyre not shiny new tech stocks that have been stealing everyones attention. This is where we get by to the tried and true giants ... #1 Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Caterpillar, the maker of construction and mining equipment, saw its stocks start to climb as soon as Biden was elected. In the last couple of years, Caterpillar had traded in a range. Last March, the shares of the company found a bottom but have already climbed nearly 130% since then. But what will speak to the masses of retail investors is this: CAT is a pretty consistent earnings topper and is poised to beat earnings estimates once again. #2 Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR) Fluor Corp, the top construction firm in the petroleum and industrial sector, had a good run in the last two quarters with its stock up 151% and analysis believes that the stock could rise up to 80% more this year amid the countrys industrial recovery. The company also offers support services to several US federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security. During the third quarter of last year, the companys fell 17.6% year-over-year to $3.8 billion while the mentioned agencies segment was its only one to see an uptick in revenue. Last year the company landed a government contract for the nationwide deactivation, decommission, and removal of selected nuclear facilities. #3 Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) Besides lawn and agriculture equipment, the company manufactures construction equipment, as well. In the first quarter of this year, Deere revenues and sales increased by 19% to $9.112 billion year-over-year but more significantly it has outperformed in the profit segment, with net income of $1.2 billion, up 137%. Improved conditions in the farm and infrastructure sector helped the companys income to more than double. And earnings beat expectations. To keep up with demand, the company has ramped up production in the United States and South America. #4 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) If you want something ultra-safe that pays a nice dividend, this is the one for you to play the Biden infrastructure wave. The utilities, transport, energy, and data infrastructure company is set for positive 2021 even without President Bidens push. Last year, the company's net income reached $394 million, up from $233 million in 2019. With seven out of nine analysts rating BIP as a buy, this company is likely undervalued at its current trading price of ~$54. By Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Le gouvernement a decide le 9 avril 2021 de mettre des restrictions sur les importations des COVID-19 Home Self Testing Kit en amemdant la Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017 en incluant cet item. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection would amend Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017 to include COVID-19 Home Self Testing Kit as a restricted good following consultations with the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The importation of the COVID-19 Home Self Testing Kit would be subject to a written authorisation from the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-11 06:36:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Three kids were found fatally stabbed at an apartment in Los Angeles Saturday morning, authorities said. Patrol officers responded to the 8000 block of Reseda Blvd for a radio call involving a possible death at one of the apartments at about 9:30 a.m. local time. Police officers discovered three children at scene after they went inside the apartment, the Los Angeles Police Department said on its Twitter account. The three children, all appear to be under the age of 5 years old, were pronounced deceased at scene, according to the department. Local media had originally reported that the victims were under the age of 3 years old, citing police sources. The young victims were first found by their grandmother, NBC Los Angeles television station reported. Police said a 30-year-old female Hispanic, Liliana Carrillo, was identified as a person of interest in this case. Some local news outlets reported that Carrillo is the mother of the three kids. Police asked for the public's help via social media platforms in locating the woman who was reportedly just committed a carjacking in the Bakersfield area in the north of Los Angeles and might be driving in a stolen silver Toyota pickup. About an hour later, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Carrillo has been taken into custody in the Ponderosa area of Tulare County in Central California. The cause of death has yet to be determined, as well as a motive, said police. Enditem When corporations pick one political party over another, it's time to take sides with your feet and your money. This spark was lit in the state of Georgia when major companies joined the woke destroyers of America. It was bad enough when Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines joined the feeding frenzy over Georgia's legal right to hold transparent and honest elections, an anathema for a Democrat party looking to advance a voting system void of voter identification. As an outsider (here in Israel), it feels eerily dystopian writing that last paragraph. It points to a deeply troubling future for America. Who would believe we would witness America in such a state of anarchistic meltdown? I can tell you, America, that for much of the democratic world, countries like Britain, the Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, it is a head-scratcher to see the Democrat party pushing for unverified state and national elections. That, for us, is one giant step away from democracy a step we will never take. And to say it is racist because it deprives black folk of the right to vote is as foolish, and as insulting, as to suggest that lack of identification would prevent, say, Israeli Arabs from voting in our national elections, which we have far too frequently. Are African-Americans that inferior to Israeli Arabs in that they are so incompetent as to be unable to produce any document of self-identification? Surely not! It's a lie, and it is insulting to anyone's intelligence, particularly American black folk, the majority of whom must hold some form of acceptable identification. How would they go about their personal business without one? And as for those who don't, is it really that difficult to obtain a document to prove who you are in America? Are you that much a Third-World country? We outsiders would really like to know. This really does diminish you in the eyes of the outside world, America. Then another shocking example of corporate posturing to the woke destroyers of America emerged. Groveling to the emboldened radical critical race theorists, backed by the new Democrat government and the cooperative media who salute the race/sex virtue-signaling, United Airlines pledged to make it a priority to have 50% of their flight staff to be female or non-white color. I guess a black transgender individual would take top priority in the cockpit ahead of a fully trained and experienced white pilot. Or maybe he would be given preference to share this pilot's cockpit as co-pilot in UA's sop to equity. This is not an airline I would fly on. The two most outstanding qualities for pilots must be the safety of their passengers and competence in flying the plane. The color of a pilot's skin should not, must not, play a part in the selection process. When that is sacrificed to Critical Race Theory, it is time to choose another airline. In fact, it is time to punish any airline that threatens to subjugate safety for flawed and divisive political racism. Any airline that tampers with my safety does not warrant my support. I refuse to fly Delta or United Airlines until they change their new foolish policies. I had intended to buy shares in American airlines. I see a potential uptick in value as American skies begin to reopen when Democrat states decide to unlock their population. However, I will not be buying shares in Delta or UA. If I feel I cannot be a traveler on one of their planes, they certainly do not warrant my money or support as a shareholder. Let the woke regressives, the cancel culture mob, replace me. I will not be taking a stake in their financial future. For the same reason, I am selling my Coke share (KO) and buying and drinking Pepsi this summer. Coke's interference in the Georgia election law is shallow and based on lies. They have become cynical opportunists sucking up to the radical racists. These companies have a duty to educate and encourage Americans on how to honestly participate in the important democratic process of state and national elections. If that means obtaining an identification card or document, Corporate America needs to step up and help. Instead, they are corrupting the system and moving America away from the shining light of democracy and into a very dark place where even safety is put at risk. Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. The New York Times 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History: Essays and Interviews. David North and Thomas Mackaman, eds. Mehring Books, 2021. Pp. xxvi, 339; 28 plates. $24.95 The falsification of a societys history is a tyrants weapon. As are mythologies of blood. In its ongoing mission to disorient and divide the American working class, the New York Times has wielded both these weapons with its 1619 Project, which asserts that the true founding of the United States dates back to the year the first African slaves arrived in Virginia rather than to 1776, the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The 1619 Project debuted as a special edition of the New York Times Magazine in August of 2019. Promoted by the Times as ongoing, the project originally consisted of 14 essays, including the lead essay by project founder and Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, titled Our democracys founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true, for which the author was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for commentary. The New York Times 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History. Edited by David North and Thomas Mackaman. The common themes of the 1619 Project are that race is the primary division in American society, that anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country, and that African Americans have been the sole progressive force in US history. For Hannah-Jones and her co-essayists, the American Revolution was actually a counterrevolution meant to establish a slavocracy, and the Civil War, the second American revolution, in which some 750,000 soldiers died and which ended chattel slavery in the US, was of no historical significance. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the 1619 Project have been distributed to school districts to be incorporated into high school curricula. Yet, despite its demonstrably false claims, reactionary politics and deployment in the schools, the 1619 Project has faced serious criticism from only one sourcethe World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). The intervention of the WSWS against the 1619 Project, which began in the first week of September 2019, drew widespread media attention. It ultimately destroyed the credibility of the Times new historical narrative, though as a money-making venture and political project, the 1619 Project continues. The release of The New York Times 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History (Mehring Books, 2021), which collects the WSWSs writings on the 1619 Project into a single volume, is a significant political and intellectual event. The book is a powerful collection of essays, lectures, polemics, and articles, as well as eight interviews with world-renowned scholars of American history. The collective force of this material yields an irrefutable debunking of the racialist and ahistorical foundations of the 1619 Project. The volume begins with a trenchant foreword, penned by North, exposing both the ubiquity and reactionary character of identity politics within contemporary academia. This is followed by a section entitled Historical Critique of the 1619 Project, which includes the WSWSs initial reply to the 1619 Project, written by North, Thomas Mackaman and Niles Niemuth, and then three lectures delivered at the University of Michigans Ann Arbor campus in October and November of 2019 by Mackaman, Eric London, and Joseph Kishore. Next comes a section dedicated to interviews with leading historians, including James McPherson and Gordon Wood, and sections titled Polemics, Historical Commentary, and The Crisis of the New York Times 1619 Project, a series of articles on the evasive and disingenuous defenses the Times undertook as a result of the WSWSs exposures. The book concludes with an afterword on Trumps 1776 Travesty, the former administrations opportunistic, right-wing response to the 1619 Project. The Racialist Falsification of History trains its fire on the first two essays in the 1619 Project, the lead essay by Hannah-Jones and an essay by Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond titled In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation. One would like to see more on other pieces in the 1619 Projectessays like journalist Trymaine Lees A vast wealth gap, driven by segregation, redlining, evictions and exclusion, separates black and white America or the self-contradictory For centuries, black music has been the sound of artistic freedom. No wonder everybodys always stealing it by the Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris. But by concentrating on Hannah-Jones and Desmonds essays, the WSWS writers and the historians they interview undermine the foundations of the remainder of the 1619 Project, namely its concepts of monolithic black and white Americas and its blinkered, anti-Enlightenment approach to history, culture and humanity. At 339 pages, The Racialist Falsification of History can hardly be accused of lacking thoroughness on these fundamental points. From beginning to end the volume is characterized by objectivity and historical accuracy. The same cannot be said of the Times. Hannah-Jones even admitted on Twitter that the 1619 Project is not a history. It is rather about who gets to control the national narrative, and, therefore, the nations shared memory of itself. North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS, underlines the destructive aim of such an approach to history in his foreword to the volume: In this remark, Hannah-Jones explicitly extols the separation of historical research from the effort to truthfully reconstruct the past. The purpose of history is declared to be nothing more than the creation of a serviceable narrative for the realization of one or another political agenda. The truth or untruth of the narrative is not a matter of concern. In the racialization of the narrative, of which the 1619 Project is only one instance, North sees dire political consequences: Under the influence of postmodernism and its offspring, critical race theory, the doors of American universities have been flung wide open for the propagation of deeply reactionary conceptions. Racial identity has replaced social class and related economic processes as the principal and essential analytic category. With gathering force, North exposes the absurdity to which academia now stoops in its thrall to racialism, exposing bestselling public intellectual Ibram X. Kendis racialist reading of the word Enlightenment (the connection between lightness and Whiteness) with a simple lesson in etymology, and finding similar irrationalist forays in the fields of music and even physics. Practitioners of such racialist scholarship are, in Norths words, loitering in the ideological territory of the Third Reich. Because they bring a genuinely Marxist perspective to bear on the arguments of the same two essays, the four chapters of the Historical Critique section of the book frequently harmonize, sometimes echo (for instance, Hannah-Jones revealing DNA metaphor is addressed by each writer in the section), but never repeat. The essays in this section are all distinctive, cogent analyses of particular aspects of the 1619 Projects foundation, and all bring scholarship to bear on their topics. In the first essay of the section, North, Mackaman, and Niemuth lay out the framework of the WSWSs critique: its exposure of the racialist nature of the 1619 Project, its defense of the American Revolution and Civil War as progressive undertakings in American history, and its analysis of the reactionary politics within and behind the Project. In the process, the authors adduce in the space of 14 pagesin addition to Karl Marx, James P. Cannon and Leon Trotskyno fewer than six professional historians, often representing these historians in full-paragraph quotations. By contrast, Hannah-Jones, whose pretension is to rewrite much of US history, makes only a couple of passing references to scholars: once to a sociologist and once to a trio of legal historians. The absence of evidence is not accidental. Assessing Hannah-Jones method, the WSWS authors note, The invocation of white racism takes the place of any concrete examination of the economic, political, and social history of the country and that she provides no examination of the historical context, foremost the development of the class struggle As in all the essays in this section, the WSWS authors argument is carefully constructed and rich in supporting materials. It is impossible to do it justice here, but one point of stress is Hannah-Jones obliviousness to politics in history. There is no accounting for the role played in stoking up race hatred by the Democratic Party, a union of Northern industrialists and machine politicians wed to Southern slave masters before the Civil War and Jim Crow politicians after it, the authors observe. The authors also point out that in Hannah-Jones account of American history, which purports to place the experience of African Americans at the center, no mention is made of Martin Luther King Jr. As the authors state, Kings statement following the murders of the three young civil rights workers in 1964 (two of whom were white), was an impassioned condemnation of racism and segregation. King clearly does not fit into Hannah-Joness narrative. This is because King did not condemn the American Revolution and the Civil War. He did not believe that racism was a permanent characteristic of whiteness. He called for the integration of blacks and whites, and set as his goal the ultimate dissolution of race itself. Kings dream stands as anathema to the new segregationists like Hannah-Jones. An analysis of the 1619 Projects interpretation of the American Revolution is provided by Mackaman, the books co-editor, in his contribution, Slavery and the American Revolution. Noting Hannah-Jones claim about white racism being encoded in the very DNA of this country and her assertions that slavery is Americas original sin and the root of the endemic racism that we still cannot purge from this nation to this day, Mackaman asserts that white racism, whether ordained by God or genetic code, serves, for the 1619 Project as historys deus ex machina. There is no need to consider questions long placed at the center of historical inquiry: cause and effect, contingency and conflict, human agency, and change over time. History is simply a morality tale written backward from 2019. In this morality tale, the New York Times and Hannah-Jones decry the American Revolution and its egalitarian and rationalist ideals as the founding mythology, with Hannah-Jones claiming that one of the primary reasons the colonists decided to declare their independence from Britain was because they wanted to protect the institution of slavery. Hannah-Jones cites no documentary evidence in support of this claim. Hannah-Jones has, however, since the publication of the 1619 Project, acknowledged that one of her sources for the idea that the American Revolution was an attempt on the part of the colonists to preserve the institution of slavery was the book The Counter-Revolution of 1776 by Gerald Horne, a professor of history and African American Studies at the University of Houston. In a recent review on the WSWS, Fred Schleger painstakingly decimates Hornes book not only as shoddy scholarship but, to put it bluntly, a pack of lies. By contrast, Mackamans essay places the American Revolution in its time and place, making this salient point: Like other great revolutionsincluding the French Revolution of 1789 that it helped inspire, and later, the Russian Revolution of 1917the American Revolution fused the most advanced political thought with economic conditions that had reached sufficient maturity to make the overthrow of an old order both possible and, from an objective standpoint, necessary. WSWS writer Eric London (The Irrepressible Conflict: Slavery, the Civil War, and Americas Second Revolution) takes up the question of the 1619 Projects virtual dismissal of the Civil War. He pays special attention to the Democratic Party and its history, its use of racial politicstoday and in the decades leading up to the Civil War. London pursues these matters as they appear in Hannah-Jones and Matthew Desmonds essays. His defense of Abraham Lincoln as a progressive figure in world history, contra the Times portrayal of a racist who drafted the Emancipation Proclamation merely as a military expedient, includes this fine sentence: Fifteen years after Cavaignac in 1848 suppressed the Paris workers in blood and eight years before Thiers in 1871 would do the same to the Commune, Abraham Lincoln sat at his desk and wrote that four million human beingswith a market price of billions of dollars in todays moneywere Thenceforth and forever free. In writing about the racial politics of the Democratic Party, London gives extensive consideration to the poor whites of the South. For Hannah-Jones and the Times, all whites, North and South, supported and benefited from slavery. Northern whites prior to the Civil War, and certainly abolitionists, do not figure in her history except under the vilified category white people. As London asserts, the Times use of this category as unified in support of slavery is an insult to the heroism of many who gave their lives for the cause of abolition. Concerning poor whites in the South, London cites historian David Williams book Bitterly Divided: The Souths Inner Civil War and historian Victoria Bynums book The Free State of Jones, books that detail unionist rebellions among poor and yeoman-class whites within the Confederacy. London demolishes Hannah-Jones and the Times fiction of a politically and socially cohesive white South. London does away with the claim that all whites benefited from slavery and the Democrats Jim Crow segregation by pointing out that segregation drove down wages for all workers. More importantly, and again from an objective historical perspective, London makes this observation: In a larger sense, regardless of what an individual poor white person thought (and racism was not the sole property of the rich), the Jim Crow system did not provide the majority of whites with privilege because segregation ultimately blocked the development of a united movement from below, which was the only thing that could have improved the living conditions of all workers and farmers. The final essay of the section, Race, Class, and Socialism, by Joseph Kishore, the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in the US, is a concise analysis of the Times careful exclusion of the category of class in the 1619 Project, and locates this exclusion in a history of the Democratic Party and identity politics. Kishore pointedly identifies the Times insistence on the immutable categories of race and white racism with a rejection of Enlightenment thought and an affinity for reactionary politics: Indeed, the irrationalist, anti-Enlightenment, anti-Marxist, and anti-working-class perspective developed over the past half century has brought the pseudo-left into increasing alignment with the conceptions and politics of the far right. It is necessary for Hannah-Jones and the Times to ignore huge swaths of American history and cover up the profound social and political developments that transformed the freed slaves into a critical section of the working class. In the Times account there simply is no working class. The word class does not make an appearance Kishore provides ample historical evidence to explode the Times contention that all of American history can be reduced to a conflict between white Americans and black Americans, terms that appear in various forms nearly 100 times in Hannah-Jones essay, as Kishore points out. Kishore also discusses the crucial role of the Russian Revolutionalso not mentioned by the 1619 Project. This world-historical event profoundly influenced a layer of black intellectuals, artists, and militants in the 1920s, associated with the Harlem Renaissance, he writes. Deepening the historical analyses of the volume, the eight interviews with scholars are conducted at a high intellectual level and are a pleasure to read: Victoria Bynum, James McPherson, James Oakes, Gordon Wood, Adolph Reed Jr., Richard Carwardine, Clayborne Carson, and Dolores Janiewski. All of the historians impress with their ready knowledge, the circumspection of their claims, and their provision of concrete evidence. Six of the eight interviews were conducted by Mackaman. These read as intellectually bristling conversations, not a series of questions read off a card, Mackamans erudition keeping pace at every step with his interlocutor. It is impossible to give justice to the breadth and depth of these interviews, but a few excerpts give a sense of their overall quality: Victoria Bynum, on the uses of race and racism in history: [C]reating a biracial society has also historically enabled those in power to destroy interracial class alliances among oppressed peoples. Whether it be Bacons Rebellion in 1676, Reconstruction during the 1870s, labor struggles in the 1930s, or the civil rights movement of the 1950s, interracial alliances have been crushed time and again through the exploitation of racism. Gordon Wood, on the impact of the American Revolutions destruction of indentured servitude on the institution of slavery: The elimination of servitude suddenly made slavery more conspicuous than it had been in a world of degrees of unfreedom. The antislavery movements arose out of these circumstances. As far as most Northerners were concerned, this most base and despicable form of unfreedom must be eliminated along with all the other forms of unfreedom. These dependencies were simply incompatible with the meaning of the Revolution. James McPherson, on racism and anti-racism in American history: But the idea that racism is a permanent condition, well thats just not true. And it also doesnt account for the countervailing tendencies in American history as well. Because opposition to slavery, and opposition to racism, has also been an important theme in American history. James Oakes, on the 1619 Projects minimization of the Civil War: From our perspective, for someone who thinks about societies in terms of the basic underlying social relations of production or social property relations, the radical overthrow of the largest and wealthiest slave society in the world is a revolutionary transformation. Richard Carwardine, on the 1619 Projects portrayal of Lincoln as a racist: Its not too much to say that Lincoln was a civil rights martyr. John Wilkes Booth shot him soon after hearing him propose, in what would be his final speech, full citizenshipwith voting rightsfor very educated blacks and those who had fought for the Union. Booth declared, That means nigger citizenship. Now, by God! Ill put him through. Adolph Reed Jr. on the politics of the 1619 Project: What are the stakes that people imagine to be bound up with demonstrating that capitalism in this country emerged from slavery and racism, which are treated as two different labels for the same pathology? Ultimately, its a race reductionist argument. What the Afro-pessimist types or black nationalist types get out of it is an insistence that we cant ever talk about anything except race. And thats partly because talking about race is the things they have to sell. Clayborne Carson, on the Founding Fathers and freedom struggles in history: Obviously, they were being hypocritical, but its also audacious. And thats what rights are all about. It is the history of people saying, I declare that I have the right to determine my destiny, and we collectively have the right to determine our destiny. Thats the history of every movement, every freedom movement in the history of the world. All of the interviews in The Racialist Falsification of History are vivid and engaging and remind the reader not only of the vitality, but the responsibility of serious historical scholarship. A word must also be said about the courage displayed by these historians simply by appearing in the book, beginning with the first interviewee, Bynum, author of The Free State of Jones: Mississippis Longest Civil War. To take a position critical of racialist identity politics in todays political climate is to stick ones professional neck out. Yet each of the scholars interviewed is fully forthcoming and candid, and while their individual perspectives may vary significantly, each carefully takes the Times to task for its historical carelessness. The stand taken by these historians in the WSWS has altered the intellectual terrain, a fact attested to by nine supporting statements found in the first pages of the book, including from Bancroft Prize winners Sean Wilentz and Peter Kolchin and Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Walker Howe. Taken together, these nine statements concur in finding serious flaws and glaring factual errors (Wilentz) in the Times 1619 Project and applaud the intellectual honesty of the WSWSs critiques and interviews as well as its brave and necessary (William E. Weeks), and virtually solitary, stance in defense of such honesty. The Polemics section includes important engagements with the Times over the 1619 Project, featuring essays by Bynum and Wood as well as writings by London, Mackaman and North. These polemical essays indicate, among other things, the degree to which the Times realized it had been exposed by the WSWSs ongoing critique through 2019 and 2020. In An Analysis of the New York Times Reply to Five Historians, North and London dismantle a rebuttal written by New York Times Magazine editor in chief Jake Silverstein to a letter signed by historians Bynum, McPherson, Oakes, Wood and Wilentz, published in the Times on December 20, 2019. The historians had asserted their strong reservations about important aspects of the 1619 Project and stated that they were dismayed at some of the factual errors in the project and the closed process behind it. After providing examples of major historical flaws in the project, the letters signatories requested that the Times issue prominent corrections of all the errors and distortions in the Project. They also requested transparency in the process through which the historical materials were assembled and authenticated. As the authors of the essay note, Silversteins response to these eminent historians concerns was evasive and disingenuous. North and London point out that Silverstein defends the claims made in the 1619 Project in a self-contradictory manner, as he states at once that the project was intended to address the marginalization of African-American history in the telling of our national story and that We are not ourselves historians, it is true. North and London make the case that, in eradicating the distinction between historiography and journalism, the New York Times violates the professional standards and ethics of both fields. When criticized for their shoddy historiography, the authors note, the Times pleads that they do not claim to be historians, but when criticized for failing to meet journalistic standards for presenting the opposing arguments in the debate over Americas founding, the Times proclaims that it is writing a new history. The strength, and particular pleasure, of this essay lies in the way North and London use the Times own words against Silverstein, reaching back in the Times archives for glowing reviews of books by Wood and McPherson that directly refute the racialist, ahistorical arguments Silverstein attempts to defend by superficially decrying these historians. Mackaman and North take up a critique of a similarly weak defense published in, of all places, the prestigious American Historical Review (AHR) on January 23, 2020. This time, the counsel for the 1619 Project defense is AHR editor Alex Lichtenstein. The reader will judge whether Lichtenstein, who is quoted at length and often in the essay, pays any more deference to standards of scholarship and responsible debate than Silverstein. But that a defense of the 1619 Project was mounted by the AHR at all is itself, as Mackaman and North say, a very troubling development [that] reveals the extent to which racialist mythology ... has been accepted, and even embraced, by a substantial section of the academic community as a legitimate basis for the teaching of American history. The six articles labeled Historical Commentary represent timely responses to events related to the publication of the 1619 Project, including defenses of the Founders, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., and an appreciation by Mackaman of American historian Bernard Bailyn, who died in 2020. It is important to recall here the demonstrations of the summer of 2020, which protested the brutal police murder of George Floyd and police violence generally. In these protests, which involved more Americans than any other demonstration in US history, the ruling class could see its worst nightmare: a multiracial, multiethnic expression of generalized anger by workers and youth. It was in the context of these demonstrations that, goaded by Democratic Party operatives like the New York Times and Washington D.C.s non-voting delegate to Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton, groups of people tore down, vandalized or demanded the removal of statues and monuments to Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and even abolitionists such as Hans Christian Heg. In essays titled Hands off the Monuments to Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Grant (Mackaman and Niemuth) and The Second Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Niemuth and North), the authors mount a compelling defense of these historical figures against the Times and the Democratic Party, who seek to confuse and disorient the democratic sentiments of masses of people entering into political struggle against the capitalist system and its repressive forces within the state Niemuth and North diagnose the historical significance of the attack on figures associated with the American Revolution and the Union cause in the Civil War: The purpose of lies about history, as Trotsky explained, is to conceal real social contradictions. In this case, the contradictions are those embedded in the staggering levels of social inequality produced by capitalism. These contradictions can be resolved on a progressive basis only through the methods of class struggle. Efforts to divert and sabotage that struggle by dissolving class identity into the miasma of racial identity lead inexorably in the direction of fascism. Ultimately, the only justification for the removal of statues of the Great Emancipator Lincoln, Union general and Reconstruction president Grant, and the abolitionist Heg, who died fighting for the Union at Chickamauga, is that they were white. But what of Jefferson and Washington, who, as everyone knows, themselves owned slaves? North directly addresses this challenge to the legacy of Jefferson, Washington and other revolutionary Founders in an essay titled July 4, 1776 in World History. Noting that Jeffersons personal ownership of slaves and his compromises with slavery represent the great irony and even tragedy of his life, North insists that these facts express in Jeffersons personal life the existing social conditions and contradictions of the world into which he was born. Taking to task the moralizing philistines of academia whose condemnations of Jefferson do not alter by one iota the revolutionary impact of the Declaration of Independence, North makes a critical point about historical thought: The incomplete character of the first stage of the American bourgeois-democratic revolution [italics in original] was determined by the existing objective conditionsand not simply those that existed in North America. ... The conditions for a decisive settlement with slavery did not yet exist. Nor would those conditions, economic and political, exist for another fourscore years. What is a statue, a memorial, of a man or woman? Must it be an idol, the icon of a deity or saint? A kind of moral superhero according to the tastes of the present? Such is the demand of the philistine, as North sees the matter. Rather we must see what the given historical figure memorialized made of the world they were given and what has flowed from their efforts. And therein, the past, like the present, must be understood in terms of class struggle: Only through the establishment of workers power, the ending of capitalism, and the building of a socialist society on a world scale can the scourge of racism and all forms of social oppression be overcome. And in this fight, the words and deeds of both Jefferson and Lincoln will continue to inspire. All that was historically progressive in their lifework lives on in the modern socialist movement. After a year of withering criticism by the WSWS, the Times itself appeared to splinter. This is the theme of the final section of the book, The Crisis of the New York Times 1619 Project. The articles chronicle the implosion of the credibility of the Times Project, from Hannah-Jones acceptance of sponsorship by Big Oil firm Shell, responsible for horrific crimes in Africa, to the revelation that the 1619 Project muzzled its own fact-checkers, to the Times secretly dropping its central claim: that 1619 was Americas true founding. By the autumn of 2020, the controversy boiled over on the pages of the Times itself. On October 9, 2020, Times opinion writer Bret Stephens, a conservative, penned a column titled The 1619 Chronicles, in which he quoted at length from the WSWS interview with James McPherson, going so far as to provide a link to the interview. As North and Mackaman point out in the book, Stephens concluded that the 1619 Project was a thesis in search of evidence. In the New York Times Magazine of October 16, 2020, Jake Silverstein attempted a defense of the 1619 Project in an essay titled On Recent Criticism of the 1619 Project. The criticism Silverstein referred to was that of the WSWS and of Stephens. In his essay, Silverstein backtracked by claiming that the central claim of the 1619 Project, that the true founding of the country took place in 1619 and not 1776, was merely a metaphor. The WSWS responded on October 23, with Mackaman and North identifying Silversteins essay as a convoluted lawyers argument that attempts to palm off historical falsification as merely minor matters of syntax, punctuation, and a somewhat careless use of metaphor. The books Afterword, Trumps 1776 Travesty, by WSWS writer Tom Carter, demonstrates the way in which the 1619 Project offers an opening to the fascist-minded far right to posture as defenders of Americas revolutionary heritage. In his close reading of the 1776 Report, which was prepared by a hand-picked commission that did not include a single professional historian, Carter documents the reactionary nature of the report. The real binding force of the nation, the 1776 Report claims, is what Carter identifies as an essentially fascistic insistence on the necessity of cultural and linguistic homogeneity. Carter sees the 1619 Project and the 1776 Report as two sides of the same ruling-class coin, neither side able to articulate the democratic legacy of the American Revolution and Civil War. As his pox on both their houses, Carter quotes Leon Trotsky to stirring effect: The bourgeoisie has shamefully betrayed all the traditions of its historical youth, and its present hirelings dishonor the graves of its ancestors and scoff at the ashes of its ideals. It is certain that The New York Times 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History: Essays and Interviews will find a wide audience. For its powerful explication of major themes related to the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the emergence of the working class, the book will be of interest to all readers of American history. For high school teachers and college professors, and their students, it is essential as an answer to the Times blatant historical falsifications. Most of all, it will be a crucial tool for American workers to fight off the attempt by the ruling class to impose and exploit racial divisions among them. A Tucson man has died and his girlfriend is in the hospital after they became stranded for several days while on a camping trip in Death Valley National Park, authorities said. Alexander Lofgren, 32, a military veteran who served in the war in Afghanistan and was a military adviser in the Tucson office of U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, died in the park, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office said Friday, April 9. Lofgren's girlfriend Emily Henkel, 27, a marketing coordinator for the Arizona Army National Guard, was found alive and airlifted from a remote area to a hospital. Her condition was not immediately available. The couple was declared missing Tuesday, April 6, after they failed to return as scheduled on Sunday, April 4, from a camping trip in challenging terrain in the national park named for its deadly summer heat and perilous landscapes. California authorities dispatched aircraft that located the couple midday Thursday, April 8, but could not determine their condition. An initial rescue attempt failed and a second was launched that evening. The couple was spotted by a search aircraft on a "very steep ledge" in a "very remote area" of the park, the sheriff said. The pair had three days worth of water left when they became stranded in a remote area with two flat tires, according to a note they left on their vehicle, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office said. After two days of searching hotels and backcountry campsites, authorities located their 2018 white Subaru Forester around noon April 8. The short note they left on their dashboard "Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days' worth of water" helped searchers zero in on the pair, it said. Rescuers initially attempted a "hoist operation" to reach the couple, but two team members who rappelled down were not able to reach them "due to the extreme location," the sheriff said. A technical team from Inyo Search and Rescue was expected to descend into the canyon in a second attempt late Thursday. The sheriff's office said Lofgren and Henkel were experienced campers. Lofgren is known for camping in remote areas at undesignated campgrounds and is believed to have had at least a day's worth of food with him, the sheriff said. This article is written by Carol Ann Alaimo from The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. Moscow, April 10 : The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Kiev's possible accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region and cause "irreversible consequences". At a weekly briefing on Friday, the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticised Kiev's stance on a possible military solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, reports Xinhua news agency. The Ukrainian authorities are massing troops and weaponry as well as calling up military reservists, she said. Zakharova also pointed to the unfolding "hysteria" of Ukrainian media where Russia is portrayed as a threat. "We call on the Kiev authorities to adopt a responsible approach and finally start fulfilling their obligations under the Minsk package of measures (on Donbas settlement)," she said, reiterating that this would lead to peace in Ukraine and directly in Donbas. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Donbas, which comprises the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, on Thursday to assess the situation on the ground amid escalating tensions in the region. "#NATO firmly supports #Ukraine's sovereignty & territorial integrity. We remain committed to our close partnership," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted on Tuesday after a phone conversation with Zelensky. "@NATO is the only way to end the war in #Donbass. Ukraine's MAP (Membership Action Plan) will be a real signal for #Russia," Zelensky then wrote on Twitter. The Victorian Government will hand over $500,000 to give a huge Hindu temple in Melbourne a major upgrade. The Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs, the biggest in the Souther Hemisphere, serves the area's vibrant Indian community They call it a space to 'connect and celebrate' with about 200,000 devotees visiting the holy site every year and plans to build a new multipurpose centre. Member for Carrum Sonya Kilkenny (second right) visited the temple s on March 31 Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs is the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere But although the all-clear has been given, Daniel Andrews' Labor government says it won't hand the funds over to the Hindu Society of Victoria until it sees the final plans. The handout is part of the state's push to breath new life into multicultural community facilities hard-hit by the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Victoria pledged $21 million in the 2020-21 budget for infrastructure projects to benefit minority groups across the state. Multicultural Affairs Minister Ros Spence and local MP Sonya Kilkenny toured the temple in bare feet last month in respect of the Hindu tradition. 'We're proud to support the construction of a new hall to support Victoria's growing Hindu community,' Mr Spence said. 'The temple is magnificent, both in its beauty and its purpose in helping Hindu Victorians come together. 'It is so important all Victorians have a sense of belonging and a place to connect with culture and traditions, and the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple is crucial to that work.' Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ros Spence and Member for Carrum Sonya Kilkenny toured the temple in bare feet last month in respect of the Hindu tradition Qualcomm's shortage of its Snapdragon 765 could leave Google no choice but to create its in-house chipset for its upcoming smartphones. Although this could seem like bad news, experts claimed that the chip shortage could help Google improve its mobile device's performance. Related Article: Google Accidentally Leaks Pixel Buds A's Image Through an Email: Other Details You Need to Know According to Android Central's latest report, Google is affected by the current hardware shortage since its Pixel 5A relies on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 SoC. The giant chip manufacturer's stock issues include cancellation of production, limited release, or delayed shipments. Because of these hardware problems, some of the Google Pixel fans are deciding to get the best budget phone they could find in the market. They could either choose the Pixel 4A 5G or other smartphones from other brands. What Google needs to do Since Qualcomm is unable to keep up with the demand of its partner companies for its high-end mid-range smartphone chips, tech experts claimed that Google needs to start its plans on how to build its own SoC. This was already done by Apple, which previously launched its first M1 MacBooks that are now using its in-house chip. Rumors stated that the current stock shortage of Qualcomm could continue since there are many smartphone manufacturers that are using its cheap phone chipset. These companies include Xiaomi, which currently has contracts with Qualcomm. Aside from creating its first in-house smartphone hardware, Google could also use MediaTek's chipsets for its upcoming flagships. Previously, the search engine giant already worked with MediaTek to improve the chip performance of its Android Go devices. However, the MediaTek-powered smartphones didn't become as popular as Google Pixel devices. Will there be a Google in-house phone SoC? There's a high chance that Google is already working on its own smartphone chipset. Rumors claimed that the tech giant manufacturer could release the previously leaked Whitechapel GS101 SoC. 9to5Google reported that the tech giant company could use the new Whitechapel chip to power its upcoming Pixel 6 flagships. This new hardware was also allegedly having a three-cluster design with two Cortex-A76 cores, four Cortex-A55 cores, and two Cortex-A78 cores. For more news updates about Google and its upcoming smartphone innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Google Wants to Have Its Own SoC Design; Claims That Custom Chip Could be the New Motherboard This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Giuliano de Leon 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NEW HAVEN Hours after Anika Noni Rose took to social media to ask for help finding her missing aunt, the actress said she had been found. But in a video posted to Twitter on Friday afternoon, Rose said her aunt, Diane Rose is not out of the woods and has been hospitalized. We dont know if she was attacked or fell I dont know, so if you are a praying person, please keep praying, Anika Noni Rose said in the video, posted just before 6:45 p.m. Almost four hours before, she reported her aunt missing over Twitter. She described her aunt as in her 70s and very small. Mother of one son who she loves dearly. Shes the aunt who took me on adventures just the two of us. She is deeply loved. Its been 24 hrs, she wrote. Authorities sent out a Silver Alert for Diane Rose in New Haven around 2:11 p.m. that afternoon. Anika Noni Rose, whose roles include the voice of Tiana in The Princess and the Frog, the first Disney animated film with a Black princess, thanked those who helped, offered prayers, as well as New Haven police and firefighters. She also thanked Tim Hammill, a Connecticut man she said put her in touch with his brother, a detective, within minutes of seeing her post. Im really hopeful and prayerful and greatful all at the same time, she said. Thank you. Reporter Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism. Washington, April 10 : Acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk has sought to not only land the first woman on the Moon but also the first person of colour under the Artemis programme. The Artemis III mission is expected to launch the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024. The Joe Biden-Kamala Harris Administration submitted to Congress on Friday the president's priorities for fiscal year 2022 discretionary spending. "The president's discretionary request increases NASA's ability to better understand Earth and further monitor and predict the impacts of climate change. It also gives us the necessary resources to continue advancing America's bipartisan Moon to Mars space exploration plan, including landing the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon under the Artemis programme," Jurczyk said in a statement on Friday. "This $24.7 billion funding request demonstrates the Biden Administration's commitment to NASA and its partners who have worked so hard this past year under difficult circumstances and achieved unprecedented success," he added. With a budget increase of more than 6 per cent from the previous year, NASA will continue to boost its ingenuity in exploration, technology, aeronautics and science. NASA has welcomed the nomination of former Democratic Senator Bill Nelson as its next administrator, as the US space agency works towards the key Artemis III mission. The Biden administration aims to Keep NASA on the path to landing the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon under the Artemis programme. "This goal aligns with President Biden's commitment to pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all," said the US space agency. NASA has completed a crucial hot fire test of the core stage of Space Launch System (SLS) rocket which is designed to power future Moon missions under the agency's Artemis programme. The successful test is a critical milestone ahead of the agency's Artemis I mission, which will send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a test flight around the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for future Artemis missions with astronauts. I aint gonna tell you to go rehab, Stewart assured her. You aint got to go nowhere. I aint trying to make you stop doing nothing that you doing. I just want you to call me cus I want you to talk to me. Cus I want you to know that there is somebody that care about you. ... You can call me and say, Ms. Brenda, Im OK. Just call me I aint gonna be shocked. And Im not gonna judge you. New Delhi: A 'Tika Utsav' or vaccine festival will be marked in the country from April 11-14 at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been announced with an aim to inoculate maximum number of eligible people against COVID-19 amid a surge in cases. Several states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are gearing up with appeals being made for eligible people to get themselves innoculated during the 'Tika Utsav'. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also issued an appeal to the people of his state to get vaccinated in large numbers during the 'Tika Utsav'. On Saturday, the health ministry said that India is the fastest nation to administer 100 million doses in 85 days. The US took 89 days to administer 10 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine, while China took 102 days to cross the same number, it said. The Prime Minister's Office also tweeted a chart showing India as the fastest country to reach this vaccination milestone, calling it "strengthening efforts to ensure a healthy and COVID-19 free India". Strengthening the efforts to ensure a healthy and COVID-19 free India. pic.twitter.com/A2cQ22pxEf PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 10, 2021 In his interaction with chief ministers to discuss the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi had urged them to focus on vaccinating all those who are above 45 years in age in high caseload districts. "Sometimes, it helps in changing the atmosphere. The birth anniversary of Jyotiba Phule is on April 11 and on April 14, there is the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb. Can we organise a 'Tika Utsav: or vaccine festival and create an atmosphere of 'Tika Utsav'?" he had said, according to news agency PTI. "We should vaccinate as many eligible people through a special campaign and decide on zero wastage. If there is zero wastage in four days during 'Tika Utsav', it will also increase our vaccination capacity," PM Modi had said. He has also called for making optimum utilisation of vaccination capacity. "Let's see how we can mobilise things from April 11 to 14 and there will be satisfaction of achievement. It will greatly help in changing the situation. I have also told the Indian government to provide as many vaccine doses as possible," he said. This should be our endeavour to vaccinate maximum eligible people during the 'Tika Utsav', Modi had asserted. The daily count of positive cases reached new record highs in the last few days despite having dipped to about 20,000 a few weeks back. While some states have flagged a "shortage" of vaccine doses, the Centre has maintained that a sufficient quantity of the jabs have been allocated to all the states and that many of them have been unable to inoculate all eligible beneficiaries. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV As result of shelling, Ukrainian soldier wounded in Donbas on Saturday task force One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in Donbas on Saturday as a result of shelling by Russia-occupation forces, the Skhid (East) task force said. "The fighter was promptly provided with first aid and was sent to a hospital. The state of health of the defender is moderate," the Skhid task force said on Facebook on Saturday. The OSCE representatives were informed about the actions of Russia-occupation forces. Several thousand people protested in Belgrade on April 10th in front of the Serbian Parliament to demand a more vigorous government response to environmental damage caused by industries and pollution due to aging power plants and water systems. The protest was organized by more than 60 environmental organizations and movements, RFE/RL's Balkan Service reported. Ahead of the protest, the organizations signed a proclamation addressed to the authorities with 13 demands. Among them are the preservation of rivers and the suspension of small hydroelectric power plant projects. The organizations are also demanding that the government find solutions to the problem of air pollution and measures to protect forests and green areas. Speakers at the event, which organizers called an "eco uprising," said Serbia needs development, but not the kind that causes pollution and leads to deforestation. "This is our country!" said Aleksandar Jovanovic, one of the protest leaders. "You are all welcome -- the Russians and Chinese, Americans. But under one condition: there must be no poisoning of our children." The protest also opposed new mining projects, including a plan to mine lithium in western Serbia, which environmentalists fear will destroy natural habitats. After the speeches, protesters marched through central Belgrade. People from several towns in Serbia carried banners with messages such as, "Young people are leaving Serbia because they cannot breathe," "Cut corruption and crime, not forests!," and "Stop killing our rivers and nature." The protest, which took place despite restrictions to control the spread of the coronavirus, was also attended by green activists from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, who emphasized the importance of unity across the Balkans and called on people not to allow governments to divide them. The pan-Balkan association of various environmental movements began four years ago, as part of the fight against the construction of small hydroelectric power plants in protected areas. According to the Serbian Ministry of Environmental Protection, by the end of 2019 more than 100 small hydroelectric power plants had been built, including 18 in protected areas. The problem of excessive air pollution in 14 cities and municipalities in Serbia has also been raised by the groups that protested in Belgrade. In most of these cities the limits on values of suspended particles have been exceeded, according to the European Environmental Protection Agencys 2019 report. Much of the air pollution comes from outdated coal power plants, but activists also accused Serbian authorities of turning a blind eye to pollution generated by foreign-funded projects. Organizers of the protest also expressed concerns about drinking water. The Institute for Public Health noted in 2019 that 50 water supply systems in urban areas have faulty drinking water. Hours before the demonstration the Ministry of Environmental Protection insisted that the government has launched projects aimed at finding long-term solutions to pollution. Environment Minister Irena Vujovic described the protest as political, saying organizers wanted to make "quick political gains" rather than work to solve problems. With reporting by Gordana Cosic of RFE/RLs Balkan Service, Reuters, AP, and dpa Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has said that hospitals in Punjab have only 5 days of COVID-19 vaccine stock left. Singh also mentioned that despite having a slow start, Punjab has inoculated more than 16 lakh persons, at an average of 85,000-90,000 per day. Singh said during his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on COVID-19 situation, "Punjab left with only five days of supply (5.7 lakh Covid vaccine doses) at the current levels of vaccinating 85,000-90,000 persons a day. ID the state is to meet its target of 2 lakh vaccines a day, then its current supplies will last only three days." Singh said that Punjab has a farmer population and the people of the state are against the government's stand on farm laws, which has led to slowdown of the vaccination drive. Punjab is, however, not the only state to report shortage of coronavirus vaccines. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha have also reported massive shortages. Also read: Private vaccination centres in Mumbai to remain shut till Monday; govt ones to operate COVID-19 VACCINE SHORTAGE IN MAHARASHTRA Vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus will be conducted only in government centres on Saturday and Sunday in Mumbai. India's richest municipal corporation Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that private vaccination centres will reopen once more COVID-19 vaccine doses are available. India's financial capital has 71 private COVID-19 vaccination centres and 49 vaccination centers. Almost 90 vaccination centres including 71 private centres were shut down on Friday. Lok Sabha MP from Baramati Supriya Sule tweeted about how Punekars could not get vaccinated against the contagion due to shortages and urged the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to help with the situation. 109 centers remained shut today because they had no stock of vaccines.Our momentum may be lost due to lack of stock,we remain determined to vaccinate every consenting person to save lives,to break the chain of infection and to get our economy back on its feet at the earliest..2/3 Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) April 7, 2021 Requesting Hon. @drharshvardhan Ji to kindly help us with the COVID 19 Vaccines..3/3 Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) April 7, 2021 COVID-19 VACCINE SHORTAGE IN RAJASTHAN Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi informing him about the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines. Gehlot also sought 30 lakh doses to continue the vaccination drive. He further claimed "the present stock of vaccines in Rajasthan will finish in the next two days". According to this letter, the Rajasthan government has planned to increase the vaccination coverage to 5 lakh people per day and aims for maximum inoculation of people in 45 year-old age group. Also read: Maharashtra closes 109 centres, Odisha 700 due to vaccine 'shortage' COVID-19 VACCINE SHORTAGE IN ODISHA Earlier this week, Odisha Health Minister NK Das wrote a letter to Dr Harsh Vardhan informing him that the state has merely 5.34 lakh Covishield doses, which can last for two days. He also mentioned that the state government had to shut down nearly 700 vaccination centres out of over 1400 functional sites. COVID-19 VACCINATION SHORTAGE IN UTTAR PRADESH Various private hospitals in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad put up notices that read "Vaccine out of stock". These hospitals have been unable to conduct vaccination drive since April 5, i.e., Monday. Hospitals have even asked people to dial them before they arrive for getting the life-saving jab. Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has also alleged in a letter to all the Congress CMs, Rahul Gandhi and other party members that the Centre has mismanaged the COVID-19 situation. She wrote, "The Modi government has mismanaged the situation-- exported vaccine and allowed a shortage to be created in India." Edited by Mehak Agarwal Also read: Ghaziabad hospitals post 'Vaccines Out Of Stock' notice at gates Police have been attacked with missiles and a car was set on fire as small pockets of unrest flared again in Northern Ireland. PSNI officers have attended the scene at Tiger Bay, a loyalist area in north Belfast with riot vans and police dogs in tow. Some officers have come under attack, with missiles such as stones and bottles thrown at them, and reports of petrol bombs being used. There is a heavy police presence in the area, with reports that stones were also thrown at police in the nearby, nationalist area New Lodge. PSNI Chief Superintendent Muir Clarke said: We would appeal for calm in the area and ask anyone who has any influence in communities, please use that influence to ensure young people do not get caught up in criminality and that they are kept safe and away from harm tonight. There were sporadic incidents of unrest in Northern Ireland on Friday evening, with reports of a road blocked off with a barricade which was then set alight in Coleraine, Londonderry. Loyalist leaders had urged the community not to participate in protests on Friday after the death of Prince Phillip. Signs posted in Lanark Way, the scene of much of the unrest of recent days, read: We would ask all PUL (Protestant, Unionist, Loyalist) protests are postponed as a mark of respect to the Queen and the Royal Family. The continued opposition to the NI protocol and all other injustices against the PUL community will take place again after the period of mourning. Meanwhile, two men are due to appear in court on Saturday after being charged charged in connection with the rioting that took place in Lanark Way, west Belfast on Thursday night. Detectives investigating the disorder have charged a 24-year-old man and a 32-year-old man with riot. The 32-year-old was also charged with possession of a petrol bomb in suspicious circumstances. They are due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court at around 10.30am. As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service. Earlier, deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill voiced her concern that the violence of recent days will continue throughout the weekend. The Sinn Fein vice president said: Im worried about the weekend ahead. We all need to be very careful and very consciously try to do all we can to prevent this happening. I hope and I urge all young people to not engage, do not allow yourself to be used or manipulated in any sort of way, and to stay off the streets, stay home and stay safe. She added: I think theres a strong role here for the two governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement. I made that point to (Secretary of State) Brandon Lewis this morning. Its really, really important that we stand shoulder to shoulder and say no to this type of criminal behaviour, and that we dont allow our children to be sucked in by criminal gangs who are orchestrating some of what we see on our streets. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk scored a decisive win at last years state election, but Labors success has not been reflected at the federal level. Coalition parties have claimed the majority of Queensland seats in 10 of the past 15 federal elections. Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles has accused the Commonwealth of picking fights over the vaccine as a distraction from other issues. Credit:Matt Dennien Since Paul Keating in 1993, the only Labor leader who secured a majority in the state was Queenslander Kevin Rudd in 2007. Mr Rudd said Queensland voters put their trust in Ms Palaszczuk and Mr Morrison during the pandemic. But Morrison has now abused that trust, the former prime minister said. We have seen that through his efforts to spin his way through the circus of sleaze enveloping his government. Queenslanders think there is something really off about that. But top of mind is Morrisons front of the queue vaccination strategy, which is actually ranked around 85th in the world. Instead of fronting up to the people and telling them the truth, he keeps trying to blame others, the states or the Europeans. So theres a lot of opportunity for Albo [Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese] to make gains in Queensland. There is room to build support among sole traders, small business owners and people of religious faith, whom Morrison takes completely for granted. Enter Mr Miles, the 43-year-old leader of Queensland Labors powerful Left faction with an affinity for props and stunts at press conferences. The premier-in-waiting was elected to the Queensland Parliament in 2015 and became environment minister in his first term. He shot up the ranks to become Deputy Premier last year after the political implosion of his predecessor, Jackie Trad. Often with a schoolboy-esque grin, Mr Miles revels in the cut and thrust of politics and has an innate ability to get under the skin of senior Morrison ministers. A federal Labor leader has not carried Queensland since the states own Kevin Rudd in 2007. Credit:Paul Harris His recent hits include filming himself shredding a quarantine bill from the NSW government, calling Agriculture Minister David Littleproud 2021s April Fool and accusing Treasurer Josh Frydenberg of lying about Queenslands failed bid for additional Australian Defence Force support at the borders. Mr Frydenberg hit back, saying Mr Miles was a stumbling, bumbling lightweight that no ones ever heard of. Defence Minister Peter Dutton, one of Mr Miles favourite conservatives to provoke, has described Queenslands Deputy Premier as a child dressed up as an adult who would be the next premier of Queensland. Mr Miles advised him to eat some chocolate and read a book on Easter Sunday after Mr Dutton criticised greater Brisbanes three-day lockdown. Professor Mickel said Mr Miles attacks on the Morrison government had to be coming from the top down. If they are not, it is a chaotic government, he said. It is the same strategy Morrison is using by getting a federal minister to go out and beat on her [Palaszczuk]. Then the leaders can come in and say, well, he should not have gone that far, I would not have said that. Ms Palaszczuk can remain above the fray so she can push proposals at the national cabinet, including establishing a quarantine hub for returning travellers at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. The Commonwealth is now scrambling to recalibrate the nations COVID-19 vaccine rollout program after revised health advice recommended under-50s be administered Pfizer, rather than AstraZeneca, doses. Ms Palaszczuk says she does not know how the new advice will affect the timing of Queenslands vaccine rollout. A senior Queensland Labor insider, who was not authorised to speak on behalf of the party, said the already delayed rollout would help destabilise the Coalition in Queensland. When you think about it, the states have done most of the heavy political lifting during the pandemic, they said. Quarantining people and closing borders, that all came down to the states. This is really Morrisons first major test of the pandemic, and it is not going so well. It is a balance though, because you do not want to destroy peoples confidence in the rollout. Another senior ALP figure said Mr Morrisons handling of a series of sexual harassment and assault allegations had put chinks in his armour. The shine is coming off him and that needs to continue, they said. People are going to be looking at whether they trust him, and I think how he fares over the next few months with the vaccine rollout will be judged against the state premiers, and everyone knows they have done a good job. Mr Miles raised the federal governments hackles when he accused it of using the vaccine rollout to distract Australians from allegations of sexual harassment and assault at Parliament House. The federal government has blamed states for keeping vials of vaccine stashed away. Queensland has defended its vaccine hoarding, saying it does not trust the consistency of supply from the Commonwealth. Late last month, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard demanded an apology from the federal government for blaming the states for the slow delivery. In the past week, Ms Palaszczuk wanted to remind everyone three times in one press conference that Queensland Health was only responsible for 30 per cent of the vaccine rollout, with the rest of the responsibility falling to the federal government. Queenslands LNP leader, David Crisafulli, said Mr Miles was trying to morph into this role of being the attack dog but it doesnt work for you, mate, because you dont have the strength or the intellectual capacity to do it. We are increasingly becoming concerned with the vaccine rollout, the messaging, the prioritisation and the squabbles between Canberra and Brisbane, Mr Crisafulli said. Quite frankly, its got to stop. But Professor Mickel said the Queensland Premiers successful re-election campaign was helped along by a series of squabbles with Mr Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian over border closures. Her Queensland first approach proved politically astute. Navy veteran Alex Murillo, 43, a former aircraft mechanic, served in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Haifa during his nearly three years of service. "I just wanted to make my family proud. I wanted to serve my country," Murillo said. His parents brought him to the U.S. from Nogales, Mexico, as an infant. He grew up in Phoenix. After he left the Navy in 2000, Murillo struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and adjusting to civilian life. He pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in 2009 and, as a result, was deported in 2011. "The whole time I was thinking, like, man, I hope they stop this bus. I was praying; I had hoped that they would stop the bus and let me out. But no, they deported me, man," Murillo said. He is one of hundreds of deported veterans, many of them from Mexico, who are living in legal limbo after serving the U.S. in uniform. They're hoping that, after pleas for return found little traction during the Trump administration, President Joe Biden will be the one to bring them back to the country they consider home. Many of those living in exile view Biden favorably and hope that his commitment to service members, coupled with his late son Beau's military service, may lead him to repatriate deported veterans. The Biden administration has already said that veteran deportations will be reviewed, but advocates cite concerns that the review won't go back far enough or include all deported veterans. At least 250 veterans were deported or in deportation proceedings between 2013 and 2018, according to a Government Accountability Office report. Cesar Lopez Nunez, founder of Unified U.S. Deported Veterans, estimates there may be at least 1,000 deported veterans in Mexico alone. Military Naturalization Margaret Stock, an immigration lawyer and retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, said former President Donald Trump's policies aimed to prevent service members from filing applications for citizenship, and the administration denied many applications that were filed. "There was a giant drop-off in applications by military personnel, and a giant drop-off in the approvals of applications by military personnel as a result of these policies," she said at a symposium on deported veterans hosted by the University of Southern California Gould Law School and the Center for Law and Military Policy. "We're seeing an uptick again right now, but that's because of litigation." Stock said the type of discharge service members receive can complicate the naturalization process, since only members who receive an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions may naturalize through their military service. In 2020, there were less than half as many military naturalizations compared with 2016, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Troops often believe that they will have an expedited path to citizenship, stemming from a post-9/11 executive order from the Bush administration, but changes under the Trump administration have made it more difficult for noncitizens in the military to get citizenship. I was a lawful permanent resident during and after my military service, but I failed to naturalize in part because I received no information about the process to naturalize from the military or anywhere else, Hector Barajas-Varela, director and founder of the Deported Veterans Support House, said during his testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship in Oct. 2019. There was no program to encourage noncitizens in the military to ensure they became U.S. citizens. I do not recall receiving any information about my eligibility for naturalization after I separated from the military. Less than one-third of the 87 veterans (30%) who were ordered deported and studied in the GAOs report had applied for naturalization with USCIS. Policy changes are also complicated by the deported veterans histories. Since many of the deported veterans were brought to the U.S. as young children, they join the military to serve their country, not to acquire citizenship. They already identify as Americans. I mean, being American, it's just part of my identity. It's not something you're gonna take away, it's who I am, Murillo said. It's where I grew up. It's all my experiences back home. I mean, it's all the people I've known. It's the way that I grew up in America. I mean, you're not going to ever take that away from me. I didn't grow up anywhere else. I didn't fight for anyone else. I didn't swear my allegiance to anywhere else. Many noncitizens in the military are unaware of their naturalization options or are given incorrect information, said Marine veteran Lopez Nunez, who served as a bulk fuel specialist. "I wanted to protect, I wanted to serve, and citizenship was the last thing on my mind," he said. "And when I went back to, to my command, and I asked about that, and they're like, 'Oh, you're already a Marine; you don't need a citizenship.'" The lack of clear information and resources about the path to citizenship for troops is a major concern for advocates. "I've heard people say it's a personal responsibility," Barajas-Varela said. "And it is, but It's also like taking care of your soldiers. I've heard people say, well, we're not there to hold your hand. Yeah, we hold your hand on how to fire a rifle and how to treat a wound and how to march, so why not make sure that you take care of somebody that potentially might die in Vietnam or Afghanistan or in a training accident?" Punished for Self-Medicating Legislative changes in 1996 under the Clinton administration significantly lowered the bar for what crimes are considered aggravated felonies, a term specific to immigration law. Aggravated felonies under immigration law are not necessarily considered aggravated or felonies under criminal law, but they permanently bar people from establishing good moral character for naturalization purposes. Aggravated felonies range widely, from murder or sexual abuse of a minor to theft and gambling charges that carry at least a one-year prison sentence, according to USCIS. Stock said most veterans would be able to naturalize, absent criminal convictions that are considered aggravated felonies, calling them "the most significant bar today for most veterans." Drug-related convictions were most common for those who were "ordered removed, accounting for more than one-third of veterans studied (approximately 37%), according to data from the GAO. Robert Vivar, co-director of the Unified U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center, said many deported veterans he knows enlisted as soon as they graduated from high school as "wholesome, All-American kids," but have difficulty adjusting to civilian life after they leave the military and turn to alcohol and marijuana to self-medicate. "Even before you leave the military, while in military, the self-medicating is already taking place," Vivar said. "On many occasions, you're asked to go to another country ... and on many occasions, you do kill, or you see your buddies that you went through basic training cut down right in front of you. This is a tremendous amount of trauma that is being built up within that person." Army veteran Ivan Ocon, 43, had served for seven years before returning from a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Ocon was assigned to funeral detail, which he had done earlier. In the previous four-month assignment, he attended the funerals and burials of nine soldiers. He couldn't do it again, he said, and received a general discharge under honorable conditions. After aiding and abetting a kidnapping and brandishing a weapon convictions stemming from a drug deal, Ocon was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but he was released after nine years for good conduct. Then, he was deported. Ocon, a co-director of the Deported Veterans Support House in Juarez, said he feels like being deported after his incarceration is "double jeopardy." "People do make mistakes, and one mistake shouldn't define the rest of your life," he said. 'God Bless Our Troops' Though administration officials confirmed in February that Biden will review veteran deportation, some worry that he may review only deportations that occurred during the Trump administration, not all of them. "We're very skeptical at this point, because what we have heard is that the only cases that they're interested at this time in reviewing are those cases of veterans and family members that were deported under the Trump administration, Vivar said. Under the Trump administration is very few, compared to how many were deported under Obama and his administration, coupled with the Bush administration's and the Clinton administration. So if he's only going to review and give access to citizenship to those veterans deported under Trump, that's not acceptable." In a statement, a White House spokesperson confirmed that Biden will review deportations of veterans and their family members. "As a military parent, President Biden knows the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make for our country each and every day. The administration's immigration enforcement will focus on those who are national security and public safety threats, not military families, service members or veterans. The federal government in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security will take further review of removals of veterans and their family members." Several bills that have been reintroduced in Congress recently could help deported military veterans, including the Veteran Deportation Prevention and Reform Act and the New Way Forward Act. The Veteran Deportation Prevention and Reform Act, reintroduced by Democratic Reps. Juan Vargas and Mark Takano of California and Raul Grijavla of Arizona and backed by 36 co-sponsors, would prevent deportation of noncitizen veterans and allow opportunities for noncitizen members of the military and their families. Under the New Way Forward Act, reintroduced by Democratic Reps. Jesus Garcia of Illinois, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, and Karen Bass of California and backed by 41 co-sponsors, the U.S. attorney general could reconsider deportations that happened after April 24, 1996. For some deported veterans, legislation is a hopeful sign that their fight to return to the U.S. is not over. We're gonna push for everything. We're gonna push for the executive order, that's gonna get us home, we're gonna push for a new way forward, that will get us home. And for myself, I am going to push for a presidential pardon for myself for the cannabis charge, and that would get me home, Murillo said. So we're fighting, we're fighting on all fronts." But Lopez Nunez is skeptical. "Legislation has been submitted for the last 22 years and nothing's happened, so I really have very little confidence and in Congress ... to bring all deported veterans home," Lopez Nunez said. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., confirmed that the Biden administration would review veteran deportations. "This is something that I deal directly with the president on," she said during the symposium. "I've let them know that this is a priority for me, so they're moving forward on it." Duckworth also confirmed that she will reintroduce the Veterans Visa and Protection Act. "It is high on my agenda, and I'm going to continue to reintroduce those pieces of legislation," she said. "I will tell you that the Biden administration is very friendly to them. Now that we have a majority in the Senate and a majority in the House, I think we're going to be able to get some of these things passed." The bill would require the secretary of Homeland Security to create a visa program that would allow deported veterans to return as lawful permanent residents. "During the campaign, Biden promised to bring all deported veterans back to the United States," said Jose Francisco Lopez, an Army veteran and father of five who was deported to Mexico for attempting to possess and distribute cocaine. "But, as we know, oftentimes politicians make promises and don't keep any of them. I hope that he will keep his promise and bring us back home to our families." A Grateful Nation Latinos have played a critical role in the U.S. military, Tomas Summers Sandoval said. Summers Sandoval, who is writing a book based on Latino Vietnam veterans' oral histories, is an associate professor of history and Chicanx-Latinx at Pomona College. "The U.S. military has often been welcoming of immigrant populations, and it's often been a way for those immigrants to become more assimilated and integrated into the U.S.," Summers Sandoval said. "Latinos have been a part of every major war that the United States has been involved in from the Revolutionary War forward." Barajas-Varela, 44, is one of the few deported U.S. veterans to be allowed to return. After years of going through the legal process, then-California Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned Barajas-Varela, who was convicted of shooting at an occupied vehicle after pleading no contest. Barajas-Varela became a citizen on April 13, 2018. "I can go home whenever. ... I can visit my daughter whenever I want to," Barajas-Varela said. "I'm ready to start school, hopefully, and I really got to build a relationship with my daughter." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) The Philippines recorded nearly 200 new cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant first detected in South Africa, as well as 190 cases from the other variants present in the country, the Department of Health announced on Saturday. The DOH said of the 192 cases of the B.1.351 variant from South Africa, one of them is a returning overseas Filipino, 143 are local cases, while 48 are still under verification on whether they are local or from abroad. Three of the infected patients have died, two are active or currently battling the disease, and 187 have recovered. Experts earlier warned that the B.1.351 variant could affect the efficacy of some vaccines such as AstraZeneca's. The agency also reported 170 new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant from the United Kingdom. Eight are returning overseas Filipinos, 119 are local, while 43 are under verification. Two of the patients have died and the remaining 168 have recovered. On the P.3 variant first detected in the country, the DOH found 19 new cases. Two are overseas Filipinos, ten are local cases, while seven are being verified. All of these patients have recovered. Meanwhile, there was a lone new case of the P.1 variant first found in Brazil. The patient lives in the Soccsksargen region and is still reportedly sick, according to the DOH. Along with the Philippine Genome Center and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health, the department said it found the variants among two batches of samples 25 samples sequenced on March 28, and 1,336 samples sequenced between March 28 and April 8. The Philippines has been tallying record-breaking COVID-19 infections the past month, forcing Metro Manila and nearby provinces into lockdown. Health officials have blamed the spread of the more transmissible variants and increased mobility of the public due to eased restrictions for the surge. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Faith leaders on Staten Island have been making examples of themselves by getting vaccinated, and sharing it publicly, to help dispel myths and address vaccine hesitancy in their communities. The Rev. Karen Jackson, co-chair of Staten Island Inter-Religious Leadership and director of community initiatives at Project Hospitality, recorded herself getting vaccinated and uploaded it to the groups YouTube Channel. Jackson shared a photo of her holding a sign that said, I got vaccinated because I love my neighbors. Nearly one dozen other clergy members shared videos of themselves getting vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 on the Staten Island Inter-Religious Leaderships YouTube channel. Pastor Dr. Demetrius Carolina, Senior Pastor at First Central Baptist Church, said he wanted to serve as an example to a very, very skeptical community who he loves intently. Faith leaders have been working with the city and state to organize vaccination pop-ups at respective houses of worship, many in Black and brown communities, and areas hardest hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Theyve participated in local and national Zoom calls with clergy, discussing strategies and concerns of community members. The good news is that its been working. It has changed measurably, Carolina told the Advance/SILive.com. Black and brown folks who were previously against it are now seeking vaccinations. According to city data, 21% of Black New York City residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of April 9. On Staten Island, 22% of Black residents received at least one dose and 13% have been fully vaccinated. CULTURAL, FAITH COMPETENCY HELPS There is still reluctance, though; not everybody believes the vaccine will work, there are rumors of infertility and other myths, and deep-rooted mistrust in the government and health system. There is still some hesitancy, and rightly so, but people are seeing that others who were vaccinated are still here. Theyre also seeing a rainbow, all hues of people, get vaccinated, he said. Personal testimonies have proven to be effective in combating hesitancy, they agreed. I think vaccine hesitancy is diminishing as time progresses. I think it makes a big difference when a trusted messenger like a clergy person shares why [they got vaccinated], and even mentions if its a faith-based reason, Jackson said. Carolina said he took his mother for both of her vaccine appointments. And she was one of the people who didnt want it, Carolina said. Cultural, faith, and spiritual competency has, in part, helped relay important information to community members and congregants. When respected leaders speak to their congregations it goes further than it would from an outsider. CITY COULD BE DOING MORE Although more Black and brown Staten Islanders and city residents are getting vaccinated at the vaccination efforts continues, many neighborhoods around the borough are underrepresented and underserved. Both Jackson and Carolina agree that city could and should be doing more to reach vulnerable and hesitant populations. The first New Yorker to be vaccinated was a Black nurse and many [vaccination] ads were using people of color. I think I understood the meaning behind that, but I think it undermined [the citys cause], Carolina said. The sole or primary use of Black and brown individuals could be seen as reminiscent of the Tuskegee Study. Conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and the United States Public Health Service, the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male was conducted between 1932 and 1972. Black males were told they were being treated for bad blood and syphilis and incentivized with the promise of free health care to participate. Instead, the men received no treatment, were given experimental medications and procedures and were prevented from receiving additional medical care. Nearly half of the participants died. I honestly believe the city has good intentions; they are admirable to say the least but I dont know that the efforts have been as successful as the intent, Carolina said. Mayor Bill de Blasio and the citys Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity began to address the inequities, identifying 33 neighborhoods that were hardest-hit by COVID-19. On Staten Island, St. George, Port Richmond, and Stapleton were identified. The taskforce said it would ensure the vaccine would be distributed equally within those neighborhoods. Those 33 neighborhoods would be the first to have vaccination hubs and the city would partner with 200 community-based organizations (CBOs) and faith-based organizations to educate community members on the importance of getting vaccinated, dispel myths surrounding the vaccine, and provide education and resources. The Vaccine for All campaign would build off of the Taskforce and set of commitments to ensure the vaccine is accessible to priority populations, with the obligation to continually solicit feedback from hardest-hit neighborhoods throughout the distribution process. There are a number of churches that could serve as pop-up vaccination sites that unfortunately have been missed and Im not certain as to why, Carolina said. Jackson agreed, and said shed like to see initiatives from the city to increase access to not only vaccination sites but scheduling appointments and further working to dispel myths. Until then, theres a role for community members and people of faith to play. I think people of faith can help close that digital divide, those of us who have the time can help with appointments, maybe people who are bilingual, people who have internet access, people who can help with transport, Jackson said. FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER. Follows link to a risk of blood clotting for people aged in this younger bracket Scott Morrison is imploring Australians aged over 50 to keep getting the AstraZeneca vaccine - declaring his own mother is already booked in to get her jab. The government also wants Pfizer to speed up the distribution of its vaccine across the nation after it was revealed by health experts AstraZeneca has been linked to a risk of blood clotting for people under 50. 'My mum is getting it (shot) in a couple of weeks,' the prime minister said. 'She told me she is booked in and she is looking forward to having her AstraZeneca vaccine... she was pretty happy for me to tell people about that.' Scott Morrison is imploring Australians aged over 50 to keep getting the AstraZeneca vaccine - before declaring his own mother is already booked in to get her jab Health experts have recommended not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 50 because of possible blood clot side effect (stock image) Mr Morrison said for those over 50, there was 'strong encouragement to be taking this AstraZeneca vaccine which we discussed today to ensure that we can continue down the path of the vaccination rollout'. 'The goal here is to protect the most vulnerable in our community, If we want to treat Covid-19 like the flu then we need to ensure that we're vaccinating those in our community who are most vulnerable,' he said. Mr Morrison said an additional 20 million Pfizer doses will be readily available by September. 'We will obviously be doing everything we can to seek to move that forward where we can but that is very welcome news,' he said. The government has secured contracts for 170 million vaccine doses, which include 53.8 million of AstraZeneca. With the Morrison Government attracting criticism over the slowness of the vaccine rollout, figures released on Friday revealed 1.08 million doses have been successfully administered. In a state by state breakdown, NSW is leading the way with 146,724 vaccines, fractionally more than Victoria (137,320). After health supremos recommended not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 50 because of possible blood clots, the domino effect will see the immunisation program unlikely to be completed until next year. This is well behind the Morrison government's forecasted October 2020 target. Mr Morrison refused to confirm whether all Australians would be offered at least one dose by Christmas. 'We are not in a position at the moment to reconfirm a timetable,' he told reporters in Canberra on Friday. The domino effect after health experts declared AstraZeneca could result in blood clots for those aged under 50 will slow down the immunisation program in Australia (stock image) The latest delay is likely to have major implications for ongoing restrictions - including international travel and social distancing measures. Just 870,000 doses of the initial 20 million Pfizer jabs have arrived in the country since February. Health Minister Greg Hunt said supply rates would be stepped up significantly in coming months, but declined to reveal exact numbers. 'With regards to phase 1B, this is the over 70s and the over 80s and the over 55 Indigenous Australians, all of those can continue to receive with the strongest medical advice the AstraZeneca,' he said. 'For those who may be immunocompromised or frontline workers who are under 50, then right now we are working with the states and territories and the medical authorities to revise that part of the program so as they have access to Pfizer. That will take time.' Labor has lambasted the government for failing to secure more deals, with other vaccines successfully being rolled out to millions of people worldwide. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese described the rollout as a 'debacle' and demanded certainty about when Australians would be vaccinated. 'This government has failed. This government couldn't run a choko vine up a back fence,' he told reporters in Sydney. The government's immunisation experts made the cautious call on AstraZeneca after blood clots mostly in younger people were linked to the vaccine. The reaction has appeared in four to six people for every million to receive the jab, with a 25 per cent death rate for people who develop the syndrome. A man in his 40s who was admitted to hospital in Melbourne is the only person in Australia to develop the problem so far. Professor Allen Cheng, the chair of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, said the risk of death from Covid increases for every 10 years of age. 'A 50-year-old is roughly 10 times more likely to die from Covid than a 30-year-old,' he said. 'So the benefit of getting vaccinated is much higher for older people than younger people.' The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office has opened a criminal investigation into Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli in response to a Chronicle investigation that has now documented five womens accounts that he sexually assaulted them between 2002 and 2019. But even if county prosecutors speak to the women and find evidence of wrongdoing, they may have limited ability to file charges. In California, where four of the women were allegedly assaulted, an intricate and evolving set of laws governs the time limit for bringing charges in sexual assault cases. Generally, the statute of limitations is 10 years for such crimes, meaning the clock may have run out on older accusations against Foppoli, a winemaker who has denied he sexually assaulted any of the women. Bay Area prosecutors who spoke with The Chronicle said they could not see a path to prosecute an allegation from New Years Day 2004, in which a former campaign volunteer who dated Foppoli said he raped her twice amid a breakup. They also saw no way to pursue a 2006 accusation by Sophia Williams, who said Foppoli groped her and tried to kiss her at his home. The latest woman to come forward, Shannon McCarthy, said she dated Foppoli for three years, during which he forced her to engage in oral copulation and once cuffed her to a bed and sexually abused her. Those allegations are the oldest, with many dating to 2002. A more recent allegation against Foppoli made by Rose Fumoso, who said the mayor groped her and kissed her without her consent in 2019 appears to fall within Californias time limit. Fumoso was an international intern at a local winery at the time, and has since move back to France. Older allegations, despite the legal restrictions against them, can be deployed as prior similars, which can help prosecutors establish the tendencies of a defendant while pursuing a court case based on a more recent incident, said Michael Cardoza, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor in San Francisco and Alameda counties. The court can allow evidence of another sexual offense by the defendant as propensity evidence, and if we have it, we always try to use it, said Sean Gallagher, a deputy district attorney in San Mateo County who used to supervise the sex crimes unit. Logic tells you that its a very relevant fact for a jury to consider. The two trials of comedian Bill Cosby illustrate the power of prior allegations to persuade a jury, said Wesley Oliver, a law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. During the first trial in 2016, a judge allowed one witness to testify about an an incident other than the alleged aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand. The jury failed to come to a verdict, resulting in a mistrial. Then, a reckoning on sexual assault gripped the nation. During the retrial, in 2018, the same judge allowed five witnesses, and the jury reached a guilty verdict. Whats different between the two trials? Oliver asked. The Me Too movement. He said attorneys and scholars have debated whether its fair to consider older accusations against defendants in sexual assault cases. Where prosecutors see an appropriate way to show a jury a defendants proclivity toward a crime, critics worry about prejudice. Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said Thursday that her office is reviewing the allegations published in The Chronicle. Through his attorney, Bethany Kristovich of Los Angeles, Foppoli categorically denied the first four womens allegations. The mayor did not immediately respond to accusations made by McCarthy, who spoke to The Chronicle Friday. Sexual assault and sexual misconduct are very serious issues, and Mr. Foppoli takes these allegations very seriously, Kristovich said. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Its a vending machine for brain food. Instead of potato chips and Pop-Tarts, Governor Bent Elementary Schools new vending machine dispenses books for students to add to their libraries. Its the very first book vending machine in the whole entire state of New Mexico, which is very, very cool, Principal Jonathan Saiz said on Friday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ But kids dont use traditional currency. They will cash in reading logs that show theyve read at least 20 minutes a night or 400 minutes a month for gold coins to make a purchase. Research shows reading 20 minutes a day develops language, brain development, strengthens family relationships, aids in understanding the world outside of their own and provides endless opportunities, Saiz said. Kymber McGuire, 11, said this is going to make her read more so she can get more tokens. Before I saw it, I was like, Whats that. But then I said, Wait. Its a book vending machine wow! the fifth grader said. Students could also score special prizes from the vending machine, such as a pizza party. Saiz said book fair and donation monies are used to fund the project, which has been in the works for months. Its new, different and out-of-the-box thinking, he said. Staff at the school helped design the outside, which says: Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. The principal hopes having it in the cafeteria will be a good way to grab students attention. Books inside were chosen based on popular picks from the book fair and will be refilled as needed. Ex-porn star turned Christian says pure thought life essential to combating lust Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian author and speaker Brittni De La Mora, who famously left the porn industry behind to become a Christian, has stressed the importance of having a pure thought life when it comes to combating lust. When I got out of the porn industry, I battled with a lot of lustful thoughts. I battled with the temptations of wanting to go back and use different kinds of drugs, Brittni shared on an episode of Lets Talk Purity, a show she co-hosts alongside her husband, Richard De La Mora. I had a lot that was on my mind, that first and foremost renewing gave me the strength to then go and cast things down. So if a lustful thought would play through my mind, whether I was driving in my car sitting in church, I would instantly this was the dialect in my mind I would say, I rebuke that thought in the name of Jesus, I am not going to think like that. And then I would say a prayer: Father, I'm sorry that I allowed that thought in my mind. Please forgive me for thinking that way and purify my mind, Lord. Help me to not think like that anymore. Now, Brittni said she no longer has hundreds of thousands impure and lustful thoughts running through her mind anymore on a daily basis. Casting thoughts down actually gives you authority over your thoughts ... if you practice this long enough, those thoughts just don't come into your mind as much or maybe not at all, she explained. LISTEN: Subscribe to the Lets Talk Purity podcast on Edifi When an impure thought emerges, Richard said its important to instantly cast it down. Don't wait a day to cast it down. Don't wait a week to cast it down. Cast it down right away, immediately, he said. I think oftentimes, the lust of anxieties, the fears of life stain our mind because we don't get to it right away. [Jesus is] the only person that can take the stains of our life away. It is not in our own doing; it's not in our own strength. It is us, versus persistently pursuing Jesus. What you allow you permit to grow, he added. Lust is eventually going to turn into adultery. Lust might eventually turn into you doing something that is not in alignment to your character, and for our godly character. ... Why? Because what you allow you permit to grow. This is why it's so imperative ... that every single day when these thoughts come because thoughts are going to come ... cast the thought down right away. Brittni was in the porn industry for seven years before embracing Christianity and leaving her former life behind. When I started reading the Bible, it erased from my mind every single lie that had been spoken over my life, every lie I believed, from the thoughts of the enemy sowed to me, she shared. It truly transformed my life because I started to see myself differently. No longer did I see myself as just some ex-porn star, drug addict, prostitute; I didn't see myself as those things. No, I started to see myself as a child of God. And when you see yourself as a child of God and an heir to the throne because you've renewed your mind, then your life is transformed because you see yourself differently. No longer are you going to tolerate habitual sin, no longer are you going to allow certain toxicities into your life because you don't see yourself as that way. On Feb. 20, 2016, Brittni married Richard, a pastor, and today the couple uses their platform to minister to people about the dangers of pornography while encouraging them to live a sexually pure life. I have talked to people who are just like, Man, I have watched pornography and now I'm trying to practice this pure life and I have these thoughts that are continuously playing in my mind, Brittni shared. The Bible teaches us that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. And so, if you're continuously focusing in on past images that you've seen or past sexual experiences that you've had, chances are you're going to fall into that same sin again. We want to really help you to conquer your thought life and make it pure by the power and the grace of God's Spirit so that you can have a fruitful life and a pure life, she said. Meditating on Gods Word instead of giving into damaging thoughts, the couple emphasized, will produce miracles. I want to challenge y'all today like Joshua, meditate on His Word, every single day, renew your mind in the Word of God, Richard said. Just don't read the Word, meditate on it. Dakota Buzzard, left, and his father, James Buzzard, were arrested in 2019 on murder charges. An industry-devised workaround to allow the parents of disabled children access to otherwise-locked Child Trust Fund and Junior Isa savings without having to go to court could be given legal backing under proposals put forward by peers. Former Tory cabinet minister Lord Young and Labour's Lord Blunkett have proposed an amendment to the Financial Services Bill which would enable child savings of up to 5,000 to be paid out to parents or guardians provided they can fill in a five-page form and get approval from a medical practitioner. The amendment, which will be debated on Monday, comes as peers across all parties have grown increasingly frustrated with the Government's seeming inaction on a problem which has already affected 8,000 disabled 18-year-olds since September 2020 and could affect as many as 160,000, according to savings industry estimates. Conservative peer Lord Young and his Labour counterpart David Blankett have proposed an amendment which would make it easier for parents to access disabled Child Trust Fund cash Lord Young told This is Money he 'hadn't seen any progress' from a working group set up by the Government last December to look at ways of enabling access to locked trust funds without parents having to go to the Court of Protection. Severely disabled children without the mental capacity to manage money are unable to hold a bank account, but Child Trust Funds and Junior Isas are automatically transferred into their name at 18, effectively locking away the money. Parents have to go through the courts in order to get access to the money on the child's behalf, despite the fact many are already allowed to manage their benefits. Although the Government waived Court of Protection fees in December, parents still face up to 59 pages of forms as well accompanying solicitors fees and up to a year of waiting if they want to get at the money. And hopes for a solution from the Government also appear to have been dashed by comments from Justice minister Lord Wolfson in Parliament last month which suggested it was a matter for the Court of Protection and its rules committee. While he said the court planned to look at its application process, the next meeting only takes place at the end of April. Justice minister Lord Wolfson told peers last month the problem of locked Child Trust Funds was a matter for the courts to fix, not the Government As a result, the Conservative and Labour peers have proposed to pass into legislation an alternative process devised by The Investing and Savings Alliance, which represents Child Trust Fund providers. It has been designed to make it easier for parents of those children with 5,000 or less in their trust funds, which covers 80 per cent of holders, to unlock the funds. TISA's Nigel Banfield said: 'Parents and guardians of these young adults will be able to access the savings by filling out a five-page application form and getting a medical practitioner to fill out a one-page document. This process cuts out a huge amount of time, unnecessary paperwork and complex legalities in comparison to the current Court of Protection route yet offers similar safeguards against adequate abuse. Nigel Banfield, TISA 'This process cuts out a huge amount of time, unnecessary paperwork and complex legalities in comparison to the current Court of Protection route yet offers similar safeguards against adequate abuse.' However the Government has refused to confirm that it complies with the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, which is designed to protect disabled and vulnerable children. It has insisted any changes cannot reduce safeguards created by the act. Instead, the proposed amendment states 'a body making a payment may not by making it incur any liability to the person who would otherwise be entitled to receive it', which would be the child whose money it is but who cannot access it. Lord Young said: 'What the Government said is we need to change the law, but what I have discovered is we can do that using an existing bill.' The former Tory Treasury minister described the amendment as 'essential' and added: 'My amendment is based on recommendations from the Law Commission and I hope the Government will respond sympathetically.' Get in touch: Are you the parent of a disabled child unable to access their Child Trust Fund or Junior Isa? Get in touch: George.nixon@thisismoney.co.uk He told This is Money he hoped the Government would accept the proposals and agree to amend the bill and the Mental Capacity Act themselves. Philip Warford, the managing director of Renaissance Legal, which has campaigned to change the law on Child Trust Fund access since 2016, said he 'wholeheartedly' supported the proposed amendment. However, he warned it 'would not solve the problem for everyone' and the 5,000 cut-off could create 'an uneven playing field' which would lead to some families still having to go to the Court of Protection. A Government spokesperson said: 'The Government wants to reduce the obstacles families face in supporting young people who lack mental capacity including waiving fees to access these funds. 'We continue to work with the judiciary and across government to improve this process further, making it more streamlined and accessible.' Funding will help meet remote work-fueled demand for property-wide internet coverage at hundreds of properties across the U.S. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GiGstreem, a premier in-building gigabit internet service provider, announced that it has secured a $50-million investment from Crestline Investors, Inc. (Crestline) to support the companys continued growth strategy in deploying its Ubiquitous WiFi platform to multifamily properties across major cities throughout the U.S. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210407005213/en/ A GiGstreem dish sitting on a New York City rooftop can broadcast 10 Gigabits of capacity to buildings within a two-mile radius. (Photo: Business Wire) Launched in 2017 and headquartered in New York, GiGstreem is a premier gigabit internet service provider that currently operates in multiple U.S. East and West Coast markets providing services to commercial business, residential communities and apartment buildings. With its state-of-the-art technology, GiGstreem offers entire buildings and communities continuous property-wide WiFi coverage on their own private network, which in turn facilitates the next generation of wireless and technology-enabled services including IoT, smart devices, in-building mobility (including CBRS and Connectivity-as-a-Service) and building management systems. Amid the pandemic, a growing number of consumers have recognized the limitations of the large providers' networks, and the resulting outages and complaints have cost countless lost hours in productivity and economic losses. Property owners have quickly come to value purpose-built networks like GiGstreem that are specifically designed to accommodate multiple streaming devices without any lag or buffer. As they roll out technologies designed to improve property operations, developers have prioritized providers who have mastered large-scale connectivity, which has made GiGstreem an increasingly attractive option. With GiGstreems plans to continue its growth strategy across major U.S. cities, the investment from Crestline provides GiGstreem with capital that will enable the firm to deploy the necessary infrastructure in order to satisfy its backlog of demand. The pandemic has created a major shift in how people utilize their apartments, with millions of residents now accustomed to working from home on a regular basis. As the importance of reliable web service has grown, it has exposed the capacity issues of traditional providers, said GiGstreem CEO Joel McIntyre. We are excited to partner with Crestline and to receive this funding, which will enable us to expand our Ubiquitous WiFi platform to hundreds of thousands of units across 15 new metropolitan areas. Added Crestline Investors Partner Will Palmer: We are thrilled about the market opportunity that GiGstreem represents and believe the Ubiquitous WiFi platform currently being deployed is a great value proposition that consumers are increasingly demanding in a post-COVID environment. We believe that Joel McIntyre (CEO) and Andrew Kusminsky (COO) are the right guys for the job. A portfolio company of RET Ventures and LNC Partners, GiGstreems business development is aided in part by RETs investor network, which includes many of the largest and most innovative multifamily and single family rental property owners/managers in the country. The leading real estate technology VC with a focus on multifamily, RETs strategic investors own or manage more than two million residential units across the U.S. & Canada. The move toward seamless connectivity within the home is still in the early innings, said RET Ventures Partner John Helm. Perhaps more significantly, smart home technology a feature embraced by managers as much as residents benefits tremendously from ubiquitous property-wide coverage. As property owners continue to discover the many benefits of technology integration, GiGstreems unique WiFi deployment will facilitate the operations of modern apartment buildings across the country. With Crestlines investment supporting GiGstreems national growth, the Company is poised to create synergies with our other portfolio companies and with real estate technology more broadly enhancing processes for operators and residents alike. Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to GiGstreem on this transaction. About GiGstreem Launched in 2017, GiGstreem is a premier in-building gigabit internet service provider currently operating in multiple east and west coast markets providing services to commercial businesses, residential communities and multi-tenant properties. About Crestline Investors, Inc. Crestline Investors, Inc., founded in 1997 and based in Fort Worth, Texas, is an institutional alternative investment management firm. Crestline specializes in opportunistic and credit investments, including financing and restructuring solutions for mature private equity funds. In addition, the firm manages a multi-PM equity market-neutral hedge fund, and provides beta and hedging solutions for institutional clients. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the company maintains affiliate offices in London, New York City, Toronto and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.crestlineinvestors.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210407005213/en/ Shlomo Morgulis shlomo.morgulis@antennagroup.com Source: GiGstreem Owner of 4 Point Taekwondo Kevin Mejia holds a board as organizer and martial artist Kevin Olsen breaks it in Edmonton on Friday, April 9, 2021. One hundred martial artists from around the world, will be breaking a board for an event called "Break for a Breakthrough." The idea is for martial artists to unite and re-engage with the arts because they may have drifted away or lost enthusiasm as a result of the pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) The Armed Forces of the Philippines is being criticized for its response to a Filipino television news crew's report that they were driven away by Chinese Navy and Coast Guard vessels while on board a civilian boat in the West Philippine Sea. The AFP on Friday expressed concern over ABS-CBN's report and announced it is investigating the incident. It said it has asked raw footage or photos from ABS-CBN reporter Chiara Zambrano as part of the probe. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, however, took exception to this portion of the AFP statement: "While we understand the journalists' insatiable desire to be ahead in reporting, we appeal to them to exercise prudence in the course of their job." The AFP also noted it has been "forthright and transparent" about the situation in the country's exclusive economic zone, and previously gave some members of the media access to maritime patrol "so they can be protected while in the practice of their profession." These remarks did not sit well with the NUJP, which asked, "Why blame journalists for being harassed?" "It is almost like the military is asking the Filipino journalists 'what were you doing there?' even when the better question might be aimed at the AFP: What were you not doing there?" the group said. It added that the more important question should be what the Chinese military was doing within the Philippines' EEZ and what the Duterte administration plans to do in response. In an earlier statement, the Department of National Defense said the AFP's findings "will be used to coordinate any appropriate action." Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, vice chairperson of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, also came to journalists' defense, saying the AFP should be more concerned about the reported harassment of Filipinos in the country's EEZ. "There should be an insatiable desire to get ahead in defending Filipinos and Philippine rights," the lawmaker said on Twitter. According to ABS-CBN, Zambrano and her team were four miles away from Ayungin Shoal, internationally known as Second Thomas Shoal, when it received a radio challenge from a ship of the Chinese Coast Guard. Since the message was in English, the Filipino captain was unable to respond and decided to leave and head back to mainland Palawan. The Chinese ship then chased the Filipino vessel for an hour, which later left only to be replaced by "smaller, faster vessels" which turned out to be Houbei Type 22 missile fast attack craft, ABS-CBN's report read. By that time, the local vessel was just around 90 nautical miles away from Palawan, it said. There have been reports of Chinese vessels driving away Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, but this could be the first known case of alleged missile-capable boats doing the chase. The incident comes amid diplomatic protests filed by the Philippines against the presence of suspected Chinese militia vessels at Julian Felipe Reef, also known as Whitsun Reef, 175 nautical miles from Bataraza, Palawan. In 2016, an arbitral tribunal recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights within its 200-nautical mile EEZ that China contests, but the East Asian giant rejects that ruling. READ: PH, US tackle 'enhanced cooperation' amid massing of Chinese vessels in WPS President Joe Biden's administration said Friday additional vaccine doses will not be delivered to states seeing surges in COVID-19 cases, despite appeals from local leaders and some health experts. The administration says its current rollout plan, based on state adult population, is "fair and equitable." "We're not even halfway through our vaccination program so now is not the time to change course on vaccine allocation," said Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House COVID-19 task force, during Friday's briefing. "This pandemic has hit every state and every county, hard," he added. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she directly requested additional doses from Biden in a recent phone call. The state's seven-day average of new daily cases reached 6,429 on Thursday, its highest point since mid-November and the highest in the country currently, a Detroit Free Press analysis of state data shows. Whitmer argued that surging shots to hot spots is not just a good plan for the state, but a vital piece of a national strategy to combat spiking COVID-19 trends. Experts have also called for surging shots, including Ashish Jha, dean of the school of public health at Brown University. "This is very upsetting," Jha said of the recent spike in cases in a tweet. "Michigan is struggling. We need to be surging tests, vaccines to the state." A forecasting model from University of California, Berkeley found that 1,200 deaths could be prevented in Michigan by July if the state received double allocation of vaccines for two weeks, NPR reported. Also in the news: Iran began a 10-day lockdown Saturday amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Shops are closed and offices are restricted to one-third capacity in its capital Tehran and 250 other cities and towns, which have been declared red zones or areas with the highest positivity rates. While Alabama's statewide mask mandate ended Friday after nearly nine months, Birmingham, the largest city in the state, is keeping mask requirements in place "because the pandemic still exists and remains a threat," Mayor Randall L. Woodfin said. Montgomery, the state's second-largest city, will also continue to require face coverings. Story continues The latest forecast from the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluations coronavirus model projects nearly 620,000 U.S. deaths by Aug. 1. The forecast improves with 95% mask usage (604,413) and tops out at 697,573 deaths in a worst-case scenario in which fully-vaccinated people return to pre-pandemic levels of mobility. Connecticut plans to provide full summer access to its outdoor recreation areas including state parks, campgrounds, shoreline beaches, boat launches and inland swimming spots after providing partial access last summer at the height of the pandemic, state officials said Friday. Utah's statewide mask mandate expires Saturday, though some businesses and government facilities will continue to require face coverings including Salt Lake International Airport and the Utah Transit Authority. The CDC reported nearly 3,400 new variant cases late Thursday, bringing the U.S. total to 20,412, a number that's nearly doubled since March 28. Today's numbers: The U.S. has more than 31 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 561,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 134.7 million cases and more than 2.9 million deaths. More than 233.5 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and 178.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC. What we're reading: Clinics, pharmacies seek to fill open vaccine slots as hesitancy looms. 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. FEMA's funeral assistance program launches Monday Starting Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will accept applications for its funeral assistance program. The agency will offer a maximum of $9,000 per funeral and a maximum of $35,500 per application. To be eligible for assistance, the death must have occurred in the U.S. and happened as a result of COVID-19. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, national or qualified resident. For more information, visit the FEMA website. - Ben Yoder, Des Moines Register More colleges, universities say they will require COVID-19 vaccinations First it was Rutgers and Cornell. Then Notre Dame. Now Duke. The list of colleges and universities that will require COVID-19 vaccinations for new and returning students to attend in-person classes this fall grew again Friday, with the North Carolina school announcing a policy that will cover all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. "We know that widespread vaccination will be the only way to facilitate a return to normal and robust campus life," Duke President Vincent Price said in a statement on the university's website. Brown in Rhode Island, Northeastern in Boston, Nova Southeastern University in Florida and Fort Lewis College in Colorado have also followed the precedent set by Rutgers in New Jersey and Cornell in New York. It doesnt just make us safer. In the end, it makes our entire community safer," Antonio Calcado, Rutgers' chief operating officer, told USA TODAY this week. "Thats why we think requiring is the way to go versus encouraging. Colleges and universities have been especially hard-hit by coronavirus restrictions, losing students who say theyre tired of paying full-price tuition for virtual learning, and that generally means less money for universities that may already be struggling financially. Stay-at-home life won't end post-COVID. Streaming is here to stay As Americans are getting COVID-19 vaccinations in record numbers, music venues and comedy clubs have begun preparations to re-open. But even when things can go back to normal, they might not. Some parts of lockdown life may linger, especially streaming. A Bandsintown survey of 1,000 artists found that 85% of them plan to maintain live stream shows as part of their schedules even after in-person shows are doable. The same survey, which surveyed about 6,000 fans as well, also found that more than half of music fans (55%) say they will keep streaming live concerts after in-person shows return. - Mike Snider Supreme Court halts California coronavirus rules that limit home worship The Supreme Court Friday shot down a California regulation limiting religious worship at home in a 5-4 vote. This is the latest in a series of rulings in which the justices have found that coronavirus pandemic regulations violate the First Amendment's protections of religion. California prohibited at home gatherings in counties hard hit by the pandemic and limited those gatherings elsewhere to no more than three households. The restrictions were challenged by two Christian pastors who wanted to hold Bible studies, prayer meetings and other services in their home. The court said California would need to show that it is more dangerous for people to gather in homes for religious services than in hair salons, retail stores, movie theaters and restaurants, where the state allows people to gather from more than three households. Before the ruling, California had already announced significant changes loosening restrictions on gatherings that go into effect April 15. The changes come after infection rates have gone down in the state. - John Fritze Women report more side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine than men. Health experts explain why. Reports of COVID-19 vaccine side effects support what many have anecdotally observed: women shoulder the bigger burden. Among nearly 7,000 reports processed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from Dec. 14 to Jan. 13, more than 79% of them came from women. The most frequently reported side effects were headache, fatigue and dizziness. Women also are more likely than men to experience some of the vaccines more unusual side effects, such as an itchy red rash that appears at the injection site. With about 95% of the reactions occurring with the Moderna vaccine, women account for 77% of the vaccines reported side effects. Health experts say this may be because women exhibit a greater immune response to vaccines and men tend to underreport their side effects. Another possible explanation from experts is gender bias in clinical research such as adult men and women receiving the same dose of a vaccine regardless of size which may mean women are getting a stronger dose than is necessary to trigger an adequate immune response. - Adrianna Rodriguez Florida woman gets 29 days in jail for coughing on cancer patient A Florida woman was sentenced to 29 days in jail for assault this week after she was captured on video coughing in the face of another woman, a cancer patient with a compromised immune system, last year at a Jacksonville-area mall. Debra Jo Michele Hunter, of Fernandina Beach, also made an obscene gesture toward Heather Sprague, who was wearing a mask to further protect herself after recent brain tumor surgery, in a video that gained widespread attention. Duval County Court Judge James Ruth heard testimony from Hunter's husband, friends and family who said she has a "really huge heart" and was "broken-hearted" over the incident. Sprague, who told the judge she feared being attacked for wearing a mask, described Hunter's actions as "rooted in privilege and entitlement." Dan Scanlan, Florida Times-Union Pfizer-BioNTech asks for FDA approval of its vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds Pfizer and its German collaborator BioNTech on Friday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow their COVID-19 vaccine to be used on adolescents ages 12-15. Their vaccine is already authorized for those 16 and up. The companies also plan to ask for similar authorization from regulatory agencies in other parts of the world. In trial results released recently, the companies showed that their vaccine prevented all COVID-19 symptomatic disease in trial participants ages 12-15, generated large numbers of protective antibodies in that age group, and did not pose any safety concerns. The companies will follow all of the more than 2,200 trial participants for two years after their second dose to ensure safety and vaccine durability. Doyle Rice COVID pandemic knocks 80% off Atlantic City casino profits in 2020 The coronavirus outbreak sent profits plunging at Atlantic City's casinos by more than 80% last year, according to figures released Friday by New Jersey gambling regulators. Still, seven of the nine casinos managed to eke out a profit, no matter how small, during what New Jersey Casino Control Commission chairman James Plousis called the "most challenging year in history" for the city and its casinos. The state Division of Gaming Enforcement reported the nine casinos collectively posted $117.5 million in gross operating profits in 2020. That was down from nearly $594 million a year earlier, before the pandemic forced casinos to close for 3 1/2 months, and limited their operations even after reopening. Contributing: Chris Quintana, USA TODAY; The Associated Press Registered medical assistant Jennifer Roberts prepares a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Friday at InterCare Community Health Network in Benton Harbor, Mich. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID news: Duke student vaccinations; Alabama, Utah end mask mandates We've heard the announcement by the Tourism Ministry that cultural workers are to get priority access to vaccines and travel exemptions. Alabama allows voters to opt out of So Help Me God oath on voter registration form Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment In response to a lawsuit brought by a leading atheist organization, Alabama has decided to allow residents registering to vote to opt out of signing an oath that includes the phrase So Help Me God. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an outspoken secular group that advocates for a strict separation of church and state, filed a lawsuit against Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a Republican, last September. The lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of the states mail-in voter registration form, which required applicants to sign a declaration beginning with I solemnly swear or affirm and concluding with So help me God. FFRF lawyers believed that this provision violated the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. One of the plaintiffs, atheist Randall Crugan, sought to register to vote in Alabama in November 2019 but did not want to sign the declaration that concluded with so help me God. He was told that there is no legal mechanism to register to vote in [Alabama] without signing the oath as it is stated and If you cross out a portion, the board of registrars in your county will reject the application and ask you to resubmit. Because he refused to sign the declaration, Crugan was unable to vote in the 2020 election. In the wake of the lawsuit, the Secretary of States office has revised the voter registration form. While it still includes the oath, nonbelievers now have the option to check off a box stating: Because of a sincerely held belief, I decline to include the final four words of the oath above. Following the introduction of this lawsuit, our office took action to see that an option was provided to voters to either swear a religious oath or opt out when registering to vote, Merrill said in a statement. While the language so help me God has been included on voter registration applications since well before I took office, this issue was just brought to light, and we remain willing to accommodate all voters of Alabama. All registration applications, online or on paper, were updated on March 8, 2021, to include the option to opt out, if interested. In a press release Wednesday, the FFRF and the plaintiffs cheered the huge constitutional victory for secular voters in Alabama. According to FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, Millions of Alabamians were being asked to swear a religious oath as a fait accompli. We warmly thank the plaintiffs, without whom we could not have put an end to this unconstitutional mindgame. Because of this suit, I will finally be able to register to vote in Alabama, Cragun said. It is disappointing that the state prevented me from voting in the 2020 elections, but I am looking forward to participating in the future, and I now have a better appreciation of the value my voice and other individual voices contribute to shaping the state. The other plaintiffs echoed Craguns gratitude. Co-plaintiff Robert Corker proclaimed that he was proud to have been a part of this effort to secularize voting in the state of Alabama, adding, I relish more opportunities to foster inclusiveness for nonbelievers in this state. Co-plaintiffs Chris Nelson and Heather Coleman, a married couple, also expressed gratitude that the state has at least, begrudgingly made some concessions to support state-church separation, promising that freethinkers in Alabama will continue to push for these reforms. As a result of Alabamas amendment to the voter registration form, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has dropped its lawsuit challenging the uniquely Alabamian mandatory religious voter registration oath. Even before the voter registration applications were updated, the Alabama Secretary of States office began implementing changes to address FFRFs concerns. In November, the office adopted a new rule allowing applicants to strike out the phrase so help me God when filling out the voter registration form. The rule directed the Board of Registrars to accept as valid voter registration forms with the phrase so help me God crossed out. Nearly a year before filing the lawsuit, FFRF sent a letter to Secretary Merrill, asking him to drop the religious oath altogether, describing it as unnecessary and irrelevant to voter registration. According to the letter, Multiple Alabama residents have contacted us over the past decade to complain about the religious oath. San Francisco, April 10 : A group of US Senators has strongly urged Apple to testify during an upcoming hearing on digital markets focused on Apples App Store and the Google Play Store, after the Cupertino-based iPhone maker refused to attend the hearing this month. In a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Senate Judiciary Committee leaders demanded that Apple provide a witness for an upcoming hearing on app stores and digital competition. "We write regarding Apple Inc.'s refusal to provide a witness to testify in a timely manner before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights at a hearing to examine the competition issues raised by app stores," wrote Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT). "We strongly urge Apple to reconsider its position and to provide a witness to testify before the Subcommittee in a timely manner," they said in the letter sent to Cook on Friday. Apple's App Store practices have been under scrutiny by lawmakers over the last year. According to The Verge, in 2019, the House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into Apple's App Store, over the 30 per cent fee the company charges app developers. "Apple has been aware for weeks that the Subcommittee was planning a hearing on this topic and was engaged in discussions with our staff regarding who would testify on Apple's behalf," the senators wrote. "Yet a little more than two weeks [16 days] before the planned hearing, Apple abruptly declared that it would not provide any witness to testify at a hearing in April," they added. Apple was yet to comment on the letter. Apple has announced that the developers in its new small business programme can now sign up to receive 15 per cent more from sales of their apps on App Store. Apple in November last year unveiled a new developer programme to reduce the charge by half for small businesses that earn up to $1 million in revenue from January 1, 2021, after facing flak for the App Store's 30 per cent standard commission for paid app revenue and in-app purchases. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. U.S. Navy destroyer USS Truxtun entering the Black Sea port of Varna in Bulgaria on March 13, 2014. (Anton Stoyanov/AFP/Getty Images) US Navy to Send 2 Warships to Black Sea as Russia-Ukraine Tensions Simmer The United States will send two warships to the Black Sea next week, Turkeys foreign ministry said on Friday, prompting Russia, which has boosted its military forces near Ukraine, to raise concerns about NATO powers that do not have a coast line in the region of increasing naval activity. A notice was sent to us 15 days ago via diplomatic channels that two U.S. warships would pass to the Black Sea, in line with the Montreux Convention. The ships will remain in the Black Sea until May 4, Turkeys foreign ministry said, referring to the international pact that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and regulates the movement of naval warships. The Pentagon declined to discuss Turkeys comments but said the military routinely sends ships to the region. Thats not anything new, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in Washington, referring to U.S. naval ships in the Black Sea. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a spokesman for U.S. 6th Fleet, told Military.com that the U.S. navy maintains a regular presence in the Black Sea, though he declined to say whether any ships are heading there now. As a matter of policy, we do not discuss future operations or ship schedules, Comer told the outlet. Russias deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko was cited by Russian news agency Interfax as saying on Friday that Moscow was concerned by increased activity in the Black Sea by governments that do not border its waters. The responsibility for maintaining security in the Black Sea belongs to the Black Sea states themselves, which have created all the necessary tools for this, including the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Grushko told Interfax. Washington says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraines eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine. Kirby was asked at an April 6 press briefing whether Ukraine had asked for any specific assistance from the U.S. military in light of Russian troop buildup. Im not aware of any specific requests for capabilities with respect to this, Kirby told reporters, but added that we do support Ukraine with both non-lethal and lethal items to allow them to better defend themselves. We continue to stand, as I said yesterday, for the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine, Kirby said, and continue to call on Russia not to conduct provocations and not to increase tensions. Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, there have been regular skirmishes between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, with the fighting estimated to have killed around 14,000 people. In late March, Ukraine said four of its soldiers had been killed by shelling by Russian forces in Donbass. As tensions have ratcheted up in recent weeks, Russia has reportedly started amassing troops near its border with Ukraine, with Moscow announcing on April 6 that its military was beginning a routine combat readiness inspection of its forces. On Thursday, Dmitry Kozak, Russian President Vladimir Putins deputy chief of staff, said that if Ukraine launches full-scale hostilities in Donbass, Russia will be forced to intervene. Kozak also made reference to a visit by Ukraines president to the countrys eastern frontline, saying the move is playing with fire. Zelensky on Thursday visited positions along the frontline where a ceasefire has been systematically violated in recent days, with the aim of maintaining the fighting spirit, according to a statement from the Ukrainian presidency. Ukrainian authorities said another soldier was killed early Thursday after separatists opened fire on Ukrainian positions with mortars and artillery, bringing to 25 the number of its troops killed since the start of the year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on April 2 that any NATO troop deployment to Ukraine would lead to more tensions between Kyiv and Moscow. On Monday, the U.S. State Department said that it found reports of Russian military movements on Ukraines border credible and called on Moscow to explain the provocations. We call on Russia to refrain from escalatory actions, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in remarks to reporters, although he declined to say if Washington believes Russia is preparing to invade. Weve asked Russia for an explanation of these provocations, Price said. But more importantly, what we have signaled with our Ukrainian partners is a message of reassurance. Prices comments came after U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday held his first call with Zelensky, in which the president affirmed Washingtons support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russias ongoing aggression. Throughout Europe, U.S. forces have raised their alert status in response to the recent escalations of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky on Tuesday pushed for Ukraines admission into NATO, drawing an immediate rebuke from Moscow, which said Kyivs approach to the Western military alliance could further fan the flames of the conflict. Russias foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressed the Russia-Ukraine tensions at a briefing in Moscow on Friday, saying that, regretfully, the situation there remains complicated and is prone to escalation. We have also paid attention to the statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited Donbass yesterday, that the countrys admission to NATO would allegedly put an end to the conflict in the region, Zakharova said. The hypothetical membership in the alliance would, contrary to Kievs expectations, not bring peace to Ukraine but would result in a large-scale escalation in its southeast and may lead to irreversible consequences for Ukrainian statehood, she added. While the United States has reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, it has not publicly backed Kyivs call for a quicker path to membership in NATO. Weve long been discussing that aspiration with Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Ukraines latest push to join the Western military alliance. We are strong supporters of them, she added. But that is a decision for NATO to make. Reuters contributed to this report. Congress leader Siddaramaiah Hitting out at the Centre's decision to increase the prices of fertilisers by more than 60 per cent, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday termed it as an "anti-farmer" act. In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah said that the Modi government's decision to increase fertiliser prices would destroy farmers. "The real reason for reduction of quantum of subsidy from Rs 1,33,947 crore last year to Rs 79,530 crore from this year is the primary reason for the increase in the fertiliser prices," he tweeted. The Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka said that the union government's justification that due to the rising international prices the fertiliser prices were increased is absolutely baseless. He added that after troubling farmers through anti-farmer acts, the government is now making inputs costly, the 'anti-farmer' Narendra Modi government has increased the prices of fertilizers by more than 60 per cent. Prices of DAP (Diammonium phosphate) fertiliser has increased by Rs 1,400 per quintal from April 1 while it was earlier priced at Rs 2,400 and it costs Rs 3,800 now. Prices of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash have been increased by Rs 1,250 per quintal. It was available at Rs 2,350, but now farmers have to pay Rs 3,600. This increase will destroy farmers," Siddaramaiah said. Experts have uncovered a new molecular reason why fecal transplants are highly effective in treating infections such as C. difficile (a nasty bacteria that can infect the bowel), which could lead to more targeted treatments for this and other similar diseases. The study, published today in Gastroenterology, was led by experts from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. Clostridium difficile, also known as C. difficile or C. diff, is a bacterium that can infect the bowel and cause diarrhea. The infection most commonly affects people who have recently been treated with antibiotics. It can spread easily to others. A stool transplant - or to give it its full title "a fecal microbiota transplant" (FMT) - aims to repopulate the patient's gut with the microbes from a healthy person, making it a successful therapy against C. diff and other similar diseases. An FMT is only considered if a patient suffers recurring bouts of the infection or has not responded to traditional treatments. FMT is effective in at least 80% of cases in treating the condition. After a poo "sample" is produced, it is mixed with water. There are two routes for getting the sample into the required location in the bowel - down through the mouth straight into the stomach, or as a colonoscopy, up through the rectum. Whilst the technique is highly effective in treating the infection, little is still known about how it does so. In this new study, a team of experts set out to understand how FMT works at a molecular level. Dr Tanya Monaghan, Clinical Associate Professor, Honorary Consultant in Gastroenterology, and Anne McLaren Fellow in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, and co-lead author of the research said: "It is not fully understood how an FMT works at a molecular level. That is a problem because if we knew how it worked at this level, then we could refine the treatment, which would mean a full transplant may not be needed." The team used blood samples from two clinical FMT trials which were undertaken in Canada by co-lead Dr Dina Kao (University of Alberta) and collaborator Prof Christine Lee (University of British Columbia). From these data, they could see that following successful FMTs, there were alterations in patient microRNAs in the blood. MicroRNAs are a class of short non-coding RNA molecules. With more than 2,000 microRNAs discovered in humans to date, many of them have already been implicated in common human disorders. MicroRNAs are characterised as master regulators of gene expression. A single microRNA can modulate multiple RNA and protein molecules, affecting a vast array of cell functions." Dr Christos Polytarchou, Associate Professor, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, and Co-Author of the Research The researchers wanted to specifically look at whether microRNAs changed following a successful FMT. The team, which also included investigators from the universities of Vanderbilt (Prof Borden Lacy and Dr Nick Markham) and Clemson (Dr Anna Seekatz), discovered that following successful transplant, there was an increase in specific microRNAs in the blood, which resembled similar changes also seen in the human and mouse intestine. Dr Polytarchou added: "We found that C. diff utilises its toxins to highjack the molecular mechanism important for microRNA maturation, a process important for microRNA activity. We went on to identify specific microRNAs, which contribute to disease pathogenesis." The team then looked at whether or not the combination of specific microRNAs could protect bowel cells from the damage that is induced by toxins from the bacteria, and they could. Dr Monaghan said: "We have discovered a new mechanism by which the transplants work, which will now help us to develop a new method of therapeutics, which specifically target microRNAs. MicroRNA-based drugs are already being investigated to treat cancers, heart abnormalities, and kidney disease, but this is the first time microRNAs have been looked at as a means to treat C. diff infections. If used with antimicrobials, microRNA drugs could be extremely effective in treating C. diff and potentially other diseases" "Our new Cloud & AI Native strategy will provide the digital innovation capabilities to accelerate the extraction of value from data and drive the development and transformation of the industry," said Tony Yu, Chairman of the Board of Unisplendour & CEO of H3C, during NAVIGATE 2021's main session. Steven Yoe, CTO & Co-President of H3C, added that: "H3C will build a new generation Digital Brain based on the six AI Native digital technology capabilities, empowering industry partners to enter a new stage of digital applications." During the main session, H3C also demonstrated its innovation and implementation of industry solutions, with H3C Vice President and President of the Solution Department Li Li introducing H3C's ambitions to empower industry transformation. Such solutions include partner-based services and technological innovation combined with one-stop services to help accelerate digital transformation across industries. Following the main session, the "New Life Together, New Future" International Summit was held, during which Gary Huang, Co-President of H3C and President of International Business, and Dr. James Chen, Senior Vice President of H3C and Executive President of Unigroup Cloud & AI BG, delivered keynote speeches. H3C has upgraded its Cloud & AI Integration platform for 2021, with the company committed to developing the platform as a globally-leading digital solution through its end-to-end solution capabilities and diversified pool of professional talent. With the continuous growth in demand for digital transformation services worldwide, H3C has established representative offices in seven overseas markets since it first expanded outside of China in 2019. Its international business covers more than 30 countries in industries such as government, education, telecommunications, energy, healthcare, transportation and finance. "Relying on our 'Partner First' strategy, H3C is ready to work with partners to build an open, diversified and win-win ecosystem of cooperation. By continuing to optimize our global channels, we will help customers to grasp digital development opportunities, through which we aim to become one of the top three mainstream suppliers in target markets over the next five years," said Huang. "Under the framework of 'AI in ALL' and 'Digital Brain 2021', H3C will provide customized solutions for more enterprises that are exploring effective paths of digital transformation, working together to realize the best value in digital transformation," added Chen. As a leader in digital solutions, H3C is committed to continuously promoting the exchange of value between the digital world and the physical world through cloud computing and AI technology, helping more enterprises to become leaders in digital transformation. H3C's ambition is to work with companies across all industries, at home and abroad, to put intelligence first and build the future together. SOURCE H3C LANSING, MI The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled a Battle Creek woman convicted of killing her baby daughter nearly 20 years ago is to receive a new trial. In 2003, Tonia J. Miller was convicted by a Calhoun County jury of second-degree murder in the death of her 11-week-old child, Alicia Duff. The prosecution had argued Miller caused the infants death by violently shaking her. A judge in May 2003 sentenced Miller to 20 to 30 years in prison. On Thursday, April 8, a three-judge appellate panel issued its opinion that Millers case be remanded to Calhoun County Circuit Court for a second trial due to new evidence. The new evidence includes affidavits from several medical experts attesting Alicia died of fulminant pneumonia. The panels opinion states that Alicia bore no external injuries or broken bones and that no one saw Miller shake her. Miller testified in her trial that she had been feeding her daughter formula from a bottle when the infant began gasping for air and stopped breathing. The baby arched backward and formula came out of her nose, Miller testified. Miller said she shook Alicia just enough to where she straightened [her] back out in an attempt to get the child to react. She denied having shaken Alicia violently or with intent to injure her. At the trial, three medical experts testified Alicia suffered subdural bleeding, a cerebral edema, and retinal hemorrhages that met the diagnostic criteria for shaken baby syndrome. A more recent evidentiary hearing saw experts testify Alicia died of pneumonia rather than trauma. Miller is incarcerated at the Womens Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti. Her earliest possible release date is April 9, 2023. Miller is represented by the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School. Read more: Bay County man faces 10-year felonies in child porn case Gunfire on Saginaws West Side leads to police chase, 3 arrested Catalytic converters being stolen off vehicles, Saginaw police say The enthusiasm for the fresh mountain air always leads towards the trip and trek of Himalaya. Mostly for the spiritual awakening, travelers prefer to visit Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Uncertainty persists, and covid-19 has made the statement unclouded. The post-pandemic period is completely a silver lining of hope with the addition of wishes and desires to accomplish. Moreover, its a perfect patch to resume our travelogue. People always find that places, which are amidst mountains, forests or sea, provides spiritual vibes. So, the mother earth has gifted us several splendid such spots to soothe and calm ourselves. One of them is Bhutan: Land of The Thunder Dragon. Though, intentions behind the idea of travelling are very subjective affair. At the same time, it is very obvious to see the changes with time. But this new era has brought significant change and it seems to be a universal idea of travelogue. Before the pandemic, some of the usual ideas were exploring the world, being adventurous, escaping, celebrating, relaxing and rejuvenating. But now, the lesson of the pandemic has taught the value of life and being alive. Undoubtedly, it was the most excruciating and disheartening process. So, the novel intention is very basic that travellers want to follow. That is having the spirit of being alive and to thank the universe for knelling down the fantasy world in the real realm. Do not set aside your happiness. Do not wait to be happy in the future. The best time to be happy is always now. Roy T. Bennett. Bhutan, the realm of clouds and happiness, is both magical and mesmerising territory. It is a Buddhist kingdom on the eastern end of the Himalayas, known for its majestic monasteries, fortresses, dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys and its sheer remoteness. Its breathtaking and well-pleasuring details make the kingdom an exceptionally refreshing place to visit. Usually, travellers think that there are many other places somewhat similar to Bhutan. But why is Bhutan always a mandatory title to cover in travelogue? The reasons are here, lets check some of them. To understand its Gross National Happiness philosophy The Gross National Happiness philosophy is based on four pillars: sustainable development, environmental protection, cultural preservation, and good governance. Conservation of the mother earth is easy to find everywhere in Bhutan. Either it is for forest or native wildlife includes endangered royal Bengal tigers, subtle snow leopards, elegant black cranes and elephantsall can be found roaming freely in the countrys 5 million-acre network of protected areas, is the foundation of having a healthy life. In a TED Talk of 2016, Tshering Tobgay, Bhutans former Prime Minister said, Our enlightened monarchs have worked tirelessly to develop our country, balancing economic growth carefully with social development, environmental sustainability, and cultural preservation, all within the framework of good governance. Religious beliefs The religion of Buddhism is highly followed by Bhutanese citizens. More than two-thirds of them follow Vajrayana Buddhism (also the state religion) and around one-third follow Hinduism, which is the second most dominant religion in Bhutan. The Bhutanese monasteries are one of the visiting spots for visitors from all over the world. Tourists attractions Tashichho Dzong - Fortress in Tsirang, Bhutan One of the largest statues of Buddha made of bronze and gilded in gold towering is located in Thimpu, capital of Bhutan. And the National Memorial Chorten nearby, where Buddhists circle clockwise while performing prayers and spinning prayer wheels gives the vibes of purity. The Tigers Nest (Taktsang), which is a beautiful monastery located in the cliff-side of the upper Paro valley, in Bhutan. Some other remarkable destinations in Bhutan are Punakha Dzong, Zuri Dzong Hike, Gangtey Valley and Bumthang Valley. The colourful streets of Trashigang with typical Bhutanese houses are fabulous to experience the positivity of colours. Culture and society Kho and Kira, the National Dress of Bhutan Bhutanese tradition is intensely steeped in its Buddhist heritage; it is also in its dressing style. The national dress for men is Kho and for women is Kira. The cultural activities, which include masked dances, dance dramas come with traditional music at festivals. People of Haa and Paro valleys celebrate Lomba, their traditional New Year. For the people of Haa, the Hoentey, a popular buckwheat dumping is an important part of the celebrations. The families get together to observe the New Year and also exchange gifts of Hontey. And there is a convention in Bhutanese families where inheritance is generally passed through the females rather than the males. That is the daughters inherit their parents' house and the man is expected to make his way in the world and is asked to move to his wife's home. Another discrete feature includes polygamy. Though unusual, it is accepted to keep the property in a contained family unit rather than dividing it. Cuisine Ema Datchi- National Dish of Bhutan Ema datshi is the national dish of Bhutanese. It is a very spicy dish made with cheese and chillies and take great pride in it. Every visitor should give it a try. The citizens also take great pride in asserting that Bhutan is the first country in the world to forbid the sale of tobacco under its Tobacco Act of 2010, hence anyone can ensure clean and fresh air. Though, Bhutan is welcoming the visitors, still following some limitation and regulation. Such as charges for visitors from most countries need to pay a fee of $250 a day to obtain a tourist visa and register with a tour operator and guide. The kingdom comes under one of the few places where an Indian traveller (or indeed one from any SAARC nation) may get a free entry upon arrival. A valid passport or Voter ID is enough and required. As we know, it shares its borders with China in the north and with India on the eastern, western and southern sides. A daily sustainable development fee of $65 also comes with the package. The amount goes towards funding education, healthcare, and poverty improvement; along with the building of infrastructure to provide accommodation for growing tourism. So in this way, tourism assists the countrys economy which is vastly based on farming and forests only. In return for this small help, the travellers are getting lifetime and enchanting blessing of the magical country. If you know what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.- Buddha However, politics have divided the globe into multiple states. Even though, we may find natural connection among Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet territories. All three of these lands have been mostly isolated from the outside world for centuries. But they are close to each other due to their unique locations surrounded by the mystic mountains. And although each of these lands is very distinct in terms of its identity and history, they do have some similarities in terms of culture, beliefs, and way of life too. The tour of Himalaya connects Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. While Tibet, known as Roof of the World, shares borders with both of these countries, Nepal and Bhutan are only separated by the Indian state of Sikkim. Tibetans and Bhutanese are heavily influenced by Buddhism. And we use to admire the Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal. It clarifies the religious relation among the countries. All of the three countries are also worldly famous for their stunning natural beauty. If Bhutan is known as the worlds only carbon-negative country, then Nepal and Tibet are also well-acknowledged for the conservation of the environment.rtress in Tsirang BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The friendly cooperation between China and the Philippines far outweighs maritime differences, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday. Zhao made the remarks when asked to comment on Philippine presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's remarks that the Philippines and China will resolve the Niu'e Jiao issue through diplomatic channels and peaceful means. Roque said any difference between the Philippines and China cannot define the relations between the two countries, nor will it hinder the positive momentum of development of the bilateral ties. Zhao told a press briefing that China and the Philippines are friendly neighbors, and friendly cooperation between the two countries far outweighs maritime differences. China has always and will continue to work with the Philippines to properly resolve differences through friendly consultations, promote cooperation, enhance mutual trust and maintain the overall situation of the bilateral relations and maritime peace and stability. Iranian President Hassan Rohani oversaw the launch of a production line of advanced centrifuges on April 10 in an apparent new violation of the 2015 nuclear deal after talks began earlier this week in Vienna aimed at bringing the United States and Iran back into full compliance with the accord. Rohani was seen in a live state TV broadcast at the Natanz nuclear plant ordering the injection of uranium gas into the centrifuges and mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge. The ceremony marked National Nuclear Technology Day and unveiled what state television claimed were 133 advances over the past year in the country's nuclear industry, mostly in the fields of medicine, power, agricultural, and energy. Once again, I stress that all our nuclear activities are peaceful and for non-military purposes, Rohani said. We continue to be committed to our pledge to NPT (nonproliferation treaty) and to the world not to deviate militarily from our nuclear program, he added. Although Tehran says it nuclear program is for civilian purposes, there have long been concerns in the international community that the country is inching ever closer to producing enough fissile material for an atomic bomb. The April 10 broadcast showed no images of the injection of uranium hexafluoride gas but showed a link with engineers at the plant who said they had started the process. The centrifuges that were reportedly activated on April 10 allow uranium to be enriched more quickly and in greater amounts than Iran's first-generation centrifuges, which are the only ones that the 2015 deal allows it to use. Iran has breached many restrictions imposed by the deal since former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from it in 2018. 'Good Start' To Vienna Talks The talks in Vienna are aimed at restoring restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of U.S. and other international sanctions. All sides said the talks, in which Washington is not participating directly but has the European Union as an intermediary, had got off to a good start. Two working groups have been formed to hammer out a compromise, which if reached could still be weeks away. One expert group is focused on how to lift U.S. sanctions to bring Washington back into compliance with the accord. Another group is tasked with detailing a path for Iran to comply with restrictions on its nuclear program, including limits on uranium enrichment and centrifuges. An EU statement after the last session on April 9 said the so-called Joint Commission on JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) had been "briefed on the work of the two expert groups on sanctions lifting and nuclear implementation measures and participants noted the constructive and results oriented exchanges." It said "the participants emphasized their resolve to further pursue the ongoing joint diplomatic effort" and that a coordinator under EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell "will continue his separate contacts with all JCPOA participants and the United States." In addition to reimposing nuclear-related sanctions, the Trump administration slapped a web of sanctions on Tehran over a range of issues such as terrorism, human rights, and ballistic missiles. They include sanctions on Irans Central Bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a part of Irans armed forces that the Trump administration labeled a terrorist organization. Briefing reporters after talks wrapped up on April 9, a senior State Department official said the initial talks were encouraging but that the United States would not meet Iranian demands to lift all sanctions. "If Iran sticks to the position that every sanction that has been imposed since 2017 has to be lifted or there will be no deal, then we are heading towards an impasse," the senior U.S. official told reporters on a conference call. The official said the Trump administrations sanction policy on Iran had a purposeful and self-avowed intent to make it difficult for any future administration to return to the nuclear deal. With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters WILMINGTON Hearing no objections to plans to fully reopen town buildings to the public later in the summer, Town Manager Scott Tucker said he would be holding the fort until July. At the Select Board meeting held remotely Tuesday, Tucker said he listened to the governors news conference earlier that day in which the Vermont Forward Plan was announced to outline three phases of reopening sectors of the economy after restrictions were prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vermont Forward Plan maps out reopening MONTPELIER The Vermont Forward Plan sets forth a schedule for reopening sectors of the eco The plans timeline brings Vermont to July 4, when everyone eligible for a vaccination is expected to have an opportunity to get one and about 88 percent of the states population is anticipated to be vaccinated. By then, Tucker said the town and other entities will need to follow universal guidance, which involves staying home when sick, wearing masks, ensuring 6 feet of space and uncrowded places, practicing good hygiene, and knowing about travel restrictions. Im comfortable now in saying that by July, I think we could take a look at the universal guidance thats being given and probably open up because every one of my staff will be given the opportunity to be vaccinated, Tucker said. And I feel comfortable we could open all of the buildings and one of them is Memorial Hall. Located at 14 West Main St., Memorial Hall is a town-owned venue used for events and performances. It closed during the pandemic, whereas the town office was reopened to the public on a limited basis. At the time of the meeting, the town had three requests to rent the venue in August. Tucker said when it reopens, town staff will put out cleaning supplies and ask event organizers to complete specific cleaning tasks. Select Board Vice Chairman John Gannon, a state representative for the Windham-6 district, noted venues will need to follow specific spacing guidance related to the number of unvaccinated attendees that gradually relaxes until July. By July, Tucker anticipates asking staff from the town office to spend more time in office. He said communication works more smoothly when theyre in the office. Gannon described wanting to be as flexibility as possible. He said people 16 and younger wont be vaccinated by then so its unclear how schools will operate. When the question of requiring town staff to get vaccinated came up, Tucker said he would be reluctant to do that. He was aware of only a handful of town employees who dont want to be vaccinated and some have changed their minds. Later in the meeting, Gannon spoke about annual Town Meeting in March having more participation than previous years. More than 470 ballots were cast this year, compared to the in-person meetings where he estimated less than 200 people typically show up to vote on items from the floor. He suggested modifications could be made to spark more participation. Two men died this week after they were pulled from the water in Miramar Beach, Florida, authorities say. One victim was a 21-year-old man from Gray, Louisiana. UPDATE: LSU student drowns, 2 Nicholls students injured trying to rescue boy from Florida rip current Both men were pulled from the water on April 8. Walton County Sheriff's Office officials shared an update Saturday morning that the men had died. Sheriff's office officials warned on social media that the single red flag flying over the beach "indicated the water as an incredible threat to human life with high surf and strong rip currents." 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 "During these water rescues, the flags stood at single red," the sheriff's office wrote. "That still indicates the water as an incredible threat to human life with high surf and strong rip currents. Know that just because we cannot keep you out of the Gulf during single red, does not mean you should be in it. Mother nature can be very unforgiving." The other victim was a 55-year-old from Dunwoody, Georgia. It was not clear by the social media post if the men died at the same time or if they were separate instances. "This is a difficult post for us," the sheriff's office officials continued. "We know there are families still grieving. But, we're begging visitors to please continue to educate themselves regarding the flag system. We will continue to do our part." All water in Walton County was temporarily closed on April 8, according to an early social media post from the sheriff's office. Officials wrote that more than a dozen people were pulled from the Gulf. They had to close a road along the beach intermittently "to make way for EMS transports." 100 years ago 1921 The court held a busy session on Monday morning, the session being marked by the first big batch of minor matters brought up to clear the decks for the May term of criminal court and also for the vacation clean up. Albert Day of Schuylkill Haven who was employed as a storehouse keeper, first-class laborer clerk and utility duties for the P&R C&I at the local shops, did his last day of work Saturday and was officially retired. 75 years ago 1946At a job meeting, the Schuylkill Post 129 VFW and the Ladies Auxiliary installed their officers Tuesday evening for the ensuing year. 50 years ago 1971Henry Joseph Weist is a Republican candidate for county treasurer because he believes that citizens should participate in public affairs, rather than sit idly by and criticize what is being done, whether it be in the field of politics or any other facet of service to others. 25 years ago 1996SHENANDOAH Cellular phones are handy for couriers delivery Mrs. Ts Pierogies in the tri-state area, according to company Vice President Timothy F. Twardzik. But the pierogie-maker, Ateeco Inc., has learned that the convenience also comes with some caveats. Twardziks company, which equipped its drivers with the phones in January 1995, found out the hard way. It has been hit three or four times with cellular phone fraud during its travel to metropolitan areas in New York and New Jersey, he said. Some thieves have methods of stealing cellular phone user access codes, or electronic serial numbers, and then use those numbers to make calls. Twardzik said he did not know exactly how much the thefts cost his company, but estimated it to be several thousand dollars. The threat of fraud has been around since cellular phones came about, said Dale A. Carey, Cellular Ones Allentown Regional sales manager. Hubballi, April 10 : A woman who had attempted suicide by consuming poison outside the house of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi here on April 6 died at the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Hubballi. According to the police, the deceased was identified as Sreedevi Veeranna Kammar, 31 years, a resident of Garag village in Dharwad taluk. The police said that the deceased had consumed poison on April 6 and died at the hospital while undergoing treatment on Friday night. A suicide note written in Kannada and recovered from her by the police stated that she lived with her ailing husband and two small children in Garag village and is desperately in need of compensation to repair her house that was damaged during the heavy rains in 2019. The woman prior to consuming poison, had reportedly tried to meet the Union minister on a number of occasions but was not allowed to meet him despite several visits. In her note she said that she wanted to get adequate compensation to repair her house that was damaged by floods in 2019, as the authorities had released only Rs 50000 compensation, while others in her village had received Rs 5 lakh each. "I have been making several visits to the houses of MLA (Amrut Desai) and MP (Joshi), seeking compensation, but to no avail. I am forced to take a bath in the open as the toilet and bathroom in my house are damaged. I went all the way to Delhi, along with my family members, to meet the MP. We sent an email too. But they did not allow us to meet you (Joshi). I am unable to bear this humiliation and have decided to end my life, hence I'm consuming poison at your residence," she stated in her note. Expressing grief over the death of the woman, Pralhad Joshi said that no one should take such an extreme step. "I had spoken to the woman and directed the Deputy Commissioner (DC) to look at the compensation. The officer had said he'd do it but by then this had happened. The government has procedures and takes time," he said. Meanwhile, the district authorities informed that the woman's family had been given a compensation of Rs 50,000 last January as per the rules, and her husband was drawing a monthly pension of Rs 1,400 (under the handicapped category), and the family has been given a ration card too. Joshi had also clarified on April 6 that the family had already availed compensation of Rs 50,000 as their house comes under the C-category (based on the extent of damage). However, after the chief minister announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for damaged houses in 2020, the family had sought compensation for the second time. "Two months back, I referred her application to the district authorities for verification. But unfortunately, she tried to end her life," Joshi stated on April 6. The woman in the suicide note said the amount wasn't sufficient for the reconstruction of her damaged house. New Delhi, April 10 : Talks between Indian and Chinese military delegates over the disengagement in Eastern Ladakh at various friction points lasted for 13 hours. The dialogue that started at 10.30 a.m. ended at 11.30 p.m.. They discussed disengagement at friction areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and the 900 sq-km Depsang plains. The 11th round of the Corps Commander talks at Chushul took place after almost a two-month gap. The Indian military delegation was led by Lieutenant General P.G.K. Menon, Commander of the 14 Corps based in Leh. The focus of the talk is disengagement on other friction points. After Pangong lake disengagement, both the countries have planned to carry out disengagement on other friction points like Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang "The military dialogue is still on and it is important that before the onset of summer de-escalation takes place at Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both sides need retreat to original positions for things to ease," said a senior Indian Army officer. The build-up in Depsang was not being considered as part of the current stand-off that started in May 2020 as escalations here took place in 2013, India has insisted during recent military commander meetings to resolve all issues across the LAC. On February 20, Indian and Chinese military held the 10th round of military dialogue to deescalate tension at the LAC. So far, the disengagement process at both banks of the Pangong Lake has taken place. It was on February 10 that China made an announcement that New Delhi and Beijing had agreed to disengage at Pangong Lake. As per the agreement, Chinese troops moved back to Finger 8 and Indian troops pulled back to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 of the north bank of Pangong Lake. A temporary moratorium on military activities, including patrolling to the traditional areas. The mountain spur jutting into the lake is referred to as Finger in military parlance. The north bank of the lake is divided into 8 Fingers. Indian has claimed its territory till Finger 8 and China dispute it claims till Finger 4. India and China are engaged in a year long stand-off at the LAC. The confrontations began on the north bank of Pangong Lakeas Chinese incursions increased in May last year. Part of the process of certifying unemployment benefits includes Illinois employers appealing claims, but more than a year into the pandemic, some employers say thats not happening. With more open and warmer months ahead, businesses are having problems finding employees to come back to work. Some blame generous unemployment benefits. More than 15,000 Illinoisans filed for additional unemployment benefits last week. Thats nearly 1,000 more than filed for the expanded traditional benefits than the week before. More than 2,200 independent contractors also applied for benefits, a decrease of around 200 from the week before. In total, the state has nearly 430,000 people getting benefits, more than 40,000 than the week before. State Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Springfield, said every restaurant owner he talks to says theres an employee shortage. At the beginning of the pandemic, and following government orders prohibiting indoor dining and other services, Karen Conn with Conns Hospitality Groups said she had to lay off more than 75 people from all of their properties. Since then, theyve brought back around half. Jay Shanle is corporate administrator for Conns Hospitality Group. He said he doubles up interviews knowing many wont show. And hes offering increased benefits. Full time, part-time, I would take anyone that would come into the door and would want to work and I would work around them, Shanle said. And even with those concessions, I am not finding any candidates whatsoever. Despite paying above minimum wage and offering health and retirement benefits, Conn said that doesnt compare to enhanced and sustained unemployment benefits. In conjunction to all the stimulus checks that have gone out in the last six months, and the discussion of a fourth-round potentially going out, what is the incentive to actually work for a living, she said. Unemployment benefits have been enhanced and extended through Sept. 6. The Illinois Department of Employment Security website provides a process for employers to file claims of refusal to return to work. This information will assist IDES in making our determination of benefit eligibility, according to the agencys website. Generally, an individual must show good cause for refusing a bona fide, suitable offer of work. Before the pandemic, Conn said the online process worked. Now, they have to wait months. It takes us anywhere from three-to-four months, depending on how quickly that mail gets here because its all paper-related now, that we can say doggonit, these people are still drawing against us, Conn said. She worried employers will be stuck with covering increased unemployment costs as employers pay unemployment insurance. State Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Springfield, said other employers are in the same position, and its unacceptable. Theres just a total lack of communication in regards to the IDES with the employer and Ive been asking those questions, Murphy said. Messages seeking comment from the Illinois Department of Employment Security were not returned. Church leaders pay tribute to 'extraordinary' Prince Philip Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Church leaders have paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, who has died aged 99 after 73 faithful years as the Queen's consort. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said today:"I join with the rest of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in mourning the loss of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and give thanks to God for his extraordinary life of dedicated service. "Prince Philip continually demonstrated his unfailing support and unstinting loyalty to Her Majesty The Queen for 73 years. "He consistently put the interests of others ahead of his own and, in so doing, provided an outstanding example of Christian service. During his naval career, in which he served with distinction in the Second World War, he won the respect of his peers as an outstanding officer. "On the occasions when I met him, I was always struck by his obvious joy at life, his enquiring mind and his ability to communicate to people from every background and walk of life. He was a master at putting people at their ease and making them feel special." He went on to pay special tribute to his achievements, having founded the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in 1956 to inspire young people to help others, and his "powerful" advocacy for conservation. "The legacy he leaves is enormous," Welby said. "As we recover and rebuild after the terrible trial of the coronavirus pandemic, we will need fortitude and a deep sense of commitment to serving others. Throughout his life Prince Philip displayed those qualities in abundance, and I pray that we can take inspiration from his example. "I also join many people in giving thanks for the marriage of Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip, and for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Theirs was a marriage grounded in friendship and mutual respect and sustained by shared faith in Christ. "I pray that God will comfort Her Majesty and the rest of the Royal family at this time. May His Royal Highness rest in peace and rise in glory." The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said the Duke was a "remarkable man who lived a life of service dedicated to his country, to his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, and his family." "At 18, Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy and served with distinction throughout the Second World War. At the same time, the beginnings of a cherished friendship with Princess Elizabeth began to blossom," he said. "That friendship resulted in a marriage which lasted for over 70 years and has been a source of mutual joy, support and comfort in private moments but equally as they have both navigated a very public life together. "Having become the longest-serving British consort, Prince Philip has been unstinting in his support, leading Her Majesty to famously comment, 'he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.'" He added: "His faith in Jesus Christ was an important part of his life and one which shaped who he was." "Do join me in praying for members of the Royal family as they mourn and may God bring them comfort. As we give thanks to God for a life lived to the full, may Prince Philip rest in peace and rise in glory." Prince Philip was born at the family home, Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, but his family was forced into exile in Britain after his father, an officer in the Greek army was charged with treason during the Greco-Turkish war. The Queen married Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey in 1947. The Royal family announced "with deep sorrow" the passing of the Queen's "beloved husband" on Friday morning. "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle," the announcement said. The Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, praised the Duke for sacrificing his own personal life and career and choosing to "steadfastly" remain by the Queen's side over the decades. "Despite his retirement from public life in 2017, it is unimaginable that, away from the public gaze, his support of and for the Queen wavered as she continued to fulfill her official duties and headship of the Royal family," he said. "In both spheres, the Queen has, over more than seven decades of married life, faced countless crises and massive demands, and His Royal Highness, both sustained and strengthened her throughout. "It is quite commonplace nowadays for someone to be described as a rock in the life of another individual. In the case of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, it is entirely fitting." He also commented on the Duke's personal faith and interest in Christian matters. "Less well-known is the Duke's theologically inquiring mind. Some, but possibly not many, will have heard of and read 'A Windsor Correspondence,' a small book of some 80 pages, published in 1984 containing the correspondence that passed between the Duke and the then Dean of Windsor, the Very Rev'd Michael Mann," he said. "The catalyst for the correspondence was Sir Fred Hoyle's co-authored 1981 work and associated 1982 lecture 'Evolution from Space' the subject matter of which was the probability of the existence of God and the origin of life from space, directed by a great intelligence. "The Duke was also a noted, and usually constructive, critic of some of the many sermons he and the Queen heard preached over many years. "These are but a few examples from a long life, packed with variety and rooted in the service of others, the nation, the Commonwealth and beyond. For his gifts and talents, for the benefits that his life brought to the lives of others, for his sense of duty and calling, and for his many evident and admirable qualities and attributes, we should give thanks and pray that he might be at peace, free from human frailty, and in new life with Christ. "It is the Queen and the rest of their family who will feel most keenly and lament most profoundly the Duke's passing. May they also be able to give thanks for all that he brought to others in so many ways and over so many years. I assure them all of my love and prayers and those of many in the Church in Wales." Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, remembered the Prince as the Queen's "faithful and loyal husband." "I pray for the Queen and all of the Royal family," he said. "How much we will miss Prince Philip's presence and character, so full of life and vigor. He has been an example of steadfast loyalty and duty cheerfully given. May he rest in peace." Paul Williams, chief executive of Bible Society, whose patron has been the Queen since her accession in 1952, said: "We join with millions in giving thanks to God for His contribution to the life of our nation, and most of all for His long and loving partnership with our Queen. "We pray for her, for Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and for all who mourn his loss. "May God bless them and comfort them in their grief, and assure them of his loving purposes for them." Originally published at Christian Today After his month-long stay at the hospital due to heart problems, a royal source revealed that Prince Philip still got his last wish of dying at home. Before his death, the source told the New York Post that Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, wished that he dies in the comfort of his own home. The royal source said: "It was the Duke's fervent wish to die peacefully at home." The source noted that they knew that when Prince Philip was taken home, "it was to die on his own terms, not in a hospital bed, but in his own bed." According to the source, Prince Philip, at the age of 99, died "peacefully" at his residence, Windsor Castle, on Friday. The source added that Prince Philip did not want any fuss, and he did things his way until his last breath. The last public appearance of Prince Philip was on March 16, when he was discharged from King Edward VII's Hospital in London, where he was treated for an infection and a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition. In his later years, Prince Philip spent the majority of his time at the secluded, five-bedroom Wood Farm in Wolferton, Norfolk, which is on the Sandringham estate of the Queen. After a stint at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Prince Philip and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, took a retreat for two weeks to Wood Farm last summer. The Wood Farm became the home for Prince Philip for close to three years, but the pandemic prompted aides to move him to Windsor Castle last March. Prince Philip, the Queen, and their children stayed at the Wood Farm, located on a secluded portion of Sandringham that looks out over the sea when they want to get out of the public spotlight over the last 50 years. Once the Royal family is present at the Wood Farm, the aides do not wear their usual royal uniforms, and Prince Philip did not stand on ceremony. The place is also a kitchen for the Queen, wherein she can cook and do the dishes. RELATED ARTICLE: Prince Philip's Death: Biden, Other World Leaders Mourn Prince Harry and Meghan Markle After Prince Philip's death, Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral would be next Saturday, and it is a scaled-back service because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It also prompted Prince Harry to immediately prepare for his return to the United Kingdom to be with Queen Elizabeth II and other royal family members, Mercury News reported. However, it is not clear whether Prince Harry's travel could be interrupted by the imposed COVID-19 travel restrictions. It is also not confirmed whether he will be accompanied by his pregnant wife Meghan Markle and what reception they will be receiving. Questions regarding their reception rose because of their recent accusations towards the royal family during their interview with Oprah. But a source close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared that Prince Harry will definitely do everything to get back to the U.K. to be with his family, especially his grandmother. Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate Middleton have already changed their profile photos on social media after Prince Philip's death, People reported. READ MORE: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Announce First Netflix Series WATCH: Prince Philip dies at age 99 FROM- CNBC Television Education experts, managerial officers and teachers all say that a challenging tenure faces the newly appointed Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son. Hoang Van Cuong Hoang Van Cuong, vice rector of National Economics University This is really a hot seat, as education is a concern of the entire society, and education activities are carried out by tens of millions of students, teachers and officers the largest group for management among ministries. Meanwhile, the education sector is now undergoing reform. At the general education level, Vietnam is applying the new general education program with the spirit "one curriculum, many sets of textbooks". At the tertiary education level, Vietnam has begun implementing the amended Law on Higher Education, which gives self-determination rights to schools. Son therefore will need to have completely new action plans to fit the new regime. The education management apparatus needs to change its management mechanism, from ask-and-grant to post-licensing inspections. Cao To Nga, headmaster of Ngo Quyen High School One of the biggest challenges for the newly appointed Minister is the overlap in management, administration and personnel. For example, the Ministry of Education and Training makes decisions in curricula and textbooks for the new general education program, but the decisions on financing and investment are made by local authorities. I hope that the new Minister will pay more attention to the issue of a happy school, and students in different areas will have equal opportunities to learn. Tran Trung Hieu, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted I hope the new Minister will do three things. First, being attentive and listening to constructive opinions from people and teachers. Any new policies that face opposition from teachers need to be reconsidered. Second, it is necessary amend some unreasonable policies, especially during the implementation of the new general education program. Third, being cautious when promulgating legal documents. Ho Tan Nguyen Minh, Luong Van Chanh High School for the Gifted I hope that the new Minister will build up a long-term sustainable education development strategy which doesnt change all the time. Also, human resources need to be put at the center of education. It is necessary to draw up plans to improve the quality of teachers and managerial officers. To Van Phuong, Nha Trang University The amended Law on Higher Education gives autonomy to schools, but there are still problems in tuition and public-asset use policies. I hope the problems will be settled. I also hope that schools will be supported in IT application and digital transformation. I think it is also necessary to build up a database on human resources, because this will better help schools organize their training to satisfy demands of society. Thanh Hung - Le Huyen Education Ministry explains ranking of teachers by professional ethical standards The circulars released by Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) recently not only set criteria for ranking teachers by professional qualifications but also by professional ethical standards. A second lieutenant in the U.S. Army is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop last December where officers drew their guns, pointed them at him and referenced the Green Mile to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground. Body camera footage shows Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was dressed in uniform with his hands held in the air outside the driver's side window of his new Chevy Tahoe as he told the armed officers: 'I'm honestly afraid to get out.' 'Yeah, you should be!' one of the officers - Joe Gutierrez - responded during the stop at a BP gas station in Windsor, Virginia. In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop. The two sides in the case dispute what happened after Gutierrez joined Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker in the stop. At the time, Nazario was coming from his duty station at the U.S. Army Medical Corp and going home, attorney Jonathan Arthur said on Friday. Body cam footage shows Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was dressed in uniform during the December stop at the Windsor, Virginia, BP station last December 'He's a sworn member of the United States Army. He swears an oath to support to defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domesticand the way these officers behaved, this implicates the oath that he takes,' Arthur said in a statement to Vice. Asked about Nazario's condition after the incident, Arthur said: 'He's definitely not doing too well.' Crocker radioed he was attempting to stop a vehicle with no rear license plate and tinted windows on U.S. Route 460. He said the driver was 'eluding police' and he considered it a 'high-risk traffic stop,' according to a report he submitted afterward and which was included in the court filing. In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop. Officers claimed there was no rear license plate but they would eventually see it at the lit gas station Lawsuit names Windsor police officers Daniel Crocker (right) and Joe Gutierrez (left) as defendants in the matter Arthur said Nazario explained at the time that he wasn't trying to elude the officer, but was trying to stop in a well-lit area 'for officer safety and out of respect for the officers.' The lawsuit states that it took roughly one minute and 40 seconds for Nazario to pull over after the officer initiated the stop. Gutierrez was driving by when he heard Crocker's call, saw him attempting to stop the SUV and decided to join the traffic stop. Gutierrez acknowledged that Nazario's decision to drive to a lit area happens to him 'a lot, and 80% of the time, it's a minority,' Arthur said, quoting the officer. The lawsuit says by the time the two officers reached Nazario's SUV, the license plate was visible in the rear. Nazario drove his SUV to a well-lit gas station where, according to the lawsuit, the two officers got out and immediately drew their guns and pointed them at Nazario after they got out of their cars. The officers then attempted to pull Nazario out of the vehicle while he continued to keep his hands in the air. Gutierrez then stepped back and pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as officers yelled for him to get out of the car. 'I don't even want to reach for my seatbelt, can you please? ... My hands are out, can you please - look, this is really messed up,' Nazario stammered upon being pepper-sprayed, his eyes clenched shut. Nazario leans outside the driver's side window of his new Chevy Tahoe as he told the armed officers: 'I'm honestly afraid to get out.' 'Yeah, you should be!' one of the officers - Joe Gutierrez - responded Gutierrez pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as officers yelled for him to get out of the car. The lawsuit adds that Nazario's dog, which was inside a crate in the back of the SUV, started choking as a result of the pepper spray The lawsuit adds that Nazario's dog, which was inside a crate in the back of the SUV, started choking as a result of the pepper spray. The officers shouted conflicting orders at Nazario, telling him to put his hands out the window while also telling him to open the door and get out, the lawsuit says. At one point, Gutierrez told Nazario he was 'fixin to ride the lightning,' a reference to the electric chair which was also a line from the movie 'The Green Mile,' a film about a Black man facing execution. 'This is a colloquial expression for an execution, originating from glib reference to execution by the electric chair,' the lawsuit contends. Bodycam footage shows the moment Gutierrez made the comment towards Nazario, leaving him dumbfounded. Nazario eventually got out of the vehicle and again asked for a supervisor. Gutierrez responded with 'knee-strikes' to his legs, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit says The two officers struck him multiple times, the lawsuit says and as seen in the footage Nazario eventually got out of the vehicle and again asked for a supervisor. Gutierrez responded with 'knee-strikes' to his legs, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit says. The two officers struck him multiple times, then handcuffed and interrogated him. Medics would also arrive to see to Nazario, who reported that his eyes were burning. During the interrogation, Gutierrez told Nazario that the issue escalated because he hadn't exited his vehicle, the lawsuit states. He was also told that he could leave without charges if he would 'chill and let this go,' according to the lawsuit. Otherwise he would have to face charges and risk consequences in his military career. 'I made the decision to release him without charges,' Gutierrez said in an incident report, submitted in the lawsuit as an exhibit, reads. ' The reason for this decision is simple; the military is the only place left where double jeopardy applies. Meaning that regardless of what happened in civilian court the military could still take punitive actions against him.' 'Being a military veteran, I did not want to see his career ruined over one erroneous decision.' The traffic stop was captured on Nazario's cellphone video, and the body-worn cameras worn by Crocker and Gutierrez, according to the lawsuit. Medics would also arrive to see to Nazario, who reported that his eyes were burning During police interrogation, Gutierrez told Nazario that the issue escalated because he hadn't exited his vehicle, the lawsuit states. He was also allegedly told that he could leave without charges if he would 'chill and let this go' 'These cameras captured footage of behavior consistent with a disgusting nationwide trend of law enforcement officers, who, believing they can operate with complete impunity, engage in unprofessional, discourteous, racially biased, dangerous and sometimes deadly abuses of authority ...' the lawsuit says. Arthur added that Nazario hopes the lawsuit shows 'that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.' The AP reached out to Windsor police for comment, but an email was not returned and their voice mailbox was full. No one answered the phone at a number listed for Crocker on Friday. Crocker and Gutierrez still work for the department, the town manager told The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk. Windsor is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Richmond. Senior treasury officials offered to try to redesign a coronavirus business support scheme to help David Cameron, it has emerged. It comes as the former Prime Minister has been embroiled in controversy over texts asking Chancellor Rishi Sunak to support his employer Greensill Capital. Top officials went on to try to find a way for the Bank of England to guarantee cover for the type of finance in which the company was a market leader, the Times reports. It meant the bank would take the hit if any of Greensill's corporate clients ran out of money amid the coronavirus pandemic. If the treasury's lobby was successful then the support scheme, Covid Corporate Financing Facility, would have been rewritten to make special guarantees to providers of supply chain finance. The former Prime Minister David Cameron (pictured) has been embroiled in controversy over texts asking Chancellor Rishi Sunak to support his employer Greensill Capital Sunak told Cameron he had 'pushed the team to explore an alternative with the Bank that might work', the Treasury disclosed under freedom-of-information laws. The argument in its favour was that it would help struggling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be paid quickly despite the economic downturn. And Mr Sunak, who received texts from Cameron, pushed his officials to probe the proposal during a period of three months. It comes as a friend of the ex-leader told the Financial Times: 'I think he would agree it could be argued that a formal letter would have been more appropriate.' In a freedom of information response, the Treasury revealed the contents of one of the texts sent to Cameron by Sunak. Sources familiar with the negotiations claimed the Australian founder of the company, Lex Greensill (pictured), was behind the suggestion On April 23 last year Sunak wrote: 'Hi David, apologies for the delay. I think the proposals in the end did require a change to the Market Notice but I have pushed the team to explore an alternative with the Bank that might work. No guarantees, but the Bank are currently looking at it and Charles should be in touch. Best, Rishi.' Sources familiar with the negotiations claimed the Australian founder of the company, Lex Greensill, was behind the suggestion. Supply chain finance was used after the 2008 sub-prime recession in the US to allow a middleman to pay invoices before being reimbursed by a purchaser. But the model was under threat during the pandemic because industrialists could have run out of money to honour the invoices. Greensill wanted the bank to act as a final guarantor to protect its clients in the event of further economic difficulties. Greensill, a senior adviser to Cameron in Downing Street from 2012 to 2016, had ten meetings with two senior Treasury officials in 2020 - something which has raised eyebrows since time is usually severely limited. Greensill (its UK base is pictured) wanted the Bank of England to act as a final guarantor to protect its clients in the event of further economic difficulties Ultimately, the proposal fell through because many of the SMEs supplying British industry are based abroad so it was thought to be poor value for the bank to guarantee their payments. Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, said: 'This just gets murkier and murkier. We need to know what alternative the chancellor "pushed" his team to consider and how it related to what Greensill was asking for.' In a letter in response to Dodds, Sunak wrote: 'Meetings covered requests made by Greensill Capital to, first, allow them to access the scheme by changing its terms and, second, to broaden its scope to allow supply chain finance (SCF) providers to access the scheme in general, emphasising the potential of this extension in ensuring the continued flow of capital to UK SMEs. 'As is a matter of public record both of these requests were rejected but it is right that HM Treasury listened to and gave due consideration to all potential options to support businesses to survive the pandemic given the extraordinary challenges facing UK SMEs last Spring.' MailOnline has approached Greensill Capital for comment. It has also emerged Mr Greensill (pictured) exaggerated his connections with Cameron in an attempt to win over the Australian prime minister Greensill went bust last month, and Cameron has refused to speak publicly about his role at the company since. The move has put thousands of steelmaking jobs in the UK at risk and rendered Cameron's reported tens of millions of share options worthless. Greensill was the main financial backer of Liberty Steel. In a sign that Cameron was beginning to fight back, his friends told the FT he had only met Mr Greensill twice while he was in No 10. It also emerged Mr Greensill exaggerated his connections with Cameron in an attempt to win over the Australian prime minister. As the shamed financier tried to whip up more business for his firm Greensill Capital in late 2019, he lobbied Scott Morrison to set up a lending scheme for government workers. In a WhatsApp message seen by the FT, intended for Morrison but accidentally sent to the wrong number, Greensill said: 'David Cameron, who is on our board and a material shareholder, speaks most highly of you.' In fact, his description of Cameron was not correct. The former PM was an adviser rather than a board member and is understood to have stock options which would have given him a stake of around one per cent in Greensill Capital. During Cameron's time as prime minister, he signed off on a multi-billion-pound lending scheme for NHS-linked pharmacies proposed by Greensill despite an official report which rejected the idea. In his messages to Morrison, Greensill was pitching an idea similar to a separate scheme used for NHS workers in the UK, where the lender would pay cash-strapped nurses their wages daily rather than monthly and would receive a fee from their employer for offering the service. He continued to push the idea at the World Economic Forum's meeting in Davos the next January. But briefing notes from the meeting, put together by Australian officials, showed their suspicion of Greensill's ideas as they described his flexible pay scheme as 'economically similar to payday lending'. DOUGLAS Mwonzoras MDC-T MPs are demanding that the Zanu PF government should allocate them farms, accusing the ruling party of partisan land redistribution that excluded them. The demand was made to Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka when he appeared before the Gokwe-Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena-chaired Parliament Portfolio Committee on Agriculture on Thursday. MDC-T MPs took the minister to task over the distribution of land to ruling party members, leaving out members of the opposition. Masuka was giving oral evidence on how the government intends to reshape agricultural activities in the country. MDC-T MP Joyce Makonya asked Masuka to clarify reports that resettled farmers were being ejected from their land to pave way for former white commercial farmers. Other MDC-T MPs interjected her, shouting: Yes! We also want those farms. Their demand for farms came two days after the MDC-T, including Mwonzora and his deputies Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe, colluded with Zanu PF to vote for a constitutional amendment that gives President Emmerson Mnangagwa powers to appoint judges without subjecting them to public interviews as demanded by the Constitution adopted in 2013. Mwonzora has been accused of working with Zanu PF to decimate the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa. He, however, denies the allegation. Chikonya also grilled Masuka on the transparency of the land reform programme and how the 99-year farm leases were being handled by the government. The 99-year lease issue has not been clear and if those MPs in this committee do not understand what is going on and even after applying for the lease agreements, they still have nothing, Makonya said. What about those who are out there in communities. Have you as the government spread the information on the status of the 99-year leases to the people? We recently heard that farms were being given back to the white people, she said, adding black farmers on resettled land were anxious the government would evict them soon. However, Wadyajena retorted that the MDC-Ts policy on land was that no party member should benefit from the land reform. Minister, the burning issue here is that MDCs land policy in the past was that no one member should accept a farm from the government. Now they also want farms, he said. Give them farms when they come to your offices and treat them as citizens. Do not look at politics. They are citizens of Zimbabwe and want to engage in farming as well. Masuka also took the opportunity to announce that government had embarked on an ambitious plan to create one million jobs in the agriculture sector under the Structured Agricultural System, which will see holders of A1 and A2 farms being turned into entrepreneurs to reduce food imports. The 18 000 A2 farmers and 360 000 A1 farmers, if they become agricultural entrepreneurs, then they will be able to employ more people. Its possible to employ up to one million people in agriculture. This will ensure improved livelihoods. It must happen as we journey to 2030, Masuka said. Newsday Flash The number of food-insecure people in Niger during the coming months could reach 2.3 million people, UN humanitarians said on Friday. About 1.6 million of them are likely to face severe food insecurity as soon as May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. That's a 30 percent increase compared to projections made in November. The humanitarian office projects the 2.3 million food-insecure people for "the lean season, between June and August." The westernmost region of Tillabery is the most affected, with more than 30 percent of its population, 686,500 people, at risk of severe food insecurity between June and August, OCHA said. Increasing hunger in the region comes with growing protection concerns, the humanitarians said. Armed attacks since the beginning of the year have claimed more than 300 civilian lives. OCHA said already 500,000 people in Tillabery need humanitarian assistance, including 125,000 internally displaced people and refugees. In February, UN humanitarian partners in Niger, which has a population of nearly 25 million, launched an appeal for 523 million U.S. dollars, targeting aid for 2.1 million of the most vulnerable 3.8 million people in need, the humanitarian office said. Representative image Faisalabad [Pakistan], April 10 (ANI): A Pakistan-based right group has condemned a brutal attack on two Christian nurses, who were falsely accused of committing blasphemy. They both were attacked while discharging their duties early this week. The two Christian nurses identified as Mariam Lal (staff nurse) and Neush Arooj (student) have been charged for violating blasphemy law, which carries a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. A coworker head nurse Rukhsana alleged that nurses damaged the Islamic religious sticker which was hung on the cupboard. "Muhammad Waqas, a dispenser in the same hospital attacked the nurses with a knife. Police reached and arrested both the nurses and they are in police custody now", said Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) in a statement. Due to the mob pressure on April 9, 2021, police at the civil lines police station, Faisalabad registered an FIR under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code against the nurses on the complaint of Dr Muhammad Ali. The 295-B mandates imprisonment for life for "defiling, etc, of a copy of the Holy Quran. Whoever willfully defile, damage or desecrate a copy of the Holy Quran or of an extract therefrom or use it in any derogatory manner or for any unlawful purpose shall be punishable for imprisonment for life". The HRFP said their fact-finding team rushed to the hospital for immediate actions, talked with colleague nurses, staff of hospital, police and authorities and came to know the exact fact. "HRFP raised and urged for victims, families, Christian nurses and community's immediate protection measures with the provision of legal actions", said HRFP in a statement. Naveed Walter, president of HRFP, demands to repeal the blasphemy laws, ends up practices and charges on both nurses and ensures their safety and security. He said, "The false allegations of blasphemy on both nurses have proved again the issues rooted to personal grudges, conflicts in workplaces and in communities". Story continues He said the blasphemy charges affect not only individuals but the whole community. Naveed Walter demands to bring the assailants to justice who attacked both nurses and falsely alleged and subjected them to violence looks clear through footage Muhammad Waqas claiming but still, there are no actions. He said the allegations have led to mob violence and extrajudicial killings. Many members of the minority communities in Pakistan - the Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs were charged with draconian blasphemy law. Many of them are languishing in jails on the false charges of disrespecting the Quran. Citing a 2016 Amnesty International report, FRANCE 24 Observers reported that it is difficult to establish precise information on the number of blasphemy cases in Pakistan as there is limited available data. However, according to figures compiled by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) and cited by Amnesty, at least 1,335 people were accused of blasphemy in Pakistan between 1987 and 2016. According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, at least 40 people have convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan and they are currently facing life sentences or the death penalty. Pakistan's population is comprised of 96 per cent Muslims. Although most of the people accused of blasphemy in the country are Muslims, minorities like Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis (a persecuted sect of Islam that the government has legally declared "non-Muslim"), are disproportionately affected by these laws. Although they make up about 3.8 per cent of the population, about 50 per cent of reported blasphemy cases are filed against them. According to the NCJP, 633 Muslims, 494 Ahmadis, 187 Christians and 21 Hindus have been accused since 1987, reported FRANCE 24 Observers. Moreover, Anneqa Maria, a lawyer in Pakistan who defends those accused of blasphemy, said that blasphemy law is often misused as a tool to settle grudges. (ANI) It finally happened. Arizona has gone "sanctuary" and wait until the Democrats go ballistic, screaming that laws have to be respected in the U.S. This is from Fox News: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a gun rights law this week that preemptively protects gun owners in the state from any federal gun control laws that are passed, according to reports. The Second Amendment Freedom Act was signed two days before President Biden announced several executive actions, including asking the Justice Department to propose a rule to stop "ghost guns," which are "kits" people can buy legally, then assemble to create a functioning firearm without a serial number. "That was a proactive law for what is possible to come out of the Biden administration," Ducey told KTAR-FM radio in Glendale, Ariz., on Wednesday, adding the bill doesnt change any current laws. This is a "neat idea," as Oliver North once said. First, it will expose the Democrats' selective indignation over law enforcement. It's okay to say cities can disobey federal immigration laws but not the 2nd Amendment. Good luck with that message. Wonder what the two U.S. senators will say about this? Senator Mark Kelly is up for re-election in 2022. Second, it may be the beginning of states bringing the 10th Amendment back to life. Frankly, it's about time, especially in light of the tsunami of executive orders coming from the Biden White House. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). Image: Gage Skidmore. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Kolkata, April 10 : Brisk polling is being recorded in the fourth phase of elections for 44 assembly constituencies when 1,15,94,950 electorates spread across five districts namely South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Alipurduar and Coochbehar are exercising their franchise on Tuesday morning. According to Election Commission data, around 15.85 per cent polling has been recorded in the first two hours, a shade better than the first three phases held on March 27, April 1 and April 6. Alipurduar, where five constituencies are going for the polls recorded the highest percentage of 17.97 per cent followed by Howrah where 17.48 per cent of polling was recorded in the 9 assembly constituencies. Hooghly, where 10 seats are up for grab, has witnessed a polling percentage of 17.04 per cent. Five assembly constituencies in Coochbehar have recorded 15.39 per cent in the first two hours of polling. The 11 constituencies of South 24 Parganas have recorded the lowest polling percentage with with 13.26 per cent votes cast till 9 a.m. However, a long queue of voters is seen at most of the polling stations in Bengal. Australian journalist Jessica Rowe turned heads as she attended a friend's wedding in Sydney on Thursday. The 50-year-old former TV presenter opted for a splash of colour and showed off her eclectic style in a flowing Romance Was Born dress, where similar styles average around $550. The mother-of-two looked radiant as she watched the nuptials at Chiswick Woollahra, alongside the likes of Melissa Hoyer and former co-Chief Executive Officer of Westfield Corporation, Steven Lowy. Turning heads: On Thursday, Jessica Rowe opted for a splash of colour and showed off her eclectic style in a $550 designer dress at a friend's star-studded wedding at Sydney's Chiswick Jessica's lilac frock featured a layered tulle skirt, capped sleeves and a floral neckline. She teamed it with some sparkling grey heels, long silver earrings and a black and silver clutch. Her makeup was complete with dewy foundation, soft pink blush, a glossy lip and light eye shadow. Are they your dancing shoes? Jessica teamed teamed her playful frock with some sparkling grey heels All in the details: The Crap Housewife author accessorised her bright look with long silver earrings and a black and silver clutch It is believed she attended the mid-week wedding with her Channel 9 newsreader husband, Peter Overton, as his name was included on the guest list. However, he was not spotted on site. Other high-profile Sydneysiders at the wedding included columnist Melissa Hoyer and billionaire Steven Lowy. The stunning bride and her groom married in a Jewish ceremony, before heading to the sit down reception. The bride looked chic in a one-shoulder ivory dress and a short hair veil. What a wedding! Other high-profile Sydneysiders at the wedding included columnist Melissa Hoyer and billionaire Steven Lowy Gorgeous: The stunning bride and her groom married in a Jewish ceremony, before heading to the sit down reception. The bride looked chic in a one-shoulder ivory dress and a short hair veil Beautiful bride! She teamed the look in a pair of low jewel-embellished heels and carried a white bouquet The light-hearted event was no doubt a welcome break for Jessica, who was recently involved in a terrifying car explosion. Last month, the television star was picking up her eldest daughter Allegra, 14, from school in Sydney's eastern suburbs when her $66,000 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. Ordeal: The light-hearted event was no doubt a welcome break for Jessica, who was recently involved in a terrifying car explosion. Last month, the television star was picking up her eldest daughter Allegra, 14, from school in Sydney's eastern suburbs when her $66,000 black Volvo XC 60 began billowing smoke Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called on an investigation and closure of the San Antonio Migrant Facility run by the national government after reports on children being sexually abused there. "I'm asking @TxDPS & TX Rangers to investigate allegations of child abuse & neglect inside the Freeman Coliseum migrant child facility. Biden's open border policy caused this crisis. I'm calling on the administration to shut down the facility immediately," Abbott tweeted on Thursday. "The deplorable conditions at the Freeman Coliseum facility are a direct result of Biden's refusal to secure the border. The admin. must close the facility & relocate the children immediately. Biden is doing nothing to address this so I'm sending DPS & TX rangers to investigate," he said in a succeeding tweet. Abbott's tweet included a video of Fox News' coverage on his press conference held outside the facility. He revealed during the press conference the source of his decision to have the migrant facility investigated and closed. "Earlier today the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services separatedly received tips that allege child abuse and neglect at the federal government's child migrant facility at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio behind me. These problems are the bi-product of President Biden's open border policies and the lack of planning or the fallout from those disastrous policies," he said during the press conference. Fox News in the video reported that the Texas Child Services Department were denied access to the said facilities preventing the governor "to even check on these children". In another tweet, Abbott challenged Biden to "respond to allegations of child abuse and neglect on his watch" and to "close the facility & protect these children." The said tweet included a screenshot of a press release announcing the "investigation" on the "federally run unaccompanied minor facility." The press release cited the complaints received by the governor on the facility, such as "allegations of sexual assault," "a shortage of staff to properly supervise the children," the children "are not eating throughout the day," and that "children tested positive or COVID-19 are not being physically separated from children who have tested negative." The press release reiterated what the governor said during the press conference and stressed the need for the Biden Administration to transfer the children to "other states where the federal government has the space, personnel, and resources to ensure their safety." On the other hand, The Blaze quoted the governor in saying the repeated failure of the Biden Administration to address the crisis at the boarder and has now lead to an "influx of children" who are unaccompanied and now experience various forms of "abuse and neglect." As per The Blaze, a White House spokesperson said the Department of Health and Human Services will look into the matter since the Biden Administration "takes the safety and well-being of children in its care very seriously" though it does not see the matter enough basis to close the facility. The Blaze cited Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff denouncing Abbott's claims on child abuse since he has visited the facility personality. Wolff said the children eat five times a day with "three hot meals" and "two snacks" and that children are separated accordingly if they have been tested positive for COVID-19. He actually found Abbott's claims impossible since many federal government representatives "are out there" such as the Health and Human Services, the Homeland Security, and the Federal Protective Services. The governor coincidentally declared this week that April as "Sexual Assault Awareness Month" to "protect the vulnerable, help victims find healing, and bring offenders to justice". He invited Texans to renew commitment to end sexual assault and empower survivors, especially through the aid of The Governor's Sexual Assault Survivors' Task Force that was established in 2019. On March 25, 2021, the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a joint hearing titled Misinformation Nation: Social Medias Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation. It addressed a wide range of issues relating to social media and misinformation and looked at how regulation could potentially help.The major focus of the hearing was whether to strengthen Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to create new oversight of social media companies. Representatives on both sides of the aisle stated support for a revision, though for different reasons. Democrats believe Section 230 limits platforms ability to moderate content while Republicans believe it gives the platforms too much power to moderate content.Other experts in the digital space have concerns about whether making changes might have unintended negative consequences.India McKinney, director of federal affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), raised concerns in a conversation withfollowing the hearing. McKinney said, EFF does not believe that Section 230 needs to be changed and could ultimately benefit Facebook because its size and ability to litigate. This could end up having an adverse effect on smaller competitors.She also fears that too many restrictions could also lead to corporate censorship, especially if the laws are vague. McKinney stated her belief that the law is balanced as it currently exists.It actually does a pretty good job of allowing platforms to moderate their own content without fear of nuisance lawsuits, and also still gives the individual users the right to hold other users accountable for the speech that they say online, McKinney said.McKinney proposed an alternative solution that would not have First Amendment implications: privacy legislation.Much of what was discussed int the hearing centered on privacy and the management of personal data. She argues that a private right of action could hold companies accountable by giving power back to the users she cites Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act as one strong example.Still, misinformation is a major concern with big tech platforms. New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, chairman of the House Committee of Energy and Commerce, addressed the danger of this misinformation and the need to hold social media companies accountable in his opening statement. He cited a Pew survey that claimed 30 percent of Americans are still hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine and quoted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who identified domestic violent extremism as the greatest threat to the United States.The time for self-regulation is over, Pallone said.McKinney, however, emphasized the importance of considering free speech with any legislation that might regulate misinformation. She also noted the ambiguity of a term like misinformation, emphasizing the importance of defining it in a legal context to keep it separate from hyperbole, satire, parody, political commentary and opinion.Illinois Rep. Janice Schakowsky, chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, also addressed the misinformation occurring on these platforms, emphasizing its impact to democracy. She acknowledged that platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google have fundamentally and permanently transformed our very culture. Despite her belief that much of this transformation has been positive, she said that American democracy has also been harmed by the divisiveness of misinformation and extremism.The regulation we seek should not attempt to limit constitutionally protected free speech, but it must hold platforms accountable when they are used to incite violence and hatred or as in the case of the COVID pandemic spread misinformation that costs thousands of lives, said Schakowsky.Part of the issue, as addressed in the hearing, is the fact that these platforms were created for private users, making increased engagement and profit driving factors.Rather than limit the spread of disinformation, Facebook, Google and Twitter have created business models that exploit the human brains preference for divisive content to get Americans hooked on their platform, at the expense of public interest, stated Pallone.McKinney echoed this sentiment in her case for the private right of action, stating that it is something that large platforms do not want because it could hurt their bottom line. While she understands the congressional concerns, it is EFF's position that legislation needs to happen in different areas.McKinney believes there is a lot to be done in terms of honest competition on antitrust and privacy and said that stricter regulations on privacy and more transparency requirements would give outside groups greater ability to audit, among other things.That really changes the landscape of what [platforms] can get away with doing and that would really shift the dynamic of a lot of the decisions that they make, and I think that could be really interesting, McKinney said. A bill making its way through the Alabama state legislature would prevent the state government and private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination for service. The bill has made it through the Senate. The next step is the House. "I don't think it's a violation of your privacy or rights," said Kimberly Anderson. Kimberly Anderson and her husband, Keith Anderson, disagree a little on vaccine passports or proof of coronavirus vaccination being required in Alabama for services. "Proof that you've been vaccinated is valid in some instances, but I don't think it should be a universal requirement," said Keith Anderson. Alabama Senate Bill 267 sponsored by state Sen. Arthur Orr takes concern about vaccine passports one step further. "The bill would say that the government can't deprive anybody of benefits if they don't get the vaccine," said Orr. It also says that businesses couldn't refuse service to people who are not vaccinated against coronavirus. "The civil liberties aspect, do we create a society where we have the haves and the have nots--or the vaccinated and unvaccinated?" said Orr. Some people we spoke with agree with the bill completely, and some not at all. Most were in that middle ground saying that private businesses should be able to make their own calls about requiring vaccination proof, but the government should not. NJPW STRONG REPORT: NEW JAPAN CUP USA 2021 BEGINS We are in Los Angeles, California and your announcers are Shigeki Kiyono, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Katsuyori Shibata (in Japanese) or Kevin Kelly and Alex Koslov (in English). Match Number One: Clark Connors versus Lio Rush in a First Round Match in the New Japan Cup USA Rush offers his hand but Connors swats it away. They lock up and Rush with a waist lock and Connors with a standing switch and side head lock. Connors with a shoulder tackle and Rush kips up. Rush avoids Connors and Rush with a side head lock. Rush with a shoulder tackle and Connors stays on his feet, but Rush with a drop kick. Connors with a European uppercut and punches. Connors kicks Rush in the corner and chokes him. Connors goes to the turnbuckles and connects with a double sledge to the back. Connors with an Irish whip and Rush floats over. Connors with a waist lock and Rush escapes. Rush with a head butt to the midsection. Rush gets a near fall. Rush with an uppercut to the back followed by a suplex for a near fall. Rush kicks Connors in the chest and Connors wants more. Rush with more kicks and Connors wants more. Connors blocks a kick and Rush with a head butt to the midsection and a scissors kick for a near fall. Rush with punches. Connors with a POUNCE to Rush. Connors with chops in the corner and the referee warns Connors. Connors with another chop. Connors with an Irish whip and shoulder in the corner followed by a suplex for a near fall. Connors misses a spear and Rush with a spinning heel kick. Rush with a clothesline into the corner followed by more clotheslines that send Connors over the top rope to the floor. Rush with a cross body for a near fall. Rush goes for a rebound cutter but Connors blocks it. Connors charges at Rush but Rush with a kick. Connors with a spear for a near fall. Connors goes for a Boston Crab but Rush rolls through and sends Connors to the apron. Rush goes for a handspring kick but Connors blocks it and he applies a Boston Crab in the ropes. Connors goes for a belly-to-back suplex but Rush lands on his feet. Rush with a rebound cutter for the three count. Winner: Lio Rush (Advances to face winner of Chris Dickinson versus Brody King) Match Number Two: Ren Narita versus Tom Lawlor in a First Round Match in the New Japan Cup USA They lock up and Narita with a wrist lock. Lawlor gets to the ropes and forces a break. Lawlor with a wrist lock but Narita with an arm bar. Lawlor with an arm bar. Narita with a single leg trip and Lawlor with a guillotine. They lock up and Lawlor wit a knee and forearm to the temple. Narita with kicks and European uppercuts. Narita with a snap mare. Lawlor with an arm bar into a hammer lock and guillotine. Lawlor has a kick blocked and Narita with a single leg take down. Narita with a front face lock and Lawlor with a waist lock into a rollup for a near fall. Lawlor returns to the guillotine but Narita with a front face lock. Narita with forearms but Lawlor with a forearm and chop. Narita with a rear chin lock. Lawlor with a kneeDT and Narita gets to the ropes to force a break. Lawlor with a kick to the leg. Lawlor with forearms, punches, and chops in the corner. Lawlor with an elbow and a head and arm choke. Narita with elbows and Lawlor with a waist lock. Lawlor with a suplex and he gets a near fall. Lawlor with a head and arm choke on Narita. Narita tries to get to the ropes but lawlor keeps him in the center of the ring. Narita with elbows to escape the hold. Lawlor wit forearms and an exploder. Lawlor misses a kick and Narita with a rollup into a cloverleaf attempt but Lawlor with a triangle. Narita with an abdominal stretch but Lawlor with a heel hook. Narita escapes and applies a Cloverleaf. Lawlor rolls through and applies a figure four leg lock but Narita fights it off for a moment before Lawlor chops Narita and locks in the hold. Narita slaps Lawlor but Lawlor adds more pressure to the knee in the figure four. Narita tries to reverse the hold but Lawlor holds on. Narita gets to the ropes to force a break. Lawlor with a front face lock but Narita powers out and hits a suplex and an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Narita with a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Narita with a reverse chin lock and Lawlor backs Narita into the corner. Lawlor with a double wrist lock but Narita gets to the ropes. Lawlor with uppercuts to the arm followed by a judo throw. Lawlor with another judo throw. Lawlor with a third throw but Narita holds on and applies a rear naked choke. Lawlor with an Olympic Slam to escape. Lawlor with a rear naked choke and then Lawlor with a running kick to the chest and he puts the rear naked choke back on Narita and Narita passes out. Winner: Tom Lawlor (Advances to face winner of Hikuleo versus Fred Rosser) We go to the Cleaning and Disinfection Break. Match Number Three: Fred Rosser versus Hikuleo in a First Round Match in the New Japan Cup USA As Rosser enters the ring, Hikuleo kicks him and they both go to the floor. They exchange punches and Rosser with chops and clotheslines against the ring post. Rosser with forearms to the back but Hikuleo Irish whips Rosser over the ringside barrier. Hikuleo kicks Rosser and pushes the referee down. Hikuleo punches Rosser. Hikuleo with a chop against the apron. Hikuleo hot shots Rosser on the ringside barrier. Hikuleo sends Rosser into the ring and he covers Rosser, but the match has not started. The referee checks on Rosser and the match starts. Hikuleo with a splash into the corner and a power slam for a near fall. Hikuleo chokes Rosser. Hikuleo with a forearm to the back and he kicks Rosser in the head. Hikuleo with a chop to the chest. Hikuleo with a shoulder tackle and he does it again. Hikuleo works on the shoulder and then gets a near fall with a Jericho cover. Hikuleo with a kick to the midsection and he chokes Rosser. Hikuleo with a suplex for a near fall. Hikuleo chokes Rosser and the referee tries to pull Hikuleo off Rosser but Rosser grabs Hikuleos hair. Rosser goes to the floor and Hikuleo follows. Rosser sends Hikuleo into the apron but Rosser is sent into the ring post. They go to the apron and Hikuleo with an elbow but Rosser with a back drop driver onto the apron. Rosser pulls down his knee pad and hits a series of running knees to Hikuleo. Rosser with punches. Hikuleo with a chop and Rosser with double sledges. Hikuleo with a power slam and Michinoku Driver for the three count. Winner: Hikuleo (Advances to face Tom Lawlor) Match Number Four: Chris Dickinson versus Brody King in a First Round Match in the New Japan Cup USA Dickinson goes for the leg and he almost gets King to the mat but King with forearms. King with a chop in the corner. King misses a chop and Dickinson with kick and chops. King with a forearm that staggers Dickinson and King follows with a slam and back senton for a near fall. King with a splash into the corner followed by a chop. King runs into boots in the corner and Dickinson kicks King in the hamstring and connects with a dragon screw leg whip. Dickinson with a single leg crab and King gets to the ropes to force a break. Dickinson wraps the leg in the ropes. Dickinson stomps on the knee. King kicks Dickinson away and Dickinson with a figure four leg lock. King tries to roll over to reverse the hold but Dickinson releases the hold. Dickinson returns to the figure four leg lock. King is able to get to the ropes to force a break. Dickinson with kicks and King wants more. King blocks a kick and connects with a forearm to the leg. Dickinson with a drop kick to the knee and a dragon screw leg whip. King kicks Dickinson in the corner but Dickinson with kicks of his own. King with forearms but Dickinson with a forearm to the leg. Dickinson goes for an Irish whip but King reverses it and hits a splash and clothesline into the corner. King with a cannonball and he gets a near fall. King with a piledriver for a near fall. Dickinson with a boot to the head and he kicks King and goes ot the corner and comes off with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Dickinson with an STF. King tries to get to the ropes and Dickinson with a rear naked choke. King gets to the ropes. Dickinson tries for a deadlift German suplex and hits it and gets a near fall. Dickinson with a front face lock but King with punches. They exchange chops. Dickinson with kicks to the leg and he misses an enzuigiri. King with a German suplex. Dickinson with a forearm and King with a clothesline for the three count. Winner: Brody King (Advances to face Lio Rush) Next week, in the semifinals we will see Tom Lawlor versus Hikuleo and Brody King versus Lio Rush. We will also have an eight man tag match. 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! Company's application reports no objection so far to railbanking Bradon J. Smith, a Chicago-based attorney, paid a $4,600 fee via pay.gov and formally launched the process on Wednesday that barring unexpected roadblocks should lead to federal regulators' approval of Blue Ridge Southern Railroad's request to railbank the 19-mile Hendersonville-to-Brevard corridor for the Ecusta Trail. Rick D. Baden executive vice president and chief financial officer of Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, certified that no local traffic has moved over the line in at least two years, there is "no overhead traffic that cannot be rerouted over other lines" and there is no pending complaint objecting to cessation of service. "Other than the intended trails use, no alternatives to the proposed abandonment appear reasonable, since the line has been inactive to local traffic for at least two years, and there is no foreseeable prospect that a need for rail service would re-emerge," Baden said. On behalf of his railroad client, Smithstarting in January notified the National Park Service, the EPA, N.C. Departments of Administration, Environmental Quality, Agriculture and Consumer Services and Natural and Cultural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Henderson and Transylvania counties, the Land of Sky Regional Planning Organization, the French Broad MPO and other federal, state and local agencies of its plans to seek abandonment of the corridor and invited comments. In accordance with the Surface Transportation Board's regulations, the railroad asked the agencies to identify potential effects on local and regional land-use plans and transportation plans, energy consumption and efficiency, air emissions and noise, water quality, wetlands and floodplains, endangered species and critical habitats, national and state parks, farmland and natural resources. In the responses contained in the railroad's applications and many agencies had not responded as of the filing on Wednesday none raised objections to the rail line abandonment request. "The potential abandonment of this line paves the way so to speak for the development and construction of the proposed Ecusta Rail Trail," Tristan Winkler, executive director of the French Broad MPO, and Vicki Eastland, of the Land of Sky planning agency, said in response. "The completion of this rail trail will provide safer offroad connections for both pedestrians and cyclists between Brevard and Hendersonville. The Ecusta Rail Trail plays an important role in our regional vision for a safe and connected pedestrian and bicycle network as illustrate by its inclusion in several locally and regionally adopted plans, a few of these are listed below: Transylvania County Bicycle Plan, Hellbender Regional Trail Plan, Blue Ridge Bicycle Plan and the Transylvania County Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The railroad said the line contains 15 bridges and none has supported train traffic since 2002. "Blue Ridge has very little information about the bridges at this time, but it appears that each of the spans was constructed more than fifty years ago, though many are modest in size with small spans," Smith said in the application said. "Blue Ridge Southern Railroad intends to leave the bridges intact, and, upon completion of an anticipated interim trail use (post-abandonment authorization), plans to transfer them to the trail sponsor for use as part of a public pathway for pedestrians along the subject railroad corridor. The federal railbanking statute allows railroad companies to remove all of its equipment from an abandoned corridor except for bridges, culverts and tunnels. County officials have said Blue Ridge may salvage the steel rails and ties for other use when it sells the corridor. Chartered by the state of North Carolina in 1891, the Hendersonville and Brevard Railway, Telegraph and Telephone Company was the first operator of what became known as the Ecusta rail line and was not a financially successful one. The Transylvania Railroad Co. acquired the rail line out of the foreclosed assets of Hendersonville and Brevard railroad company and leased it to Southern Railway Co. in 1906. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. became the owner of the line when it acquired Southern Railway and Southern's affiliated Transylvania Railroad Company in 1982. Norfolk Southern owned the rail corridor until Kansas-based Watco bought the line in 2014, forming Blue Ridge Southern Railroad to operate the shortline freight routes it acquired in and around Asheville. In a legal notice published March 24, the railroad company said the Office of Environmental Analysis of the Surface Transportation Board "will generally prepare an Environmental Assessment, which will become available 25 days after the filing of the notice of exemption. Comments on environmental and energy matters should be filed no later than 15 days after the EA becomes available to the public and will be addressed in a Board decision. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA or make inquiries regarding environmental matters by writing to OEA, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423 or by calling OEA at 202-245-0295." Established in 1983 as an amendment to the National Trails System Act, railbanking is a voluntary agreement between a railroad company and a trail agency to use an out-of-service rail corridor as a trail until a railroad might need the corridor again for rail service. The interim use of railbanked corridors for trails has preserved thousands of miles of rail corridors that would otherwise have been abandoned, the Rails to Trails Conservancy says. In the case of the Ecusta Trail, the parties driving the project including Henderson County, the cities of Hendersonville and Laurel Park and the Friends of Ecusta Trail designated Conserving Carolina as the entity to take ownershp of the corridor. Conserving Carolina and Blue Ridge Southern Railroad reached an agreement on Oct. 27 for the purchase of the 19-mile segment of tracks for the bicycle and pedestrian greenway. The North Carolina Board of Transportation awarded a $6.4 million grant in 2019 toward the purchase of the rail corridor and last year the French Broad MPO awarded $5 million to fund construction of the first 5 miles of the greenway. In addition, the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority has banked $500,000 from the county lodging tax to support the trail and the Transylvania County Tourism Board of Directors voted last year to pitch in $100,000. The Henderson County Board of Commissioners provided the last crucial boost when it agreed to a $7 million bridge loan to close the purchase. North Augusta, SC (29841) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 89F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, mainly cloudy late with a few showers. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Engineers are examining an object that washed ashore in Lincoln County to see if it could be debris from a SpaceX rocket. On Friday afternoon, the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office responded to Alsea Bay near Waldport after reports that someone had found charred debris they thought could be from a spacecraft. The object, a large black cylindrical item, is about as long as a wood pallet. A fisherman removed the debris and stored it inside a local business, and the sheriffs office contacted several other authorities, including the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue department, who determined that the object did not contain any hazardous materials. Authorities contacted SpaceX, which from looking at photos was not immediately able to tell whether the object was from one of their spacecrafts. But the agency said the item looked like it could be a composite overwrapped pressure vessel, an object often used in spacecrafts. The agency determined it could be safely transported for further inspection. The sheriffs office did not specify where the object was taken. It also did not specify to which launch authorities think the debris might be connected, but many Oregon residents in late March spotted a large streak across the sky that authorities believe was debris from a failed SpaceX launch. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Prince Philip was upset by a shockingly malicious episode of The Crown in which his father angrily blamed him for his sisters death in a plane crash, according to two Royal biographers. The respected authors said Philip had been hurt by the manner in which the 1937 death of Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark had been depicted in the drama and renewed calls for Netflix to apologise and add a disclaimer. Slurs during the first four series include the suggestions that the Prince was a serial philanderer who had an affair with a ballerina, was involved in the Profumo sex scandal and delivered a menacing threat to Princess Diana. Prince Philip was reportedly upset by the way that the death of his sister Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark was depicted in the Netflix drama, The Crown Producers of The Crown said on Friday they were deeply saddened by his death, while actors Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies who both played Philip over the four series paid their own tributes. But the dramas creator, Peter Morgan, and Netflix fell silent this weekend when asked if they would apologise for the portrayal of Philip. Sally Bedell Smith, who published a bestselling biography of the Queen, said the most egregious falsehood involved a scene in the second series during which Philips father, Prince Andrew, blames his son for Cecilies death. According to the show, Philip was meant to visit her in Germany but was forbidden from going after getting into trouble at Gordonstoun School in Scotland. Cecilie decided instead to fly to England, but her plane hit a factory chimney in Belgium and crashed, killing her, her husband, their two sons and unborn baby boy, and her mother-in-law. Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark (pictured) died in an air crash in 1937 At Cecilies funeral in Germany, Prince Andrew is shown confronting Philip, saying: You are the reason we are all here, burying my favourite child. Ms Bedell Smith, 72, said Philip had nothing to do with his sisters death and there was no rift with his father after the tragedy. Cecilie did die in an air crash but thats the only thing that was true, she added. Everything else was invented in a shockingly malicious way. The author has been told by Royal sources that Philip was made aware of the hurtful storyline, although both he and the Queen refused to watch the drama. The whole thing about Cecilie, which he did learn about, was terribly upsetting to him, she said. They [Netflix] should emphatically apologise and I think a disclaimer is necessary more than ever. Now that he is gone, what they have done to his reputation is in even sharper relief. Hugo Vickers, a Royal biographer who has dissected The Crowns falsehoods, described the depiction of Cecilies death as disgraceful, adding that Philip had been very upset about it. How disgraceful it was [of The Crown] to turn Prince Philip into a caricature person never doing any work in the series. The depiction was cruel and deeply unfair. The least Netflix could do was to alert viewers with a disclaimer. Chris Parry, a retired Royal Navy commander who studied the 1937 plane crash as part of a PhD, said its depiction in The Crown was outrageous, adding: It was rubbish. This man had integrity. This generation has forgotten just what people stood for in his generation. Cecilie, her husband, two sons and an unborn baby boy's funeral was depicted in the show Another falsehood in The Crown is an implied affair between Philip and ballerina Galina Ulanova. While Ms Ulanova was a real dancer, performing acclaimed lead roles in Swan Lake and Romeo And Juliet, there is no evidence of an affair with the Duke. It was complete fantasy, said Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine. He never even met the ballet dancer. In the final episode of The Crowns latest series, Philip is shown threatening Diana at Sandringham in 1990. Diana, played by Emma Corrin, is seen telling her father-in-law that her marriage to Prince Charles is a dark, loveless cave and she wants to break away. Philip menacingly says I cant see it ending well for you, prompting Diana to reply: I hope that isnt a threat, Sir. In the final episode of The Crowns latest series, Philip (portrayed by Tobias Menzies) is shown threatening Diana (portrayed by Emma Corrin) at Sandringham in 1990 Former Culture Secretary Karen Bradley urged Netflix to correct its error of not attaching a disclaimer stating that the drama is a work of fiction, not fact. While Prince Philip was still alive, Netflix badly misrepresented the behaviour and conduct of this noble and dignified man, she said. Now that he has died, the least they can do is to make amends by acknowledging that the picture of the Duke of Edinburgh in The Crown was unjust and, in many respects, simply fictional. Netflix should also add a health warning to previous and future episodes so that viewers know that what they are watching is not an accurate and faithful account of the Royal Family. California and the West are falling deeper into drought and, with summer approaching, that portends another severe fire season. As a disappointing wet season comes to a close and hope for spring rain fades, conditions are worse now than they were at this time last year, with exceptional and extreme drought now found throughout the region. In California, that doesn't bode well, given that last year's more moderate rainfall deficits, combined with extreme heat waves, ushered in a record-setting fire year. It brought 5 of the 6 largest fires in modern state history, 10,488 destroyed structures and 33 fatalities. Some 4.2 million acres were torched. More frequent drought, hotter summers and warmer and drier autumns, tied to climate change, are stacking the deck for large and destructive fires during the heart of the fire season. And this year, a lack of rain in spring could mean fires arrive early in some areas. After a devastating 2020 fire season and a dry autumn, this winter offered a chance to reverse course on mounting rainfall deficits. But despite a significant late-January storm, the 2021 winter and spring months have failed to deliver even normal precipitation, and much of April is forecast to be very dry. In fact, the current water year is now tied for the third driest on record. "As California got further into the wet season, it became clear that the number of major storms, such as atmospheric rivers, needed to ameliorate the drought were not coming, and drought conditions and impacts across sectors intensified and expanded," Amanda Sheffield, an expert with the National Integrated Drought Information System, said in an email. For the last two wet seasons, a persistent ridge of high pressure in the central and eastern Pacific has diverted most storms out of the state. In Northern California, many of the wettest, forested regions have missed over 20 inches of precipitation in that time period. "The two-year precipitation deficits in the mountains are really going to cause plants to struggle, and I think that's what we're seeing," said Craig Clements, a professor and director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University. Last week in the Santa Cruz mountains, Clements sampled plants in a field of chaparral - flammable shrubs found throughout the state. They showed record low moisture values for April and no new growth where they should be blooming and thriving. A similar situation could develop in higher elevation forests. While he hopes that growth might simply be delayed and recover with additional spring rain, "I think we are going to see dying plants and a lot of dead fuel accumulating in chaparral across the state," he said. A similar situation could develop in higher elevation forests in the Sierra and Cascades. Statewide mountain snowpack, currently at less than 50 percent of normal, is expected to melt off early, leaving Sierra forests prone to burn earlier and hotter. September's Creek Fire in the southern Sierra burned through a massive accumulation of woody debris from the previous drought and was turbocharged by a record-setting Labor Day weekend heat wave. Even with the very dry spring so far, grasses are still green in many areas, preventing fires from spreading quickly. But once those dry out, or "cure," the state could be in a full-blown fire season. "How early the fire season starts will depend on how this year's green-up goes, and how quickly the vegetation dries due to the very low soil moisture and weather conditions," Sheffield said. Rain, fog and cooler temperatures would slow this drying process, while heat and wind would accelerate it. Clements said it's possible that grasses could fully cure in May in Northern California, which current forecasts suggest could be a particularly warm and dry month. In Southern California, grasses could carry fire by late April, about on schedule, according to Matt Shameson, a fire meteorologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Riverside, Calif. While wind events aren't common in late spring, some are possible in May, including warm "Sundowner" land-to-sea winds that can affect coastal Santa Barbara County this time of year and have driven dangerous fires near urbanized areas. Large wildfires in the West are driven by a complex relationship between shorter-term weather and longer-term climate variability. The West's descent into the current severe and widespread drought began in the fall of 2019, when a dry pattern emerged over Oregon, northern California, central Nevada and into parts of Idaho, Utah and Colorado. The hot and dry summer of 2020 quickly followed, which brought devastating fires to California and the Pacific Northwest, and set the stage for Colorado's biggest wildfire season on record beginning in August and continuing through October. This concerning situation continues: Not only is drought persisting over the same areas, it's expanding to areas that weren't as dry in the winter. Extremely warm and dry conditions from October to March extended across California and Oregon, and eastward across Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and entering Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Combining this longer-term climate signal with expected weather as we move into summer dictates the location of greatest fire risk. Based on low snowpack and early snowmelt already occurring in Arizona and New Mexico, and expected early snowmelt around the Four Corners, the risk for significant wildfires is high in Arizona and New Mexico, and is extending into southern Utah and southern Colorado. That risk moves northward as the summer continues into central Nevada, Utah and western Colorado, but should be reduced to the south if monsoon rains arrive as expected. As the West Coast enters the summer dry season, the chance for significant fires is high. The probability of getting enough precipitation to mitigate wildfire risk has gone to almost zero as we leave the wet season behind with significant dry anomalies and low snowpack. Early snowmelt leads to a longer dry season and an increased risk for large wildfires in high elevation forests; shifts in snowmelt timing because of climate change have been linked to a marked increase in burned area in western forests since the mid-1980s. "When we have a dry winter and a fairly dry spring, all elevations become open for business much sooner," Brent Wachter, a fire meteorologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Redding, Calif., said in an email. And deepening drought and low soil moisture mean that flammable elements - from ground cover to the tree tops - can be available to burn at the same time. "Thus, more potential for an ignition in the 'wrong' area and 'wrong time' resulting in rapid fire spread and increased intensity," he wrote. The village is moving fast on the law, Shattuck said, because it believes the Cayugas intend to open a marijuana dispensary at a property they're purchasing, 121 Cayuga St., in the middle of Union Springs. Officials worry that would create overwhelming traffic in the village, similar to past lines at Lakeside Trading, as well as a negative influence on local youth. Cayuga County-area municipalities weighing marijuana options Municipalities in the Cayuga County area are weighing the pros and cons of opting out of parts of New York state's law legalizing marijuana. "To move something like that into our community we're concerned because students walk by that block to get to school. It didn't seem like a good thing," Shattuck said. "But if they hadn't bought that property in the village, if they decided to dispense out of (Lakeside Trading), then we probably wouldn't have started this." Clint Halftown, the Cayugas' federally recognized representative, confirmed to The Citizen that the nation is purchasing the property, which is currently the home of Gus's Pizzeria. But he said there are no plans to open a dispensary there. The Cayugas are simply making the purchase, he continued, because they want to acquire any local commercial properties they can. Still, Halftown asked why the village would opt out of allowing marijuana sales. "I just don't know why they're opting out of something that could bring them more revenue," he said. "If they don't need it then good for them, but I do." Millennial Liu Lurui quit her job and moved to the outskirts of Beijing, where she built a farm on three acres of land to create a healthier lifestyle for herself and five friends. The farm was completed in April 2020, and includes a house, a garden and an organic orchard. They hope that their hobo life can set an example for people looking to lead alternative way of life Jun 04, 2021 06:31 PM President Joe Biden speaks about jobs and the economy as Vice President Kamala Harris listens, at the White House on April 7, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Bidens Infrastructure Plan Would Make America Outsource Again Commentary President Joe Biden is in the midst of a media blitz to garner support for his so-called infrastructure plan, the American Jobs Plan. At a recent press conference, Biden said his plan is a blueprint for infrastructure needed for tomorrow, not just yesterday, tomorrow. For American jobs, for American competitiveness. There are two problems with that statement. First, Bidens plan is light on infrastructure, as its typically and traditionally defined. Second, it would make America less competitive. In fact, it would almost assuredly make America outsource jobs again. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, infrastructure is defined as the basic systems and services, such as transportation and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively. As its currently constructed, Bidens American Jobs Plan would cost about $2.2 trillion. Yet only a tiny amount would be spent on what the Cambridge Dictionary defines as infrastructure. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a press release detailing how little Bidens American Jobs Plan spends on what Americans commonly refer to as infrastructure. This plan is not about rebuilding Americas backbone. Less than 6 percent of this massive proposal goes to roads and bridges. It would spend more money just on electric cars than on Americas roads, bridges, ports, airports, and waterways combined, McConnell said. McConnell is correct. Bidens plan is less about roads and bridges and more about social programs and big government boondoggles. Consider: The American Jobs Plan allocates $621 billion to what can be broadly called infrastructure under the loosest definition. The other $1.4 billion would be spent on what is called soft infrastructure. This includes $400 billion for home health care workers. And $580 billion for government research and development projects. However, according to Biden, anything and everything is now deemed infrastructure. The idea of infrastructure has always evolved to meet the aspirations of American people and their needs, and its evolving again today, Biden said. He added infrastructure now includes expanded services for seniors. Its better wages and benefits and opportunities for caregivers who are disproportionately women, women of color and immigrants. Aside from the debate over whether or not the American Jobs Plan is really about infrastructure, one should also question Bidens claim that his plan would improve American competitiveness. For starters, Bidens plan includes several tax hikes, most notably increasing the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent. This alone would make the United States less competitive. As the Tax Foundation notes: An increase in the federal corporate tax rate to 28 percent would raise the U.S. federal-state combined tax rate to 32.34 percent, higher than every country in the OECD, the G-7, and all our major trade partners and competitors including China. This would harm U.S. economic competitiveness and diminish our role in the world. When the U.S. last had the highest corporate tax rate in the OECD, prior to tax reform in 2017 with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the U.S. experienced several years of economic malaise, including chronically low levels of investment, productivity, and wage growth, as well as major distortions and avoidance schemes in the corporate sector. This included corporate inversions to lower-tax countries, migration out of the corporate sector and into the noncorporate sector, and a decline in business dynamism. This is why the U.S. lowered the corporate tax rate, to compete with other countries around the world that lowered theirs long ago. The Tax Foundation estimates raising the federal corporate tax rate to 28 percent would reduce long-run economic output by 0.8 percent, eliminate 159,000 jobs, and reduce wages by 0.7 percent. Although the Biden administration is trying to paint the American Jobs Plan as a once-in-a-generation infrastructure overhaul that will refurbish our nations crumbling roads and bridges while creating millions of jobs, the facts say otherwise. Perhaps McConnell put it best when describing the reality of Bidens American Jobs Plan: This proposal appears to use infrastructure as a Trojan horse for the largest set of tax hikes in a generation. These sweeping tax hikes would kill jobs and hold down wages at the worst possible time, as Americans try to dig out from the pandemic. Chris Talgo is senior editor at The Heartland Institute. Talgo writes op-eds, articles for Health Care News and Environmental and Climate News, and hosts podcasts. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The companys ongoing strategy is to advance proprietary, downstream lithium and battery technologies and to deliver an ethical and sustainable supply of energy metals for batteries through innovative minerals processing and battery recycling techniques, creating an energy-metals loop. The company expects to be granted a patent for its SiLeach process in Australia at the end of April 2021. ( ) ( ) (FRA:3MW) is progressing its over-arching strategy to develop a suite of proprietary technologies to provide a seamless lithium-ion battery (LIBs) production cycle that minimises the number of steps required to progress from mining through to cathode material and battery production. The company is focused on energy-metal recovery from spent LIBs, refining lithium chemicals as feed for the production of advanced cathode powders, manufacturing advanced cathode powders for LIBs and recovering lithium from ore and waste materials (including spent LIBs). In recent months, the companys wholly-owned subsidiary VSPC Ltds patent application for its proprietary cathode material manufacturing process has been accepted. In addition, the LieNA (recovery of lithium from low-grade spodumene without roasting) pilot plant has been given the green light and the company has also been granted the US patent for its SiLeach extraction technology with an Australian patent expected in the near-term. VSPC patent progresses Last month VSPC received notice of acceptance for the patent application for its proprietary cathode material manufacturing process from IP Australia. During the past two years, VSPC has simplified its process for the production of lithium metal phosphate cathode powders, enabling the use of a broader range of raw materials as feed. This has significantly reduced the cost of manufacturing lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) and other lithium metal phosphate materials, among them lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP). The filing of the Australian patent application sets a worldwide priority date for the invention and provides 20 years of intellectual property protection within Australia. In addition, in February, the European Patent Office granted the VSPC patent for its process of producing nanostructured metal-oxide products simply and efficiently. Reducing chemical costs VSPC's patented process technology reduces chemical costs by 15%, which is considerable, as chemicals used typically account for more than two-thirds of the entire cost of cathode material manufacture. The technology also integrates well with VSPCs upstream technology for low-cost production of iron reagents an outcome of work under a project co-funded by the Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre - which reduces chemical costs by a further 10%. VSPC is set to capitalise on a lithium ferro phosphate battery market that is expected to expand by 500 per cent by 2030. Cathode powders produced using the VSPC process - the left image shows particle aggregates (scale bar: 10 microns) and the right image shows the individual particles (scale bar: 100 nanometres). LieNA Pilot test Last month, the LieNA pilot plant was given the green light, with the company preparing to test its unique LieNA spodumene conversion process. Currently, when spodumene ore is converted to commercial concentrates, somewhere between 25 and 50% of the lithium within the ore fed to the concentrator is lost. The LieNA process is designed to remedy this loss and can reduce the mining costs associated with lithium chemical production. Autoclave construction is now underway, with plans for fabrication of the rest of the plant well-advanced at the facilities of Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which will construct and operate the plant. The initial pilot-plant test run is scheduled for September 2021 and the program will be completed with a pre-feasibility study of the LieNA process. US patent for lithium extraction technology In February the company was granted the US patent for its SiLeach extraction technology, which can produce a range of lithium chemicals, including lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and lithium phosphate. The granting of the US patent is timely given increased interest in the extraction of lithium from clays in North America and with the lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) sector the most rapidly expanding in the industry. The patent now provides the company with 17 years of legal protection in the US and an Australian patent for the process is expected to be granted shortly which will mean 20 years of legal protection in the country. SiLeach pilot plant operations at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation European exploration exposure reduced The company also recently reduced its exploration tenure in Germany after COVID-19 restrictions rendered work in the historic mining areas in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) in Saxony almost impossible. The company has held tenure in Hegelshohe, Eichight and Sadisdorf since 2017, but restricted activities along with the financial commitments required to maintain projects in the area have led to a reduction in activities. The Sadisdorf licence has now run full term and has not been renewed, Eichight has been relinquished and the company is yet to make a decision on the future of Hegelshohe. Leveraging battery materials in Europe Looking forwards, Lithium Australia aims to maintain leverage to battery materials in Europe and sees the application of LieNA as having great potential, since it can produce the ideal feed for the production of lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) batteries. With Europe awakening to the benefits of LFP and, through company subsidiary VSPC Ltd, Lithium Australia is confident it has the technology to revolutionise its production. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 17:07:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A woman wearing a mask walks on a street in Hong Kong, south China, April 10, 2021. Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported five more confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking its total tally to 11,568. (Xinhua/Li Gang) HONG KONG, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported five more confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking its total tally to 11,568. The new cases included two local infections that were epidemiologically linked with a local case confirmed earlier. The three imported cases were from the Philippines, Pakistan and India, according to the CHP. Hong Kong launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb. 26. About 543,100 people have received their first dose of vaccine, and about 200,500 have received their second dose so far. Enditem James who? Whats that blokes last name again? was a quip by a Labor powerbroker this week when asked whether Dan Andrews could ever be replaced by his deputy. Two election wins, a global pandemic and a centrally-run government has made Victorian Premier Dan Andrews one of the most recognisable faces in Australian politics. But a slip on some wet stairs in March elevated his deputy James Merlino to the role of acting Premier. James Merlino with his wife Meagan and their children Emma, Josh and Sophie. Credit:Darrian Traynor After almost 20 years in Parliament, few Victorian know James Merlino, the 48-year-old member for Monbulk who has been running the state while Andrews recovers from his injuries. Before Andrews fall, many of Merlinos Labor colleagues believed he might consider walking away from politics after recently moving to a bigger block of land in order to spend more time with his wife and three children Sophie, Emma and Josh. But with speculation Andrews recovery might take longer than originally planned, succession planning has start on Spring Street as MPs are looking at who could become Victorian premier should Daniel Andrews injuries prevent him from returning to Treasury Place. New Delhi, April 10 : India and China have agreed to resolve the outstanding issues aimed at disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, thereby paving the way for complete de-escalation, the Indian government said on Saturday. "The two sides agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols," a government statement said. Talks between Indian and Chinese military delegates were held at Chushul on Friday to discuss the next phase of disengagement in Eastern Ladakh, which lasted for 13 hours. The 11th round of Corps Commander-level talks at Chushul took place after a nearly two-month gap. The Indian military delegation was led by Lieutenant General P.G.K. Menon, the Commander of 14 Corps based in Leh. The two sides had a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement along the LAC. "It is also highlighted that completion of disengagement in other areas would pave the way for the two sides to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquility and enable progress in bilateral relations," the statement said. As the India-China military tussle completes almost a year, tensions remain along the borders, even after the successful disengagement process in Pangong Lake. Tanks and troops from both sides have pulled back and there is no eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, but the build up across Eastern Ladakh continues. After the recent talks, the two sides agreed that it is important to take guidance from the consensus of their leaders, continue their communication and dialogue and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest. They also agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground, avoid any new incidents and jointly maintain peace in the border areas, the statement said. India and China are engaged in a year-long standoff along the LAC. The confrontations began on the north bank of Pangong Lake, both in the waters and on the banks, as Chinese incursions increased in early May last year. It's no surprise that the runoff for the Metairie-based 82nd District seat for the House of Representatives would feature two conservative Republicans. Before Charles Henry abruptly resigned the post earlier this year, it had been held by his brother, also a Republican. Before that, Steve Scalise held the seat. But what perhaps is a bit of a surprise is the heat that the race has generated. Eddie Connick, a member of one of the New Orleans area's most prominent political families, and Laurie Schlegel, whose husband is a state district court judge, have traded pointed barbs in recent weeks as each seeks to gain an advantage headed into the April 24 election. Connick, in a mailer, called Schlegel, a licensed professional counselor, a "social worker" and said that sending a social worker to Baton Rouge "would be like washing money down the drain." In an earlier mailer, Schlegel said "Jefferson Parish can't afford another Connick," and that Connick "will fight for the political machine." Connick said the bare-knuckled nature of the race is nothing new to him. "I remember 'hit' pieces" on family members, he said. Connick counts longtime New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick as an uncle and current Jefferson Parish DA Paul Connick Jr. as a cousin. Patrick Connick, a state senator, is another cousin. His father and other relatives, he said, had "heart-to-heart chats" about politics and always doing the right thing, he said. "This is really nothing," he said. "I am so proud of my family." Likewise, Schlegel batted aside the "social worker" comment. "He did get my profession wrong, but I do consider myself as part of the helping professions," she said. "We help people in their darkest hours." Grace Notes: Name calling is common in campaigns, but here's a new one Name calling is so commonplace in American political campaigns that its sometimes hard for candidates to come up with new, fresh material. Bu Apart from snarky mailers, Connick has vowed to call for a constitutional convention and to try to bring Louisiana "back to basics" by reducing spending, streamlining government and giving legislators more freedom in setting the budget. He has said he will be full time and will work with the parish on infrastructure improvements. Schlegel has said she wants to make the state more "user-friendly" for businesses by pushing for tort and tax reform. She also wants to expand vocational educational opportunities for students. She has also vowed to advocate for improved mental health investments and to support law enforcement. 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 Connick led the three-candidate field March 20 with 40%. Schlegel had 36%. Raymond Delaney, a Democrat, placed third with 25%. Voter turnout in March was 19.3%, and Connick and Schlegel agreed that the key to winning will be getting out the vote this time around. To do that, both have hit the streets, walking neighborhoods. "Pretty much every day, I'm knocking on doors," said Schlegel, who made walking the district a focus of her campaign in the general election. "I really haven't stopped." Connick has been pounding the pavement too, even more than he did before the March 20 general election. "I've walked more this time around than in the general," he said. The walking, he said, has said helped make him a more patient listener. Connick has another arrow in his quiver: money. Going into the general election, he held more than a five-to-one advantage in funds on hand. No new reports have been filed in advance of the runoff date, but it's safe to say that he retains a significant advantage. He's also garnered Delaney's endorsement. "He and I really hit it off," Connick said. "I was able to understand what was important to him." Schlegel, a working mother, said her professional experience as a therapist and before that in business would serve her well in the Legislature. She said she would overcome Connick's financial advantage by working hard and touted her ability bring people to the table and find solutions, similar to what she does when she counsels. +4 Eddie Connick, Laurie Schlegel in April 24 runoff for 82nd District House seat in East Jefferson Two Metairie Republicans, Eddie Connick and Laurie Schlegel, will head to an April 24 runoff for the open 82nd District seat in the Louisiana "I have really good relationships with elected officials," she said. "I know if I'm elected, I am going to be able to work with them." Early voting began Saturday and runs through April 17, excluding Sunday. Liberals are fond of predicting the future, and their predictions, which are always dire, then become the pretext for more government. Otherwise, they say, we'll all starve, a class war will break out, or the Earth will come to an end. Liberals are wrong about the future because their theories are based on ideology, not on the facts. Unlike conservatives, whose ideas are grounded on prudence and a clear view of human nature, liberals really have no conception of what drives human beings: their thinking is built on a handful of fixed ideas that can be traced to a number of shallow-minded philosophers including Rousseau, Malthus, Marx, Dewey, and Gore. What all of these thinkers have in common is the misconception that a centralized, planned economy can transform society into a utopia. In every case, they've been wrong. The Earth's population did not starve (Malthus); capitalism was not replaced with a socialist utopia (Marx); the earth has not been consumed by storm, drought, and rising seas (Gore). Collectivist ideology has produced poverty, starvation, enslavement, and mass murder. The Soviet Union sent at least 18 million to the gulags, and few returned from the worst of these camps. Stalin practiced a crude form of authoritarian rule based on Marxist ideology. He believed that, given supreme power, the State (in the person of Stalin himself) could transform a backward and inefficient economy into a world leader. The key to this process was a ruthless and inhuman exercise of power. As Richard Pipes and others have stressed, Stalin was not a highly intelligent or subtle human being, but he did have one quality that distinguished him from others: the willingness to employ unlimited cruelty in the service of an idea. There are others today, including Chairman Xi in China, who appear willing to employ violence and coercion in support of the utopian goal. Like Stalin, Biden has sat patiently in the background, awaiting his chance to rule, and now that he has power, he and those around him are determined to "transform" America to correspond with their idea of the future. Biden is not Stalin, and there are not yet gulags in America's far north (though perhaps some along our southern border), but he shares Stalin's devotion to liberal ideology. And like Stalin, Biden believes he has been called to transform society. Like all liberal utopias, Biden's vision is that of a perfect society created by the planning and control of an authoritarian state. And like all liberal thought, Biden's thinking is based on an ideology that promises a totally ordered and efficient future with the State regulating and directing the means of production and controlling the private lives of its population. While we have no gulag or death camps as yet, we do have a dangerous new instrument of state control a national system of censorship and virtual "re-education" in support of the progressive state. This system appears to control the traditional media of television and print journalism and the newer forms of social media. Like Stalinist censorship of books and newspapers, its purpose is to ensure permanent power for the progressive regime. A good example is last week's 60 Minutes hit job on Ron DeSantis. This is nothing new for 60 Minutes (recall their use of unsubstantiated documents in Dan Rather's 2004 "reporting" on George W. Bush's National Guard service, just ahead of the 2004 election), but what is new is the breadth of today's censorship. Everything from daily newspapers to evening news, internet news, search results, Twitter, Facebook, and thousands of other venues is working to advance a collectivist, authoritarian idea of the future. It would be interesting to know why this progressive ideology is so widely shared by those in the media. Is it the appeal of a bright, new future that relieves the tedium of our daily lives? Or is it the allure of a society of perfect order, with billions of human beings laboring like robots and passively accepting what they are told? Is it the superior status that those in the media expect to acquire in a society ruled by censorship and force? Or is it simply a matter of pride the smug assurance that they, the self-appointed clerisy of the secular state, are smarter and more "woke" than any one of their readers or listeners? Whatever the motive, the liberal media are leading us toward enslavement and destruction. It is terrifying to think that America may become the ally of Russia and Communist China in the service of global tyranny and that a majority of Americans may have voted in favor of their own enslavement. That is the future toward which we are headed. In doing so, we are losing contact with the fundamental truths of human nature: the fact that human beings seek security, freedom, improvement in living standards, and meaning in their lives. Those who still cherish these fundamental truths are the enemies of the totalitarian state and of the media that support it. Like Ayn Rand's John Galt, they know that the promise of collectivist utopia is a lie set forth to enslave us, and they know they must preserve their own integrity and the knowledge of human nature upon which it rests. We are now seeing the worst assault on liberty in our nation's history broader, more ruthless, and more determined than anything we have seen in the past. Sleepy Joe Biden plays the fool, but he is a ruthless practitioner of progressivism. The happy future that he promises is an illusion; the reality is regimentation and control. That future will steer the country toward global alliances with collectivist states that oppress their people as ruthlessly as Stalin did in the 20th century. Xi Jinping has reportedly detained 1.5 million people in "re-education" camps. How long will it be until America's progressive state detains white Christians for re-education? Compulsory workplace sensitivity training is only just the beginning. This is not the America I grew up in or that I believe in, and the censorship, the voter fraud, the fake news, the corruption of public education, the assault on life and on the Second Amendment now taking place seem irreversible. We may awaken in some dark future with Big Brother monitoring our every thought and with only a dim memory of the land of liberty and opportunity that we once knew. We may already have awakened there. Perhaps, by some miracle, our children and grandchildren will regain the truth that man has always sought liberty, opportunity, and security, and that a God exists to redeem us and instill meaning. The truth that life requires courage, and that individuals in a free society have the obligation to contribute to the good of all. We have arrived at that crucial point where we must choose between democratic capitalism a system based on the human desire for freedom and opportunity and the false promise of a communist utopia based on state control. Biden seeks to expand the size of government beyond anything we have known in the past, and with it the power that government has over our lives. That sort of control does not suggest a happy future. The left is determined to enslave us. Peacefully but resolute, we must resist. Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011). Image: Chad Sparkes via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Visakhapatnam: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has said that they will present historical and relevant evidence to prove that Tirumala, the residence of Lord Venkateswara in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. The administration of the temple is all set to release a document as a booklet on April 13, the day of TTD, Ugadi Utsav (Telugu New Year), to prove that Anjanadri, one of the seven hills of Tirumala, Anjanadri is called the birthplace of Rambhakta Hanuman. "We will bring the committee report as a booklet to prove that Lord Hanuman was actually born in Anjanadri, one of the seven hills of Tirumala, which is part of the Sheshchalam hill range of the Eastern Ghats", TTD executive officer KS Jawahar Reddy said. The panel submitted its report to TTD in a meeting with Reddy on Thursday. "Several types of research have been done by different other researchers in the past to track the path of Lord Ram based on astronomy," a member of the committee said on condition of anonymity. Ram, who traveled south from Ayodhya before entering Sri Lanka via Rameswaram, may have crossed Lord Hanuman in Tirumala." The committee member said, "According to the scriptures, Anjana Devi had taken a holy bath in a waterfall of The Tamasala hills and the Akhara Ganga before giving birth to Lord Hanuman." Also Read: Joe Biden sets up commission to study the possible expansion of Supreme Court Nagpur: 4 died in a fire in Covid Hospital, PM Modi expresses grief Kishanganj Police SHO beaten to death in West Bengal The opening day of the 2021 outdoor Market at Pepper Place has been postponed due to the threat of severe weather. The outdoor market was set to resume for its 2021 season on Saturday, April 10 at 7 a.m. and run until noon. Due to the increased risk of severe weather including damaging winds, strong thunderstorms, and possible tornadoes, organizers have decided to cancel Saturdays vendor set up. WEATHER UPDATES: Growing risk for severe weather in Alabama today; severe thunderstorm watch issued Customers who have placed orders online for curbside pickup will be able to collect their orders at the usual time of 7 a.m. to noon. In the event storms pass by mid-morning and the weather is clear, organizers say some farmers may set up shop in the Dr. Pepper lot to sell produce out of their trucks until noon. All updates about Saturdays market will be posted on the Market at Pepper Place social media accounts and website from Friday evening to Saturday morning. Market at Pepper Place patrons are advised to use caution when coming to Pepper Place for shopping and grocery pickup. Pepper Place Market Manager Lisa Beasley agonized about the decision to cancel the market since yesterday afternoon when weather predictions began to look dire, according to a press release. She says the cancellation would be hardest on farmers whove already harvested for the market as well as but our food producers who have been baking and preparing all week for the markets big opening day. Since its start in 2000, the outdoor Pepper Place Market has rarely been canceled due to inclement weather. Weve only canceled the market for weather once as far as I know, Beasley said in the press release. When we had an ice storm 2 years ago. Many of our farmers and vendors live far away and would be nervous about driving a long distance in the middle of the night in a bad storm to come to market, Beasley continued in the release. Theyre also reluctant to leave their farms and animals behind. Customers are skittish of the bad weather too, and they should be! As of Friday, a number of Alabama counties are under severe thunderstorm watch including: Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Jefferson, Lowndes, Montgomery, Perry, Shelby, Walker, Marion, Winston, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa. The storms could come in two rounds. The first is already in progress and could last into Friday night. Rain and storms were already moving across parts of south Alabama, and there have been multiple severe thunderstorm warnings issued as of 1 p.m. The second round of storms, which could be the stronger of the two, will be during the overnight hours and into Saturday morning, according to the weather service. The storms could move quickly, which will increase the threat for damaging winds. However, there will be a risk for a tornado as well, according to forecasters. Drier weather is expected starting on Sunday, but rain chances could begin to increase again on Tuesday. Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello has promised mandatory venue check-ins will be lifted as soon as we get the green light from health experts, as privacy experts warn the COVID-19 check-in tool lacks safeguards. Mr Dominello said the QR code system was only intended for contact tracing during pandemic conditions but those might continue for some time. As soon as we get the green light from health experts that it is no longer necessary, the QR check-in requirement for high-risk venues will be removed, he said. Concerns have been raised about privacy safeguards of the NSW governments COVID-19 check-in tool. Credit:Brook Mitchell Mr Dominello said the data was securely stored for 28 days and then destroyed, and under no circumstance ... shared with other parties or agencies outside NSW Health. Privacy was at the forefront of our thinking when delivering digital services, he said. Talks between Indian and Chinese military delegates over the disengagement in Eastern Ladakh at various friction points lasted for 13 hours. The dialogue that started at 10.30 a.m. ended at 11.30 p.m.. They discussed disengagement at friction areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and the 900 sq-km Depsang plains. The 11th round of the Corps Commander talks at Chushul took place after almost a two-month gap. The Indian military delegation was led by Lieutenant General P.G.K. Menon, Commander of the 14 Corps based in Leh. The focus of the talk is disengagement on other friction points. After Pangong lake disengagement, both the countries have planned to carry out disengagement on other friction points like Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang "The military dialogue is still on and it is important that before the onset of summer de-escalation takes place at Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both sides need retreat to original positions for things to ease," said a senior officer. The build-up in Depsang was not being considered as part of the current stand-off that started in May 2020 as escalations here took place in 2013, India has insisted during recent military commander meetings to resolve all issues across the LAC. On February 20, Indian and Chinese military held the 10th round of military dialogue to deescalate tension at the LAC. So far, the disengagement process at both banks of the Pangong Lake has taken place. It was on February 10 that China made an announcement that New Delhi and Beijing had agreed to disengage at Pangong Lake. As per the agreement, Chinese troops moved back to Finger 8 and Indian troops pulled back to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 of the north bank of Pangong Lake. A temporary moratorium on military activities, including patrolling to the traditional areas. The mountain spur jutting into the lake is referred to as Finger in military parlance. The north bank of the lake is divided into 8 Fingers. Indian has claimed its territory till Finger 8 and China dispute it claims till Finger 4. India and China are engaged in a year long stand-off at the LAC. The confrontations began on the north bank of Pangong Lakeas Chinese incursions increased in May last year. --IANS sk/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-11 00:03:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People receive COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Gulou District of Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Bo) BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- A new COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm has recently been approved for clinical trials. The new recombinant COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Vaccine & Serum Institute, a R&D center of Sinopharm's bioscience subsidiary the China National Biotec Group (CNBG), got approval from the National Medical Products Administration on Friday, the CNBG said on its official Weibo account on Saturday. The vaccine is based on the structural features of the receptor binding domain (RBD) on the virus' spike protein (S-protein). It uses genetic engineering to grow harmless copies of the virus S-protein to induce neutralizing antibodies. The company said that recombinant vaccine technology is mature and suitable for large-scale production. The production does not require facilities with high biosafety levels since the process does not involve live viruses. The recombinant vaccine is the company's third COVID-19 vaccine. Last December, an inactivated vaccine developed by the Beijing Biological Products Institute Co., Ltd. under CNBG became the first Chinese COVID-19 vaccine to have conditional marketing authorization. In February, another inactivated vaccine from the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, a CNBG affiliate, was allowed to enter the market on a conditional basis. More than 161.12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Friday, the National Health Commission said Saturday. The calibre FB-T.FC-RS with tourbillon and fusee-and-chain transmission thus heralds a new approach for Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud, enabling collectors to appreciate the rarity of precision mechanics while choosing the case design that suits them best. It would have been inconceivable, almost three centuries ago, for someone to acquire a pocket watch or clock not entirely made to match one's personal taste. Over time, this consideration gradually ebbed away, replaced by standardisation as watches became widely distributed products. Nonetheless, this approach, which enabled watchmaking to flourish in an unprecedented way, does not fully correspond to the spirit of Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud. FB 1RS.6 Ferdinand Berthoud A limited-edition movement In a bid to strengthen ties with the original inspiration of its founder, Ferdinand Berthoud (1727 - 1807), the Manufacture bearing his name is introducing an evolved version of its business model: as of now, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud will communicate the total number of units for each inhouse-made calibre. "Our primary objective is to safeguard collectors interests," explains Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, President of Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud. "By explicitly specifying a pre-determined number of movements, we engage in a fully transparent procedure. Collectors are as sensitive to the rarity of their timepiece as they are to that of the calibre powering it. By communicating about both, we are placing watch movements and customers firmly front and centre, thus preserving the integrity of their collection. FB 1RS.6 Ferdinand Berthoud This new mindset is embodied by a first creation: the Regulateur Squelette FB RS, a new model based on the FB-T.FC-RS calibre. For the first time, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud has announced that the production of this movement will be strictly limited to 20 in all. This approach reinforces the determination expressed from the very beginning of the Manufacture: to produce only an extremely limited number of timepieces each year. In view of the chronometric and aesthetic requirements, as well as the inevitably lengthy development time inherent to each new creation, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud is thus reaffirming its resolve to achieve absolute excellence, a goal necessarily implying limited production. The first skeleton movement The FB-T.FC-RS calibre is the first skeleton movement produced by the Manufacture. This regulator-type chronometer movement with tourbillon and fusee-and-chain transmission is the result of comprehensive technical and aesthetic development and is inspired by Marine Clock No. 8, produced by the master-watchmaker in Paris in 1768. Through the opening visible at 2 o'clock, a large-diameter sapphire disc indicates the hours, while minutes are read off on the dial offset to 12 o'clock. The seconds are displayed on a flat sapphire inner bezel ring surrounding the dial. The bridges have been entirely designed to ensure an admirable view of the choreography performed by the imposing tourbillon carriage appearing on the dial side. Many components feature black PVD coating, alternating with polished, matt, vertical satin-brushed and sandblasted finishes. The tourbillon bridge visible on the dial side is in itself a tour de force, with its mirror-polished and chamfered surfaces, polished flanks, and sandblasted underside. The decoration alone of each movement thus requires dozens of different craftsmanship skills. Nearly a year of trials was needed to achieve this level of finishing, enabling the complexity of this new movement on the dial side to be fully admired for the first time. The FB-T.FC-RS calibre features a pillar-type structure in which the barrel and the reverse fusee are both suspended and patented. This fusee-and-chain transmission mechanism is inspired by that of Ferdinand Berthoud's marine chronometers. It ensures the distribution of energy by delivering "constant force" to the tourbillon with its direct-drive seconds. This novel construction is the third patent to be filed. FB 2RS.2 Ferdinand Berthoud Finally, the fourth patent applies to the power-reserve indicator. Visible on the case-back side, a suspended truncated cone moves up and down along an arbor connected to the barrel. A feeler spindle in the form of a mobile arm tipped with a watch jewel reflects the state of wind of the barrel thanks to its position on the cone. It transmits the information to the power-reserve hand on the dial side by means of flat levers and a spiral spring. Like all Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud movements, the FB-T.FC-RS calibre is officially chronometer-certified and was submitted to the Fleuritest during its development phase. One movement, two cases The choice of watch exterior from among the various combinations offered by Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud will be left to the collector. Henceforth, the Manufacture will be offering two variations: the FB 1RS.6 with an octagonal case in carburised stainless steel and the FB 2RS.2 with a round case in 18-carat rose gold. This carburised steel has had its molecular structure reinforced, making its surface (1200 Vickers) extremely resistant to scratches and corrosion. The gold is of certified ethical origin. This approach is in line with the quality-driven vision adopted since the start of the Manufacture in 2015. The two successive awards at the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Grand Prix dHorlogerie de Geneve in the "Chronometry" category have demonstrated the reliability and precision of its timepieces. Through this new initiative, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud thus confirms its desire to exceed collectors' expectations by offering the unprecedented possibility of choosing the case shape Aurora University, where students can choose between remote or in-person learning, has tracked COVID-19 cases by using surveillance testing through random samples of students on campus, including athletes, nursing majors and residential students. Since Jan. 11, the highest positivity rate for the campus was 1.8% on Jan. 18. In the last two weeks, positivity rates have stood at zero, officials said. As more Americans get vaccinated and more proof, albeit still inconclusive, emerges that the COVID-19 vaccines more than likely inhibit the spread of the coronavirus it feels as if the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel is near. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaxed its guidelines for social distancing and mask-wearing, permitting fully vaccinated people to congregate indoors with one another in small groups, unmasked. (Theres some caveats: If youre immunocompromised or older, consider holding off on indoor, unmasked gatherings for now even if youre vaccinated.) A CDC study of health care workers and first-line responders in the United States some of the most exposed to COVID-19 found that infections, including asymptomatic ones that could lead to transmission, have been reduced by 90% post-vaccine, while other global studies found major reductions in transmission. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky also said in an interview that data suggests vaccinated people do not carry the virus. These findings should offer hope to the millions of Americans receiving COVID-19 vaccines each day and to those who will have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated in the weeks ahead, Walensky said at the time. (That said, those comments were met with contention by some medical experts and the CDC issued a statement emphasizing that evidence remains inconclusive.) Days before, Walensky also cautioned against impending doom as cases steadily rose over the prior week. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations leading infectious diseases expert, blamed the surge on increased travel and loosening restrictions by leaders in states such as Texas, Michigan and Iowa. B.1.1.7, a particularly infectious strain of the virus originating from the United Kingdom, is the most prevalent one in the United States and appears to be infecting kids and young adults at a higher rate. With all of this in mind, experts who spoke to SFGATE said that you should still be wearing a mask when out in public settings for a multitude of reasons. As UCSF infectious diseases expert Dr. Monica Gandhi puts it, you should still be wearing a mask to fulfill your social contract to your fellow neighbor. The idea that we'll all be wearing masks in public for a short period of time can be rankling to some, Gandhi said. But I consider it sort of a polite thing to do. The way she thinks of it, there are still plenty of people out in the world who have been unable to get the vaccine, especially in California. We're in the twilight zone, Gandhi said. We haven't all been able to get vaccinated. Charlie Riedel/Associated Press That issue is exacerbated by vaccine inequities in California, Black and Latino residents are less vaccinated than other groups. A USC study also found that Latino and Black Californians are more likely to die of the virus. She acknowledges that some people whether anti-maskers who want to take off their face coverings post-vaccine, or anti-vaxxers who refuse to get the shot will be unhappy with her pleas for good manners. Its almost impolite that some of us can run around scot-free and some of us have to wear a face mask and so I guess that's how I'm framing it, and I'm going to be criticized for that. But perhaps worth noting is that she can take this approach because people in the Bay Area, and specifically San Francisco, are getting the vaccine at higher rates relative to the rest of the country or even the state of California. A recent report found that 79% of unvaccinated Bay Area residents will consider getting the vaccine; those numbers go up in San Francisco, with 93% of residents likely to be inoculated. Compare those numbers to the state and country: A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 61% of Californians have gotten or will definitely get the vaccine; a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 62% of Americans will certainly get the vaccine. University of New Haven professor of biomedical engineering Kagya Amoako also says its worth wearing a mask after vaccination, but takes a slightly different methodology. When it comes to being in public and in large crowds, you still have to wear your mask, he said, even if you're fully vaccinated because you don't know who's in the crowd, and you don't know what kind of risks they would experience should they get COVID. Amoako says its worth taking a bit more of a cautious approach on COVID-19 transmission post-vaccine. When we get the data, then, you know, people will feel more comfortable with that, he said. If you're fully vaccinated, you're hopefully not going to be transmitting the virus to other people. He points out that a trial backed by the National Institutes of Health is currently underway to determine whether the vaccines, specifically the Moderna version, will help stop the transmission of the coronavirus. Like Gandhi, he understands the frustration of staying in the pandemic environment for over a year. But for him, the idea of wearing masks post-immunization is about staying patient until more people get vaccinated and cases begin to decline more significantly as new strains begin to pop up. We are almost there, right, we are almost there and we have to just hold on a little bit longer, he said. Very soon, the number of people who will have received a vaccine will climb very fast, approaching herd immunity, right, and more safety will come from that. He also pointed to pandemic exhaustion and overly lax restrictions as a key reason to keep mask mandates in place for now. The weather is getting warmer and people are getting tired. They want to be out, he said. And so I think people are getting impatient, so we just have to speed up the vaccination. Its been a year and the message has been very consistent. But states and individuals are choosing to do whatever they want. While Gandhi, the UCSF infectious diseases expert, previously pushed back on Walenskys comments about the COVID-19 spike, Gandhi acknowledges that shes able to make these statements because the region she lives and works in is ahead of the curve for vaccines. I actually think it would be really hard to be a CDC director, because you want to, you know, advise people to be cautious, Gandhi said of her prior comments on Walensky. But the way that you message may end up being more on the side of fear, because you are trying to urge caution. Im going to favor vaccine optimism in my own messaging, she said, pointing to her background working through the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As a doctor, I get to encourage vaccine uptake so I'm in a lucky position that I get to do that. Amoako also says that vaccines are integral to ending the pandemic. What we have control over is getting a lot of vaccines out, and then you have to convince those who don't want to take the vaccine, he said. Thats another beast altogether. Both Gandhi and Amoako say itll be worth re-evaluating these policies in the coming months, especially as vaccine eligibility opens up more broadly. In California, everyone over 16 years old will be eligible starting April 15. President Joe Biden just announced that starting April 19, everyone over 16 will be eligible. The issue will certainly come up again come June 15, the day Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to "fully reopen" the state with a mask mandate likely intact. A mandate by a politician or public health [official] to wear a face mask once everyones had an opportunity to get a vaccine will be met with a lot of resistance, Gandhi said. But for now, keep your masks handy and dont be a jerk. Lifting restrictions slowly is appropriately cautious, a Cork infectious diseases expert said, as he warned that reopening too quickly would put unvaccinated people at risk. Arthur Jackson, a member of the Infectious Diseases Society and consultant working between Cork University Hospital and the Mercy in Cork, said medical staff are cautiously optimistic about the week ahead. From Monday all students are back at school, people can travel within their county and two households can meet outdoors. Residential construction work also re-starts. People in Cork were badly affected by the virus this year. On one day in January, there were 140 Covid-19 patients being treated in CUH and 39 patient the Mercy. Dr Jackson said this picture has changed significantly in the past few weeks. He estimated there were no active Covid-patients in the Mercy on Friday, and less than 10 in CUH. The mood is of pleasant optimism with a little bit of concern about what is going to happen. There is still a danger associated with lifting restrictions, there is a strong chance of another wave. He added: It depends on how liberal they (government) are with opening up society and opening restrictions before the vaccines have gotten out to the younger groups. At the moment it is planned to vaccinate everyone by late September, depending on supply. If we lift restrictions very soon, even with a younger cohort being at risk, it is a huge number of people potentially getting infected if it runs rampant in the age group of 20-65. We would still have a large group admitted to hospital, a lot of people even if they dont die would get seriously ill, he said. The risks of blood clotting and the Long Covid syndrome are high for people of all ages, he said. And Dr Jackson pointed to the increased transmissibility of the B.117 or UK variant. At Christmas, the B.117 was a new variant, now that is the normal circulating virus, he said. He said this has meant if one person is admitted to hospital from a household, then everybody in that house is also sick to varying levels. A year ago you had one person admitted and most people at home wouldnt be infected. Now, this spreads where it is allowed. I agree we have to lift restrictions, but we have to do it sensibly. Dr Jackson said innovations like antigen testing and structuring of shift-times, as is being done now in meat plants, should be applied in other workplaces too. Testing Times Antigen testing is something we should embrace, we should use it appropriately. Its not the answer, but it is part of the answer, he said. He would like to see infections to continue decreasing, as hospitals are looking to treat non-Covid patients. And he said there are growing numbers with Long Covid symptoms. Working groups from different medical specialities are looking at a countrywide approach to this, he said, under the HSE national lead for acute hospitals Vida Hamilton. The post-covid era should also be a time to fix infrastructural problems, he said. Multi-bed wards and narrow corridors added to hospital infection numbers, and lack of digitalised records is slowing down the vaccine roll-out. It would seem an appropriate time to take stock of everything, he said. Representatives of several private German companies on a visit to Lebanon outlined on Friday an elaborate, multi-billion dollar study to rebuild the port of Beirut and surrounding neighborhoods destroyed by a massive explosion last year. The horrific Aug. 4 explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, killed 211 people and injured more than 6,000. The material had been stored at a port warehouse for years. The blast one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history badly worsened Lebanon's economic crisis that saw hundreds of thousands plunged into sudden poverty. Several countries are said to be interested in rebuilding the port and the surrounding areas, including Turkey and China, but Germanys consortium, led by Hamburg Port Consulting and Colliers, was the first to visit Lebanon with a plan in hand that they presented to Lebanese officials. Beirut's port, with an area of 1.2 million square meters (12.9 million square feet), is by far the largest in Lebanon, a tiny nation of 5 million on a strategic Mediterranean crossroads between Asia and Europe. But the proposal to rebuild the port cannot proceed until a new government is formed in Lebanon and like most international donors and foreign companies, the German delegation made it clear no money would be spent in Lebanon before major reforms are undertaken to fight widespread corruption. Money flows where trust goes, Suheil Mahayni, managing director at Hamburg Port Consulting, told reporters at the end of the visit. A new government would need to ensure full transparency so that the money invested is spent to the benefit of the Lebanese people. Alia Fares of the Lebanese German Council for Archaeology and Culture said the study includes spending $300 million on restoring historic neighborhoods surrounding the port. After Lebanons 1975-1990 civil war ended, a private company was in charge of rebuilding Beiruts downtown, leading to high rises with multi-million dollars apartments and restaurants and shops out of reach of many poor Lebanese. The office of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said he met with the German delegation on Thursday and received its preliminary study on how to reactivate the port of Beirut for trade and tourism. There were no further details. Lebanons government resigned just days after the port blast. In October, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was named to form a new Cabinet but has failed to do so since amid political bickering. The country meanwhile has slid deeper into crisis, with the national currency losing around 85% of its value. According to the study, a total of $7.2 billion will be spent over the years to rebuild the port, nearby residential areas, outdoor facilities, technical infrastructure, land reclamation and a new beach. The project will make $30 billion of indirect profitability and create 50,000 permanent jobs over a period of 30 years. International donors demand that Lebanon implement economic changes in order to get loans and grants pledged at the CEDRE economic conference in Paris in April 2018. They have pledged $11 billion for Lebanon but the money is still blocked as they seek assurances the funds will be well spent in the corruption-plagued country. Germanys Ambassador to Lebanon Andreas Kindl said there is a clear international commitment there would be no financial support for any reconstruction before there are substantial reforms, credible reforms, economic and political reforms." (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Cairo, April 10 : The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced the arrival of a giant dredge, the largest in the Middle East, in te vital waterway. "After finishing all the naval experiments, the 48,000-tonne, 216.7-metre-long, 43-metre-wide dredge, which is dubbed Mohab Mamish, has joined the SCA fleet today," Chairman of the SCA Osama Rabie said in a statement on Friday. A dredge is an apparatus for bringing up objects or mud from a river or seabed by scooping or dragging. The SCA has signed a 300-million-euro contract with the Dutch company IHC to build two dredges and a digger that could work all day long in all types of sand, and rocky and muddy soil, reports Xinhua news agency. A team from the IHC will attend the operation tests of the new dredge, he added. Purchasing the dredgers is part of the SCA's plan by 2026, which also includes developing the maritime fleet, tugboats, and boats used for transport guide. Another giant dredge called "Hussein Tantawy" is expected to arrive in August, according to Rabie. On Wednesday, Rabie said 85 ships crossed the waterway carrying 6.1 million tonnes, the heaviest load since the Suez Canal opened for navigation in 1869. Traffic was restored on March 29 after the 224,000-tonne Panama-flagged ship, Ever Given, was grounded on March 23 after it had veered off its course in a single-lane stretch of the canal during a sandstorm. The incident caused a six-day suspension of navigation in the canal, stranding at least 422 ships. Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 km. Some 12 per cent of the world trade volume passes through the Suez Canal. At least 18,840 ships passed through the canal last year. The Suez Canal provides one of Egypt's main sources of income, alongside tourism and remittances from expatriates. Revenue from the waterway reached $5.6 billion last year. The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. Yukon residents will head to the polls on Monday for Canada's fourth election held during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Editor's note: There are few no-risk activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are ways to mitigate risks. Fully vaccinated people are, of course, at much lower risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus than people who haven't been vaccinated. CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen advises approaching your activity decisions with that in mind. (CNN) If you're wondering how to get back to in-person religious services, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen recommends thinking about it like your finances. Just like a financial budget helps you figure out what your spending limits are, a "coronavirus budget" can help you figure out where your boundaries are in terms of potentially risky activities -- including religious services, she said. "When you're vaccinated, your budget now expands," said Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. "You can do a lot more, but you still can't do everything. So, you should still choose the things that are the most meaningful to you, that are of the highest value. For example, if it's really important for you to return to in-person church services, don't also dine indoors in restaurants every night." Some churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship have been offering virtual or outdoor services. If you do attend in-person services inside, because unvaccinated people are still at higher risk, both vaccinated and unvaccinated people still need "to follow the public health measures recommended (by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)," said Dr. Ada Stewart, a family physician with Cooperative Health in Columbia, South Carolina, and the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. That includes following the guidance of your local public health department or government. Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet away from people who don't live in your household, and avoid poorly ventilated spaces. Well-ventilated spaces have the ability to open windows and doors and use window fans. They also have properly operating ventilation systems and HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration systems that enhance air cleaning. Try to sit near an open window or door, or choose a service in which people tend to sing less, Wen said. Singing can require making your voice louder and more forceful, which would increase the risk of spreading coronavirus through the air. Before and after the service, wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer. Ask your house of worship if it's regularly cleaning, with soap or detergent, frequently touched surfaces like pews, pens or offering plates. You could bring sanitizing wipes to use if needed. The risk of getting infected with coronavirus by touching contaminated surfaces is generally low, the CDC has said, but chances depend on several factors, including the infection rate in your community. The likelihood of surface transmission can be further reduced by properly wearing masks and handwashing. The CDC has recommended a few steps to reduce the potential risk involved with sharing materials: Avoid or limit use of shared objects such as pens, hymnals, religious texts, bulletins or other worship aids. Ask whether your church can instead photocopy or electronically display or project prayers, songs and texts. Houses of worship can also use stationary collection boxes for offerings instead of passing a basket, or accept contributions online. If food is offered at or after services, choose pre-packaged foods instead of buffet or potluck meals, if possible. If you have children, the CDC has also provided resources for preventing the spread of coronavirus in child care settings. Whether children should attend Sunday school depends on the setting, Wen said. "There should be enforced masking at all times, ideally (6-feet) distancing," she said. "Outside is much better than inside," Wen added. "If it's inside, at least have it be in a well-ventilated space. We should consider Sunday school to be the same as regular school, which is that transmission can be quite low if the proper mitigation measures are followed." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Your guide to avoiding Covid-19 at church and other religious services." US lawmakers next Wednesday will consider a bill to study paying reparations to descendants of enslaved people, which could open the door for a potential vote on an issue that has gained momentum in recent years. On April 14 the House Judiciary Committee will hold the first-ever markup -- the process by which committees debate and amend legislation -- on a bill that creates a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for Black people. Friday's announcement comes during the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing Black man George Floyd, whose death triggered nationwide protests highlighting the country's racial injustice. The bill was first introduced more than 30 years ago but never advanced. It addresses the period of slavery and discrimination in the United States from 1619 to the present day, and will propose remedies including financial reparations. "The historic markup of HR 40 is intended to continue a national conversation about how to confront the brutal mistreatment of African Americans during chattel slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and the enduring structural racism that remains endemic to our society today," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement Friday. Americans still live with racial disparities in access to education, health care, housing, employment and other social provisions attributable to the damaging legacy of slavery and government-sponsored racial discrimination, he added. President Joe Biden has repeatedly addressed the need to end systemic racism, and the White House has expressed support for the commission. Its intent is not to divide, lawmakers said, but to continue efforts already begun in some states and cities during recent years of racial reckoning. House Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, the bill's sponsor, said that by passing HR 40, Congress could "start a movement toward the national reckoning we need to bridge racial divides." Story continues Last month, local lawmakers in Evanston, a small city outside Chicago, voted to give funds to Black residents as a form of reparations for housing discrimination, thereby becoming the first city in America to take such action. Under the plan, residents who qualify will receive $25,000 to use towards home improvements or mortgage assistance. The move has been closely followed in the United States, and could become a model for elsewhere in the country as racial injustice has risen up the political and public agenda. The American Civil Liberties Union hailed Friday's announcement, saying the markup "shows that our elected officials are finally listening to the will of the millions who demand that we begin to repair the communities most harmed by racism and oppression." mlm/jm The Bono Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Owusu-Banahene, has appealed to chiefs and people in the region to help her build on the achievements of her predecessors. According to her, there were several untapped tourism attractions in the region which should be developed to generate revenue for the development of the various districts and municipalities. Pledge Mrs Owusu-Banahene, who was speaking during her maiden interaction with the media in Sunyani last Wednesday, also pledged to collaborate with the media to enhance the general development of the region. She mentioned the Menji Crocodile Pond and the Hani Archaeological Site in the Tain District, the Duasiden Monkey Sanctuary in the Dormaa Central Municipality and Nchiraa Waterfall in the Wenchi Municipality as some of the untapped tourist attractions in the region. There are so many potential tourist sites in the region which need to be developed for improvement of revenue mobilisation, Mrs Owusu-Banahene stated. Media engagement During the interaction, issues concerning improvement of sanitation, security, education, health and roads were discussed, and the minister solicited support from the media to assist her to achieve her goals. The media practitioners urged the minister to work hard to complete all projects started by her predecessors. They also called for a lasting solution to issues of sanitation, health, security and education, among other challenges confronting the region. They advised the minister not to surround herself with people whose attitudes and actions could cause discrimination and disunity among the people in the region. Responding to the issues, Mrs Owusu-Banahene acknowledged that the support of everybody was needed for the achievement of the development aspirations of the region. She promised to welcome suggestions, ideas and views from the public that were geared towards the development of the region. My doors are always open to all stakeholders who have the development of the region at heart, and I encourage the public to support me with ideas for the progress of the region, Mrs Owusu-Banahene stated. She appealed to journalists to use their various platforms to educate residents to take care of all government properties. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Priory School set to expand with acquisition of the Buchanan House Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state is contemplating a lawsuit, if the U.S. Centers for Disease Control fails to act soon to ease sailing restrictions and allow for a summer cruise season in Alaska. Dunleavy addressed the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce during a lunchtime speech Tuesday, April 13. Four gray whales have turned up dead in the San Francisco Bay over a week and a half, sparking concerns about the whale population in the region. There are fears that the recorded gray whale deaths could represent just a small fraction of the amount of whales that are dead in the water, with experts unclear on how at least two of them died and calling the spate of deaths 'shocking'. The carcass of the first whale, an adult female 41ft long, washed ashore at Crissy Field in San Francisco on March 31. Three days later, a second adult female whale was found at Moss Beach in San Mateo. Pictured: A dead whale that was found in the Berkeley Marina with an unknown cause of death This is the adult female gray whale that washed ashore on Thursday, struck by a ship 'That animal's cause of death, we suspect, was ship strike,' Giancarlo Rulli of the Marine Mammal Center said to SFGATE, though that hasn't been confirmed. On Wednesday, a third whale was found floating near the Berkeley Marina, with a fourth whale found on Thursday at Muir Beach in Marin County. The manner of death of the fourth whale is the only one definitively known so far, as it was struck by a ship. A necropsy of that whale revealed significant bruising and hemorrhaging to the muscle around the jaw, as well as the neck vertebrae. The whale was in good condition prior to the fatal ship strike. 'It's alarming to respond to four dead gray whales in just over a week because it really puts into perspective the current challenges faced by this species,' said Dr. Padraig Duignan, director of pathology at the Marine Mammal Center, according to The Guardian. So far, four whales have appeared dead in the San Francisco Bay since March 31 At least 13 dead whales appeared in the Bay Area in 2019. Half of the whales who died in 2019 were due to malnutrition, which will take further investigation to potentially apply to the recent whale deaths. 'This many dead whales in a week is shocking, especially because these animals are the tip of the iceberg,' legal director of the Center for Biological Diversitys oceans program Kristen Monsell stated. Experts believe the four dead whales of the past few days may represent as little as 10 percent of the amount of deceased whales in the water, as many sink without being noticed. The San Francisco Bay (stock). Humans and climate change play a major role in endangering whales, with less prey in the ocean and more opportunities to be entangled in nets There are many different threats to whales in the ocean, including the effects of climate change, which has heated up the ocean and limited the availability of prey. The use of fishing gear and ship strikes can also play a part in hurting the whale population, as the latter did with the most recent whale. In the most recent population surveys from 2015 and 2016, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration reported one in four gray whales with migration patterns across the West Coast died. Whales typically migrate to Mexican waters in the winter, where they mate, before traveling up to California in the spring and summer en route to the Arctic. Pictured: A whale that washed up dead at Point Reyes National Seashore near San Francisco in 2019 The Marine Mammal Center is challenged to perform its investigations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We're deploying smaller teams than normal, and these are 40-foot-plus whales, these investigations take hours,' Rulli said. 'It can take some time to figure out what's happening.' Meanwhile, a humpback whale was spotted near Tiburon in mid-March, the earliest in the year that's ever occurred. According to the Associated Press, the Center for Biological Diversity is suing the federal government in an attempt to have speed limits added to shipping lanes to help avoid these kinds of fatal whale strikes. 'Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements kill many whales that we never see,' Monsell said. RTHK: Undersea quake rattles Indonesia's Java A strong earthquake killed at least one person and damaged buildings on Indonesias main island of Java and shook the tourist hotspot of Bali, officials said Saturday. No tsunami warnings were posted. The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.0 quake struck off the island's southern coast at 2:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT). It was centered 45 kilometers south of Sumberpucung town of Malang District in East Java province, at a depth of 82 kilometers. Rahmat Triyono, the head of Indonesias earthquake and tsunami center, said in a statement the undersea earthquake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. Still, he urged people to stay away from slopes of soil or rocks that have the potential for landslides. Falling rocks killed a woman on a motorcycle and badly injured her husband in East Javas Lumajang district, vice district chief Indah Amperawati told MetroTV. Several homes were also reportedly damaged in the district. Television reports showed people running in panic from malls and buildings in several cities in East Java province. Indonesias search and rescue agency released videos and photos of damaged houses and buildings, including a ceiling at a hospital in Blitar, a city neighboring Malang. Authorities were still collecting information about the full scale of casualties and damage in the affected areas. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In January, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500, while more than 92,000 displaced, after striking Mamuju and Majene districts in West Sulawesi province. (AP) ______________________________ Last updated: 2021-04-10 HKT 19:03 This story has been published on: 2021-04-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. New Delhi, April 10 : Election Commission on Saturday adjourned polling at one booth in Sitalkurchi Assembly constituency under Cooch Behar district where four people were killed in the firing by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel. Following the incident, the EC issued the order to adjourn the polls at Polling Station 126 of Sitalkurchi Assembly constituency. The poll panel's move followed the reports submitted by Special Observers. A detailed report of the incident has been sought by the Chief Election Officer in West Bengal by 5 p.m. on Saturday. "The Commission hereby orders adjourning the poll in PS 126 of Sitalkurchi AC, Cooch Behar based on interim report from Special Observers. Detailed reports are sought from them and CEO by 5 p.m. today," an EC official told IANS. As per preliminary reports, four persons were killed as CAPF personnel opened fire after coming under attack by locals in Sitalkurchi Assembly constituency area during ongoing fourth phase of elections in the state. According to sources, the incident took place at the polling booth in Sitalkuchi at around 10 a.m. when a Quick Response Team (QRT) were allegedly attacked by unidentified persons. Five rounds of bullets were fired as the clash broke out when the QRT team along with local police which was clearing a crowd which reportedly was preventing voters from reaching polling booths, the source said. Meanwhile, the source said, a voter fell down and unidentified miscreants started to damage vehicle of QRT, and it led the CAPF personnel to fire bullets. Reacting to the incident, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: "We have been saying that the home ministry has been influencing the central forces and our worst fears have come true today. They have killed four people." The TMC accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of the incident, saying the deceased was the saffron party's polling agent at the booth. "Since morning BJP miscreants were blocking people's right to vote while CRPF was influencing voters to vote in favour of BJP. When TMC workers went to enquire why people were not being allowed to vote, BJP miscreants launched an attack creating an atmosphere of chaos, following which CRPF opened fire leading to 5 TMC workers losing their lives," the TMC said in a statement. Meanwhile, Sitalkuchi's BJP candidate Baren Chandra Barman said that a deceased person was the party's polling agent at the booth and TMC activists were behind the murder. New Delhi: Odisha Police arrests an ex-army personnel along with five others for providing arms training and logistic support to CPI-Maoist breakaway faction Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI) from Sundergarh district. The arrests came a day after Odisha Police arrested eight PLFI cadres including two commander rank members of the banned outfit. Sundergarh superintendent of police (SP) Pinak Mishra, Jadumani Patra one of the arrested on Monday raids is a former army jawan. The SP informed the media that Patra is a resident of Badbil, is an ex-army personnel, and he was providing shelter, logistics support and arms training Arjun Rana, a zonal commander, and his troop. Rana was arrested on Sunday. The other arrested have been identified as Sandip Ekka, 22; Butru Khadia, 20; Suraj Sahu, 19; Kalu Thakur, 19, and Riba Xalxo, 30. All the arrested belong to Biramitrapur of Sundergarh district. Also read: Maoists torch PLFI leader's house in Palamau Mishra added, "Monday arrests were made after Arjun and Kiran Soye PLFI cadres arrested yesterday spilled details of other members during questioning. A special raiding team was formed to make raids according to the inputs provided by the PLFI arrested leaders, said Mishra. Also read: PLFI ultras kill three in Jharkhand PLFI is in a fratricidal war with its CPI-Maoists in at least 14 districts in Jharkhand and three districts of Odisha for area dominance. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ash and smoke billow as the La Soufriere volcano erupts in Kingstown on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on April 9, 2021. (Robertson S. Henry/Reuters) St. Vincent Awaits New Volcanic Explosions as Help Arrives KINGSTOWN, St. VincentExtremely heavy ashfall rained down across the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Saturday and a strong sulfur smell enveloped communities a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands of people who evacuated their homes under government orders. Lush green Caribbean villages were transformed into a sort of gloomy, gray version of Alpine villages under a blanket of fine soot, which also hung in the air, obscuring the sun. Nearby nations including Antigua and Guyana have offered help by either shipping emergency supplies or temporarily opening their borders to the roughly 16,000 evacuees fleeing ash-covered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks. The volcano, which last had a sizable eruption in 1979, kept rumbling and experts warned that explosions could continue for days or weeks. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. The first bang is not necessarily the biggest bang this volcano will give, Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, said during a news conference. Conditions for many worsened overnight as heavy ash-covered homes, cars, and streets, and even the runway of the airport at the opposite end of the roughly 20-mile long island from the volcanos crater. People left footprints in the ash as they trudged away from their homes. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told NBC Radio, a local station, that officials were trying to figure out how to remove the ash. Ash rises into the air as La Soufriere volcano erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, seen from Chateaubelair on April 9, 2021. (Orvil Samuel/AP Photo) Its difficult to breath, Gonsalves said, adding that while the volcanos venting has diminished, a big plume of ash and smoke remained. What goes up, must come down. He asked people to remain calm, have patience and keep protecting themselves from the coronavirus as he celebrated that no deaths or injuries were reported after the eruption in the northern tip of St. Vincent, part of an island chain that includes the Grenadines and is home to more than 100,000 people. Agriculture will be badly affected, and we may have some loss of animals, and we will have to do repairs to houses, but if we have life, and we have strength, we will build it back better, stronger, together, he said. Gonsalves has said that depending on the damage caused by the explosion, it could take up to four months for life to return to normal. Some 3,200 people were staying in 78 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take other evacuees to nearby islands. Those staying in shelters were tested for COVID-19, and anyone testing positive would be taken to an isolation center. This image provided by Maxar Technologies shows La Soufriere volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, the day before it erupted, on April 8, 2021. (Satellite image 2021 Maxar Technologies via AP) The first explosion occurred Friday morning, a day after the government ordered mandatory evacuations based on warnings from scientists who noted a type of seismic activity before dawn on Thursday that meant magma was on the move close to the surface. An ash column burst more than 33,000 feet into the sky, with lightning crackling through the still-towering cloud late Friday. The ash forced the cancellation of several flights and poor visibility limited evacuations in some areas. Officials warned that Barbados, St. Lucia, and Grenada could see light ashfall as the 4,003-foot volcano continued to rumble. The majority of ash was expected to head northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. La Soufriere previously had an effusive eruption in December, prompting experts from around the region to fly in and analyze the formation of a new volcanic dome and changes to its crater lake, among other things. The eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, including two underwater near the island of Grenada. One of those, Kick Em Jenny, has been active in recent years. But the most active volcano of all is Soufriere Hills in Montserrat. It has erupted continuously since 1995, razing the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997. By Kristin Deane and Danica Coto The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 10, 2021 Maryland Police Commander's near Murder of Head of Women, Children & Social Protection Our foreign partners invested hugely in Liberias Security Sector Reform (SSR). But did they expect that someone they trained 10 years ago would become a rogue police officer who is characterized by deliberately inflicting brutality against even his junior officer? Such is the pathetic situation with Sgt. Rebecca Nimley, Head of the Women, Children & Social Protection Division of the Maryland Detachment of the Liberia National Police. She was allegedly brutalized by the County Commander, Jacob Cummeh. The Head of the Maryland County Women Children & Social Protection Division, Sgt. Rebecca Nimley was allegedly assaulted by her Commander, Col. Jacob Cummeh. According to eyewitnesses, Sgt. Rebecca Nimley was on Tuesday night, allegedly cum physically assaulted by her boss Col. Jacob Cummeh while interrogating her as a result of a complaint involving her landlord that was being heard by him. The severely wounded victim is currently undergoing treatment at the J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital in Harper, Maryland County. Commander Jacob Cummeh, of the Maryland Police Detachment, is the rogue officer at the center of flagrant disregard for human life, who willfully, intentionally, and callously brutalized Stg. Rebecca Nimley. No matter the perceived circumstances associated with a junior officers action against a boss; Police Commander Cummeh was completely out of order and had no right to abuse Sgt. Nimley. What could be the apprehension of the civilian population if a Police Commander, who should be mentally, physically, and psychologically alert, goes haywire against one of his fellow officers? Utter fear to say the least. Cummeh, who is currently undergoing investigation, has been disrobed by the Liberia National Police with immediate effect. Human Rights actors and activists on the ground have described Jacob Cummeh as an erratic individual. It is alleged that Jacob Cummeh suffers from mental health issues, according to family sources. A situation Jacob Cummeh has reportedly been battling with for the last 10 years. Multiple sources say Commander Jacob Cummeh has a poor working relationship with all his colleagues and was also described as emotionally unstable and intermittently abusive. Most people in the Middlesex neighborhood in East Harper, where Jacob Cummeh resides often keep a safe distance from this rogue officer as a result of his erratic behavior. This act of faceless bodily harm visited on Sgt. Rebecca Nimley of the Women Children & Social Protection Division of the Liberia National Police Maryland Detachment grossly betrays the Code of ethics of uniformed police officers. It is completely mind-boggling that despite the error of judgment of Stg. Rebecca Nimley, she did not deserve such brutal treatment by a so-called Commander whose attitude should be informed by discipline at all times. We want to join women from all walks of life to categorically condemn this insane act of inclined barbarism by a senior law enforcement operative. Surely, Sgt. Rebecca Nimley would not breathe until justice is seen to be done. Meanwhile, here we are again, Police Inspector General, Patrick Sudue. You do indeed have a bigger problem as you carry a sledgehammer to fight ritualistic killings in Maryland. Amid experiences of this nature that would end up in a nine-day-wonder fashion, only time will tell how Jacob Cummehs fate consistent with the eyes of the law will guarantee a conclusive investigation coupled with a fair and speedy trial in a court of law. However, the women of Liberia will religiously follow this matter to an expeditious end. Justice must prevail in order for Stg. Rebecca Nimley to breathe. We call on our human rights community to mobilize sufficient so that the victims agony and abuse do not become a matter of vanity. DAKAR Four hostages held by armed insurgents in Mali were freed on Thursday, days after the countrys newly-formed government released around 200 prisoners, including some suspected of being jihadists. The four hostages released included Soumaila Cisse, a prominent Malian politician, Sophie Petronin, a French aid worker who had been held for almost four years, and two Italians: Pierluigi Maccalli, a priest abducted in neighboring Niger in 2018, and Nicola Chiacchio, who was kidnapped last year during a solo bicycle trip. The government, which took power in September following a military coup, announced the releases Thursday evening. It said they had been secured thanks to the efforts of the countrys intelligence services, the armed forces, Malis partners and a special crisis unit led by a former prime minister, but it did not provide details of the conditions under which the hostages were released. The governments release of prisoners last weekend had led to speculation in Mali that a deal to free the hostages had been struck. In typically insouciant fashion, Prince Philip often remarked to the Queen when discussing his funeral: 'Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor.' Now it transpires that his wish will come true. Buckingham Palace yesterday announced that a 'specially modified' Land Rover, which the Duke himself helped design, will carry his coffin on its final journey on Saturday. In a Royal funeral like no other, the eight-minute procession will begin at the state entrance of Windsor Castle, ending at nearby St George's Chapel. Once there at 3pm there will be a national minute's silence heralding the start of a no-frills service attended by just 30 members of the Royal Family. The Duke had always insisted that he wanted minimal fuss but he was, nevertheless, a traditionalist and some may find his choice of hearse surprising. Aides are confident, however, that his playful final act will find favour with a nation that has long celebrated his occasional irreverence. Buckingham Palace yesterday announced that a 'specially modified' Land Rover, which the Duke himself helped design, will carry his coffin on its final journey on Saturday (Picture of the type of vehicle it could be) The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession to St George's Chapel, followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, reflecting His Royal Highness's close relationship with the military In 1948, King George VI, the Queen's father, was presented with the 100th vehicle off the first Land Rover production line and the Royal Family has had a love affair with them ever since. Such has been the Duke's close association that Jeremy Clarkson once dubbed the Land Rover 'an automotive Prince Philip'. Two years ago, the Prince had a remarkable escape after his Land Rover collided with another car near Sandringham House. Buckingham Palace confirmed yesterday that Philip will have a Royal ceremonial funeral similar to that of the Queen Mother in 2002. A period of national mourning, which began on Friday, will continue until Saturday. The funeral plans were approved by the Queen who, along with the rest of her family will wear a face mask at the service. The congregation will observe social-distancing rules for the service, which will be televised live. In a Royal funeral like no other, the eight-minute procession will begin at the state entrance of Windsor Castle, ending at nearby St George's Chapel Former MI5 chief in charge of 'Operation Forth Bridge' A former spymaster will be responsible for overseeing the Duke of Edinburghs funeral planning. Lord Parker of Minsmere, who became Lord Chamberlain of the Household after previously serving as Director-General of MI5, is just ten days into his new job, but will play a key role in Operation Forth Bridge the codename for the Dukes funeral plan. Once described as the safest pair of hands in Britain, he guided MI5 through a series of Islamist attacks in 2017 and the Salisbury poisonings in 2018. He hosted the Queens first visit to MI5s headquarters in London last February. While the Lord Chamberlain will remain in overall control, it is the Lord Chamberlains Office headed by its Comptroller, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon which will deal with the practicalities. A former Extra Equerry to the Queen, Col Vernon previously served in the Coldstream Guards. The Office draws up funeral plans years in advance and is expected to be working round the clock over the next week. Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, the Master of the Queens Household and one of 22 loyal staff who formed HMS Bubble around the Queen and the Duke during the pandemic, will also play a key role as will Sir Edward Young, the Queens private secretary, who will be the bridge between the Monarch and the Government. Advertisement The Land Rover bearing the Duke's coffin draped in his personal standard, a wreath of flowers and his naval cap and sword will be followed by the Prince of Wales and other senior Royals on foot. The Queen has decided that the Royal Family will enter two weeks of mourning and mourning bands will be worn by its members. The entire funeral will take place within the grounds of Windsor Castle. Public elements of Operation Forth Bridge the codename for the Duke's funeral plans were abandoned for fear of drawing crowds, including long-held arrangements for military processions through London and Windsor. A Palace spokesman said: 'This event will be much reduced in scale with no public access. In line with Government guidelines and public health measures, there will be no public processions and the Duke's funeral will take place entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle. 'The plans have been given final approval by the Queen and reflect appropriately Government advice. Despite these necessary changes, they still very much reflect the personal wishes of the Duke. 'Although the ceremonial arrangements are reduced, the occasion will still celebrate and recognise the Duke's life and his more than 70 years of service to the Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth.' On Saturday, the Duke's coffin, accompanied by the Dean of Windsor and the Lord Chamberlain, will be moved from the Queen's private chapel of worship to the State Entrance of Windsor Castle by a Bearer Party of The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. On the grass in the Castle's Quadrangle will be representative detachments drawn from Philip's military special relationships, including the Household Cavalry and The Foot Guards. The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession to St George's Chapel, followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, reflecting His Royal Highness's close relationship with the military. Minute guns will be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle for the duration of the procession, and the Curfew Tower Bell will toll. Lord Parker of Minsmere, who became Lord Chamberlain of the Household after previously serving as Director-General of MI5, is just ten days into his new job, but will play a key role in Operation Forth Bridge Based on details released by Buckingham Palace yesterday, this is how his funeral service will then take place next Saturday afternoon The Duke, who died peacefully last Friday, is believed to have requested his favourite seafarers' hymn, For Those In Peril On The Sea. At the end of the service a Psalm and the 'ashes to ashes' text will be read as a piper plays a lament. The coffin will lie in the Royal Vault until the Queen dies. She wishes to be buried beside him, her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and sister, Princess Margaret, in the tiny adjacent George VI Memorial Chapel. On her death, Philip's coffin will be interred alongside her there. St George's Chapel is the resting place of ten monarchs. Steeped in history, the 15th Century gothic church, set in the Lower Ward of the Queen's favourite residence, has seen many Royal funerals and weddings. They include the marriage of the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, in May 2018 and the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. As well as the scene of Royal celebrations, it has also been a place of sadness for the Windsors. The funeral of Princess Margaret took place there in 2002, as did the private committal service for the Queen Mother the same year. It was meant to be so much grander: How pandemic means Prince Philip's send-off will be even more low-key with the expected guest list of 800 people reduced to 30 By Caroline Graham for the Mail on Sunday Prince Philip had requested a no-fuss funeral with an aide once reportedly saying he did not see himself as important enough to lie in state. According to protocol, as the Queens consort, the Duke will still be honoured with a ceremonial Royal funeral, as the Queen Mother was given in 2002 and Princess Diana in 1997. But the pandemic means the send-off will be even more low-key with the expected guest list of 800 people reduced to 30 close family and friends. The original plans were drawn up years ago under the code name Operation Forth Bridge. Left, Philip's body is believed to have been moved here, to the Albert Memorial Chapel. Right, the King George VI Memorial Chapel - It is widely believed the Queen wishes to be buried alongside Philip here His coffin should have been transported from St Georges Chapel in Windsor to the Chapel Royal at St Jamess Palace in London. There, the Royal Family and Household would have been able to pay their respects. A book of condolence would also have been opened at Buckingham Palace and other Royal locations. The day before the funeral, his coffin surmounted by his Naval sword, cap, personal standard and a wreath of flowers would have been moved from the Chapel Royal to the Queens Chapel within St Jamess Palace. The Prince of Wales and members of the Duke of Edinburghs household would have been present. At 12.15pm on the day of the funeral, eight days after the death, Prince Philip would have begun his final journey out of London. The coffin would have been moved to Wellington Arch on a gun carriage and transferred to a Royal Navy Land Rover. At 12.45pm, the procession would have departed the capital for Windsor by road, where it was scheduled to have driven through the Berkshire town before arrival at the castle. The procession would have been accompanied by the Royal Naval Pipers and the Duke of Edinburgh Rifles. Plans to have a mixed age choir of 12 men and up to 23 boys have also had to be abandoned. The occupancy inside St Georges Chapel is 1,000 and the guest list was due to include representatives from foreign royal families, Great offices of State, Parliament, the Diplomatic Corp, the Civil and Diplomatic Service, charities the Duke was involved with and his Household staff. The plans took years to arrange and the Duke was understood to have been wryly amused that many of those involved ended up dying before him. Commercial real estate properties sit on the market in Costa Mesa, Calif., on April 9, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Costa Mesa Lifts Eviction Moratorium for Commercial Tenants Costa Mesa has lifted its commercial eviction ban, meaning tenants previously protected under the moratorium have until Aug. 4 to pay their past due rent in full. Costa Mesa city council unanimously approved to end the eviction moratorium during an April 6 meeting, because of the potential financial inequity and impact to the citys economy. The urgency ordinance takes effect immediately and repeals the temporary moratorium on the eviction of commercial tenants who are unable to pay rent due to the impacts of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. Councils decision was prompted by a need to aid commercial landlords who were suffering financially. Many small businesses have access to federal, state, and local funding, which can help aid the costs of rent; however, commercial landlords do not have such support. Commercial landlords are unlikely to be able to take advantage of these monies, and as such will continue to suffer from the economic downturn to a greater extent and for a longer period if their tenants continue to be able to withhold rent under the moratorium, the ordinance said. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide moratorium on commercial and residential structure in March 2020, and recently extended it until June 30 with respect to commercial evictions only. Costa Mesa adopted its ordinance to establish a temporary moratorium last April. However, because of the recent availability of federal, state, and local programs to assist the small businesses that make up the majority of commercial tenants in the city, such businesses are in a better position to repay past due rent than they were when the moratorium was enacted, the ordinance said. The funding for the small businesses comes from The California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program, which provided $2 billion for grants of up to $25,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic. Costa Mesa has likewise implemented multiple programs to provide grants to smalls businesses, the ordinance said. Tenants are required to pay their past due rent in full as soon as possible, and no later than 120 days, or Aug. 4, unless parties agree otherwise in writing. Landlords cannot charge for late fees for rent that is delayed. (Newser) A young congressional staffer has died after getting stranded for days in Death Valley National Park. Alexander Lofgren, 32, was pronounced dead after his rescue from a remote location in the park, according to a post by the Inyo County Sheriff's Office in California. Lofgren's girlfriend, 27-year-old Emily Henkel, was airlifted to a hospital, and there was no immediate word on her condition, reports SFGate. Lofgren worked for Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, per the Arizona Republic. The Tucson pair, considered experienced hikers, drove into the park for a camping trip but failed to return as scheduled on Sunday. They were declared missing on Tuesday, and searchers scouring the park came across their Subaru Forester on Thursday with a note reading, "Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days worth of water. story continues below A search helicopter spotted them from the air the same day, but initial attempts to reach them in the steep terrain were unsuccessful. It wasn't until Friday morning that crews were able to remove them from a ledge, about 2 miles away from their planned destination. Sheriff Jeff Hollowell described it as a "tremendously difficult operation in a very unforgiving geographic area," per the AP. In a statement, Rep. Grijavla paid tribute to Lofgren. To know Alex was to know someone who loved life, loved his family, and loved helping others," he wrote. "Words cannot begin to describe the void this immeasurable loss leaves." Lofgren was an Army vet who specialized in helping other veterans in his work. (Read more Death Valley National Park stories.) Venezuela has paid $64 million, half of the required amount, for doses it is set to receive through the global Covax program, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez announced Saturday on state television. "You know that the Covax mechanism requires an advance - Venezuela has even doubled the required advance," said Rodriguez, adding that the government had deposited "59.2 million Swiss francs in the accounts of GAVI," a co-leader of the Covax program that seeks to improve low-income countries' access to vaccines. Rodriguez did not specify what funds the government used to pay for the vaccines. In recent months the government has held talks with opposition leaders to obtain vaccines via the Covax program using funds frozen in the United States. Also Read | UN COVAX programme ramps up, but inequity persists Those efforts had been complicated by President Nicolas Maduro's refusal to accept the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of blood clotting elsewhere. Covax this year said it had set aside doses of the AstraZeneca shot for use in Venezuela. In her announcement, Rodriguez said Venezuelan health authorities were evaluating which vaccines the country would accept, especially considering various variants of the coronavirus, particularly the variant that originated in Brazil. The vice president highlighted that in September 2020 the government entered into the agreement for over 11 million doses, which would vaccinate around 20% of the population. Rodriguez added that the remaining $60 million worth were "guaranteed." Covax expects to deliver at least 2 billion doses this year and to diversify the offering beyond the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer/BioNTech shots it is currently supplying. Venezuela's vaccination campaign is behind most other countries in the region. It has received about 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China and about 250,000 of Russias Sputnik V, of which authorities recently said they expect the arrival of another 30,000 shortly. Maduro has extended coronavirus lockdown measures several times as the country continues to register high rates of infections. As of Friday, Venezuelan authorities had registered 172,461 coronavirus cases and 1,739 deaths. Medical unions say the number of cases and deaths are likely much higher. Parent Melissa Jean reads "The Gruffalo" to her son's pre-K class at Phyl's Academy, in Brooklyn. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, Pool) Students are headed back to class amid the coronavirus pandemic, and to keep you posted on whats unfolding throughout U.S. schools K-12 as well as colleges Yahoo Life is running a weekly wrap-up featuring news bites, interviews and updates on the ever-unfolding situation. CDC: The majority of teachers and school staff have received 1 shot of the COVID-19 vaccine Nearly 80 percent of teachers and school employees in the U.S. have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC made the announcement on Tuesday. "Our push to ensure that teachers, school staff, and childcare workers were vaccinated during March has paid off and paved the way for safer in-person learning," CDC director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, said in a press release. "CDC will build on the success of this program and work with our partners to continue expanding our vaccination efforts, as we work to ensure confidence in COVID-19 vaccines." President Biden asked all states in early March to prioritize vaccination for all teachers pre-K through 12th grade, school staff and childcare workers. After the directive, the number of states where teachers and childcare workers were eligible jumped by more than 50 percent, the CDC said. Teachers and staff were prioritized through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program and were also vaccinated through school-specific vaccination events. More than 2 million teachers, school staff and childcare workers were vaccinated through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program in March, according to CDC data, and up to 6 million were vaccinated through their state programs by the end of the month. This level of vaccination "makes it more likely that schools will open up full-time sooner rather than later, as well as return back to normal as soon as possible," Dr. Daniel Ganjian, a pediatrician at Providence Saint Johns Health Center, in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. Story continues As a result of these vaccinations "the school environment is going to be a lot safer for teachers and staff," Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life. While children under the age of 16 aren't yet eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Russo says that he hopes this will "afford a greater degree of protection" for kids in school. "These layers of protection enable us to get back to full-time in-person school, which is what we really need at this point," he says. More universities are requiring students to get vaccinated against COVID-19 In late March, Rutgers University announced that it would require all students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the fall in order to attend in-person classes. Now, many other schools have followed. Brown University, Cornell University, Nova Southeastern University, Northeastern University and St. Edward's University are all requiring that students be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the beginning of the fall semester, with some medical exceptions. "We have every reason to expect that Fall 2021 at Brown will look and feel much more like Fall 2019 than Fall 2020," Brown president Christina H. Paxson said in an April 6 letter to students and staff. Cornell University president Martha E. Pollack said in a letter to students and staff that the school plans to "begin the semester with normal in-person instruction without a routinely provided online option, but with enhanced safety measures." Russo says that he's "in favor" of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for people on campus, noting that it will "unequivocally create a safer environment." He acknowledges that some people will think it violates their freedoms but says that there's "a good legal precedence for this," pointing to requirements for smallpox vaccinations, among others. Ganjian applauds the move but has a concern about accessibility. "There are a lot of states that are going to have a tough time delivering the vaccine in time for students to get it," he says. But, he adds, "if the universities are able to give the vaccine, that will help." High schools and colleges across the country are becoming vaccine clinics Schools across the country are either hosting or plan to soon host vaccine clinics for eligible residents. Ohio is offering mobile vaccine clinics on college campuses across the state, including at Ohio University. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansas schools will be able to work with the health department, pediatricians and parents to host vaccination clinics for students 16 and over. Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for 16 and 17-year-olds. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are recommended for use in people aged 18 years or older, according to the CDC. These clinics are crucial to getting younger people vaccinated, Russo says. "In this age group, convenience is key," he says. Ganjian agrees. "Accessibility is crucial, especially with young people, whose patience is not as high as adults," he says. "Having vaccine clinics in schools is a no-brainer and really will make it easier for kids to get vaccinated." The hope, Ganjian says, is for this to continue as the vaccines are authorized for use in younger children as well. "Making the vaccines easily accessible for all will go a long way toward increasing the chances kids will get vaccinated," he says. New York City is easing its controversial "two-case rule" in schools New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that the city would be abolishing its "two-case rule" for COVID-19 cases that required schools to shift to remote learning when there were two reported and unrelated cases of the virus. The city has extended its opt-in window for remote families to choose whether to switch to in-person learning as a result. In place of the two-case rule, de Blasio announced a four-case rule. Individual classrooms will also shift to remote-only learning when a case is reported among a teacher or student. "This will help us to have more consistency in school attendance and schedules [and] keep strong health and safety standards," de Blasio said in a press conference. On Friday, New York City reported 2,834 new COVID-19 cases. Dr. Oscar G. Gomez-Duarte, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University at Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, tells Yahoo Life that it's "reasonable" to think that easing the two-case rule "may increase the chances of keeping schools open without the risk of having increased transmission." "Now that vaccine is available to everyone older than 16 years of age, easing restrictions at school may be safe," he says. But Ganjian says that "time will tell" how well this new four-case rule will work. Russo also agrees that the new four-case rule should still be effective at limiting the spread of COVID-19. "It should help get some more education in for these last few months of the year," he says. "Hopefully, next year will be a little more normal." Read more from Yahoo Life Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. LATEST April 12, 1:20 p.m.: A fundraiser for the Death Valley National Park campers whose trip ended in disaster last week has provided new details about what happened. A three-day search by multiple agencies for the missing couple in a treacherous area of Death Valley ended in tragedy Friday when authorities announced that hiker Alexander Lofgren was found dead. His girlfriend Emily Henkel was rescued. Created by Emily Henkel's brother Chris Henkel, the GoFundMe campaign explains that after the couple's Subaru became stranded in a remote region of Death Valley, Henkel and Lofgren "tried to make it through Willow Creek Canyon to the nearest road for help." Inyo Valley Sheriff's Department Lofgren passed away during the attempt, according to the GoFundMe page, and Henkel "suffered a severe foot injury requiring surgery." Neither the family nor the Inyo County Sheriff's Office has released any further details on Henkel's condition. Money raised through the campaign, which currently totals more than $22,000, will go toward medical expenses, rescue efforts, memorial services and supporting the couple's family, according to the GoFundMe page. "We are overwhelmed by the willingness of friends and family to help Emily, and Alexs family after their accident last Sunday, and the search and rescue effort that followed," Chris Henkel wrote on Facebook. "I would like to honor Alexander Lofgren for being such a loving, strong soul. For serving his country, and protecting my sister to the end. I will forever be grateful to him with all my heart and soul." Lofgren worked in Arizona Congressman Rep. Raul Grijalvas office as part of the Wounded Warrior Fellowship program on issues concerning veterans' health care and benefits. He previously served four years in in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. Grijalva offered condolences on Friday: "Words cannot begin to describe how heartbroken I am over the death of Alex Lofgren, a dedicated caseworker in my district office," he wrote in a tweet. "Alex will forever be a part of our family, and my heart is with his family, his loving partner Emily, and his colleagues who mourn him today." NPS Regional Spokesperson Denise Adamic told SFGATE via email: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of everyone involved. Death Valley National Park greatly appreciates Inyo County Search and Rescue team, Inyo County Sheriff, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Naval Air Station Lemoore, the Army National Guard, Bureau of Land Management, and the California Highway Patrol for their efforts throughout this complex case." April 9: After a three-day difficult search by multiple agencies for a missing couple of campers across a treacherous area of Death Valley, authorities announced Friday that hiker Alexander Lofgren is dead, and his girlfriend Emily Henkel has been rescued. This has been a tremendously difficult operation in a very unforgiving geographic area of Inyo County, I sincerely hope for healing and recovery for all involved, said Inyo County Sheriff Jeff Hollowell. Both 32 year-old Alexander Lofgren, and girlfriend 27 year-old Emily Henkel, both from Tucson, Ariz., were described as experienced campers, per the County Sheriff. Lofgren was believed to have jugs of water and at least one days worth of food as well as camping gear, and was known for camping in remote areas. The couple left Helendale, Calif. for a camping trip in Death Valley and were due to return Sunday, April 4. On Tuesday, April 6, after receiving notification that the couple had not returned by their due date, all hotels in the Death Valley National Park were checked by authorities. A be on the lookout was also issued to CHP for the hikers' white 2018 Subaru Forester with Yakima roof rack. Additionally both were left messages on their cell phones to contact the Sheriffs Office as soon as possible, though both calls went straight to voicemail, per the Sheriff's Office. Inyo Valley Sheriff's Department On Wednesday the entire Death Valley Highway was scoured, and every monument and attraction along the route checked. Lofgren had entered a backcountry registration log listing their destinations while they were in the park, and each was checked to no avail. On Thursday morning the missing white Subaru was located off of Gold Valley Road with a note in the vehicle that read, Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days worth of water. This note proved to be a crucial tip in directing search efforts. Later on Thursday the couple were finally spotted through aerial reconnaissance in a very remote area of Death Valley near Willow Creek, on a steep ledge. A hoist operation was attempted, but due to the extreme location the two team members who rappelled down were unable to reach Lofgren and Henkel. It was still unclear at that point what condition the hikers were in. The tragic news that Lofgren was found dead came through on Friday morning after Inyo County Search and Rescue team members were able to access the remote and steep ledge where the missing campers were seen from the air. The Inyo County Sheriffs Office confirmed that Alexander Lofgren was deceased and transferred to the Inyo County Coroner. An investigation will follow to determine the cause and manner of death. Emily Henkel was found alive and flown out for medical treatment by Lemoore Naval Air Station. "Hello family and friends. My sister Emily is safe and sound," Henkel's brother Chris said on Facebook Friday. "Please give my family privacy right now and refrain from sending us messages. Thank you. Much love to all for the care and support." Photos shared by Inyo County Sheriff's Office on Facebook showed the hikers and their vehicle and dogs. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape received a dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine last month amid a rapid rise in cases in the pacific nation A second team of Australian medical experts flew to Covid-hit Papua New Guinea Friday, as the country's health system threatens to buckle under a growing outbreak. The 17 specialists were dispatched to Port Moresby to help the Pacific nation curb the spread of the virus, Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement. "As we work through global vaccine issues, we will continue to work with PNG to roll out vaccines in response to the priorities of the PNG Government," Payne said. The team joins a smaller group of experts already on the ground and comes as Australia continues to fly emergency supplies, including protective equipment, rapid testing kits and over 8,000 vaccine doses, into the country. PNG, a poor nation of over eight million off Australia's northeast coast, reported around a thousand Covid-19 cases in the first year of the pandemic, but has seen more than 5,000 new infections last month alone. On Wednesday that number ticked towards 8,000 amid concerns a lack of testing was hiding the true scale of the outbreak. Hospitals have been forced to turn away new patients due to a lack of medical staff, who are testing positive in large numbers. The country's health minister has also flagged vaccine disinformation on social media as a growing threat to vaccination efforts. Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison reaffirmed commitments to secure AstraZeneca vaccines for Pacific neighbours -- flagging a further 10,000 doses for PNG. "I already have diverted a number of those vaccines to assist the effort in both Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste," Morrison told media in Canberra. al/oho Margot Woods Fresh (Amulet, Aug.), which follows Elliot McHugh through the highs and lows of college lifeall-nighters and parties, friends and hookupswas inspired by the authors time at Emerson College in Boston. Its a safe space because its a very queer-friendly school, she says. I wanted to write a book set in a place where its natural for there to be no conflict around someones sexual identity. I wanted to explore what happens after youve come out; after you have figured out your sexual identity, whats next? PW spoke with Wood, a book marketing veteran who founded HarperCollinss Epic Reads community for YA readers, about her debut novel, an homage to Jane Austens Emma. Why did you decide to write for older teens? In YA, typically most of the stories are set in high school, or maybe sometimes in the summer after high school. But youre the same age when you graduate high school and when you enter collegeits a major turning point in young peoples lives. All of a sudden, the environment has changed, the responsibilities have changed, the freedom that you experience changes. Youre not suddenly an all-knowing adult making the right choices. Im interested in that mindsetwhere youre mentally still a teenager but have all these new responsibilities. How did Austen inspire you? I realized that all these characters that I had, and some of the scenes and the themes that I wanted to explore, all fit wonderfully along the framework of Emma. It coalesced so seamlessly and so perfectly. Discovering who you are as a sexual personwhat you like, what you dont like, how to communicate that, how to have those relationshipsis something that isnt often explored in YA. If Emma were written today, I think that that conversation would be had. I like characters who are a bit messy. Emma and Elliot are similar in that they are women who mean well, but dont always do well. Elliot never really wants to be told what to do, just like Emma. How did you use humor in the book? Austen is a great comedic writer; I also honored the comedy aspect of Emma. The book is a bit mature in terms of the sex. There are whole chapters dedicated to Elliot hooking up with lots of different people. Its almost always in service of comedy. It shows that sex can be awkward and funny. Sex isnt always serious or romantic and perfect. Elliots in a college dorm; how sexy can it really be? The book also breaks the fourth wall. Its very self-deprecating and self-aware. Why is it important to write about queer joy? There are no discussions about what it means to be queer and be bisexual in the book; straight people dont have those discussions about what it means to be straight. Some people might read that and think, This is a utopic society because there is no queer pain in this. I like stories that are pushing publishing more into that direction. We dont always need to focus on all the pain; there are a lot of fun parts about being queer. Return to the main feature. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - On Saturday, April 10, 2021, at approximately 12:41 a.m., the Yuma Police Department responded to the 2500 Block of Virginia Drive for the report of an aggravated assault. Upon arrival, officers located two adult males with injuries. Both were transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center. One male, with a gunshot wound, was flown to a Phoenix area hospital in serious condition. The suspect(s) are unknown at this time. This case is currently under investigation. The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 783-4421 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. Remember, if your information leads to an arrest you may receive up to a $1,000 cash reward. A talk about taxes doesnt necessarily equate with tedium. But few people would ever say doing their tax return is an activity they immensely enjoy. A talk about taxes doesnt necessarily equate with tedium. But few people would ever say doing their tax return is an activity they immensely enjoy. Still, a good argument can be made that a new book on the history of taxes adds levity to, and piques interest in, a topic often with the allure of a root canal. Released this past week, Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages is the passion project of two accomplished economists, University of Michigan professor Joel Slemrod and Mick (Michael) Keen who, by day, works as the deputy director of fiscal affairs at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The two are longtime friends and, through their work, have come across many fascinating, true tax tales that have taken place throughout history. "The big theme in a way is that what governments are trying to do with taxation hasnt really changed that much since 2,000 B.C," says Keen, based in Washington, D.C. Both authors recently spoke with the Free Press, and they argue taxes have always been used for two key reasons: to raise revenue or to change behaviour. Whats more, all governments from conquering invaders to feudal lords and modern democracies have strived to find a balance with taxation, Keen says. "Theyre trying to extract resources and to do it in a way that doesnt actually destroy the tax base." Keen adds governments through the ages may not have cared about fairness per se. "But they want to make sure theyre not going to find themselves with their heads cut off in rebellion." While being hunted down by angry mobs is no longer a chief concern (at least over taxes), politicians still worry about tax fairness and how a perceived lack thereof among voters could land them out of office, Slemrod says. Consequently politicians often engage in a sort of name game regarding taxation. "What you call a tax really doesnt matter for its economics, but it often matters in the politics." A recent example is the estate tax in the U.S. that was reframed as the death tax, Slemrod adds. "For obvious reasons it makes the tax sound all that much worse." he says of the tax on wealthy estates that special interest groups and more generally Republicans have opposed for decades. The ominous label certainly had "political traction" helping foster widespread opposition at times even though the U.S. estate tax only affects families with multi-million-dollar estates, he explains. "So we try in the book to get peoples attention away from the name and more on understanding the impact it will have on the economy and people." Indeed the authors penned their 500-plus-page book with the aim of sparking more profound discussions among policymakers and taxpayers about taxation in an era of massive government deficits, which have grown even larger during the pandemic. Despite being widely loathed, taxes may not be inevitable, as the authors note in a chapter devoted to schemes to evade them. Yet taxes are absolutely necessary, providing funding roads, bridges, health-care, national defence, police, swimming pools, libraries and social safety nets like Old Age Security. Despite their importance, political discourse is often focused on cutting taxes. Politicians often claim, as Keen notes: "Were going to cut taxes, and the economy is going to boom so much that (tax) revenue is going to go up." Yet Keen and Slemrod have found only one instance of that happening: in 18th century England when the crown cut taxes on tea imports. "In doing so they undercut smuggling so much that revenue actually went up," he says. Keen further notes "taxing tea was big business in those days" and even sparked the most well-known tax revolt in history: the Boston Tea Party. But the uprising wasnt the result of Britain increasing taxes on tea, he adds. "Many people have the vague idea: Well, didnt the British increase taxes on tea and then the colonists revolted? But thats not quite right." In fact, the Crown cut a tax on tea in London before it arrived in the colonies, and the result was the price of tea in the colonies fell. "The problem was they were undercutting the smugglers, and smuggling in the colonies particularly in Boston was big business," Keen explains. "And there were powerful people involved in the smuggling John Hancock whose famous signature is on the (U.S.) Constitution." In both examples, which took place decades apart in the 1700s, authorities cut taxes on tea to encourage legal consumption. To that end, Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue includes many instances of taxes raised not to generate revenue but to change behaviour. Many of them seem a little strange by todays standards, including a tax on beards in 18th century Russia. At the time Tsar Peter the Great wanted to modernize Russian nobility, whose men grew their beards long. And so he imposed a tax on beards, hoping to encourage them to emulate Western European nobles who were clean-shaven. Although odd today, Slemrod adds Canadas carbon tax bears some similarity to a tax on beards. "It is not there to raise revenue," he adds. "Its there to change behaviour to reduce the incentive to emit greenhouse gases." Both authors further note that, while necessary to raise revenue and potentially effective at nudging people and business toward desired behaviours, taxes often come with unanticipated side effects. They point to one example again in the 17th-century England when the government introduced a wealth tax based on the number of windows in a home. "You can still see to this day grand houses where there clearly used to be windowsbut theyre now bricked up," he says. "Its a vivid image of how tax can affect behaviour in ways one would like to avoid." Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF continues its investigation into Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NasdaqGS: INO). On March 9, 2020 Citron Research published a statement highlighting the Companys "ludicrous and dangerous claim that they designed a [COVID-19] vaccine in 3 hours" and calling for an SEC investigation into the claims. That same day, the Company disclosed that its purported COVID-19 vaccine, which had been developed "within three hours," was not a fully-fledged vaccine at all, but merely a construct for a vaccine. Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. Recently, the court in that case denied the Companys motion to dismiss in part, allowing the case to move forward. KSFs investigation is focusing on whether Inovios officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Inovios shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Inovio shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgs-ino/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nations premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors in seeking to recover investment losses due to corporate fraud and malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. Story continues To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210409005461/en/ Contacts Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-1850 After a turbulent year steering easyJet through its worst ever crisis, Johan Lundgren needs a holiday. He's already booked flights to Majorca, where he has a holiday home and enjoys trekking in the Tramuntana mountains, but he adds: 'To be quite honest, I'd like to go anywhere. We have been locked down here, so I'd like to go out and see our customers and business partners.' But with just five weeks to go until international travel might be allowed to resume on May 17, it is still unclear when the easyJet chief executive will be able to travel to one of his airline's 150 destinations without needing to quarantine on his return. Opportunity: Johan Lundgren says easyJet could fly from Heathrow Last week, Lundgren had calls with government ministers from Portugal and the Netherlands, who wanted to know which hurdles they had to meet to be included on the UK's list of safe 'green' countries. The flurry of conversations came as the Government last week confirmed its 'traffic light' system for restarting travel, but gave no guidance on which countries will be placed in which risk category. Lundgren says: 'You can understand why governments around the Mediterranean are so focused on this, because they recognise that if they are in the amber or red category, it will have a massive impact on their infrastructure, on the local hotels, bars and restaurants.' The stakes for this summer's flying summer season could not be higher. EasyJet made its biggest-ever pre-tax loss, of 1.3billion, over the year to September 2020 and City analysts expect the budget airline to be 700million in the red this financial year. It will give a six-month trading update this Wednesday, following a rocky start to 2021 when it said it would carry just ten per cent of its usual passengers. Lundgren will not disclose easyJet's bookings for this year, but says there is huge demand from customers 'people are sitting on their suitcases, ready to go' and adds that he will ramp up the number of flights on each route as restrictions are lifted. Another lost summer would be challenging As chief executive of Europe's biggest leisure airline, Lundgren hopes easyJet's holiday destinations around the Mediterranean such as France, Turkey and Spain will be among the first to be added to the 'green' list. He says: 'We are coming into the summer pretty soon there is not a lot of time to waste. People want to know what they can or can't do. That's why we are urging the Government to come out with additional information as soon as it can.' The Swede warns of a 'lost summer' if the industry hasn't opened up by September and says it could be 'extraordinarily challenging' for some players in the market. But he's upbeat about easyJet's prospects. The airline came into the crisis as one of the strongest financially in Europe and he says it is taking 'a number of decisions to manage our cash burn and costs'. The Government last week confirmed its 'traffic light' system for restarting travel, but gave no guidance on which countries will be placed in which risk category So far it has raised more than 5.5billion of new financing, including a 600million Covid Corporate Financing Facility loan, half of which was repaid last month, but Lundgren cannot rule out raising further cash if required. He says: 'There are no plans at this moment, but we always continue to review the options because that's prudent and the right thing to do to make sure we are in the best situation.' He suggests the UK Government has not offered enough financial support to the airline industry compared with the 'billions and billions of state aid' that have been pumped in to easyJet's EU competitors. People are sitting on suitcases, ready to go 'Our industry has suffered the most and it will be the slowest to recover from the crisis,' Lundgren says. 'There are reasons to argue there has not been enough direct financial support to this sector.' But he says easyJet remains a 'growth business', and that it will use the pandemic as an opportunity to expand. The airline will base a record 71 planes at Gatwick this summer and is eyeing future growth across European airports by securing take-off and landing slots from struggling rivals. In Europe, easyJet's main rivals are Lufthansa and Air France/KLM. Lundgren says: 'This crisis will weaken certain players and this will give us the opportunity to grow. Two-thirds of our network is competing with inefficient full-service legacy carriers. We are not going to be reckless, but there's no doubt we will get opportunities and we will take those opportunities to grow when we can.' EasyJet has 107 Airbus planes on order and will start taking deliveries of new jets again from September to expand its fleet of 330 planes He hints that easyJet could even fly from Heathrow for the first time as space becomes available, saying: 'Our philosophy is to fly from Europe's leading airports, so that would possibly make sense. That's not something we are ruling out, but the timing and conditions have to be right for us to do so.' EasyJet has 107 Airbus planes on order and will start taking deliveries of new jets again from September to expand its fleet of 330 planes despite opposition from easyJet's founder and biggest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who said the board should cancel the 4.5billion Airbus contract. Lundgren is diplomatic about relations with Stelios, who has a famously fractious relationship with easyJet's directors, whom he called 'scoundrels'. Lundgren says smoothly: 'We are trying to have a constructive relationship with all shareholders. That's probably the only thing I can say about that.' He is more critical when asked if easyJet fears competition from low-cost Hungarian carrier Wizz Air, which has said it plans to fly one in five planes from Gatwick through an aggressive expansion strategy. He says: 'Some airlines have been creating a lot of noise out there, but it's just noise until they make it happen. You have to earn and deserve the market share and the size that you have. 'Those airlines who are the most efficient and who offer the best product to customers will continue to thrive. Our goal is very clear we want to offer the best service on the best network with the most attractive fares out there. Value for money is really the key thing for easyJet. That is what has driven the company to the successful place it is in today and that is what we will continue to focus on.' Paris: The Paris prosecutor has opened an anti-terror investigation after the discovery of a homemade bomb at a building in Paris and five people have been arrested, sources close to the case said. Police discovered two cylinders of gas in the hall of a building in the city's 16th arrondissement and two others on the sidewalk. They also found a mobile phone linked to the cylinders, which appeared to be "a device to ignite" the explosive, the sources said. A local resident alerted police after finding two of the gas cylinders around 4:30 AM (local time) on Saturday, a source close to the probe said. According to another source, four of the suspects were being held in custody Monday night. Read more: Las Vegas shooting: 58 killed, 515 injured; US denies ISIS connection The terrorist threat remains high in France which has been hit with a series of jihadist attacks since January 2015. The latest attack was on Sunday in Marseille when a knifeman stabbed two women to death at the main train station shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest"). He was shot and killed by soldiers. The stabbings bring to 241 the number of people killed in jihadist attacks in France. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Boris Johnson will not attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral to allow for the attendance of as many family members as possible during coronavirus restrictions, No 10 has said. The Prime Minister was understood to have been expected to attend the ceremony but offered to step aside with the number of guests allowed limited to 30. The Duke's funeral will take place in Windsor Castle on April 17, but it will be unlike typical royal send-offs, with the public being told to stay away because of the pandemic. The country will hold a minute's silence when the Duke of Edinburgh is carried to his funeral next week, on a specially-modified Land Rover he helped design. A No 10 spokesman said: 'As a result of the Coronavirus regulations, only 30 people can attend the funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'The Prime Minister has throughout wanted to act in accordance with what is best for the royal household, and so to allow for as many family members as possible will not be attending the funeral on Saturday'. Boris Johnson will not attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral to allow for the attendance of as many family members as possible during coronavirus restrictions, No 10 has said. Pictured: Mr Johnson with the Queen and Prince Philip in 2012 The Prime Minister was understood to have been expected to attend the ceremony for Philip by the royals, but offered to step aside with the number of guests allowed limited to 30 Buckingham Palace today announced that Prince Philip's ceremonial royal funeral will take place on April 17 in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and a national minute's silence will be observed as it begins at 3pm. Prince Harry will travel to the UK to be with his family for the service, but his wife Meghan will remain at their home in California, having been 'advised not to travel' by her doctor, the Palace confirmed tonight. A specially modified Land Rover, Naval procession and royal mourning: Prince Philip's funeral details are released by palace 2.40pm: Coffin emerges from State Entrance of Windsor Castle The duke's coffin, accompanied by the Dean of Windsor and the Lord Chamberlain, will be moved to the State Entrance of Windsor Castle by a Bearer Party of The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. The coffin will emerge and the Bearer Party will place it onto a specially modified Land Rover, which Philip helped to design, to transport it to St George's Chapel. 2.45pm: The procession leaves for St George's Chapel The procession from the state entrance to the West Steps of the chapel will take eight minutes. The Prince of Wales and members of the royal family will take part in the procession on foot, immediately behind the duke's coffin, together with staff from Philip's household. The route of the procession will be lined by representatives drawn from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force. Minute guns will be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the east lawn of Windsor Castle for the duration of the procession, and the Curfew Tower Bell will toll. 2.53pm: The Land Rover reaches the West Steps of the chapel A Guard of Honour and Band from The Rifles will receive the coffin at the foot of the West Steps, with the national anthem being played as the coffin enters Horseshoe Cloister. A bearing party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin up the steps and pause for the minute's silence. 3.00pm: National minute of silence Following the minute's silence, the Dean of Windsor, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, will receive the coffin at the top of the West Steps. In keeping with coronavirus guidelines to limit guests inside the chapel, most of the procession will not enter the chapel, except for members of the royal family, and the duke's private secretary Archie Miller Bakewell. The funeral service will begin as the coffin enters St George's Chapel. Advertisement Official royal mourning will then take place for two weeks after the funeral. Only 30 people - expected to be the Duke's children, grandchildren and other close family - will attend as guests, but the Duchess of Sussex has been 'advised by her physician not to travel to the UK' for the funeral. The announcement came as Prince Charles paid a poignant tribute to his father, describing his 'dear Papa' as a 'very special person' and 'the most remarkable, devoted' companion to the Queen in an emotional video released this evening. In a moving address, speaking without notes, the Prince of Wales said his father would have been 'deeply touched' by the sorrow felt by millions of people in Britain and across the world at news of his passing. He said he would miss his father 'enormously' and added that his family were 'deeply grateful' for the condolences offered, which he said would 'sustain us' at this 'particularly sad time'. The Earl and the Countess of Wessex spent around an hour with the Queen at the castle on Saturday, with a tearful Sophie telling reporters as she left: 'The Queen has been amazing.' The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin will be transported in a ceremonial procession to his funeral on a Land Rover he helped to design. It is a fitting tribute to Philip, who was known for his practical skills and his enduring interest in design and engineering. The purpose-built Land Rover was specially modified to carry a coffin in a project that the Duke helped with many years ago. The vehicle will process slowly through the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the duke's funeral on Saturday at St George's Chapel. A bearer party from the Grenadier Guards will place the coffin on the Land Rover at the state entrance of the castle, before the vehicle begins the eight-minute journey at walking pace to the west steps of the chapel. It will be flanked by pall bearers reflecting the duke's special relationships with the military - the Royal Marines, Regiments, Corps and Air Stations. Immediately behind the Land Rover, the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family, likely to be the duke's other children and some of his grandchildren, will proceed on foot. The Land Rover's poignant role in the funeral proceedings always formed part of Operation Forth Bridge - the codename given to the plans following Philip's death. A senior Palace official said: 'The Duke of Edinburgh had a hand many years ago in the design of these vehicles.' The official added that there were two Land Rovers for 'belt and braces'. The Queen has approved the Prime Minister's recommendation of national mourning, which began on April 9 and runs until and including the day of the funeral. It is understood Meghan made every effort to be able to travel with Harry, who will be among the mourners, but has not received the medical clearance to board a plane. Originally 800 people would have been due to gather to pay their respects to the nation's longest serving consort, but Philip is known to have wanted a low key affair. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral to allow for the attendance of as many family members as possible during coronavirus restrictions, No 10 said tonight. St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle is the resting place of 10 monarchs. Steeped in history, the 15th century gothic church, set in the Lower Ward of the Queen's favourite residence, has seen many royal funerals and weddings The Duke's Defender 130 Gun Bus: This Defender Gun Bus, built from a Td5 130, was commissioned by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2005. After a 45-minute meeting at Sandringham with the Duke this design was created, Land Rover said. It is understood this will be the vehicle that carries his coffin A lorry carrying scaffolding and stage building equipment arrives at the Henry VIII gate at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, on Saturday afternoon as preparations are made for Philip's funeral The first guest confirmed by the palace was the duke's private secretary, Archie Miller Bakewell, who has held the post for 11 years. All public elements of the funeral have been cancelled, it will be televised but take place entirely in the grounds of the castle, the Palace said. The Queen has decided the royal family will enter two weeks of royal mourning, and engagements will continue appropriate to the circumstances, a senior royal official said. Public elements of Operation Forth Bridge - the codename for the duke's funeral plans - were abandoned for fear of drawing crowds including the long held arrangements for military processions through London and Windsor. Instead, the proceedings will take place entirely in the grounds of Windsor Castle, televised, but away from public view and with no access for royal fans. The duke died peacefully in his sleep at Windsor Castle on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday, leaving the Queen and the royal family 'mourning his loss'. The Duke of York arrived at Windsor on Saturday, while the Prince of Wales visited his mother there on Friday. Gun salutes have been fired across the UK, in Gibraltar and at sea in tribute to the duke. BEAUTIFUL images and videos of the city and county have lit up the internet as Limerick people both nationally and internationally responded to a controversial Forbes article. There was widespread criticism of an article which appeared on the business magazines web site last night, which perpetuated a number of false stereotypes of Limerick. It suggested brothers Patrick and John Collison had escaped the city in order to set up their multi-billion euro firm Stripe in the Silicon Valley. The story, since removed from the Forbes web site, claimed that Limerick is known as Europe's "murder capital", with both Patrick and John stepping in to rubbish its contents. Following widespread criticism of the story, local councillor Daniel Butler persuaded people to post pictures of Limerick under the hashtag #LimerickandProud, in a similar way to which he did in 2015 when a controversial TV3 documentary on the city caused similar uproar. As a consequence, #LimerickandProud became the top trending topic in Ireland on social network Twitter, and remained in the top five in this country today. Cllr Butler said: We had a hugely positive response, not just across Limerick but across Ireland and indeed the globe, who provided pictures and reasons why they are so proud to be from Limerick. Its been going on all night and right into the afternoon again. Thanks you #Limerick for helping me re-ignite #LimerickAndProud hashtag. We are trending at Number 1!! My notifications are overflowing as is my pride! pic.twitter.com/qafq4kEU18 Cllr Daniel Butler (@DanielButlerFG) April 10, 2021 #LimerickAndProud Came here for college and never left. Its home pic.twitter.com/FlI9YErOcb TheDuchessofDance (@HollyBurnard) April 10, 2021 #LimerickAndProud Limerick a cosmopolitan city steeped in history and culture. I Limerick. pic.twitter.com/jCjddB8lhe sarah clarke (@baboig) April 10, 2021 It says a lot about the resilience of Limerick and the people and the line we have drawn in terms of what we will accept in terms of how people speak of us. It reflects the confidence in our city that we can rise above it, he explained. Cllr Butler added that unfortunately the reference to Stab City in the initial article meant a lot of damage was done to Limericks brand in the first instance. When we are facing a summer of domestic tourism, its not the most helpful to resurrect that image left in our distant past. But its up to us, we need to fight back and show what a great city we have, he added. I am who I am because I grew up where I did. #LimerickAndProud pic.twitter.com/5ZutpVkztp Roisin Upton (@roisinupton) April 10, 2021 One of the greatest days to be a proud Limerick man #LimerickandProud #FABcity pic.twitter.com/4kR6ONcZlx Patrick Ryan (@PRyanoLimk) April 9, 2021 You have got to love this #limerickandproud pic.twitter.com/HnRK9eNzyi David Geaney (@DaithiG15) April 9, 2021 Dozens of multinational companies, hundreds indigenous enterprises; a world class 5 star resort; All Ireland winning team; stunning countryside; incredibly passionate & caring people. I could go on. That is #MyLimerick. Share your #LimerickandProud experience use #MyLimerick pic.twitter.com/olCNncSa2x Aoife McLoughlin (@Squifferito) April 9, 2021 A beautiful morning in Limerick. I took these pictures 30 metres from each other. #LimerickAndProud #Limerick pic.twitter.com/u7vXogS9RR Sarah M (@techsarah) April 10, 2021 Limerick pic.twitter.com/kqul0pNLt9 Embassy of Ireland USA (@IrelandEmbUSA) April 9, 2021 The Limerick Leader has contacted Forbes and the writer responsible for the article Stephen McBride for comment on the article, but has yet to hear back. POTTSVILLE The historic Frank D. Yuengling Mansion is getting financial help for its aging infrastructure with the announcement Friday of a $150,000 grant for rehabilitation. Currently the home of the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts, the 107-year old mansion at 1440 Mahantongo St. has been showing its years and is need of restoration as one of the City of Pottsvilles historic buildings. It was placed on National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The announcement of the state Department of Community and Economic Development grant was made in front of the mansion by state Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Township. He was accompanied by state Reps. Tim Twardzik, R-123, Butler Township and Joe Kerwin, R-125, Lykens, who represent different sections of Pottsville in Harrisburg. Roy Heim, of Heim Construction Co. Inc., spoke for his company which is the project contractor. SCCA Executive Director Emily Ehlinger Kraft was the first to speak about the importance of what SCCA contributes to the arts in the region. The SCCA began its renaissance in offering a common meeting place for county artists, crafts people and a myriad of cultural groups, Ehlinger Kraft said. She explained that a group in 1975 decided to do something about helping the arts in the county, particularly with finding a venue to support the arts. The discussion eventually led to the creation of the SCCA, and in 1978 the Yuengling family generously donated the empty mansion to the council as an arts center. This is truly an honor to be a part of this day that will help secure the SCCAs home structure and hopefully secure our historic site for the future of our community, Ehlinger Kraft said. The project is part of a wider effort by the public and private sectors to revitalize the city. Other examples of recent progress include new and expanded businesses such as Pressed Coffee and Books, The Crimson House, Black Rock Brewing Co. and the new parking garage under construction on Mahantongo Street. Were thrilled to help locate $150,000 to help not just this building, but also the things that happen here, Argall said. As much as I love history and old historic buildings, its what happens inside that really matters. Argall said that funding has come from public and private sectors to move forward in different locations in the city. All those dollars are working together on a common front to breathe new life into this town, Argall said, adding that activities in the city, mentioning the Yuengling Brewery tours, will have people visiting other locations, such as the arts center, the Schuylkill County Historical Society, the Pioneer Tunnel in Ashland and other places. The Schuylkill County Council for the Arts and the wider Schuylkill County community have worked very hard to restore the Yuengling Mansion to its former glory. "The loss of this historic structure, which was threatened by years of decay, would have been an irreplaceable loss to the region. Im very pleased they were chosen to receive this highly competitive grant. This is a great example of teamwork. Argall introduced Heim to speak on the project. If you all notice, the building is made of masonry brick, stucco, a lot of beautiful wood trim, Heim said. When Emily called us to make an assessment, Jim Buhay from our company walked around and what we found was a lot of rotten wood, small roofs leaking. This brick, if its not sealed and maintained, just soaks in water. We also saw the structure is starting to rot. Fortunately, Sen. Argall came through, and a lot of private individuals came through with donations, to get this back to where it was. If we didnt have that, I would assume in the next 10 years, we probably wouldnt have this building. I think this is a great moment. Twardzik praised the building as something for all to enjoy. The Yuengling Mansion is a wonderful pieces of history for Schuylkill County and its really a fun spot to be, he said. Children, artists and performers have a chance to shine here. Its a wonderful part of our community. The more arts we have makes it a better community to live in. This grant is going to allow Pottsville history to continue to be preserved for both young and old and continue to allow people to enjoy this wonderful and beautiful building, Kerwin said. People will continue to know that Pottsville is home to the Yuengling brand, which is a very important brand not just for Pennsylvania, but also for the country. Last summer, it was announced the organization would receive $50,000 from an anonymous donor to cover the immediate repairs, which they hope to match through public donations. If womens economic empowerment is improved, Vietnam's GDP gain $40 billion a year by 2025 At the event titled Gender Lens Investing in Practice Driving Value for Investors in Vietnam, Australian Consul General Julianne Cowley explained that economies need to be "built back better" in ways which deliver greater equality. Investing in women is a smart business decision, she added, with ample data to back this up. We encourage more investors to unlock the potential of this largely under-served market of womens SMEs and join the early leaders on gender lens investing, she said and added that it cannot be hard to unlock the potential of women and engage them in all areas of the economy in 2021 and beyond. At its core, gender lens investing is the practice of investing for financial returns while considering the benefits to women, both through improving economic opportunities and social well-being for girls and women. A report by McKinsey & Company said that if womens economic empowerment is improved in Vietnam, the country's GDP could gain $40 billion each year by 2025. In fact, women empowerment results in gender balance in investing, generating critical benefits for the economy. According to a survey by the International Finance Corporation, gender-balanced funds realised an excess net internal rate of returns (IRR) of 1.7 percentage points more than male- or female-dominated funds, controlling for vintage, geography, and strategy. When normalised for the median net IRR of emerging market funds (-8 per cent), the performance of gender-balanced funds is approximately 20 per cent higher than funds of male or female-dominated teams. This positive correlation holds across investment strategies and geographies, as well as when controlling fund size. Portfolio companies with gender-balanced leadership teams had a 1.64-time increase in their step-up valuations. When annualising the growth in valuations and benchmarking against peer portfolio companies based on investment year and geography, gender-balanced senior leadership teams outperformed male or female-dominated teams by 5.5 percentage points per year in valuation. Gender balanced leadership teams are correlated with approximately 25 per cent greater increases in valuation than unbalanced teams. Investing in women-led businesses is not just a good thing to do, its good business. We are committed to diversity and inclusion both in our leadership and continually work with our member companies. The aim is to continue to enhance women in workplaces and the broader community in Vietnam, said Mary Tarnowka, executive director of AmCham Vietnam. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The death of inmate Abbas Hassan Ali (49) at the Reform and Rehabilitation Center in Jau on Tuesday was due to a heart attack or apoplexy, confirmed a report by the Independent Ombudsman Office. The report rejects any possibility of foul play in the mishap that sparked several rumours, which went viral on websites and social media platforms. The Ombudsman report terming them as misperception said those allegations lacked the simplest rules of objectivity and credibility. Such acts only resulted in increasing the sadness and pain of the family members of the deceased, the report observed. The independent Ombudsman said they collected CCTV footages and other information, examined several documents, interviewed witnesses and officials, and examined other inquires or procedures directed to the administration. The report also expressed surprise at the false information campaign that accompanied the death and said,They contained allegations far from the reality. The inmate, the Ombudsman office said, had contacted them 11 times previously to file reports either personally or through family members. The latest was on 28 June 2020 for access to dental health care. At that time, the inmate or his family members had not mentioned any complaint regarding heart disease or other chronic diseases requiring long-term treatment, except for in 2015. At that time, the inmate had irregularities in his colon and requested to provide a special meal, which was accepted and executed promptly, confirms the Independent Ombudsman Office. The report citing clinic records of the Reform and Rehabilitation Center also confirms that the deceased received usual health care in the clinic there like other inmates. He did not have any chronic diseases or other serious illnesses, according to the records. The last referral of the inmate in the Reform and Rehabilitation Center clinic was on 20 September 2020 for ear pain, for which he received treatment. The report also confirms that the inmate had not called for any medical on the day of the incident, citing inmates present in the same room. We had dinner and... The report quoted them, We had dinner in the evening of 5 April 2021, then he went to sleep. Within minutes (after midnight), he woke up and told that he felt pain in his chest and a burning sensation in the oesophagus. He then drank a pack of milk and leaned against the wall for a while, then went to the bathroom. After a minute or two (timings are according to the recordings of the surveillance cameras), he left the restroom and then fell directly on the ground. One of the inmates gave him first aid, as others called the on-duty policeman. Inmate unconscious The report also clarifies, citing surveillance cameras, that the inmate fell unconscious at about 12:05 am in the morning. An on-duty policeman took approximately a minute to attend him at 12:06 am in the morning. A paramedic came at 12:18 am and conducted preliminary check-ups, and called for an ambulance. At 12:22 am, the ambulance arrived, and the paramedics transferred him to the clinic. An on-duty doctor examined the inmate at around 12:32 am. The inmate was unconscious but was alive. The doctor on call conducted first aid and decided to transfer him to Salmaniya Medical Complex at 12:39 am. The ambulance left the centre at 12:44 am. Doctors at the Salmaniya Medical Centre confirmed his death at around 1:00 am and declared the cause of death as heart attack, the report said. The Independent Ombudsman Office citing the CCTV recording of the cell and medical records confirmed that the timeline of dealing with the case was continuous and quick. There was an organised response to the emergency, the report said. The report adds that the centre took around 20 minutes to transfer the patient to the outpatient clinic. During those 20 minutes, there were many procedures implemented including calling the policeman at the scene of the accident, informing the duty officer, requesting an ambulance, transferring the inmate to the clinic. The report further confirms that the officials transferred the patient to Salmaniya Medical Complex in about 40 minutes, which is quick. Timely action This presents a quick and efficient use of time without any delays or any form of negligence, the Independent Ombudsman Office observed. The report also confirms that the employees and medical staff at the centre dealt with the situation professionally. The Independent Ombudsman Office affirms that it deals with cases inside the Reform and Rehabilitation Center, Dry Dock Center and other care and deportation centres with all transparency. The office also invites the public to view the reports to remain aware of the mechanisms to investigate such cases. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is planning to launch its Mi 11 Ultra in India on April 23. Xiaomis Mi 11 series will have a total of five phones including Mi 11, Mi 11 Pro, Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11i and Mi 11 Lite. As per the teaser of Xiaomis global VP Manu Kumar Jain, the company is looking to bring in more Mi 11 phones but the confirmation for launch is Mi 11 Ultra for now. In a tweet, Jain said that Snapdragon 888 is coming on not 1, but many Mi phones. He further mentioned that April 23 will be the launch date of the Mi 11 Series further adding to the speculation that more Mi 11 phones will launch that day. The confirmed Mi 11 Ultra is equipped with a 1.1-inch AMOLED Always On display at the back and a viewfinder for the rear camera, call notifications, time, battery level, and more. It will feature a 6.81-inch Samsung E4 AMOLED display upfront with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. In terms of storage, Mi 11 Ultra comes with 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB, and internal storage of 256GB of RAM and packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging, 67W wireless charging and 10W reverse charging. Live TV #mute Imperial Valley News Center FBI San Francisco and SFPD Seeking Public Tips on Arianna Fitts San Francisco, California - Today marks the five-year anniversary of the recovery of Nicole Fitts remains, which were found in McLaren Park in south San Francisco on April 8, 2016. Nicole was the mother of then-two-year-old Arianna, who is still missing. The San Francisco Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) are asking for the publics assistance in finding Arianna. We want to take the opportunity today to assure the public, and those who knew Nicole and Arianna, that we will continue to investigate this matter as long as it takes to find out what happened. This is a tragic situation for everyone involved, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair. We would also like to thank everyone in our community for all the help youve given us over the years and are asking for your continued assistance and support. Nicole Fitts was last seen on the night of April 1, 2016. Her remains were discovered nearly one week later, on April 8, 2016, in McLaren Park near the intersection of Woolsey Street and University Street. Arianna Fitts was reported missing from the San Francisco area on April 5, 2016. She was last seen in Oakland in February of 2016. The FBI believes Arianna was not with her mother when Nicole was killed. The FBI continues to support SFPD in this active investigation, and has deployed numerous federal resources with expertise in missing child investigations, including the FBIs Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team (CARD) and the FBIs Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). The FBI and SFPD want to speak to everyone who interacted with Nicole leading up to her disappearance. Try to remember every detail you can, no matter how insignificant you think it may be. If you remember something, please contact us even if you previously talked with us. As we have continued to collect information, analyze forensic evidence, and have developed new leads, SFPD and the FBI will be reaching out to people again in the coming months. SFPD has authorized a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder of Nicole and the disappearance of Arianna. The FBI has no involvement in the administration of these rewards or any of their governing terms or conditions. If you have any information on Ariannas whereabouts or the homicide of Nicole, please contact the FBI San Francisco Division at 415-553-7400 or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can remain anonymous. You can also contact the San Francisco Police Departments Anonymous Tip Line at 415-575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD, which guarantees the callers anonymity. FBI Missing Persons Poster: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/arianna-fitts Sorry! This content is not available in your region (Newser) Maryland became the first state to throw out its Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights when lawmakers overrode the governor's vetoes of police accountability legislation on Saturday. Among other changes, the laws will allow citizens to participate in the disciplinary process involving police, the Washington Post reports. Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, had vetoed the bills passed by the Democratically controlled legislature on Friday night. "The Senate will take the necessary action to ensure that we can have safer communities and fairer policing throughout our state," Senate President Bill Ferguson said when the vetoes were announced, per the AP. None of Hogan's vetoes held up in either chamber. The governor said the legislation would "further erode police morale, community relationships, and public confidence." story continues below Lawmakers had been working on the legislation for 10 months, starting after the protests over George Floyd's death began. A statewide use-of-force policy for police agencies is included in the package, as are limits on the use of no-knock warrants. The debate had included emotional testimony from Black legislators about how they and their family members had been mistreated by police officers. Maryland enacted the first Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights in 1974; about 20 states now have similar laws establishing procedures for investigating police misconduct. A new statute will replace Maryland's Bill of Rights. "This is not anti-police legislation; this is equality and fairness legislation," Del. Vanessa Atterbeary said, naming more than a half-dozen people who were killed in clashes with police in Maryland. "This was painstakingly put together for Black and Brown folks in our state." (Read more police misconduct stories.) 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. Lashing out at the Karnataka government for imposing a night curfew in 7 cities, Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday dubbed it as "ineffective and unscientific". This curfew between 10 pm to 5 am in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumakuru and Udupi-Manipal will be in place till April 20. Disapproving of the curbs, the ex-Karnataka CM instead urged the state government to improve safety measures, increase testing and provide treatment. Lamenting that just 1% of the population has been vaccinated so far, he alleged that there is a shortage of vaccines in the state. Urging Yediyurappa to ask the Centre to ensure supply of adequate vaccine doses. Moreover, Siddaramaiah claimed that the administration had failed in the management of the COVID-19 crisis. Pointing out the absence of a uniform protocol for all districts, he called upon the CM to address these inefficiencies. The decision of @BJP4Karnataka govt to impose night curfew is as ineffective & unscientific as banging utensils. The great @narendramodi & @BSYBJP duo will use their entire political science skills to destroy people. 1/5#CoronaCurfew Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 10, 2021 Night curfew in Karnataka At present, there are 10,48,085 novel coronavirus cases in Karnataka while the death toll has soared to 12,813. While companies and organizations that have night shifts can continue to do so, those working in health, emergency, essential and E-commerce services have been exempted from the night curfew. Furthermore, passengers travelling to distant places by bus, train and flights have been allowed to travel by auto, cabs and other modes from their house to bus or train stations or airport and vice versa on the basis of their official tickets. Strict action shall be taken against those violating these guidelines. A total of 52,42,211 persons have been inoculated in the state till now, 5,46,969 of them have received the second dose of the vaccine too. COVID-19 vaccination in India On January 3, the Drugs Controller General of India accepted the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, paving way for the approval of COVISHIELD and COVAXIN. Manufactured by the Serum Institute of India with technology transfer from Oxford University-AstraZeneca, COVISHIELD is a Recombinant Chimpanzee Adenovirus vector vaccine with its overall efficacy of 70.42 per cent. On the other hand, COVAXIN is a Whole Virion Inactivated Corona Virus Vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and NIV. While only healthcare and frontline workers were vaccinated at government facilities in the initial phase, the inoculation drive was expanded to include people above 60 years of age and those aged above 45 years having comorbidities in the second phase. From April 1 onwards, all persons above the age of 45 can have become eligible for inoculation. Addressing all CMs on Thursday, PM Modi pitched a 'Tika Utsav' from April 11 to 14, requested the states to focus on micro-containment zones and contact tracing and defended the age bar for vaccination. Chief Minister on Friday launched 14-day 'mask abhiyan' as part of efforts to prevent the spread of in view of rising cases and urged people to strictly follow the safety guidelines. "The second wave of COVD-19 has started. This is why night curfews and restrictions have been imposed in many states of the country, but if we follow the COVID rules properly we can avoid situations like this in the state," he said. "During the first wave of COVID-19, we had to take very tough steps. We were able to save many lives with the help of the people and panchayat representatives and the endless sacrifices of the COVID warriors. Due to frequent lockdowns and shutdowns people faced many problems," he added. He said police and administration have been asked to impose double fine on those not wearing masks. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Confederate monument stolen from a Selma cemetery last month has been recovered and two people have been arrested, with a third still sought. Selma Police Chief Kenta Fulford and District Attorney Michael Jackson on Friday confirmed the recovery and the arrests. According to New Orleans police, Eighth District detectives on Tuesday received a request from the Dallas County Sheriffs Office for assistance in recovering the Jefferson Davis Memorial Chair, which was stolen in late March from Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma. During the investigation, detectives received a tip that the chair was at a location near the intersection of Feliciana and North Galvez streets. The chair was found and recovered on Thursday - seemingly undamaged. The chair was taken into police custody and will be released to its owners. Police arrested Stanley Warnick, 32, and Kathryn Diionno, 24. They are facing possession of stolen property charges in New Orleans. Police are still searching for 34-year-old Stanley Pate in connection with the case. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Stanley Pate (NOPD) A group that calls itself White Lies Matter threatened earlier this week to use the chair as a toilet if the United Daughters of the Confederacy did not hang up a banner outside its Richmond, Va., headquarters at 1 p.m. Friday the anniversary of the Confederacys surrender in the Civil War and leave it there for 24 hours. The banner included a quote from Assata Shakur, a Black Liberation Army activist wanted by the FBI for the 1973 murder of a New Jersey state trooper: The rulers of this country have always considered their property more important than our lives. The group then distributed photos to the media claiming to have used the chair as a toilet. A day later, the group said the monument was safe and that a replica of the chair created in Hollywood was used in pictures with a man in a Union uniform appearing to use it as a toilet. The memorial chair, valued at $500,000, was dropped off at a secure location in New Orleans, and police and the United Daughters of the Confederacy were given GPS coordinates to locate the chair, the group said. Fulford on Friday said the chair wasnt where authorities were told it was going to be, but that New Orleans police later carried out a search warrant at an undisclosed location. Fulford said more information will be released as it becomes available. The Columbos of New Orleans have solved this puzzle, Jackson said. When Catia Nascimento goes back to teach in her East Side High School classroom in Newark on Monday the first time in over a year shell be wearing two masks and a face shield. My biggest concern is the well-being of our community, said Nascimento, who along with her three kids contracted COVID in October. And although I know were taking as much precaution as we can, Im a little bit scared with the number of cases Im seeing. Newark Public Schools Superintendent Roger Leon says the district is ready for hybrid, in-person instruction two days a week for those who want it. Its a major first step for New Jerseys largest public school district, which has been teaching about 36,000 students mostly virtually for more than a year. The city has been a hotspot for COVID, with more than 36,000 cumulative cases and 917 deaths. The district pushed back its reopening date from Jan. 25 to April 12 after the teachers union raised concerns about rising cases and called for testing of all students. Now, weekly testing for students is happening and the reopening plan was also supported by the citys mayor. I have nothing but confidence that it will work, but it hasnt happened yet, said Leon in a conversation with students on Zoom late last month. So we have procedures in place that if things dont go right, what are we going to do about it? So I just want you to be confident in knowing that whatever we can forecast, we have. And whatever we cant forecast, were going to be ready for it. A district spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment about the reopening plan posted on Newark Public Schools website. About 40% of Newark parents opted to send their children back for in-person instruction when it resumes on Monday, according to results of a survey presented at a school board business meeting on March 23. Parents of younger students were more likely to choose to send their child back. When they go, it will definitely not be the same. Roger Leon, Newark Schools Superintendent, speaks as district teachers and staff and those at charter schools, private schools, parochial schools and early childhood providers receive the vaccine at Barringer High School on Tuesday, March 16, 2021John Jones | For NJ Advance Media Weekly COVID tests and re-opening rules Among the biggest safeguards planned is that pre-K to 12th-grade students who are in classrooms and have signed consent forms will do pooled COVID-19 testing each week along with their teachers. The testing provided by Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. allows students in each classroom to self-administer nasal swabs that go into one vial and are tested together. Chalkbeat Newark reported that the pool testing cost an estimated $2 million and would be covered by federal funds. It was not immediately clear how the self-administered tests would work for younger students. The reopening plans call for many of the same protocols that hundreds of other schools have used as theyve welcomed students back. There will be two cohorts of students, each going two days a week with Wednesdays remaining a remote day for all students, according to the districts reopening plan. Schools will serve breakfast and lunch to in-person learners and there are plans in place for both eating in cafeterias with social distancing and delivering meals to classrooms. All those who enter a building will have their temperature checked and symptoms screened. Each desk in Nascimentos classroom will be spaced six feet apart with a plastic partition and there will be 10 students. There will be an air-purifier provided by the district in her classroom and she plans to keep the windows open, albeit only six inches since there are safety guards that prevent them from opening more. Her students wont be moving from class to class. Theyll be sitting at their desks until theyre dismissed at 1:30 p.m., receiving instruction from other teachers on their computers. It wont be much different from how students have been receiving instruction at home. But Nascimento said shes still looking forward to seeing some students in person, even if shell be teaching simultaneously in-person and virtually. Its going to be a new experience, for sure, that were going to have to navigate, Nascimento said. Meditation sessions are available to students and Nascimento said children can use her office hours to talk about emotional issues or link them to additional resources like counseling. The reopening plan also says the district would accelerate and mitigate learning loss by implementing Saturday academies for a sixth day of classes. April 12 wont be the first time Newark students enter school buildings. The district experimented with summer school last year at two buildings, Chalkbeat Newark reported, and one of them shut down temporarily on the first day after a staffer received a positive coronavirus test. New Jersey Regional Day School, which works with students who are autistic, opened for in-person instruction earlier last month. New Jersey Regional Day School in Newark re-opened for in-person instruction on March 8, 2021. Students sat in one classroom behind partitions.Newark Public Schools The district will join the growing number of schools that have continued to switch to hybrid instruction in the past few months. As of April 5, 493 districts were hybrid, 130 remote, and 151 were fully in-person, the highest number of in-person districts since the coronavirus shuttered schools last March. However, New Jerseys transmission rate was 1.04 as of Wednesday, meaning the outbreak is growing and hospitalizations are at a 7-week high, according to state data. Newarks three-day rolling average for positive tests was 12.4% on Thursday, Baraka said last week on Facebook. Thats down from the 14.6% during the same period last week, he added. Baraka said in a Facebook video Wednesday he toured schools in the citys South Ward and called the superintendents work to bring students back awesome. Theres a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of the facility and I think the superintendent is doing what he can obviously to upgrade our facilities, said the mayor. But the most important thing is are we ready for students and teachers? And I would say absolutely. Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon said with the protocols in place, including pool testing, hes confident the district will handle any outbreaks swiftly. More than 2,000 school employees have gotten at least their first vaccine, the mayor said Wednesday. Its another tool in our tool kit for CDCs COVID safety, beyond the fact that our teachers are for the most part are going to be vaccinated, Abeigon said. Nascimento, who has lived in Newark since was three and has asthma, said shes still reeling from longer-term effects of COVID-19, like fatigue. Children and adults in Newark have some of the highest rates of asthma in the state, putting them at higher risk for severe illness if they get the virus. She said the only way the districts reopening plan will be successful is if everyone takes personal responsibility to reduce contracting the virus. Were trying to provide a very safe environment to learn, said Nascimento. The only way thats going to be possible is if people in the community do not engage in risky activities that can make them more susceptible to having COVID. District teachers and staff and those at charter schools, private schools, parochial schools, and early childhood providers wait in line to receive the vaccine at Barringer High School on Tuesday, March 16, 2021John Jones | For NJ Advance Media Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. A young man who broke into an apartment in Carrick-on-Shannon and assaulted one of the occupants was put on a probation bond for 12 months when his case came back before the District Court on March 26 last. Enda Farrell, Deryherk, Knockvicar, Co Roscommon had previously pleaded guilty to trespass and assaulting Jason Gallagher on September 23, 2019 at 9 Archway Apartments, Main St, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim. Mr Farrell broke into the apartment in the early hours of the morning and threatened one of the occupants, who he did not know, that he would gut them like a fish. A female occupant of the apartment said she awoke after hearing a bang and went out of the bedroom to see the accused sitting in a chair with his feet up. He had a broken mop handle in his hands which he threw at her. The other occupant of the apartment, Jason Gallagher, then got up and the defendant grabbed him by the throat and said, If you come near my family again I will gut you like a fish. Gardai arrived on the scene and arrested Mr Farrell. Solicitor, Colm Conway said that Mr Farrell had fully engaged with the probation services and their recommendations. He said there was a probation report and a psychologists report in court. The report from the psychologist said the risk of him reoffending is in the low scale. Mr Conway said Mr Farrells home life was disrupted by the break up of his parents marriage. He said he has shown extreme remorse for what happened. Hes a young man, he knows he made a massive mistake on the night in question that will have a detrimental affect on his life going forward, said Mr Conway. He said Mr Farrell is in college, has exams later this year, and has a career and life ahead of him and he asked the Judge to take all of that on board in mitigation. Mr Farrells mother said they have had a very difficult home life. She and her husband have separated. She said her son has a good relationship with his father now and they get on very well. The court heard the defendant had no previous convictions. Judge Kevin Kilrane said on the night in question the defendant behaved irrationally and put people in fear and dread in their own house. He said the defendant came into their house and threatened them seriously but thankfully no physical harm was done to anyone. Judge Kilrane noted the defendant was born in 1998 and suffered quite badly from the break up of his parents marriage. Judge Kilrane said the defendant has been abusing alcohol and illegal substances and that led to an irrational outburst on the night in question. He said he read the probation report and there is hope for him and that he would put all of it behind him. Judge Kilrane placed Mr Farrell on a probation bond for 12 months on the condition he cooperates with the probation services, maintains sober habits, and desists from any illegal and illicit substances. As people across the world grieved for Prince Philip yesterday, social media trolls including a one-time Guardian journalist instead took the opportunity to spread vile messages of spite. In response to the official Palace announcement that the Duke had 'passed away peacefully', writer Karen Geier, who proudly boasts of her work for the Left-wing newspaper on her Twitter biography, sneered: 'Deeply saddened to hear it was peaceful. He deserved so much more (pain).' The tweet went viral, and last night had attracted almost 17,000 'likes' and 2,300 retweets. Guardian writer Karen Geier, pictured, was widely criticised on Twitter after she was saddened to hear that the Duke of Edinburgh 'had died peacefully' telling critics they should get a life Despite provoking a storm of outrage, the Canadian-based journalist, who describes herself as a content strategist, made no apology for her post and told her critics to get lives Despite provoking a storm of outrage, the Canadian-based journalist, who describes herself as a 'content strategist', made no apology for her post and told her critics to 'get lives'. Laurence Fox, the actor-turned-activist who is running for London Mayor under the banner of the Reclaim Party, responded: 'It's so hard not to despise these people and their visceral hatred of the nation which provides them the comfort to spit their bile. 'Im so grateful I dont have to spend more than a passing moment in your thoughts.' The Guardian was quick to distance itself from Ms Geier, who puts the newspaper near the top of her list of achievements on her website. A spokesman said: 'Karen Geier is not a Guardian writer she wrote one article for us five years ago. Her views do not reflect the views of The Guardian.' She was not the only social media user criticised for their response to the Dukes death. The West Berkshire Local Government branch of public sector union Unison appeared to describe the Duke as a 'bigot', tweeting minutes after the official announcement: 'Quick grammatical tip correct usage is "one fewer bigot" and not "one less bigot".' Prince Philip passed away on Friday morning, sparking an outpouring of grief around the world Laurence Fox, pictured, said: Its so hard not to despise these people and their visceral hatred of the nation which provides them the comfort to spit their bile. Im so grateful I dont have to spend more than a passing moment in your thoughts' Unisons national leaders tried to quell the storm, tweeting from the official account: 'The comments from West Berks branch account do not represent the views of the union. 'Our sympathies are with the Queen and her family at this difficult time. We are seeking to get the comments removed as soon as possible.' However, last night the tweet remained on the site. Rivkah Brown, editor of Jewish media platform Vashti, wrote in response to a tribute by the Board of Deputies of British Jews: 'He was a racist, ya idiots.' It prompted Lord Austin, the former Labour MP who quit the party over antisemitism, to write: 'Wait till the silly little child hears about the people he fought against in the war.' In another tweet, responding to the Jewish Leadership Council's tribute, Ms Brown wrote: 'He devoted his long life to being a racist.' Away from Twitter, one Labour Party worker had to apologise for describing the tributes to Prince Philip planned in Parliament tomorrow using a vulgar sexual term for a self-congratulatory exercise. Jay Glover, the office manager for Labours MP for Wirral South, Alison McGovern, made the comments in a WhatsApp group with other staffers. Gen McMahon, office manager for Bedford MP Mohammad Yasin, reportedly replied: 'Its going to be intolerable', before being reminded that the group of Labour office managers had a wide readership. In a statement, Ms McGovern said: 'As soon as I was alerted to the message I asked the team member to apologise, which he immediately did.' New Delhi, April 10 : The Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty (RGSS) hospital, one of the major hospitals being run by the Delhi Government, has been again converted into a dedicated facility for Covid-19. The administration of over 650-bed facility RGSS hospital has suspended all other services till further order. The move came in the wake of a continued resurgence in the capital city since the last two weeks as the city has been reporting over 5,000 new cases. "All non-Covid services have been suspended till further order as the hospital is now a dedicated Covid facility. As of now, around 220 patients are admitted," said B.L. Sherwal, medical director of RGSS. RGSS hospital had played a crucial role since the first wave of Covid-19 emerged in India last year. Sherwaltold IANS that patients admitted with Covid-19 infections most of them have mild symptoms and the same treatment protocol was being followed as was done last year. "Delhi has again started witnessing a massive surge of Covid-19 cases and people really need to be careful and follow safety measures. We had zero patients on March 5, and within a span of a few weeks we have now 220 Covid-19 infected patients," Sherwal added. The hospital administration however, has been facing shortage of medical and non-medical staff. "We have some shortage of medical and non-medical staff. We have already conveyed the message to the Delhi government in writing and hopefully we will be provided staff and other required facilities soon," Sherwal said. The 650-bed RGSSH was declared a coronavirus facility when the pandemic began last year and in early January it was converted into a partially operating Covid-19 hospital. Recently, the Delhi government had issued an order to reserve 500 beds at this facility for Covid-19 patients. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Australian fashion icon Carla Zampatti will be commemorated in a state funeral on Thursday. And in the lead-up to the sad event, her friend and neighbour Kerri-Anne Kennerley has revealed some heartbreaking details about her tragic death. Speaking To The Daily Telegraph at the weekend, Kerri-Anne, 67, said: 'Carla has [had] been quite frail for a long time, she was so tiny.' Sad details: Australian fashion icon Carla Zampatti will be commemorated in a state funeral on Thursday. In the lead up to the sad day, Kerri-Anne Kennerley told The Daily Telegraph, 'Carla has [had] been quite frail for a long time' 'I'm assuming when she fell she hit her head very badly and eventually that's led to her demise,' the TV host added. She finished: 'I think she cracked her head and neck, at the age and stage you just don't recover.' Last week, Kerri-Anne paid tribute to her 'dear friend' on social media. Paying tribute: Last week, Kerri-Anne paid tribute to her 'dear friend' on social media 'Carla was a brilliant designer, but more importantly a very kind and generous woman and dear friend,' she wrote. 'As neighbours, we became closer thanks to her escape artist pup and have had many fond memories and fun times since. All my love, KAK,' she added. Carla, 78, died on April 3, days after a fall at an outdoor opera performance. Fashion icon: Carla, 78, died on April 3, days after a fall at an outdoor opera performance. Her designs have been worn by some of Australia's most influential women, including Princess Mary of Denmark, Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and Ms Berejiklian. The mother-of-three and grandmother of nine had spent a week in hospital after the accident. Born in Italy in 1942, Zampatti migrated to Australia with her parents in 1950 at age nine, and set up her fashion famous label at 24. Her designs have been worn by some of Australia's most influential women, including Princess Mary of Denmark, Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and Ms Berejiklian. On Friday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Carla was a role model for generations as Australians. Role model: Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Carla was a role model for generations as Australians The trailblazing fashion designer will be farewelled at a state funeral at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral next week. The general public is welcome to join the 10.30am service, which will also be livestreamed, inside the Catholic cathedral on April 15. Carla was named Australian Designer of the Year in 1994, awarded the Australian Fashion Laureate in 2008 and a year later was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia's highest civilian honour. You are the owner of this article. Besides his upcoming project, Lee Min Ho keeps himself busy through his long list of endorsements. Just recently, the South Korean heartthrob was chosen to be the new male muse of Louis Vuitton accessories. On April 9, the French luxury brand announced that the "City Hunter" star is their latest ambassador for their watch and jewelry collection. Meanwhile, a Tambour Street Diver campaign, shot by the famous photographer Mario Sorrenti, was also shared on Lee Min Ho's Instagram account featuring Seoul's famous skyscraper as his backdrop. In the official photo, the award-winning actor was spotted donning an all-black casual ensemble and white sneakers as he modeled a black LV watch with neon green details. READ MORE: Lee Min Ho Graces the Cover of GQ Korea Lee Min Ho Career Since his debut in 2003 for EBS' series, "Secret Campus," the 33-year-old actor has now amassed several notable dramas. This includes his claim to fame "Boys Over Flowers," where he portrayed the role of the popular and rich high school student Koo Jun-Pyo, followed by another remarkable series, "City Hunter" and the 2016 fantasy romance "The Legend of the Blue Sea" opposite Gianna Jun. How Rich Exactly is Lee Min Ho? With almost two decades in the industry, Lee Min Ho is one of the most bankable South Korean actors and sits as the sixth spot for highest-paid actors, next to Jo In-Sung and So Ji-Sub. In recent news, the famous Kdrama star reportedly rakes $84,000 per episode while Lee Min Ho's net worth is said to be around $10 million, as cited by celebritynetworth.com. Aside from his estimated assets, "The Heirs" star proves his immense popularity in the local and international scene after being named as the most-followed K-drama star on Instagram with over 23.2 million followers and counting. Lee Min Ho Joins the cast of "Pachinko" In Mid February, the Blue Dragon Film winner surprised his Canadian fans as he visited the Great White North to shoot his upcoming series "Pachinko." Upon his arrival at the Britannia Shipyards, Lee Min Ho waved at his fans who were waiting for him at the location. Of course, the Hallyu star observed COVID-19 protocols such as wearing face masks and social distancing. "Pachinko" is based on the novel written by Min Jin Lee and is set to premiere on Apple TV+ where he will be playing the role of Hansu, a Korean immigrant who was adopted by a wealthy family. The story follows the lives of four generations of a Korean immigrant family and their journey to Korea, Japan, and the United States. Aside from Lee Min Ho, the upcoming movie adaptation includes powerhouse cast such as Jin Ha, who will play the role of Solomon, New Zealand actress Anna Sawai as Naomi, Kim Minha as Teenage Sunja, Japanese celebrities Soji Arai and Kaho Minami as Mosazu and Etsuko, and the award-winning South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung, who is set to portray the role of Sunja. In addition, "Pachinko" is helmed by the renowned filmmakers Kogonada and Justin Chon and written and executive produced by Soo Hugh. KDramastars owns this article. Written by Geca Wills Chief Minister on Friday said the number of COVID-19 doses available in the state is insufficient to carry on vaccination and due to this, inoculation will have to be stopped in many districts tomorrow. He also said that the Centre's claim of no shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in the country is wrong and demanded that a status report on availability of doses be made public. " leads among all states in vaccination of people above 60 years of age. has received 1,07,40,860 COVID-19 vaccine doses from the central government till April 6. Of these, 2,15,180 vaccines have been made available to the army; 91,55,370 dosages have been used till April 8. About 4,34,888 dosages were wasted, which is less than half of the 10 per cent limit allowed by the central government, Gehlot said in a statement. The chief minister said that after today's vaccination, there are only about five lakh vaccine doses left in the state which are insufficient for further vaccination. The central government has proposed the next consignment of 3.83 lakh doses of vaccine on April 12. Due to this, vaccination work will have to be stopped in many districts in Rajasthan tomorrow, Gehlot said. Statements made by Union Ministers Amit Shah and Ravi Shankar Prasad that there is no shortage of vaccines in the country is factually wrong, he said in the statement. Gehlot said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for celebrating 'Teeka Utsav' from April 11 to April 14. But how will this happen as vaccines are not available in many states, he said. "In such a way, how can the 'Teeka Utsav' be celebrated?" Gehlot asked. He said in such a situation, the central government should clearly state publicly about the lack of vaccines. "No politics is being done in the work of vaccination, but it is clear from the facts that there is a shortage of vaccines in many states. The central government should clarify the status of vaccine doses in public," the chief minister said. Gehlot said that Rajasthan has been a pioneer in coronavirus management and vaccination since the beginning. (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 wide majority of workers at an Alabama Amazon warehouse voted against a union drive, but the results are likely to be challenged by activists who claimed the company used unfair tactics A contentious unionization drive at an Amazon warehouse in the southern US state of Alabama failed Friday as a vote count showed a wide majority of workers rejecting the move. In a tally streamed live online, National Labor Relations Board officials recorded a "no" vote majority of 1,798 to 738, a stinging defeat in the push to create the first labor union at a US-based Amazon facility. Union activists vowed to demand a re-vote, claiming the US tech and retail giant used unfair tactics. Of the 5,876 eligible voters, 3,041 submitted ballots, some of which were voided or challenged but not enough to change the outcome, according to the labor board. The results cap a bruising months-long battle that has sparked intense debate over workplace conditions at Amazon, which has more than 800,000 US employees. Unions and political leaders have argued that Amazon employees face constant pressure and monitoring, with little job protection, highlighting the need for collective bargaining. Amazon has argued that most of its workers don't want or need a union and that it already provides more than most other employers, with a minimum $15 hourly wage and other benefits. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which organized the drive, said it would challenge the outcome, arguing that Amazon had "created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees' freedom of choice." US Senator and progressive leader Bernie Sanders was among the high-profile leaders backing unionization of the Amazon fulfillment center in Alabama Drop-box intimidation Amazon denied intimidating workers, whom it contended were inundated with anti-company messages by the union, politicians and media outlets. "Amazon didn't winour employees made the choice to vote against joining a union," the e-commerce colossus said. "We welcome the opportunity to sit down and share ideas with any policymaker who wants to pass laws ensuring that all workers in the United States are guaranteed at least $15 an hour, health care from day one, and other strong benefits." The labor group said workers were bombarded with anti-union messages, and claimed the company's use of a drop-box outside the warehouse could have intimidated employees. "Amazon knew full well that unless they did everything they possibly could, even illegal activity, their workers would have continued supporting the union," said RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum. "That's why they required all their employees to attend lecture after lecture, filled with mistruths and lies, where workers had to listen to the company demand they oppose the union." Appelbaum said Amazon's use of a postal drop box on its grounds "provided a clear ability to intimidate workers." A drive to create the first Amazon labor union which was seen as a test case for the digital economy appeared to be headed for defeat Bitter pill for labor The Amazon drive was seen as a watershed for a diminished US labor movement, with activists aiming to use the Alabama warehouse as a catalyst for other organizing efforts. Brookings Institution senior fellow Darrell West said the Amazon effort was "a test case for whether the digital economy would go the same route as the industrial economy." Will Brucher, an instructor at the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, said the organizing drive might still help the broader labor movement. "Amazon won this battle, but the war may not be over," Brucher said. "Community-based, grassroots organizing can succeed, even against a powerful employer like Amazon." While the failed vote in Bessemer, a suburb of the city of Birmingham, is not what union supporters had hoped for, it was a brave stand by workers against a powerful corporation, according to Richard Trumka, president of the 12.5-million member AFL-CIO. "We're not going anywhere," Trumka said. "Whether Jeff Bezos likes it or not, this organizing drive is going to open the floodgates to more collective action." Union organizers in Alabama were confident Amazon workers would get a re-vote, with different results. "I want my fellow Amazonians to know that it's not over," warehouse worker Linda Burns said in a video call with reporters. "We're going to fight for our rights as human beings, not robots." Explore further Union vote count nears final stage for Amazon warehouse 2021 AFP OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- A 60-year-old woman reported missing Thursday, April 8 from a Marne area assisted living center has been located and is safe, police said. Ottawa County sheriffs deputies at about 6:50 p.m. Friday reported that Dixie Ausema was located. Police said she walked away from the home on Tuesday. More from MLive These West Michigan schools are staying in-person despite governors remote learning recommendation Police union backs Muskegon County jail officers charged in inmates death, question AG decision The latest revelations from the double murder trial of Kylr Yust are shocking to many metro news watchers, however they're old news to Kansas City's most prolific crime fighter. Today, Mr. Washington reminds his followers that he had connected Kylr Yust's half brother to the crime years ago. Take a look . . . Mr. Washington also shares some shocking deets about Kylr Yusts ex-girlfriends and how they reached out to him via social media. Most importantly . . . Alonzo Washington sharing these deets demonstrates that his tipster network was at the forefront of the investigation and actively encouraged and supported quite a few witnesses to come forward with more info that's now part of the trial. Developing . . . New Delhi: Jharkhand Police constable and his friend have been alleged of raping a three-year-old girl in Jharkhands Chatra district. Police said, the constables friend, a co-accused of the heinous crime, was nabbed by the locals while he was sexually assaulting the minor. Chatra superintendent of police Anjani Kumar Jha told the media that the arrested has been identified as Vijay Bhuiyan. The police constable has been identified as Mukesh Dangi, who is still at large. Raids are being made to nab the co-accused, a constable with Ranchi Police, said the SP. Gidhour police station in-charge Ajay Kumar Panjikar, Both the accused are well versed with the victim and her family. Panjikar added that the duo abducted the girl from a Durga Puja Pandal at Barta village in Chatra district. According to the complaint lodged by the victims father he had gone outside the puja pandal for a while on returning he did not find his daughter. In the complaint he mentioned that after searching her for a time within the premises of the Durga Puja pandal and fair he decided to head back home in the hope to find her there. The victims father further mentioned that on way back home he saw one of the accused trying to force himself on the victim. Also read| Uttar Pradesh: Cop molests six-year-old in police station premises in Ballia I raised an alert and with help of locals we nabbed one of the co-accused, the victims father said. Police said that the girl was found in unconscious state. She was rushed to a local hospital for medical attention. Also read| Himachal Pradesh: 3 Balika Ashram employees raped inmates after sedating them Jha also said, The girl is recovering well. She has narrated the ordeal to the police. Chatra SP further told the media that an FIR has been lodged under adequate IPC sections and POSCO act. Jha also told the media that they found on Bhuiyans clothes confirmed his involvement in the crime. He seems to have committed the crime under the influence of alcohol, he added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. President Donald Trump's second impeachment, on his way out from office, comes as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has continued to speak out about Trumps legacy, particularly the US leader's maximum pressure policy against Iran. Speaking Jan. 13 on the anniversary of when Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, fled the country for good, Rouhani said that the shah's departure marked the end of colonialism in Iran and that Trumps departure marks the end of another dictator in America. Rouhani said Trumps election loss is not just the transfer of one government to another but shows that bullying, racism and trampling laws does not have a good end. Rouhani added that during the last three years the Trump administration tried to collapse Irans government and that Trumps exit marks the end of a policy Rouhani referred to as economic terrorism. Rouhani said that despite all the pressure on Tehran from US sanctions and having to deal with the coronavirus, Iran has had positive economic growth the last six months. While some countries in the Middle East will be sad to see Trumps presidency come to an end, Iran is looking forward to a Biden administration that has stated its desire to reenter the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump exited the deal and reapplied sanctions, preventing Iran from selling oil and conducting financial transactions with countries in Europe and Asia. The United States also sanctioned numerous entities in Iran. Most recently the United States announced sanctions against Mohammad Mokhber, the head of the Executive Headquarters of Imams Directives and Barkat Ventures, where the Iranian vaccine for COVID-19 is being developed. Iranian media referred to this latest penalty as a sanction on the Iranian coronavirus vaccine. Trumps maximum pressure also included his orders to assassinate Irans Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. While the assassination nearly led to a broader war, Iran is trying to pursue a legal angle. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said an arrest warrant for Trump will be pursued by the Foreign Ministry and other institutions. While Iran knows that no such thing will ever happen, the country is under severe pressure to respond. Shortly after the assassination, Iran launched missiles at a US base in Iraq. While the missiles caused severe damage, no US troops were killed in the attack. While members of the Rouhani administration will be happy to see Trump go, conservative politicians have felt vindicated that their viewpoint on the United States was the more accurate one. Conservative Iranian politicians also took pleasure in covering the chaos in the United States, most recently after the Capitol riots and the calling in of the National Guard to protect the inauguration. Vatan-e Emrooz newspapers top story above the fold showed a picture of the sleeping national guardsmen using a headline with a double meaning, Goodnight America. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that negotiations with Russia on the purchase of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine were finished. Sputnik V would be an additional booster [for the vaccination campaign in Austria] with a volume of 1 million doses. The de facto contract negotiations have come to an end. This means that purchase for Austria is possible," he said at a meeting with reporters in Vienna on Saturday. This week Kurz announced plans to register Sputnik V at the national level, to purchase and use the drug to speed up the vaccination process in the country. "I strongly support this," the Chancellor emphasized. A file photo of Uyghur religious teacher Abduqadir Yapchan (L) who faced an extradition request from China that was thrown out by a court in Istanbul, Turkey on April 8, 2021. A court in the Turkey has rejected a request by Beijing to extradite Uyghur religious teacher Abduqadir Yapchan to China to face "terrorism" charges, his lawyer said, ending years of detention and legal limbo under the threat of harsh Chinese punishment. A closed-door hearing at the Istanbul Caglayan Justice Palace on Thursday dismissed his case, citing lack of credible evidence, his lawyer said. "Chinas request to extradite Mr. Abduqadir was rejected by the judge," said his lawyer, Mehmet Anas. "In a previous trial, Mr. Abduqadir was banned from traveling abroad, and the decision was reversed. Mr. Abduqadir is now free," added the lawyer. In order to disturb my peaceful life and derail the East Turkestan cause, China has pressured other governments with slanderous terrorist charges against me," the 62-year-old Yapchan told RFA's Uyghur Service. "Today, all the slander of China, that is, the deception against me and against the people of East Turkestan, has been thwarted," he added. "We must work together against China's genocide and crimes against humanity in East Turkestan." East Turkestan is the name Uyghurs use for the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in western China, where they wish to re-establish the independent state that briefly existed before the founding of Communist China in 1949. Yapchan, who has been granted political asylum by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and has been living in Istanbul for 18 years, escaped from China in 1998 on a fake passport obtained so he could travel to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Haj, a pilgrimage undertaken by devout Muslims. In the years since the native of Kashgar left China, repression of Uyghurs has dramatically worsened, with the incarceration of some 1.8 million Turkic Muslims in internment camps since 2017 and other policies prompting the U.S. government and several Western parliaments this year to designate abuses in the XUAR part of a state-backed genocide. ETIM accusation Hidayatullah Oguzkhan, president of the International Union of East Turkestan Organizations and the President of the East Turkestan Education and Cooperation Association, said the court decision was significant for Uyghurs facing the threat of an extradition pact between China and Turkey, home to 50,000 Uyghurs. "The decision means that Turkey is moving in the direction of East Turkestan, taking into account the values and sensitivities of the people of East Turkestan," he told RFA. "Four years ago, China had asked Turkey to extradite Mr. Abduqadir Yapchan by falsely accusing him of being a 'terrorist' and he has been on trial several times during those four years," said Oguzkhan. "Today's court rejected China's request to extradite Abduqadir Yapchan. All restrictions have been lifted and his travels outside Turkey will no longer be hampered with this decision to close the case," he added. China had accused Yapchan of being part of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group that the U.S. State Department dropped from its list of terrorist organizations last October, because, it said "for more than a decade, there has been no credible evidence that ETIM continues to exist." China regularly refers to Uyghur activists in exile as members of ETIM as part of a bid to discredit their claims of ongoing rights abuses in the region and to support its narrative that Uyghurs in the XUAR lead happy lives under Beijings rule, while ETIM promotes separatism and directs attacks within China from abroad. Yapchan was arrested by Turkish police on August 31, 2016 on charges of being a "terrorist and had since been under detention or house arrest. Ibrahim Ergin, a lawyer, said the Chinese government's extradition demands in 2016 and 2019 were supported with a five-page indictment, but in June 2020, China filed a 68-page indictment. "The Turkish court insisted that the Chinese sides accusations could not be substantiated, and asked the Chinese to provide more evidence, but the Chinese side did not provide any evidence," he said. Beijing blacklisted Yapchan in 2003 when it placed him on the countrys first list of alleged terrorists and terrorist organizations. All of the 11 suspected terrorists and five organizations on the list were identified as "East Turkestan" terrorist organizations, such as ETIM, or individuals. Yapchan spent 12 years in Chinese prisons as he was jailed on three separate occasions for taking a class at an underground religious school, spreading separatist ideology and illegally possessing a copy of the guilty verdict handed out by a Chinese court for another Uyghur activist. Reported by Arslan Tash and translated by Mamatjan Juma for RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert. IRS is delivering yet another batch of stimulus checks for qualified Americans. If you have not received yours yet, then it might happen sometime this week. However, the third round brings a lot of new changes with eligibility and payments due. The "Plus-Up" payment is in full effect, and you might be entitled to more money than you think. Here is how to check if you are qualified to plus-up payments online. The Ascent reported that plus-up payments are for people who received stimulus money according to their 2019 tax but are eligible for new or larger payments because of the changes in their 2020 tax returns. This is essential to people whose circumstances changed drastically due to the pandemic. Instead of filing another rebate or credit, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decided to follow up and send out the remaining money in a plus-up system. Do You Qualify for Plus-up Payment IRS requires you to file your 2020 tax return to check if you are qualified to plus-up payments. In their official announcement, IRS explaied that "these payments could include a situation where a person's income dropped in 2020 compared to 2019, or a person had a new child or dependent on their 2020 tax return, and other situations." There are generally three reasons why you might qualify for plus-up payment. The circumstances are: You have a significant drop in income from 2019 to 2020: this would apply to layoffs, job closing, and other pandemic-related circumstances. If your gross income dropped below $75000, then you are qualified to stimulus payments with the plus-up system. You claimed a new baby on your 2020 taxes: a new baby is categorized as a dependent and would qualify for the full stimulus payment. You claimed a disabled or elderly dependent on your 2020 taxes: for the third stimulus bill, college students, elderly relatives, or disabled relatives who do not earn income qualify as dependents eligible for full stimulus payments. So be sure to declare all your dependents in the 2020 taxes! Read Also: How Much Is My Stimulus Check? Calculate If Your Payment Is Correct How Can You Track Your Plus-up Payment? You can check the status of your stimulus money and plus-up payments with the IRS Get My Payment tool. Registering up for an account is easy. Just head to the website and provide some details on date of birth, complete address and your Individual Tax ID or Social Security number. Once you have your account activated and validated, you can see all the information regarding your stimulus payments. Information on the website includes the three stimulus payments, how much money you are entitled to, your payment delivery status, and the plus-up payments that are automatically added when you update your 2020 tax return. You could also try applying to the USPS Informed Delivery System tool, which would notify you about any parcel delivery with your name, including the paper check for your stimulus payment. Register and keep an eye out with these handy online tools. They will prove to be helpful in monitoring the status of your third stimulus check and plus up payment. Related Article: Stimulus Check Tracker for Your $1,400 Payment: How to Use IRS Online Portal, Requirements and More Experience does not always count for much with ageist employers, but some corporations are discovering what many have been missing. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has introduced a career comeback program which is relaunching the careers of women who have taken long breaks from the workplace. In doing so, it is angling for a competitive edge by expanding the diversity and maturity of its workforce. Kirsten Miller and Jane Absolum are in the first intake of the new CBA program and say it has provided the level of support and confidence they needed to reboot their careers. Associate director of client analytics, Jane Absolum (left) and associate director of corporate governance, Kristen Miller, of Commonwealth Bank in Sydney. Credit:James Alcock Ms Miller, 47, is working in corporate governance at the bank. She worked as a corporate lawyer in Sydney and London before moving to the US with her husband at the end of 2006 for eight years when she had three children. (Newser) A Florida woman who coughed in the face of a cancer patient last year was on Thursday sentenced to 30 days in jail and six months of probation. Debra Jo Hunter was involved in an angry confrontation with staffers at a Pier 1 Imports in Jacksonville on June 24, attempting to return an item she hadn't brought with her. She argued with staffers who explained they weren't able to refund her for something based simply on the photo of the item she had on her phone and refused to leave. Then Heather Sprague started filming. Hunter, who was not wearing a mask, walked up to Sprague (who was wearing one), and coughed in her face before leaving the store. Sprague posted video of the incident the following day. Four days later, Sprague, who was being treated for a brain tumor, started feeling unwell and filed a police report, News4Jax reports. story continues below Hunter was arrested and spent part of one day behind bars before posting bond, for which she was given credit for time served, First Coast News reports. In addition to the jail time and probation, she must undergo a mental health evaluation, attend anger management classes and parenting skills classes (at least one child was with her at the time), pay a $500 fine, and cover the cost of Sprague's COVID-19 test (which came back negative, the Miami Herald reports). Addressing the judge Thursday, Hunter bemoaned the impact this has had on her children and said she wonders "what it would be like if every one of us as the flawed human beings we are had their worst moments reduced to a short video for all the world to see and judge." The judge wasn't buying it: "She talked about how it changed her world and she was getting nastygrams on Facebook and things of that nature and they cant go to their country club or wherever," he said. "But I have yet to see ... a significant expression of her regret about the impact it had on the victim." (Read more Florida stories.) Was right about 'China Virus Coming From Wuhan Lab': Trump 04 Jun 2021 | 7:56 PM Washington, Jun 4 (UNI) Former United States President Donald Trump has said that he had accurately just that the coronavirus came from laboratory in Chinese city of Wuhan and demanded that Chinese government pay $10 trillion to America and the world, for the death and destruction they have caused. see more.. Nine dead as train hits railway workers in China 04 Jun 2021 | 11:47 AM Beijing, Jun 4 (UNI) Nine lives were lost when a passenger train hit a group of railway workers in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu on Friday, local media reported. see more.. Govs must include ecosystem restoration in pandemic recovery plans : UN 03 Jun 2021 | 3:11 PM Nairobi/Rome, Jun 3 (UNI) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have urged Governments to "ensure that their COVID-19 recovery plans incorporate significant allocations for ecosystem restoration" as a central component to delivering a green, sustainable and fair recovery. see more.. UN bodies praise Andhra, Odisha's restoration efforts 03 Jun 2021 | 2:29 PM Nairobi/Rome, Jun 3 (UNI) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday praised efforts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Governments towards ecological restoration. see more.. China-Philippines cooperation far outweighs maritime differences: FM spokesperson Xinhua) 14:20, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The friendly cooperation between China and the Philippines far outweighs maritime differences, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday. Zhao made the remarks when asked to comment on Philippine presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's remarks that the Philippines and China will resolve the Niu'e Jiao issue through diplomatic channels and peaceful means. Roque said any difference between the Philippines and China cannot define the relations between the two countries, nor will it hinder the positive momentum of development of the bilateral ties. Zhao told a press briefing that China and the Philippines are friendly neighbors, and friendly cooperation between the two countries far outweighs maritime differences. China has always and will continue to work with the Philippines to properly resolve differences through friendly consultations, promote cooperation, enhance mutual trust and maintain the overall situation of the bilateral relations and maritime peace and stability. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the Malaysian opposition Peoples Justice Party, answers questions after a meeting with the chief of the anti-corruption agency at its headquarters in Putrajaya, March 22, 2021. Malaysias opposition on Friday named Anwar Ibrahim as its choice for prime minister ahead of a general election that current leader Muhyiddin Yassin promised to hold as soon as the coronavirus pandemic subsides. The Pakatan Harapan opposition bloc also said it was ready to work with any parties in the next polls, and would keep pressing Prime Minister Muhyiddin to persuade the king to reconvene parliament. The legislature has been suspended since mid-January when the monarch, at Muhyiddins prompting, declared a national emergency over the pandemic. The Pakatan Harapan leaders retreat on April 8 and 9 has decided that the chairman of Pakatan Harapan, Anwar Ibrahim, will lead the campaign for the 15th General Election and as such, [be] elevated as the candidate for the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the resolution said. The retreat in Anwars constituency seat of Port Dickson, south of Kuala Lumpur, drew Anwar, Mohamad Sabu, and Lim Guan Eng the respective leaders of the Peoples Justice Party (PKR), the faith-based Amanah party, and the Democratic Action Party (DAP). The three parties comprise Pakatan Harapan. They were joined in Port Dickson by members of the coalitions Presidential Council, womens and youth wing leaders, as well as chief ministers of states controlled by the coalition. In a nine-point resolution shared with journalists, the coalition said it was open to working with any political group, but with conditions. We take an open stance to negotiate and cooperate with any sides, based on the principle and agenda of reform for the interest of the people, Pakatan said. The resolution is the coalitions first announcement since Anwars public declaration last month that Pakatan was in talks with several leading politicians from the United Malay National Organization (UMNO), the dominant party in the history of Malaysian politics. UMNO now is a member of the ruling coalition, but party leaders have announced that it would split from the Perikatan Nasional alliance headed by Muhyiddin in the next national election. At this stage, we are just discussing. So, I think we will stick to that that we are just in the midst of initial discussions, Anwar, 73, said on March 16 about the talks with UMNO. Amanahs communications director, Khalid Samad, said that Pakatan could work with other parties, but he expected that members of UMNO, which draws its support from the countrys ethnic Malay majority, likely would not work with DAP, a largely ethnic Chinese party. The condition (of cooperation) is the acceptance of the principles of the reform agenda, can UMNO accept the condition after publicly declaring No DAP, no Anwar in their General Assembly? So obviously UMNO has rejected us, he told BenarNews. Khalid was referring to the declaration made by UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at his partys general assembly on March 27, where he said it would not work alongside Perikatan Nasional, Anwars party and DAP for the 15th general election. UMNO, the anchor party of the Barisan Nasional coalition, had held power from the nations birth until Anwar joined forces with his former nemesis, Mahathir Mohammad, to form a coalition that pulled off an electoral upset in May 2018. Before that election, the two politicians formed a pact in which Mahathir promised to hand over power to Anwar in two years. But Anwar never succeeded him as prime minister. Mahathirs government collapsed in February 2020 over infighting about the question of who would be the next PM in the Pakatan government. When Mahathir stepped down, it opened the door for Muhyiddin to join forces with UMNO and take the helm of government as an unelected prime minister. Later in 2020, Mahathir split from Bersatu, the party in the Pakatan coalition that he had co-founded with Muhyiddin, and formed his own party, Pejuang. Options open Political analyst Tunku Mohar Tunku Mokhtar of the International Islamic University of Malaysia said the resolution was cautiously worded so that the coalition could keep its options open. It does not exclude working with UMNO. This means if the party agrees to adhere to PHs agenda of reform and accepts Anwar as the prime minister candidate, PH will accept working together with UMNO, Mokhtar told BenarNews. Oh Ei Sun, from the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said it would be difficult for UMNO to work with Anwars coalition because of UMNOs old adversarial relationship with DAP. It is not so much because their leadership really cannot work with DAP, but their grassroots have long been brainwashed by them into demonizing DAP, Oh told BenarNews. So if they now work with the DAP, they risk alienating their own grassroots. Muhyiddin, who has been under pressure from UMNO as well as opposition parties to call an election, has said he would personally advise the king when the situation permits and the pandemic is under control. He said his priority was to bring Malaysias economy back to health by restoring the livelihoods of people affected by COVID-19. King Al-Sultan Abdullah Riayatuddin Billah Shah declared a national state of emergency on Jan. 12 to allow the government to deal with the pandemic. The emergency is to end on Aug. 31. Advertisement Archaeologists have given a first look inside Egypt's 'lost golden city' of Aten, believed to be the greatest find since Tutankhamun's tomb was unearthed a century ago. Scientists announced the discovery of the 3,500-year-old city on Thursday, lauding its intact structures left standing 'as if it were yesterday.' Today, the world was allowed a closer look at the stunning S-shaped walls which curve around the city's streets, as well as ornaments discovered inside houses, such as painted vases and opulent necklaces. The city, constructed by King Amenhotep III, a great grandfather of Tutankhamun who ruled around 1390 BC, is the largest ancient settlement ever discovered in Egypt. It was uncovered by archaeologists digging at Luxor, complete with neighbourhoods of houses, bakeries, workshops and cemeteries, as well as jewellery, pottery and mud bricks bearing Amenhotep's seal. Photos today revealed that even a fossilised fish was pulled from the city beneath the sand, as well as the skeletons of men and their livestock. The team initially set out to discover Tutankhamun's Mortuary Temple, where the young king was mummified and received status rites, but they stumbled upon something far greater. Workers carrying a painted pot at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten, dating to the reign of Amenhotep III, uncovered by the Egyptian mission near Luxor Today, the world was allowed a closer look at the stunning S-shaped walls which curve around the city's streets after archaeologists lauded how its intact structures were left standing 'as if it were yesterday' Workers at the site of a 3500-year-old lost city at Aten, in what is today Luxor, in Egypt. Scientists announced the discovery of the 3,500-year-old city on Thursday, lauding its intact structures left standing 'as if it were yesterday.' Today, the world was allowed a closer look at the stunning S-shaped walls which curve around the city's streets, as well as ornaments discovered inside houses, such as painted vases and opulent necklaces. An intact room inside the ancient city is filled with pottery, much of it still buried in sand, but incredibly intact for its age Crowds today gathered at the perimeter of the digging site to glimpse the ancient city, the greatest find since Tutankhamun's tomb a century ago Objects recovered from the city, including small carved faces and necklaces Workers help to remove a blue-painted pot from the ancient city after it was recovered and pieced together The sand was removed to reveal a stunning city still intact close to modern day Luxor. Famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the 'lost golden city', saying the site was uncovered near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings. A worker cleans dust away from the skeleton of an animal at the ancient 'lost city' A worker at the digging site carries a huge pot, which though cracked is still together, to a collection of other pots found inside the city Within just weeks of digging, they uncovered 'mud brick formations in every direction,' Egyptian mission directed Zahi Hawass said in a statement. 'Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it,' Hawass continued. Archaeologists unearthed the well-preserved city that had nearly complete walls and rooms filled with tools used in daily life along with rings, scarabs, colored pottery vessels and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep's cartouche, Luxor Times shared on Facebook. 'The city's streets are flanked by houses ... some of their walls are up to three meters high,' Hawass said. Luxor is famously known for its oldest and most ancient Egyptian sites, along with being home to the Valley of Kings. This area was once called the 'Great Necropolis of Millions of Years of Pharaoh,' as a number of mummies and massive structures have been discovered in Luxor since the 1800s. Betsy Brian, Professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore USA, said 'The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun'. A picture taken on Saturday shows a worker covering an animal skeleton at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten, dating to the reign of Amenhotep III, uncovered by the Egyptian mission near Luxor Workers help to remove pots from the ancient city to be recorded by the academics Workers examine a skeleton found inside a grave in the ancient city. The city sits between Rameses III's temple at Medinet Habu and Amenhotep III's temple at Memnon. Ornaments discovered inside the city, including sculptures and jewellery, are displayed in a glass cabinet Workers use brushes to clean the objects after finding them in the city Workers standing next to a 3,000 year old skeleton which was found at the archaeological site Workers carrying a fossilised fish uncovered at the archaeological site Excavations began September 2020 and within weeks, archaeologists uncovered formations made of mud bricks. After more digging, archaeologists unearthed the site of the large, well-preserved city with almost complete walls, and rooms filled with tools once used by the city's inhabitants. The first goal of the mission was to date the settlement, which was done using hieroglyphic inscriptions found on clay caps of wine vessels. 'Historical references tell us the settlement consisted of three royal palaces of King Amenhotep III, as well as the Empire's administrative and industrial center,' archaeologists shared in a statement. A worker covers a skeleton in a protective sheet after the city was uncovered This area is surrounded by a zigzag wall and has only a single access point that leads to internal corridors and residential areas 'The discovery of the Lost City, not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the Empire was at his wealthiest but will help us shed light on one of history's greatest mystery: why did Akhenaten & Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna.' The city sits between Rameses III's temple at Medinet Habu and Amenhotep III's temple at Memnon. Excavations began September 2020 and within weeks, archaeologists uncovered formations made of mud bricks. After more digging, archaeologists unearthed the site of the large, well-preserved city with almost complete walls, and rooms filled with tools once used by the city's inhabitants. The first goal of the mission was to date the settlement, which was done using hieroglyphic inscriptions found on clay caps of wine vessels. 'Historical references tell us the settlement consisted of three royal palaces of King Amenhotep III, as well as the Empire's administrative and industrial center,' archaeologists shared in a statement. A fossilised fish uncovered inside the city is displayed inside a protective piece of foam The incredibly preserved fish, including details of its scales, is placed inside a foam slab to protect it ahead of further study by scientists A fully intact pot is seen sitting against a wall surrounded by other vases and dishes Workers gather vases and pots which were found inside the city A view of the ruins of a 3000 year-old lost city on April 10, 2021 in Luxor, Egypt. A 3,000-year-old 'lost golden city' known as Aten has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, a discovery that could be the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun. The lost city, is believed to have been founded by King Amenhotep III and to be the largest administrative and industrial settlement in that era. Archaeological workers walk through the ancient city, with its curved walls snaking around houses and buildings, including bakeries and stables A narrow passageway is seen cutting through the ancient city after workers pulled mud and dirt off the site A view of the ruins of a 3000 year-old lost city on April 10, 2021 in Luxor, Egypt. A 3,000-year-old "lost golden city" known as Aten has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, a discovery that could be the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun. The lost city, is believed to have been founded by King Amenhotep III and to be the largest administrative and industrial settlement in that era Aview of the ruins of a 3000 year-old lost city on April 10, 2021 in Luxor, Egypt. A 3,000-year-old "lost golden city" known as Aten has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, a discovery that could be the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun. The lost city, is believed to have been founded by King Amenhotep III and to be the largest administrative and industrial settlement in that era A view of the ruins of a 3000 year-old lost city on April 10, 2021 in Luxor A view of the ruins of a 3000 year-old lost city Archaeologists taking part in works at the site on Saturday A worker walks with a pot recovered from the city among piles of other ancient artefacts which will be studied further by scientists The walls of the ancient city have had sand and earth carefully removed from them to reveal the outline of the bricks The curved walls of the city are seen standing before mounds of gravel and earth hauled off by the workers A picture taken on Saturday shows the walls of the city, characteristic of the ancient Egyptian architecture of that period A picture taken on April 10, 2021, shows workers carrying a fossilised fish uncovered at the archaeological site A picture taken on April 10, 2021, shows a pot bearing inscriptions at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten A picture taken on April 10, 2021, shows workers carrying a fossilised fish uncovered at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten, dating to the reign of Amenhotep III, uncovered by the Egyptian mission near Luxor A picture taken on April 10, 2021, shows workers at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten, dating to the reign of Amenhotep III, uncovered by the Egyptian mission near Luxor A picture taken on April 10, 2021, shows a worker inspecting an artifact at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten, dating to the reign of Amenhotep III, uncovered by the Egyptian mission near Luxor. - Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor that they say is the 'largest' ever found in Egypt and dates back to a golden age of the pharaohs 3,000 years ago. Famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the 'lost golden city', saying the site was uncovered near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings Workers carrying a fossilised fish uncovered at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten Most of the sandy landscape was cleared from the area in just seven months, which showed neighborhoods with different facilities. There was a bakery in the southern part of the city, with a kitchen complete with ovens and storage pottery. 'From its size, we can state the kitchen was catering a very large number of workers and employees,' archaeologists explained. The team is still working on a second part of Aten and although partially covered, they believe it is the administrative and residential district, with larger and well-arranged units. This area is surrounded by a zigzag wall and has only a single access point that leads to internal corridors and residential areas. Archaeologists announced the discovery of a 3,500-year-old 'lost golden city' that was built by King Tutankhamun's grandfather and may be the most significant find since the boy-pharaoh's lavish tomb was unearthed nearly a century ago Luxor is famously known for its oldest and most ancient Egyptian sites, along with being home to the Valley of Kings. Pictured: tiny statuettes dating back around 3,000 years that were found in the 'Lost Golden City' of Luxor Archaeologists unearthed the well-preserved city that had nearly complete walls and rooms filled with tools used in daily life along with rings, scarabs, colored pottery vessels (pictured) and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep's cartouche Excavations uncovered bakeries, workshops and burials of animals and humans, along with jewelry, pots and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III The ancient pharaonic city, known as Aten, was constructed by King Amenhotep III (left), who begin his rule around 1391 BC, and was later used by King Tutankhamun (right) Luxor is famously known for its oldest and most ancient Egyptian sites, along with being home to the Valley of Kings. This area was once called the 'Great Necropolis of Millions of Years of Pharaoh,' as a number of mummies and massive structures have been discovered in Luxor 'The single entrance makes us think it was some sort of security, with the ability to control entry and exit to enclosed areas, researchers shared. 'Zigzag walls are one of the rare architectural elements in ancient Egyptian architecture, mainly used towards the end of the 18th Dynasty.' The third area appears to be workshops were located that constructed the mud bricks used to build the massive city. A number of bricks still litter the landscape that bear seals of King Amenhotep III and others with inscriptions that can be read: 'gm pa Aton' that can be translated as 'The domain of the dazzling Aten', this is the name of a temple built by King Akhenaten at Karnak, who was King Tutankhamun's father. Some of the rooms inside the structure show stunning hieroglyphics that could hold clues about the early inhabitants The first goal of the mission was to date the settlement, which was done using hieroglyphic inscriptions found on clay caps of wine vessels. 'Historical references tell us the settlement consisted of three royal palaces of King Amenhotep III, as well as the Empire's administrative and industrial center,' archaeologists shared in a statement They unearthed the well-preserved city that had almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life along with rings, scarabs, colored pottery vessels and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep's cartouche WHAT IS EGYPT'S VALLEY OF THE KINGS? The Valley of the Kings in upper Egypt is one of the country's main tourist attractions and is the famous burial ground of many deceased pharaohs. It is located near the ancient city of Luxor on the banks of the river Nile in eastern Egypt - 300 miles (500km) away from the pyramids of Giza, near Cairo. The majority of the pharaohs of the 18th to 20th dynasties, who ruled from 1550 to 1069 BC, rested in the tombs which were cut into the local rock. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. The majority of the pharaohs of the 18th to 20th dynasties, who ruled from 1550 to 1069 BC, rested in the tombs which were cut into the local rock. Pictured are statues of goddesses at the site Almost all of the tombs were opened and looted centuries ago, but the sites still give an idea of the opulence and power of the Pharaohs. The most famous pharaoh at the site is Tutankhamun, whose tomb was discovered in 1922. Preserved to this day, in the tomb are original decorations of sacred imagery from, among others, the Book of Gates or the Book of Caverns. These are among the most important funeral texts found on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs. The Valley of the Kings in upper Egypt is one of the country's main tourist attractions. The most famous pharaoh at the site is Tutankhamun, whose tomb was discovered in 1922 Advertisement In this part of the site, experts also uncovered large casting molds for making amulets and delicate, decorative objects. 'This is further evidence of the extensive activity in the city to produce decorations for both temples and tombs,' archaeologists said. 'All over the excavated areas, the mission has found many tools used in some sort of industrial activity like spinning and weaving. 'Metal and glass-making slag has also been unearthed, but the main area of such activity has yet to be discovered.' Along with structural elements, there are also burials found inside the city's walls. Two animal burials were unearthed of either a cow or bull, along with remains of a person found with their arms stretched to the side and tattered rope wrapped around their knees. The team is still working on a second part of Aten and although partially covered, they believe it is the administrative and residential district, with larger and well-arranged units A number of bricks still litter the landscape that bear seals of King Amenhotep III Along with structural elements, there were burials found inside the city's walls. Pictured is either a cow or bull that was found buried in a room of a buildin The remains of a person found with their arms stretched to the side and tattered rope wrapped around their knees 'As history goes, one year after this pot was made, the city was abandoned and the capital relocated to Amarna. But was it? And why? And was the city repopulated again when Tutankhamun returned to Thebes,' said the team in a statement. Bricks were found with the name of a built by King Akhenaten at Karnak (pictured), who was King Tutankhamun's father 'Only further excavations of the area will reveal what truly happened 3500 years ago. To the north of the settlement a large cemetery was uncovered, the extent of which has yet to be determined.' Tutankhamun's successor, King Ay, built his temple on a site which was later adjoined on its southern side by Rameses III's temple at Medinet Habu. Egyptologists believe Ay's temple may formerly have belonged to Tutankhamun as two colossal statues of the young king were found there. The northern part of the temple is still under the sands. Amenhotep III inherited an empire that stretched from the Euphrates to Sudan, archaeologists say, and died around 1354 BC. He ruled for nearly four decades, a reign known for its opulence and the grandeur of its monuments, including the Colossi of Memnon -- two massive stone statues near Luxor that represent him and his wife. 'The archaeological layers have laid untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday,' the team's statement said. Bryan said the city 'will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the Empire was at his wealthiest'. The team said they were optimistic that further important finds would be revealed, noting they had discovered groups of tombs reached through 'stairs carved into the rock', a similar construction to those found in the Valley of the Kings. 'The mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures,' the statement added. A number of artifacts have been discovered inside the city, including ancient pots, jewelry and other trinkets There are also large casting molds for making amulets and delicate, decorative objects 'This is further evidence of the extensive activity in the city to produce decorations for both temples and tombs,' archaeologists said. Most of the ancient pottery is still intact after being hidden under the sand for thousands of years Aten is said to be more significant than King Tutankhamun's tomb. In 1907, Lord Carnarvon George Herbert asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings. On 4 November 1922, Carter's group found steps that led to Tutankhamun's tomb and spent several months cataloguing the antechamber King Tutankhamun's tomb is one of the most lavish to be discovered in history, filled with precious objects to aid the young Pharaoh on his voyage to the afterlife. The trove of grave goods included 5,000 items including solid gold funeral shoes, statues, games and strange animals The Pentagon officer who allegedly fatally shot two men he believed were breaking into cars in the parking lot of a condominium on Wednesday has been pictured in his Pentagon Force Protection Agency photo. Takoma Park police have charged David Hall Dixon with murder for the off-duty shooting. He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of use of a handgun in commission of a felony, and reckless endangerment. The victims have been identified as 32-year-old Dominique Williams, and 38-year-old James Lionel Johnson, and both were pronounced deceased at the hospital. Police say Dixon lives in the condominium building where the shooting took place and that the suspects were in fact breaking into cars. Dixon was taken into custody 'without incident' Friday morning and is being held with no bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center. Calls by DailyMail.com to a number for David Dixon listed in a database were not returned. The Takoma Park Police Department stated in a press release that the deadly officer-involved shooting took place just after 5am on Wednesday at Takoma Overlook Condominiums on New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park. According to police, officers responded to the condominium parking lot after receiving multiple reports of shots fired. David Hall Dixon faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of use of a handgun in commission of a felony, and reckless endangerment A Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer opened fire in the parking lot of this condominium building in Takoma Park, Maryland, Wednesday morning, killing two people They were met at the scene by David Hall Dixon, an off-duty Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer, who told them that he had witnessed 'what he thought was a car being broken into.' Dixon confronted the suspected car burglars, who were said to have failed to follow his commands. Williams and Johnson then reportedly jumped into a car and tried to flee, at which time the Pentagon officer pulled out his service weapon and opened fire. A short time later, the suspects arrived at Prince George's Hospital, where both died from gunshot wounds in their rear upper torso. Dixon also fired into a vehicle driven by Michael Thomas, 36, leading to charges of attempted second-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a felony, police stated in a press conference Friday. Thomas will not be charged with any crimes for his involvement. Takoma Park Police Chief Antonio DeVaul said, 'Our investigation revealed that Mr. Dixons overview of events was inconsistent with the evidence and facts in the case and that Mr. Dixon had no lawful or justifiable reason to shoot and kill Mr. Williams and Mr. Johnson.' Two suspects in a car burglary were pronounced dead from gunshot wounds at Prince George's Hospital Authorities announced the five criminal charges against Hall during a Friday press conference The incident marks the second time in as many weeks that a Pentagon police officer has discharged his weapon while off duty. On March 24, a member of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency shot and wounded a 16-year-old boy who police said tried to rob him at gunpoint in Southeast Washington, DC. The Pentagon cop told DC police that he made a failed attempt to wrestle a BB gun out of the teen's hands, and then pulled out his own service weapon and fired a single shot. The 16-year-old survived and was later charged as a juvenile with assault with intent to commit an armed robbery. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 15:46:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-two people have been killed in insurgency and war in Afghanistan since Friday morning, an independent local war monitoring group said on Saturday. "Within the past 24 hours, our team has documented 92 deaths, including two civilians, 27 Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) members, and 63 Taliban militants," Reduction in Violence (RiV) confirmed on its twitter account. Another 51 Taliban militants and seven ANDSF members were also wounded during the cited period. Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001, renewed armed insurgency killing government troops as well as civilians. The deaths and injuries took place following 13 security incidents in 11 provinces of the country's 34 provinces, according to the RiV figures. Enditem WILLIAMSPORT A number of defendants previously dismissed from a lawsuit over the 2019 death of an inmate in Dauphin County Prison have been pulled back into the court battle. They are among 55 defendants named in an amended complaint, filed Friday, that charges that Ty-Rique Rileys in the prison was caused by intentional, malicious and/or grossly negligent conduct. The lawsuit was brought by Rileys parents in U.S. Middle District Court. The lawsuit argues that that Riley, because of his mental condition, should have been taken to a hospital instead of the county prison where the plaintiffs say he was beaten and subjected to excessive force. The claim of what caused Rileys July 1, 2019, death is a sharp contrast to the ruling of Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick that the 21-year-old died from natural causes, specifically inflammation of his brain. 21-year-old Ty'rique Riley died while in Dauphin County Prison. The Dauphin County District Attorney's Office is investigating his death. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo closed the investigation, saying Riley died from a medical condition that existed before he entered the prison, and that he was not abused by staff. Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle III, despite a defense objection, said he would allow the amended complaint to be filed. He found the estate and Rileys parents, Carmen Riley and Thomas Matthews-Kemrer, had presented sufficient facts for a plausible claim that Riley had a serious medical need at the time he was arrested. The judge concluded, based on the information in the complaint, that Rileys mental health issues and need for medical care would have been easily recognized by a lay person. Arbuckles previous finding that Susquehanna Twp. police officers Michael Dacey, Demetrius Glenn, Aaron Osman, Richard Adams and Richard Wilson were not negligent in transporting Riley to the prison led to Judge Matthew W. Brann on Jan. 13 dismissing them from the lawsuit. He also dismissed corrections officer Angela Swanson. The revised complaint includes new claims about them and adds as defendants corrections officer Tami Donovan, an unnamed Susquehanna Twp. 911 dispatcher and correction officers Delta Bauer, Matthew Danner and Steve Singleton, who were dismissed from the lawsuit in May. The 55 defendants are Dauphin County, Warden Brian Clark, 25 named and 10 unnamed corrections officers, six named and five unnamed township police officers, PrimeCare Medical Inc. and 5 unnamed employees plus the 911 dispatcher. Township Officer Chris Haines opposed as baseless the new claims against Darcy, Glenn, Osman, Adams, Wilson, himself and the 911 dispatcher. Arbuckle ruled Haines did not have standing to represent the others and allowed a new claim against him that claims that while he drove Riley to the prison he observed his erratic behavior and repeatedly asked him about his mental health. Riley, who had no criminal history, was arrested June 18, 2019, at his Susquehanna Twp. home. According to court documents, Carmen Riley awoke about 4 a.m. to see her son holding a sledgehammer while mumbling about needing to protect his parents. While Riley and his father struggled, she called township police for assistance. Riley was taken into custody without incident but the lawsuit claims police failed to recognize he was in the midst of a mental health crisis and took him to the prison instead of a hospital. The suit charges Riley was struck unnecessarily about the head, shoulders and torso as he was forced from the police car and into the booking center at the prison. The complaint also alleges as Riley was being changed from the suicide smock to a prison uniform for the trip to the hospital on June 26, 2019, he was beaten, wrestled to the ground, shackled and placed in a restraint chair until an ambulance arrived. While being forced into the chair, Riley stopped breathing and PrimeCare staff performed chest compressions until an ambulance crew arrived and took over resuscitation efforts. He died July 1, 2019, in UPMC Harrisburg. PrimeCare personnel are accused of not recognizing the need for medical treatment and showing no urgency to get him to a hospital. Brann, in dismissing claims against Swanson, noted she had been mentioned just once in the complaint. The new complaint accuses her and Donovan of observing what happened on June 26 and, with others, trying to conceal it by filing false reports omitting details about the physical and mental abuse Riley suffered. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages on claims of wrongful death, conspiracy, excessive force, medical negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery and failure to intervene, provide medical care and train and supervise. The Chicago Educators Rank & File Safety Committee is hosting an online meeting this Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. CDT: Build Rank & File Safety Committees to Oppose Bipartisan Policy of Social Murder. We encourage all area teachers, parents and students to join this meeting and share it with your friends and colleagues. As COVID-19 cases rise in the Midwest, with the most alarming spike in Michigan, the seven-day average COVID-19 positivity rate in the city of Chicago has once again climbed to 5.4 percent. Genetic testing indicates the latest surge is being driven by the B.1.1.7 variant, which is estimated to be 50 percent more transmissible than the wild-type of the virus. As a result of the surge in cases, hospital admissions in the state of Illinois began to tick up last week. On Thursday, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Alison Arwady said, We cannot be letting down our guard yet. At an individual level, it is high risk right now to be out and about and gathering in Chicago. Why are these cases on the rise? Honestly, theyre on the rise because people are feeling like were done with COVID and they are just staying home a lot less. This variant has been allowed to run rampant by state and municipal leaders decisions to reopen schools, bars, restaurants, and other businesses, as part of a nationwide effort spearheaded by the Biden administration. The primary source of outbreaks in Michigan, Illinois and other states have been K-12 schools, which were reopened with the critical assistance of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), and their state and local affiliates. A critical role has been played by the pseudo-left Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), whose abject betrayal of its members in February paved the way for over a dozen other Democrat-led cities to reach similar deals with local teachers unions to reopen schools. Sign encouraging students to social distance posted in a grade school (Credit: WSWS) Since March 8, pre-K through 8th grade students have been encouraged to return to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) classrooms, but parents and students have overwhelmingly chosen to stay remote. According to the Chicago Tribune, fewer than a 24 percent of those students eligible to return have gone back to attend class in-person. Last month, the district extended the opt-in deadline for high school students in an attempt to encourage enrollment, but the response has been limited. The reopening of the high schools, with students set to return on April 19, takes place amid an escalating political crisis for the Democratic Party in Chicago. In addition to the latest surge in COVID-19 infections among young people, an as-yet unnamed Chicago Police officer shot and killed 13-year old Adam Toledo, with the city stalling on releasing video of the incident. Additionally, the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out has been slow. Even in the neighborhoods with the highest rates of vaccination, only 36 percent of residents have had one shot and only 23 percent are fully vaccinated, according to city officials. The COVID-19 infection rate in the Chicago schools is difficult to track accurately since testing is limited and the websites are not updated frequently. Where testing of students is taking place, it is voluntary and then only of symptomatic students. The CTUs COVID-19 tracker reports 1,326 cases at 433 schools as of March 31. With high school teachers set to return to buildings on Monday, the union announced a meeting of its delegates on Sunday evening, in an attempt to quell the enormous anger among teachers as more schools reopen at the most dangerous stage of the pandemic. Prying open Chicago schools over the opposition of teachers and parents was a key first step for the Biden administration in the first weeks of the year and has been a major factor in the spread of the latest deadly phase of the pandemic. The February 8 agreement to reopen was lauded in the corporate media as a comprehensive agreement in which the union won key gains on safety, but this was belied by the tactics CPS and CTU used to push it through. An aggressive national propaganda campaign was waged attacking teachers who opposed in-person learning. In the single mass meeting held by the CTU ahead of a one-day vote on the agreement, union leaders Jesse Sharkey and Stacy Davis Gates insisted both that nothing more could be won in negotiations, and that a strike would not necessarily secure any gains due to the likelihood of teachers scabbing by working remotely and the cold winter weather, among other miserable excuses. After approving the agreement to return, the CTUs house of delegates insisted that its approval of the contract was not an endorsement of it, but an opportunity for the rank and file to have its say in whether they wanted to go back to infected buildings, with the majority of teachers having been informed the union would refuse to mount a fight. Since the agreement was approved, teachers were forced to return after their temporary accommodations were removed. Some remain on unpaid leave. At present, the CTU is posturing as oppositional in the drive to reopen high schools. In an April 7 letter, Sharkey made clear that the union is simply proposing shifts in scheduling and requesting more toothless promises of safety. He wrote, With COVID-19 infection rates again rising throughout the Chicago area, strict and practical safety protocols that prioritize preventing community spread are critical to reopening high schools safely for in-person learning. This is particularly vital given the current spread of the virus among younger residents. This is a transparent fraud, as the safety measures of the February 8 agreement were totally inadequate and are not even being enforced, including the role of bogus labor-management safety committees. More than 30 Chicago teachers remain on unpaid leave and face discipline for speaking to parents and community members about the dangers of in-person learning. The CTU has collected more than $100,000 in a GoFundMe account for teachers who were locked out or otherwise victimized, but none have confirmed theyve received any financial support from the union since the actions were taken some months ago. No serious discussion of safety can take place under such conditions. CTU leaders pledged in February to cooperate with Lightfoot in reopening the high schools. On Chicago Sun Times reporter Fran Spielmans podcast, Sharkey confirmed there would be no fight against school reopenings. He said, it cant repeat itself. Thats not an acceptable outcome. We have to be able to start with the things which we believe, and I hope and think we hold in common. Which is we want students in buildings. In-person is better in every way save one theres a pandemic right now. We should work together and figure out ways to make school safe as possible while still doing the things we need to do to help kids be safe and families be safe. In order to mount a fight to defend the basic rights to life and health, teachers must draw the lessons of their experiences in Chicago and across the country. The AFT and its left locals in the CTU and United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) have been critical props in the ruling class campaign to reopen the economy at the expense of workers lives and health. The only organizations leading a fight politically to oppose this, demanding the complete closure of schools and nonessential workplaces, improvements to remote learning, social support for households and small businesses, and other essential demands, are the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees. We urge all Chicago educators, parents, students and other workers, to join the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee today at wsws.org/edsafety. A vigil has been held in Bristol for a mother and her two-year-old daughter. Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her daughter Jellica were reported missing from their home in south Gloucestershire on March 1, having last been seen on February 17. On March 18, police discovered two bodies later confirmed to be those of Ms Burke and Jellica at a property in Troon Avenue, Dundee. Friends of Ms Burke and her daughter attended a vigil in their memory, held at Brandon Hill park in Bristol, on Saturday afternoon. Jellica (Police Scotland/PA) It took place on the grass below Cabot Tower, where they had previously met and enjoyed picnics together. Candles and flowers were placed on a red blanket on the ground, along with pictures of Ms Burke and Jellica, a teddy bear and placards. White balloons tied to a nearby tree read: You are loved, You are Missed, You are Remembered. Police previously confirmed that the families of Ms Burke and Jellica are being supported by family liaison officers. A 50-year-old man appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on March 8, charged with murdering the mother and daughter. He made no plea and was remanded in custody. A second child who was reported missing has been traced and is being supported, police previously said. In the first few months of the Biden administration, America has seemingly sent a message internationally that the U.S. is no longer making its security a top priority, and not just at the southern border. The current migrant crisis, which has spiraled into a human tragedy, was created by President Biden when he declared his intention to legalize as many as 11 million illegal Central American and Mexican residents of the U.S. in the wake of his victory in this past Novembers election. This incredibly dangerous messaging from Biden, along with the administrations decision to cease border wall construction, played a part the 78,323 encounters between border patrol and migrants in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California during the month of January. Not surprisingly, this was more than twice the 36,585 border patrol encounters reported in January of 2020, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Despite a media blackout, the truth about the situation is evident, and the cartels and human traffickers are well aware of Americas new attitude towards illegal immigration and are raking in the profits as they benefit from enabling human transport as well as activities related to illegal drug trafficking and other criminal activities. Now weve seen detention centers that were built to house individuals awaiting their day in court date to determine their fate in the U.S. become filled well beyond capacity. But despite this, Department of Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas claimed just weeks ago that there was no crisis at the border, while simultaneously acknowledging that the U.S. is on pace to encounter more illegals on the southern border than at any time in the last two decades. Hearing Mayorkas deny the obvious, especially considering that he occupies a post that is so incredibly important to the safety of Americans, should certainly do more than just raise eyebrows, especially when considering that DHS also oversees one of Americas most vital security agencies, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). CISA is tasked with handling American cybersecurity and protecting our critical infrastructure, including Americas power grid. This is particularly concerning, consider that hackers from several countries including Russia and China are known to have already successfully compromised existing vulnerabilities in the energy grid. Adding to these matters is the fact that CISA has thus far failed to reach its full operational capacity according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. The report showed that the agency is yet to implement the final phase of organizational changes that were outlined as part of the CISA Act of 2018. The act created a new organization chart, infrastructure security points of contact and incident response centers, but as of mid-February of this year, over 50 planned tasks were yet to be completed. Additionally, organizational changes at CISA are still expected to occur at the top, as President Trump appointment Brandon Wales, who was appointed to replace the fired former director, Cristopher Krebs, is merely seen as a placeholder for Joe Bidens eventual nominee. This leaves the agency in a somewhat compromised position, with widescale incidents like the SolarWinds hack, recent attacks from the Chinese hacking group Hafnium that affected Microsofts Exchange Server software as well as Advanced Persistent Threat or APT attacks against Fortinet FortiOS, that have compromised a reported nine federal agencies in addition to countless private sector entities. The state of denial regarding the border issue that the leader of the United States top federal executive department directly responsible for public security is currently in invites offensive acts of aggression from not only the cartel, human traffickers and terrorists, but also state-sponsored hacking groups looking to attack America via hacks against our critical infrastructure. America has become a very different country than it was under President Trump just a few months ago. The new global reality sees an emboldened North Korea testing tactical guided missiles, while Iran and the international community discusses the lifting of Washingtons sanctions on the Iranian nuclear program. It didnt take long for Americas enemies to start taking advantage of our domestic state of chaos. Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, the Editorial Director for Reactionary Times, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, has been published by websites including Newsmax, Townhall, American Thinker and BizPacReview. Image: CISA To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Asia Pakistan: Striking Balochistan government workers block major highways Ignoring calls from authorities to return to work, thousands of government workers in Balochistan, Pakistans largest province, are continuing their struggle for a 25 percent across the board pay increase and the same allowances paid in other provinces. On Monday the strikers, including health and education workers, enforced a virtual cut-off of Balochistan from the rest of the country with a blockade of the main highways. A sit-down protest was held outside the provincial assembly in the capital Quetta with other demonstrations held across the province. Education workers have said they will boycott high-school exams scheduled to begin on April 10. A polio vaccination campaign due this week was also postponed as workers conducting mobile vaccination campaigns joined the strike. The government initially attempted to stop the protests by declaring a ban on all public gatherings. When that failed, it deployed large numbers of armed security personnel to intimidate demonstrators. Counting on poor communication infrastructure in the province, the government is also attempting to spread misleading instructions and false news to break the strike. Despite five failed rounds of talks and the governments insistence that it does not have the money to pay for increased wages, the unions are continuing to negotiate with the government. Balochistan is by far the poorest province in Pakistan as a result of government negligence and exploitation. The strike was called by the All Balochistan Employees and Workers Grand Alliance, an umbrella union. Nepalese hospital workers demand COVID-19 allowance Front-line health workers from the state-run Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital in Baglung, Nepal protested outside the hospital on April 4 to demand the COVID-19 risk allowance promised by the government last May. There are currently 18 coronavirus infected patients receiving treatment at the hospital. The Health Ministry last April announced that doctors, health workers and sanitation workers deployed on frontline COVID-19 services would receive the payments. There 25 doctors and nurses at the hospital who have not received the special payment and are refusing to expand swab collection and testing services. India: Karnataka public transport workers strike again over salaries Workers from four major Karnataka state government transport corporations walked off the job on Wednesday over the governments failure to increase their salary in line with the 6th Pay Commission recommendations. A total of more than 130,000 workers are employed at the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and the North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation. This weeks walkout followed a three-day strike which began on December 10 by KSRTC workers to demand a wage rise and improved benefits, including health insurance. Baggage loaders at Goa International Airport strike About 250 baggage loaders at low cost airline IndiGo suddenly walked out on strike at Goa International Airport on Tuesday. They are employed on contracts by Agile, an IndiGo subsidiary. Strikers protested outside the airport terminal and demanded a wage increase and removal of the station manager. Flight schedules at the airport were delayed. IndiGo is Indias largest airline by the number of passengers carried and fleet size with a 59.24 percent domestic market share as of August 2020. Telangana hospital contract workers strike for pay parity More than 600 contract healthcare workers at the state-run MGM Hospital in Warangal began an indefinite strike on April 1 to demand pay parity with government employees at the hospital. They allege that Agile Security Force, their employer, has not been paying salaries, bonuses and workers provident fund (PF). They have accused the agency of only depositing 400 rupees ($US5.37) a month into their PF accounts, instead of the 1,500 rupees that is deducted from their 7,000-rupee monthly salaries. Visakhapatnam steel workers continue anti-privatisation protests Protests continue against the Modi governments move to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh with an April 4 rally in Vizag. The protest was organised by the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee. Workers and family members are maintaining a hunger protest near the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation which began on February 15 and on March 9 thousands of workers picketed the steel plants administrative offices. The plant, which employs almost 18,000 workers, has the capacity to produce 7.3 million tons of steel per annum. Migrant workers in Punjab protest against discrimination Migrant workers demonstrated on April 4 in Amritsar, Punjab state, 25 kilometres from the Pakistan border, over the Modi government labelling them as bonded labourers hooked on drugs. They raised slogans and burnt an effigy of Amit Shah, the Indian minister for home affairs, demanded the government end is divisive statements, and restated their support for protesting farmers. Sri Lankan port workers demand higher wages About 1,000 port workers demonstrated near Khan Clock Lower in central Colombo Fort on April 1 over an inadequate pay increase. They demanded the Rajapakse government implement scheduled salary increases every three years, effective from January 1 this year. They told the media that the relevant minister had agreed to a 25 percent pay rise on March 30 but discovered that the monthly increase for lower paid employees would be only 5,160 rupees ($US25). Demonstrators rejected this, comparing it to a 10,000-rupee rise in 2018 and demanded that in addition to the promised 25 percent increase all workers should receive more than the 2018 rise. Sri Lankan state bank employees continue protests for a decent pension Hundreds of Ceylon Bank Employees Union members demonstrated again this week to demand a pension for all bank employees and that training for new workers should be limited to two years. It followed lunch-time protests between March 16 and 23 by hundreds of state bank employees. This week lunchtime protests were held in Kandy and the Southern Province with state bank workers threatening national action if their demands are not granted. Sri Lankan non-medical hospital staff protest Thousands of junior (non-medical) hospital workers from across Sri Lanka held a sick-leave protest on Wednesday and 1,000 United Health Workers Union members marched from the Colombo National Hospital to the presidential secretariat with eleven demands. These demands included payment of a safety allowance, increased uniform allowance and payment for Saturday work among others. The presidential secretariat has refused to discuss any of these issues. This weeks action followed a protest march to the countrys finance ministry on March 23. Finance ministry authorities said they could not give an assurance that any of the health workers demands would be fulfilled. Sri Lankan educators hold sick leave protest over salary anomalies Five thousand Badulla District educators held a sick-leave strike and march in Badulla on April 6 to demand higher pay and an end to salary anomalies. They demonstrated outside the Uva Provincial Council holding placards and later moved their protest to the Badulla bus stop. Sri Lankan government printing workers oppose illegal recruitment About 100 members of the Government Printing Trade Union Confederation demonstrated on Monday lunch time outside the Government Printing Press plant. They were calling for the suspension of workers hired through arbitrary and illegal interviews and demanded jobs for professional apprentices who have completed their training. Australia McCormick food production workers in Melbourne end six-week strike About 90 workers from the McCormick Foods Australia sauce and spice manufacturing plant at Clayton in Melbourne ended a six-week strike on Thursday after accepting the companys latest pay offer. The United Workers Union (UWU) members walked out on February 26 after rejecting the companys proposed enterprise agreement (EA), which cut penalty rates, paid meal breaks and overtime with no increase in pay rates, and included an end to the four-day work week. Although the workers pay had been frozen for nearly five years the UWU was only seeking 3 percent annual pay increases which falls far short of compensating for the five year pay freeze, and retention of existing conditions. In the agreement accepted by workers they will receive only a 3 percent annual pay increase over the life of the three-year agreement, a $5,000 sign-on bonus and retention of all existing conditions. The UWU cynically claimed that this was a huge win for all essential workers who toiled through the pandemic, while their companies made massive profits. In fact, McCormicks was the winner because the UWU did not demand the company compensate its workers for the five-year pay freeze. South Australian frontline emergency services workers protest over government funding Over 500 South Australian emergency services workers rallied at parliament house in Adelaide at 12 noon on April 1 over ambulance paramedics demands that the state Liberal government provide more ambulance resources and put an end to hospital ramping. Protesters included paramedics, nurses, firefighters, power workers and other supporters. Ambulance Employees Association paramedics launched limited industrial action on March 10 in response to the ongoing safety issue of ambulance ramping outside public hospital emergency departments and the inadequate level of staffing resulting in overworked paramedics. Just as the rally finished, South Australia Premier Steven Marshall declared in parliament that More ambos would only be funded if ambos accepted reform. The government is blaming the paramedics for the chronic situation, saying it wants to change shift rosters and revise where paramedics take their breaks. Paramedics have rejected this, declaring that the proposed changes would have no effect and that government funding to the ambulance service has been cut by $11.1million over the last three years. Current limited industrial action by paramedics includes not charging patients if emergency ambulances arrive later than medical timeframes and writing slogans on the side of ambulances supporting their demands. South Australian power workers strike for better pay Power maintenance workers from the state-owned power distributer South Australia Power Networks (SAPN) walked off the job for four hours and implemented work bans on April 1 in opposition to SAPNs proposed enterprise agreement. The bans include working-to-rule and not working on rostered days off. Communications Electrical and Postal Union (CEPU) members have twice rejected the companys initial offer to maintain current conditions with a 2 percent pay increase in a 12-month agreement. Workers claimed that the increase fails to compensate for the loss of the previous years bonus and is an effective wage cut. The union alleged that the latest offer contained cuts to wages and allowances, and removed limitations on the use of third party contractorsincreasing job insecurity for permanent employees. The CEPU is demanding 4 percent annual pay increases in a three-year agreement and further negotiations to resolve issues pending from the 2018 agreement. Nurses at major New South Wales hospital protest over paid parking A group of over 50 frontline health workers from the state-run Campbelltown Hospital in Greater Western Sydney, demonstrated outside the hospital on Monday over a state Liberal government requirement that they pay to use the hospitals recently built car park. Health workers said they had never had to pay to park there. The fee for full-time staff is $23.6 per week, effectively reducing their annual income by $1,200. Full-time spots are limited, forcing casuals and other staff to pay $20.20 per day. Another protest is organised for April 13. New Zealand union settles care workers contract dispute The Etu Union, representing aged care workers at the Methodist-run charity Lifewise in Auckland, has reached a sell-out deal to end a long-running industrial dispute. A one-year collective agreement has now been made official. About 90 care workers have been striking and holding pickets on and off since December amid repeated employer threats by to lock them out. The dispute has centred on working conditions and employer demands that workers be available for hours far beyond those for which they are paid. The dispute pre-dates the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis, during which the carers were classified as essential workers. Their duties include support to seniors and people with disabilities, wellbeing checks, helping with grocery shopping and housework, assistance with showering, applying blister packs and administering medication. An E Tu spokesperson admitted the contract terms fall short of workers initial demands, but claimed they represent an improvement on current conditions. The workers are currently entitled to three days bereavement leave, and five days minimum sick leavethe current legal minimum. Workers were demanding to have this increased to five days bereavement leave and eight days sick leave. Last year, E tu called for unrestricted sick leave in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new agreement will see the creation of a bereavement leave fund, an increase in accrued sick leave days, and long service payments to workers at ten year intervals. Lifewise insisted that workers full demands couldnt be paid for within existing funding from the Auckland District Health Board, a position E tu has accepted. On the fundamental issue of guaranteed working hours, Lifewise has only offered to discuss the current system of allocating hours, which E tu admitted will be a work in progress. New Zealand bus drivers repeat strike call Frequent bus cancellations are set to escalate in New Zealands capital city, Wellington, with drivers warning of an upcoming surprise attack strike that will shut down almost all services in the city. The Tramways Union said Wellington bus drivers will launch a strike sometime after April 14, with only 24 hours notice, after pay negotiations with operator NZ Bus reached an impasse on March 31. Talks over a new collective bargaining agreement have reportedly been tense for several months with drivers repeatedly signalling they are willing to strike. NZ Bus wants to move the drivers onto the same agreement as its Auckland drivers, which has a higher base rate but lower penalty rates and one week less annual leave. The Wellington drivers conditions include double pay after midnight, time and a half on weekends, and strict controls around hours of work without additional compensation. The fresh strike threat comes after 72 bus services were cancelled one day last week, followed by more than 30 more the next morning. This was mainly due to illnesses among the drivers, many of whom are aged over 60 and having to take extra health precautions due to the coronavirus. Johnny Depp remains a wonderful person not only in his fans' eyes, but also in Jeremy Thomas' point of view. Since last year, Depp has been suffering from career and financial blows as he tries to clear his name from wife-beater claims. Although he has been rejected to overturn the ruling of the High Court, his friends and fans continue to believe in him. For instance, UK producer Jeremy Thomas became the latest colleague of the actor to address the issue. Johnny Depp a "Wonderful Person" In an article posted by Screen Daily, it has been detailed how Thomas and Depp shared healthy times. The producer expressed how the actor remains supportive to everyone although Depp himself is facing his troubles. "I can only say that I find him a wonderful person from my personal experience and he is still my friend," he said. "[Depp's troubles] have been challenging. I hope Minamata gets its day." The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor has been working with Thomas for years now. The UK producer worked with Depp's 1997 directorial debut on "The Brave" as an executive producer. Thomas serves as the owner and founder of Hanway Films. Through the project, he has been sharing A-list classic films created by Nagisa Oshima, David Cronenberg, and Karel Reisz, among others. Depp became part of Hanway's item, Julien Temple's "Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan," as the producer. Hanway is also responsible for selling Andrew Levitas' "Minamata" where Depp plays the role of wartime photographer W. Eugene Smith. "Minamata" Saves Johnny Depp After Depp lost his case against The Sun, he was also cut from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Fantastic Beasts" franchises. This crippled the actor's career even more that until now, he has not appeared in any films except "Minamata." The film debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival last year after MGM acquired the flick. It also arrived in North America, Switzerland, and Germany while Vertigo Releasing brought it to the UK. This led the 57-year-old actor to bag an award from a Polish film festival. EnergaCameriamge, which is the Polish International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, shared the news on their official Instagram account. "Greetings from @johnnydepp from Bahamas. Of course with a EnergaCamerimage's Golden Frog," it said alongside a photo of Depp. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles These are programming changes for 10 following the death of Prince Philip. Saturday 10th April changes: 5pm Extended 10 News First bulletin tonight 90mins (previously 60) 6:30pm Elizabeth & Philip: Royals Revealed Marriage, Duty & Love In the wake of The Duke Of Edinburghs passing, examine Elizabeth and Philips record-breaking relationship and how their devotion to duty, monarchy and marriage, made them parents to a nation. 7:30pm The Dog House S2 8:30pm Ambulance UK S6 Rest of the night shunted later in the evening to accommodate the above changes Sunday 11th April changes: 8:30pm HRH Prince Philip, The Duke Of Edinburgh obituary special (new FBI: Most Wanted episode removed) 10pm FBI: Most Wanted dbl rpt Related ADVERTISEMENT The Federal Government on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Action (MoA) with striking Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to end the action. The MoA was the second in a fortnight. The first one was signed on March 31, but was later rejected by the striking doctors. Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said on Saturday in Abuja that the new MoA was signed after a conciliatory meeting between representatives of the Federal Government and those of NARD. Mr Ngige said Saturdays meeting became necessary to amend the first MoA signed with the striking doctors. He said that there were irregularities in the payment of salaries of house officers, adding that while some got double payments, a few had not been paid. In view of this situation, a five-man committee was set up to harmonise the list of affected officers and they have 72 hours to produce a valid list. The list will be submitted to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System through the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Ngige said. He said health institutions affected by the non-payment of salary shortfalls between 2014 and 2016 and arrears arising from the consequential adjustment on the National Minimum Wage, had been directed to forward their personnel strength. This is to enable us to accommodate this in the 2021 supplementary budget, he said. Hazard alowance The minister noted that the issue of Hazard Allowance was not peculiar to members of NARD but that it cut across the entire health system. He said that the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS) would meet with the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission on April 12 to examine the Hazard Allowance issue. The minister added that the NMA, the Joint Health Sector Unions, NARD and other stakeholders would meet on April 14, 2021 with the PCS with their position papers on the issue. Mr Ngige appealed to NARD to give the conciliation process a chance for industrial peace to prevail by calling off the strike. Response Meanwhile, NARD President, Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa, promised to present the latest agreement before members with a view to calling off the strike. Resident doctors began a nationwide strike on April 1 to demand for improved welfare packages. (NAN) Judge strikes down Kansas ban on dismemberment abortions Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A judge has struck down a Kansas law that banned a common abortion procedure known as a dilation and evacuation abortion or a dismemberment abortion. Shawnee County District Court Judge Teresa Watson issued the ruling on Wednesday, granting a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law, which was passed in 2015. According to Watson, the dismemberment abortion ban was problematic due in part to the lack of alternative abortion procedures that are considered safer for the woman. Banning dismemberment abortion is not narrowly tailored solution to the compelling state interest Defendants seek to address because, according to the evidence before the Court, it would leave no alternative for second trimester abortions other than more complicated, less reliable, less tested, and higher risk procedures, wrote Watson. tearing a living unborn child apart and removing the pieces is a horrible death, but so is death by induced labor or cesarean section prior to viability, cutting the umbilical cord, or injecting lethal chemicals into the womb or into the heart of the unborn child. Watson also cited a ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court, which concluded that the state constitution guaranteed a fundamental right to an abortion. Under the Kansas Supreme Courts interpretation of Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, and requisite application of the strict scrutiny standard to the uncontroverted facts as found by this Court, the Act is unconstitutional and unenforceable, concluded Watson. Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion group that helped to represent the plaintiffs, celebrated the ruling in a statement released Wednesday. The Kansas Supreme Court was loud and clear in 2019: abortion is protected as a fundamental right under the Kansas state constitution, Northup said. Todays decision reaffirms that ruling and ensures that Kansans have access to the best abortion care. This ban made it a crime for doctors to use their best medical judgment. This is not about medicine, its purely political. Pro-life activists, among them Brittany Jones of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, viewed the decision as evidence that the state needs to pass the Value Them Both Amendment. Slated for the state ballot in 2022, the amendment declares that the Kansas state constitution does not recognize a right to abortion or the taxpayer-funding of abortion. Value Them Both is the option, it is our only option, stated Jones, as reported by LifeNews.com. Were not surprised in any way shape or form. This is what weve been telling legislators for two years now, and we had legislators who doubted us. Now we have proof that we were exactly correct. In April 2015, then Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed the dismemberment abortion ban, known as Senate Bill 95, into law after it was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers. "SB 95 bans a particularly gruesome abortion method in which a living unborn child in her mother's womb is ripped apart into pieces by an abortionist using sharp metal tools," said Kathy Ostrowski, Kansans for Life's legislative director, back in 2015. Pro-abortion groups denounced the new law and in June 2015, abortionists Herb Hodes and Traci Nauser of the Overland Park Center for Women's Health filed a suit against Kansas over the new law. "A woman seeking an abortion affected by the Act would be unable to effectuate her choice without submitting to more complex and risky procedure," read the lawsuit in part. "The Act violates the rights of Plaintiffs' patients guaranteed by the Kansas Constitution by infringing on their rights to bodily integrity, access to abortion and equal protection, and further violates Plaintiffs' rights to due process and equal protection." A giant walrus has returned to a popular seaside resort just days after wildlife bosses claimed it was scared off by tourists. Wally the Walrus was seen back near his favourite spot in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, having strayed thousands of miles from his Arctic home. It is the first time Wally has been seen since Easter Monday after crowds flocked to see the seaside town's new celebrity. Animal welfare groups believe he fled the coastal town after becoming 'obviously disturbed' by day-tripper visitors vying for a snap. Wally the Walrus was seen back near his favourite spot in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, having strayed thousands of miles from his Arctic home It is the first time Wally has been seen since Easter Monday after crowds flocked to see the seaside town's new celebrity Careless tourists tried to approach the wild walrus using jet-skis, paddleboards, and drones, as it tried to rest in the town's harbour. Terry Leadbetter, of Welsh Marine Life Rescue, said: 'It was an absolute nightmare trying to keep people away. 'There were even people flying drones trying to get close. People were getting within a couple of metres of the walrus.' 'Wally was aware that people were there and was obviously disturbed. 'Walruses have been known to attack boats and they've been known to kill people so like any other wild animal you don't want to get too close just in case. Animal welfare groups believe he fled the coastal town after becoming 'obviously disturbed' by day-tripper visitors vying for a snap The walrus is believed to have crossed the Irish Sea after being spotted in County Kerry earlier this month 'These people are just going up to it and taking their chances. They are unpredictable, and you don't know if they are likely to turn around and attack someone or not. 'Someone who is acting irresponsibly could get injured.' Despite the unwanted attention, it seems Wally is ready to brave another weekend at the bustling seaside resort. The walrus is believed to have crossed the Irish Sea after being spotted in County Kerry earlier this month. It was first seen in Wales on rocks near Broad Haven South beach before swimming further south to Tenby days later. Wally had taken refuge a slipway belonging to the RNLI but he has not been seen since Monday Wally had taken refuge a slipway belonging to the RNLI but he has not been seen since Monday. Wildlife groups are monitoring the Welsh coast to see if he pops up elsewhere but have urged visitors to leave him alone. Welsh Marine Life Rescue said: 'We believe that people have been breaking Covid restrictions by crossing the border from England to see the animal. 'There was one report that someone even travelled from as far as Essex and many people weren't sticking to social-distancing.' It comes as the Seal Alliance warned that disturbing seals can injure and kill mothers and pups after the Thames seal, named Freddie Mercury, had to be put down after being attacked by a dog. It comes as the Seal Alliance warned that disturbing seals can injure and kill mothers and pups after the Thames seal, named Freddie Mercury (pictured), had to be put down after being attacked by a dog Both Britain's grey and common seal populations are showing signs of decline in breeding, experts warned. Just 25 per cent of youngsters survive to 18 months in a bad year. The 'give seals space' campaign gives guidance on how to watch seals safely. Environment Secretary George Eustice said: 'Disturbance by members of the public can be detrimental to seals but this is entirely preventable. 'I'd urge everyone to follow the guidance, give seals the space they need and respect this vulnerable species.' The push to protect seals from human disturbance comes as people are expected to go for walks on coasts and estuaries, take part in water activities or fly drones over the Easter weekend as lockdown measures ease. The UK is home to an estimated 38 per cent of the world's grey seal population and around 30 per cent of the European subspecies of common or harbour seals, but both species are showing signs of declines in breeding. They face threats including climate change, toxic pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with vessels, plastics and other marine debris and human disturbance, experts warn. Amid te ongoing third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Drug Regulatory Authority of (DRAP) has approved China's Sinovac vaccine against the virus for emergency use, the National Institute of Health in Islamabad announced. According to a statement released by DRAP, the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has been given emergency use authorization for people aged 18 and above, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement said the authorization will be reviewed every quarter keeping in view data regarding safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine. It is the third Chinese Covid-19 vaccine to be approved by the country after Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines. kicked off its vaccination drive in early February upon receiving vaccine donation from China. So far, has reported 710,829 confirmed cases with 15,229 deaths. --IANS ksk/ (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 grief-stricken father whose three children were run-down by a drunk motorist asked himself if he should 'man up and take revenge' or think of the big picture and 'forgive the driver'? Danny Abdallah chose to forgive and on Friday he stood in Parramatta District Court as the man behind the wheel was jailed for at least 21 years for a crime that shocked Australia. Samuel William Davidson, 31, was speeding, drunk and high on drugs when he struck Sienna Abdallah, eight, Angelina, 12 and Antony, 13, and their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, on February 1 last year in Oatlands in Sydney's north-west. Davidson, a professional truck driver, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Veronique Sakr, 11, and her cousins, Sienna Abdallah, eight, and her siblings Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13 But Mr Abdallah said the sentencing had little impact on him and his family. His three children were still dead. 'From day one the focus was never Samuel of the sentencing. Our focus was on our kids and my wife,' he told Sky News on Saturday. 'The sentencing didn't shake me at all. I wasn't overly concerned... It wasn't going to get my kids back.' Mr Abdallah said he contemplated taking the law into his own hands as the pain overwhelmed him. 'I had an option. Do I man up and take revenge or do I stay as a dad and forgive the driver?' he said. 'I took the choice of being a father because if I taken the other choice of seeking revenge it would have brought my whole household down - Liana, Alex, Michael and Leila - and it wouldnt have got my kids back. 'It would have been self-inflicting and we are so glad we chose forgiveness. 'What has happened has happened. I cant change the past but I certainly can control what lies ahead.' Danny Abdallah (right) and wife Leila are seen outside court on Friday after the man responsible for fatally crashing into their children was jailed for 21 years Mr Abdallah said he asked his eldest surviving daughter Liana (pictured with mother Leila) if she wanted to join him and Leila at the sentencing to which she agreed He said he felt very sorry for the parents of the driver who were also losing a child and that no sentence could ease the pain because the justice system 'isn't a place to service revenge for the victims'. 'Where my disappointment lies is the way our culture loves drugs and alcohol. That's where my frustration is, more than the driver,' he said yesterday outside of court. 'Hug your kids tight, and love them unconditionally, as you don't know where life takes you.' The four children had been walking to buy ice-creams when the 31-year-old ploughed into them after his ute mounted a kerb at Oatlands last year. Danny Abdallah, whose three children were killed by drunk and drugged driver Samuel Davidson in February 2020, said no sentence would ease the family's lifelong heartbreak. He is pictured outside Parramatta District Court after the sentencing with his wife Leila Bridget Sakr (centre) and Craig Mackenzie (right) arrive at Parramatta District Court for Davidson's sentencing Judge Bennett said the menacing, dangerous and aggressive driving sustained over a significant period leading up to the tragic event showed all responsibility to the road safety of others was abandoned. The tragedy was inevitable, but the magnitude of the tragedy extended to the unimaginable, Judge Bennett said. Three other children survived the crash but one was so badly injured he suffered permanent brain damage and now needs help for performing basic tasks. Davidson, a professional truck driver, was given a 25 per cent discount to his sentence for pleading guilty to manslaughter and three charges for the injuries caused to three other children. He was sitting poolside with his housemates drinking Vodka Cruisers and beers, having his first drink about 7am before taking drugs and getting behind the wheel on the day of the fatal crash. After the crash, Davidson appeared distressed and was heard saying: 'What have I done? ... I have killed people ... I am going to jail.' Davidson was observed by witnesses speeding through a red light, swerving anti-clockwise around a round-about, and driving at a maximum speed of 133km/h in a 50km/h zone. After the crash, Davidson appeared distressed and was heard saying: 'What have I done? I have killed people... I am going to jail.' Davidson's letter of apology stated that he is heartbroken to have hurt such beautiful families by his disgraceful actions and that he would do anything to relive that day sober and never leave the house. While in court, Davidson wiped away tears while Mr Abdallah read his victim impact statement. He did not look in the eyes of his family or the family of the children killed during his sentencing. (@ChaudhryMAli88) On the invitation of Ambassador Ahmed Ali Sirohey, a group of students of the African Institute of Technology Niamey visited Embassy of Pakistan in Niger on Saturday ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2021 ) :On the invitation of Ambassador Ahmed Ali Sirohey, a group of students of the African Institute of Technology Niamey visited Embassy of Pakistan in Niger on Saturday. The Ambassador guided the students to prepare themselves to meet the future challenges effectively, said a press release received here. He also urged them to make advancement in modern education to take country on course of progress. He said that "modern knowledge in all fields was the key to achieve success in contemporary world and to achieve respective position for the country among comity of nations". Ambassador appreciated the students who participated in various program of Pakistan Day celebration organized by the embassy and conferred appreciation certificates among them. The rector and students thanked the ambassador and the Pakistan embassy for invitation and appreciation. After years of neglecting its Harmony product line, Logitech finally confirmed its getting out of the universal remote business. A post on the companys support forums explained that once current stock sells out, that will be it theyre simply not manufacturing the devices anymore. Kris Naudus / Engadget Logitech says it will continue to support existing devices, and that We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database. However, in a world where people have consolidated their living room setup with HDMI-CEC controlled sound bars, frequently opt for streaming services instead of standalone Blu-ray players, and have AI assistants from Amazon, Google or Apple to control everything, the market is more of a niche than ever. Could they have developed a better universal remote control that would pull everyone back in? Modernization efforts ranged from awful (remember the Revue?) to passable (the way current devices link to AI tech and your smartphone), but if theres a better way, Harmony wont be around to find it. Richard Lawler Robosen Robotics' collectible responds to voice commands and can be programmed. Hasbro Hasbro teamed up with Robosen Robotics to make this Optimus Prime figurine a programmable robot that can actually move: It can automatically transform into a vehicle, and vice versa, walk in robot form and race in vehicle form. The robot responds to a variety of voice commands that include "move forward," "roll out," "move left/right," "volume up/down," "shutdown," "open fire" and "attack," among many others. You can also tell it to "say hello" or ask it "Who are you?" The actions come with sound effects and, for some of them, spoken dialogue by Optimus Prime's original voice actor Peter Cullen. It's now available for pre-order from the Hasbro Pulse Fan Fest website for $699, with a shipping date listed for October 1st, 2021. Continue reading. Over 50 percent off Beats' Solo Pro headphones and more. A bunch of Apple devices went on sale this week across the web. Beats' Solo Pro headphones are more than 50 percent off right now and the MacBook Air M1 remains at its lowest price yet. Fitbit's sale on Charge 4 trackers knocks $50 off their normal prices and, just before the weekend kicks off, Best Buy began a new three-day sale so we scoured the deals to find the best of the bunch, like this $900 Surface Laptop 13. Here are all the best deals from the week that you can still snag today, and remember to follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for more updates. Continue reading. Michio Kaku on 'The God Equation,' LG gives up on phones. This week on the Engadget Podcast, physicist Dr. Michio Kaku joins Cherlynn and Devindra to chat about his new book, The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything. He dives into the trouble with the Standard Model of physics, this weeks surprising news around muons and why believes well eventually unite with superintelligent robots and roam the cosmos as beings of pure energy. (Hey, it could happen.) Also, Chris Velazco joins to get up in his feelings about LG abandoning the mobile market. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or Stitcher. Continue reading. If you cant wait for WiFi 6E routers later this year, this will probably fit the bill. TP-Link TP-Link has introduced the Archer AX5400 (aka Archer AX73), a WiFi 6 box that promises speedy access while keeping the price vaguely in check. The dual-band device mates six antennas with newer tech (such as HT160 and 1024-QAM) to deliver 5.4Gbps of total bandwidth and 4.8Gbps with WiFi 6. The AX5400 is available now through Amazon for $200. It's not the lowest-priced WiFi 6 router you'll find (TP-Link's range starts at $90), but it arguably strikes a better balance between the modest speeds of the AX3000 and the spare-no-expense AX6000. Continue reading. After that, you may never know how babby is formed. Yahoo Answers will shut down on May 4th, 2021. The website has been around since 2005, making it one of the longest-running Q&A platforms on the internet. The shut-down process starts later this month, and the site plans to stop accepting new submissions from April 20th. After May 4th, you'll have until June 30th to download an archive of content you posted to the website. When the dust has settled, eventually the Yahoo Answers webpage will redirect to the Yahoo homepage. Continue reading. Rising prices for LCD screens and low yields of Samsungs QD-OLED panel could force a switch. A rumor in a South Korean business journal claims that electronics giants LG and Samsung are close to making a deal on OLED panels. While Samsung has so far resisted using the technology in TVs, opting to stick with quantum dot-filtered LCD panels, LG has won awards for the quality of its 4K OLEDs. The rumor suggests that Samsung could buy panels from LG and make its own OLED TVs as soon as next year. Continue reading. Supply chain issues will limit its release to the US and Japan. Pixel 5a 5G is not cancelled. It will be available later this year in the U.S. and Japan and announced in line with when last years a-series phone was introduced," a Google spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. Continue reading. Sony, Bose, Apple and even Razer have headphones worth considering. Billy Steele / Engadget When it comes to wireless headphones, the over-ear noise-canceling models typically offer the most comprehensive set of features we want. The best options combine stellar audio with powerful active noise cancellation (ANC) and other handy tools to create as complete a package as possible. Billy Steele walks you through the best over-ear options currently available. Continue reading. But wait, theres more... The next Star Trek movie is scheduled for 2023 Senators criticize Apple's refusal to testify in hearing on app store rules 'Vokabulantis' turns photogrammetry and stop-motion into a poetic platformer Theragun's pricey massage gun delivers on its muscle recovery promise THX's Onyx is a tiny USB-C headphone DAC that supports master-quality audio GE is working to put COVID-19 virus-detecting sensors in phones There's a way to upgrade an M1 Mac's memory and storage if you have a soldering iron Sonos and IKEA are developing new Symfonisk speakers that hide in plain sight Sonos Roam review: The right speaker at the right price Can a gaming mouse filled with holes really be water resistant? How gadgets could unlock the potential of lucid dreaming Bad Password: Encrypted messages aren't the same as private thoughts. GM is betting its electrified future on a revolutionary new battery system Will.i.am's Xupermask is a $299 HEPA face mask with ANC earphones built in Sony's LED Bravia TVs with 'cognitive intelligence' start at $1,299 registered nearly 3,000 fresh cases, the highest single day spike this year, pushing the tally to over 3.24 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,752 with six more fatalities. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 487, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 289 and Nizamabad 202, a government bulletin said on Saturday providing details as of 8 PM on April 9. The total number of positives stood at 3,24,091 after 2,909 new additions while with 584 patientsbeing cured, the total recoveries were at 3,04,548. The state has 17,791 active cases and over 1.11 lakh samples were tested on Friday. Cumulatively, over 1.08 crore samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 2.92 lakh, the bulletin said. The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 per cent, while it was 1.3 per cent at the national level. The recovery rate in was 93.96 per cent, while it was 90.8 per cent in the country. According to a separate release, over 16.08 lakh people in the state have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while over 2.90 lakh got their second shot also as of April 9. (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 purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. (Alliance News) - The US, Canada, France and Italy are among the countries that have been added to Ireland's mandatory hotel quarantine list. A total of 16 countries, four of them EU member states, were added to the list following an unplanned meeting of Cabinet on Friday evening. People arriving into Ireland from these states or transiting through them must complete quarantine at a designated facility for 12 days. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: "Protecting public health as a matter of urgency has been to the fore of these decisions around mandatory quarantine. "This is another strong move following public health advice relating to variants of concern with Covid-19. "These variants pose a significant risk to our fight against this disease and our vaccination programme. "This decision also reinforces Ireland's biosecurity, ensuring we have the strongest measures in place in Europe." States being added to the designated list will be included as a priority on the booking system for mandatory hotel quarantine early next week. Passengers arriving from the 16 countries added will have to enter quarantine on arrival from next Thursday. The additional countries added to the list are: Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Pakistan, Turkey, the US, Canada, Armenia, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, CuraAao, Maldives, Ukraine. Albania, Israel and St Lucia are set to be removed from the list. People in mandatory hotel quarantine can shorten their stay by providing a negative Covid-19 test on day 10. Donnelly added: "The government continues to advise against all non-essential international travel at this time. "We can see a permanent pathway out of this pandemic but can't allow variants of concern to set us back on the progress we have made." An unplanned Cabinet meeting was held on Friday night to discuss the issue that has divided government in recent weeks. Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said if EU countries are added to the list, it will be "a temporary measure in the interest of public health". "All countries in the EU at various points have taken travel bans and we haven't done that, this is a measure that's necessary for public health," he told RTE Drivetime. The issue has divided the government, with the health minister and the National Public Health Emergency Team pushing for the addition of more countries. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has opposed the measure, while the attorney general has also raised concerns. On Wednesday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the attorney general's concerns were that the legislation underpinning mandatory hotel quarantine was grounded in "variants of concern". However, health officials have also pushed for the addition of other EU countries without variants, where the incidence rate is 2.5 times Ireland's or above, or the 14-day incidence rate is above 500 cases. Martin said: "Those countries with the variants, that's both my priority and the priority of government. "That will happen, there will be discussions obviously in terms of working through this." He added: "The public health advice has to be grounded within the legislative parameters, that's the only issue." The Taoiseach said he was "of course" open to adding EU countries to the list, particularly countries where variants are an issue. He was backed up by his coalition partner, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. Ryan said on Wednesday: "Additional countries will be added a for some people that presents a real burden but it's a burden I think we'll have to bear because we want to err on the side of caution. "I would expect that a sort of decision like this would probably be approved by Cabinet next Tuesday. "It would probably take us a number of days after that to implement whatever measures, but that's what I was expecting." An initial 33 countries were included on the list when it was first established, with a further 26 added last week. One has since been removed, bringing the current total to 58. Austria was the only EU member state on the list. The majority of countries are in South America, the Middle East and Africa. Travellers are required to pre-book accommodation in a designated quarantine facility and to pre-pay for their stay. The cost per adult traveller for a 12-night stay inclusive of all services is EUR1,875. The stay at the hotel could be reduced if a person receives a negative test for the virus taken on day 10 of quarantine. The Tifco Hotel Group is the service provider for hotel quarantining in Ireland. source: PA Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. 404 President Xi Jinping reiterated the strategic importance of carbon goals. Steps to realize a greener China remain small, but every step matters. Financial support for renewable projects was pledged, while it was clarified that funds raised through carbon neutrality bonds should be used on green projects only. Better green technology mentioned as a national priority. More details on the carbon trading market came to light. CENTRAL POLICIES China-U.S. Alaska Dialogue A round of China-U.S. high-level dialogue was held in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18 and 19. During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on a series of issues, including the political willingness of both sides to establish a China-U.S. joint working group on climate change an attempt to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the field of climate change. Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission On March 15, President Xi presided over the Ninth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission to study strategies and major measures for achieving peak carbon emissions and subsequently carbon neutrality. Xi explained that the paired goals of peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality entail extensive and profound systemic reforms for the economy and society that should be incorporated into the overall plan for building an ecological civilization. He called for a spirit of perseverance to achieve peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) Lu Xinming, deputy director of the Department of Climate Change under the MEE, revealed at the March 18 China Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality Achievement Release and Seminar that the MEE will accelerate the construction of the national carbon market and legislative review of the Interim Regulations for Carbon Emissions Trading Management, which is expected to be issued within the year. In addition, the ministry will guarantee the power generation industrys success in the first compliance cycle and aim to conclude the first online carbon market transaction within the first half of the year. It will also draft and strive to release the National Climate Change Strategy 2035, while continuing to advance the establishment of 28 climate change adaptation pilot cities. National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Finance, Peoples Bank of China, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and National Energy Administration On March 12, the NDRC and four other departments jointly released the Notice on Guiding and Increasing Financial Support to Promote the Healthy and Orderly Development of Wind and PV Power Generation Industries ( ). According to the notice, financial institutions should negotiate with renewable energy enterprises to renew or rollover loans in accordance with commercial principles, prioritize the distribution of subsidies and provide more credit support. For renewable energy enterprises under greater pressure for short-term repayment but with high development prospects, financial institutions may intervene. After considering risk control and evaluating a projects actual and expected cash flow, banks and enterprises may reach appropriate arrangements for loan renewal, rollover, or an adjustment to the repayment schedule through friendly negotiation. Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) On March 10, MOST Minister Wang Zhigang presided over the First Meeting of the MOST Leading Group of Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality. The meeting set three priorities: formulating the Technological Innovation Action Plan for Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Neutrality, accelerating the drafting of the Carbon Neutrality Roadmap and advancing the launch of the Research on Key Technologies for Carbon Neutrality and Demonstration Project. The leading group headed by Wang also includes Deputy Minister Xu Nanping as deputy chief, with relevant department heads as its other members. It is responsible for making decisions on major matters concerning MOSTs carbon neutrality and technological development and organizing all MOST departments to work in coordination toward peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality. National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII) On March 18, the NAFMII published the Notice on Identifying Systems in Relation to Carbon Neutrality Bonds . The notice defines fundraising, project appraisal, information disclosure and incentive mechanisms for carbon neutrality bonds. It also states that funds raised via carbon neutrality bond should be used only for the construction, operation and acquisition of green projects such as clean energy, clean traffic, sustainable buildings or industrial low-carbon transformation or the repayment of green projects interest-bearing debts. Equity investment projects should comply with the Green Bonds Endorsed Project Catalogue or the international green industry classification standards and focus on low-carbon emissions reduction. National Carbon Trading Market Chinas National Carbon Trading Market will make its online trading debut by the end of June. There are two market operators: the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange (National Carbon Trading System) for transactions and the China Hubei Emission Exchange (National Carbon Trading Registration System) in Wuhan for rights registration, transaction settlement, allocation and contract fulfillment. The Shanghai-designated agency will hold 24% of the National Carbon Trading Systems shares, while agencies in eight other provincial-level regions will hold 9.5% each. Likewise, the Hubei-designated agency will hold 24% of the National Carbon Trading Registration Systems shares while agencies designated by eight other provinces or municipalities will hold 9.5% each. The table below shows different enterprises indirect holding ratio for shares of the two carbon trading systems. Listed Company Ratio of indirect shareholding in National Carbon Trading System Ratio of indirect shareholding in National Carbon Trading Registration System Guodian Changyuan Electric Power Co. Ltd. 0.86% 2.18% China Building Material Test and Certification Group Co. Ltd. 0.86% 2.18% Industrial Securities Co. Ltd. 2.03% 2.03% Financial Street Holdings Co. Ltd. 1.89% 1.89% Shenzhen Energy Group Co. Ltd. 1.19% 1.19% CGN Nuclear Technology Development Co. Ltd. 0.90% 0.90% Power Construction Corp. of China 0.76% 0.76% Datang Huayin Electric Power Co. Ltd. 0.72% 0.72% Chongqing Gas Group Corp. Ltd. 0.46% 0.46% Fujian Mindong Electric Power Ltd. Co. 0.45% 0.45% CNOOC Energy Technology and Services Ltd. 0.38% 0.38% The trading and registration systems were established with the help of Hundsun Technologies Inc. In technical terms, both of the core systems are now ready. The first compliance cycle, involving 2,225 power generation companies, has already launched; its span is from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 this year. This marks the first time the state has asked companies to shoulder responsibility for the control of greenhouse gas emissions. ENTERPRISES China Development Bank (CDB) On March 18, the Shanghai Clearing House supported the CDB in issuing special carbon neutrality green bonds through its bond connect program. These bonds are open to investors from around the world. Pre-issuance of these green bonds launched on March 12. According to reports, these are Chinas first carbon neutrality bonds certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative and also the green bonds with the largest market issuance scale to help achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality. The funds raised will be used for green projects that reduce carbon emissions, such as wind or photovoltaic power projects. Certified by the third-party certification body Lianhe Equator, all of the projects meet the relevant domestic standards for green bonds and are in line with the international Climate Bonds Standard. State Grid On March 15, State Grid International Leasing Company Ltd. issued Chinas first innovative asset securitization product for carbon neutrality: asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP). The funds raised by the ABCP will be used for clean energy projects such as wind power, hydropower, and photovoltaic power. Awarded the highest rating of G-1, the green bonds will produce significant environmental and social benefits. The issuance of these carbon neutrality green bonds signifies active exploration in the green development on the part of State Grid Yingda International Holdings Group Ltd., the financial services arm of State Grid. The bonds are issued and managed by State Grid-backed Yingda International Trust Co. Ltd. and co-underwritten by Bank of Shanghai, Bank of Nanjing and Bank of China. Shunchang State-Owned Forest Farm On March 16, Shunchang State-Owned Forest Farm signed a forestry carbon sink pledge loan and forward repurchase agreement with the Nanping branch of Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. The forest farm can obtain a loan of 20 million yuan ($304,600) through the carbon sink loan. This is the countrys first repurchase financing project with a long-term carbon sink product as its subject. The carbon sink loan explores the use of a repurchase model for environmental rights and interests, particularly as a financing tool to resolve banks risk of collateral disposal. Supported by Haixia Equity Exchange and Industrial Bank, the projects financing model combines pledge with repurchase (pledge financing loans for forestry carbon sinks and repurchasing agreements for long-term carbon sinks) and broadens green financing channels for forest farms, providing new ways to realize ecological products value. CSI In order to further enrich the index system and provide investors with new analytical tools and investment targets, China Securities Index Co. Ltd. (CSI) will officially launch the CSI 500 ESG Index, CSI 500 ESG Leaders Index, CSI 500 ESG Value Index, CSI 800 ESG Leaders Index and CSI 800 ESG Value Index on April 12. The CSI 500 ESG Index employs a normalized relative scale with its base set to 1,000 points on June 30, 2017. The index is designed to cover only those securities with ESG scores among the top 80% within the CSI 500 Index. The CSI 500 ESG Index aims to provide a performance benchmark and investment target for ESG investing. INSIGHTS Four Focuses for Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions Liu Zhenya released an article discussing solutions for achieving peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality. Liu is chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization and president of China Electricity Council. The article suggested four focal points (two controls and two developments) for the process of emissions reduction: first, controlling coal consumption by the coal power industry and its end-users; second, controlling the growth of oil and gas consumption; third, intensifying clean energy development; fourth, intensifying development in energy efficiency. In addition, efforts should promote carbon neutrality on the basis of reaching the carbon emissions peak. The key is to accelerate the replacement of fossil energy consumption stores with clean energy. Liu believes that achieving peak emissions and carbon neutrality is an extremely challenging systematic project. It covers many fields from energy, to economy, to society and climate and environment and touches on many levels of society across the government, enterprises and public sphere. Thus, the project should draw on the wisdom and strength of all society to advance progress in accordance with new concepts of development. ADB Will Continue to Support Chinas High-Quality Green Development On March 9, the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) examined and approved ADBs Country Partnership Strategy for China for 2021-2025, mapping out ADBs ongoing support for Chinas high-quality and green development. The ADB proposes lending commitments totaling $77.5 billion for Chinas sovereign operations over the 2021-2025 period and approximately $2.25 billion for nonsovereign operations. ADBs loans to China will focus on three areas of cooperation environmentally sustainable development, climate change adaptation/mitigation and health security in an aging society to support Chinas institutional mechanism reform, to facilitate the provision of regional and global public goods and to promote the sharing of knowledge. Read more Caixin ESG Biweekly here. Get our ESG Biweekly newsletter and more delivered to your inbox. Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. By Joseph N. DiStefano, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS) PSERS, the pension plan for Pennsylvania schoolteachers, has confirmed that federal authorities are using a grand jury as a tool in their investigation of the $64 billion fund. PSERS has been served with a grand jury subpoena for documents and is cooperating fully with the request by the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, PSERS said in a new statement, issued before a closed board meeting Friday that was the latest in a string of secret sessions by the funds board. The Inquirer reported in late March that FBI agents had sought information from leaders of the pension plan. PSERS itself confirmed an ongoing federal investigation on Tuesday when it hired lawyers to address that probe. The use of a grand jury indicates that the probe has moved beyond its preliminary stages. Among other uses, prosecutors who oversee grand juries can utilize them to compel testimony by threatening reluctant witnesses with contempt of court. In its statement, PSERS cited only documents as subject to subpoenas, so far, suggesting that the prosecutors have yet to call agency executives or other employees before the grand jury. PSERS, more fully, the Public School Employees Retirement System, has hired four law firms in the last month for special work. One was explicitly hired to address the federal investigation into the pension fund. On Friday PSERS hired the New York firm Sidley Austin LLP to represent and advise the board regarding PSERS and its employees in connection with a federal investigation of unnamed staff. While the precise focus of the federal probe remains unclear, the board said the other two firms would look into a scandal that emerged earlier the boards endorsement of a false figure for the funds investment returns for 2011 to 2020. This figure determines how much working teachers and taxpayers must pay to support the fund. That investment report, approved in December after the plans management vouched for its accuracy, showed returns averaged 6.38%. This figure was below the funds official goal, but just high enough to avoid triggering a state risk-sharing provision that would have forced some 100,000 school employees to increase payments into the pension fund. Instead, only taxpayers were to see an increase. The average school employee now pays around 7.5% of pay to cover pension expenses. If investment performance had fallen below the risk-sharing threshold, that rate might have increased to as much as 8.25%. According to people familiar with the federal investigation, the FBI has in part been seeking information about particular investments. The pension plan pays more than $700 million a year in fees to Wall Street managers of hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities and other investments. In its latest statement, the plan said it was confident that if any issues are identified that require correction, they will be resolved, and appropriate action will be taken. That seemed in part a reference to the unresolved issue of what the board will adopt as a new figure for the investment return. Spokesperson Evelyn Williams declined to answer additional questions. The board and its audit committee met Friday afternoon, for the most part behind closed doors, in the eighth such special meeting since early March, when it first revealed the erroneous vote at the December meeting. PSERS has not announced actions against any staff members in connection with the federal probe, nor in relation to the mistaken investment figure. The Negroni Bear goes barefoot to the Maldives dressed in the height of tropical black tie chic. Our Rakish Bear is back and this time he's without shoes for this special edition to celebrate the opening of our physical stores in the Maldives. When it came to selecting a design for our travelling Negroni Bear, we imagined him in the Maldives. We asked, What stylistic sartorial master stroke of bella figura would the Polo Bear accomplish? Going through the incredible coffee table book created for Ralph Laurens 50th Anniversary we found our answer. Captured in black and white, I like to think of it as the ultimate expression of Ralph Laurens effortless, nonchalant cool. Photographed from high above, Lauren is seen at his home in Double Tree Jamaica with his hands in his pockets, a laid back poise in his contrapposto, dressed in a double-breasted white tuxedo jacket, evening trousers and with his feet bare. The Bearfoot Negroni Bear, like his forbearer, is holding our signature libation, the Negroni, a symbol of resistance against despair, its distinct orange hue burning bright against the darkness. The watch features a seconds hand as well as the 5 index in distinct Negroni orange. Why the number 5? Well, because it is always 5 o'clock somewhere! Like his brother that came before him last year, we hope The Rakes Bearfoot Negroni Bear achieves his one defining mission in life. Which is to put a huge smile on the face of each and every one of his owners this year as we celebrate all the promise 2021 has to offer. The watch is a 42mm edition, made in Switzerland. It is limited to 200 pieces. Netflixs new series The Serpent is based on the true story of serial killer Charles Sobhraj. It is an eight-part series that was released on Netflix on April 2. The co-producer of the series Paul Tester told a media outlet that it was a challenge to tell a true story and that there was a long development period of the series. The show focuses on Charles Sobhrajs crimes and arrest in 1976 which was led by a Dutch diplomat, Herman Knippenberg. The series has received a very good response from the audience and critics alike. The real story of Charles Sobhraj Charles Sobhraj was best known by the name "Bikini killer" due to the attire of some of his victims. He was a French killer who killed foreign tourists and along with his girlfriend Marie Andree Leclerc, he travelled the world with the help of the deceaseds passports. They also robbed the people they murdered and sold the gems they obtained from the corpse. He mainly robbed and murdered tourists on the Hippie Trail and the countries where he mainly functioned were Thailand, India, and Nepal. He also took the help of a man called Ajay Chowdhury to commit the murders. Charles Sobhraj's arrest was possible due to Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg, who got suspicious of the disappearance of Dutch tourists and started investigating the cases. Charles was arrested in Thailand and later he was arrested again in India but he escaped after some time. His escapes and arrests continued for quite some time. He has been serving his punishment in jail in Nepal at present. Marie died of cancer in 1983 and Ajay Chowdhury was never caught. The Serpent is produced by the UK-based production company Mammoth Screen and it has been commissioned by BBC. In the series, the role of Charles Sobhraj has been essayed by Tahar Rahim, while his girlfriend Marie Andree Leclerc has been played by English actress Jenna Coleman. Charles Sobhrajs partner Ajay Chowdhurys character was played by Amesh Edireweera and actor Billy Howle was seen as Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg. Image courtesy: Netflix's Youtube channel 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. Social media censorship is escalating and ever more blatant. Unfettered knowledge is dangerous to the phony narratives that progressives wish to brainwash the public into accepting, and with social media, the blockade imposed by mainstream media potentially can be breached by people posting otherwise obscure media sources to their social media accounts. The latest prominent victim is Jason Whitlock, originally a sportswriter but now a social critic who brings insightful commentary on many issues, including race. (For the record, Whitlock is Black, a fact that seems to make a difference to most people on the left.) Yesterday, Jason Whitlock posted a link to a story about Patrice Cullors and her apparent spouse Janaya Khan (who self-identifies as "black, queer, and gender-nonconforming") buying a $1.4-million compound in the Topanga Canyon area of Greater Los Angeles. Mark David broke the story in Dirt.com: A secluded mini-compound tucked into L.A.'s rustic and semi-remote Topanga Canyon was recently sold for a tad more than $1.4 million to a corporate entity that public records show is controlled by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 37-year-old social justice visionary and co-founder of the galvanizing and, for some, controversial Black Lives Matter movement. That's a sophisticated maneuver, making the purchase in the name of a corporate entity. Too bad there were public records identifying who controlled it. I presume future purchases will use corporations domiciled in the Cayman Islands, or some other haven where the public has less access. It sounds pretty nice, though not over the top: A winding 15 minute drive from The Commons at Calabasas and a slightly longer and somewhat less serpentine drive from Malibu's Getty Villa, the pint-sized compound spans about one-quarter of an acre. The property's not-quite 2,400 square feet is divided between the a three-bedroom and two-bath main house and a separate one-bed/one-bath apartment capable of hosting guests long term with a private entry and a living room with kitchenette. Interior spaces feature bamboo floors and, in the spacious open-plan living room, dining area and kitchen, vaulted ceilings clad in knotty pine. A whitewashed raised hearth brick fireplace anchors the living room and numerous skylights baths the cavernous space with natural light. Nick Arama of RedState points out: [I]t's interesting to note that the demographics of the area are only about 1.4% black people there. So not exactly living up to her creed there. Remember this is the same woman who confessed that she was a "trained Marxist" buying this expensive pad. Some people are more equal than others. We should note that grassroots BLM folks have registered a complaint against the leadership including Khan-Cullors because they felt their opinion wasn't being taken into consideration, they were getting scant money and there wasn't transparency as to where the money was going. When Jason Whitlock noted the purchase on his widely followed Twitter account, Jack Dorsey's minions decided this was too much information. Twitter screengrab Last night, Tucker Carlson, who has Whitlock on his show as a frequent guest, took up the suspension: Jason Whitlock, undeterred, responded to critics of his vanished tweet: Do you even comprehend my take? She had a lot of options on where to live. She chose one of the whitest places in California. She'll have her pick of white cops and white people to complain about. That's a choice, bro. https://t.co/rBkOnSjb4u Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) April 9, 2021 Ridicule, Alinsky taught us, is the most powerful weapon. I wonder how many of the BLM arsonists out there think it is ridiculous for their founder to hole up in a lily-white retreat in a fancy neighborhood. Hat tip: Russell Cook. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Although average life expectancy has increased, the number of cases of non-infectious disease among Vietnamese has risen, said Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, head of the Department of Health Protection and Care of Central Officials. People exercise at a park in HCM City. Health experts recommend that people carefully watch what they eat, be physically active, avoid the use of tobacco and alcohol, and lower stress levels. (Photo: VNA) Tien spoke at an annual national workshop on health and longevity held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 8. The average life expectancy of Vietnamese is 73.6 compared to 68.6 in 1999, according to the population census in 2019. However, Vietnamese women are ill an average of a total of 11 years, compared to eight years for men, she said. Non-infectious chronic diseases are the number one killer today, with more than 70 percent of deaths coming from cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, she noted. The number of cases increase significantly from the age of 40 due to aging, inadequate nutrition, high consumption of tobacco and alcohol, stress, and other factors. The number in Vietnam has reached alarming levels, she said, adding that how we age depends hugely on how we behave. She said that people should carefully watch what they eat, be physically active, avoid the use of tobacco and alcohol, and lower stress levels. You should listen to your body and see a doctor as soon as possible if ill because early detection is important in treatment, reducing mortality and improving quality of life, she said. Aging population In 2011, Vietnam began to enter the period of an aging population and is one of the countries with the fastest aging rates in the world. In 2017, the number of people 60 years and older accounted for 11.9 percent of the total population. This group will account for about 21 million people by 2038, or 20 percent of the population. The number will reach 27 million or 25 percent of the population by 2050, according to the General Statistics Office. The average life expectancy of Vietnamese is 1.6 years higher than the world average, but the population is about 16 years older than the world population. Dr. Le Dinh Thanh, Director of HCM City-based Thong Nhat Hospital, said the rapid aging of the population poses huge challenges to a low to middle-income country like Vietnam, requiring the country to improve its social security and healthcare system for the elderly. Vietnam needs to raise awareness about preparation for old age, including planning for financial security, and ensuring medical examination and treatment as well as social policies for the elderly. Infectious diseases kill more than 300 people per year in the country, while non-infectious diseases kill over 400,000, according to the Ministry of Health. As many as 70 percent of deaths every year are caused by non-infectious diseases, of which 40 percent occur to people under 70 years old. Non-infectious diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, mental illness and cancer, not only affect longevity but also the quality of life. Experts attribute the reasons for the rising number of cases to the fact that people lack awareness about prevention of such diseases. As many as 49 percent of men smoke, and 77 percent of the population drinks alcohol, while 11 percent of them drink at an alarming level. Salt consumption in Vietnam is double the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Ministry of Health has set a goal to ensure by 2025 that deaths caused by non-infectious diseases will fall to 20 percent from the current 70 percent. The goal is to reduce the proportion of people smoking by 30 percent and those drinking alcohol by 10 percent, while reducing salt intake by 30 percent./. VNS Fighting disease in war and peace Most people in their 80s are retired and enjoying days of leisure with their family or pursuing interests and hobbies, Prince Philip, the Greek-born consort to Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest sitting monarch, has died at the age of 99. In a statement released to the media and posted on the gates of Buckingham Palace Friday morning, the royal family said, "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh." "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss." Prince Philip had spent several weeks in the hospital earlier this year for a pre-existing heart condition. He underwent surgery at London's St. Bartholomew's Hospital and was discharged in March. The Duke of Edinburgh will be best remembered for his sense of duty to the queen, and also his sense of humor. Philip Mountbatten was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921. His father was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and his mother, Princess Alice, was a great-granddaughter of Britain's Queen Victoria. Britain's Prince Philip waits for the bridal procession following the wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, England (file photo). /AP Philip Mountbatten met Elizabeth in 1939 while he was a naval cadet and she a shy princess. Philip forged a distinguished naval career during World War II, receiving special mention for his role during the Battle of Cape Matapan off Greece, where he saved his ship from a night bomber attack. Philip and Elizabeth married in 1947 in Westminster Abbey, the first royal wedding to be filmed. When Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father, King George VI in 1952, Philip found it very difficult, says Philip Eade, author of the book "Young Prince Philip." "He had been an extremely successful, extremely highly regarded naval officer in the British navy, and he was tipped from the very top," Eade told VOA. "He was tipped to become head of the navy and so to have to give that all up in order to become second fiddle to his wife. He was a very overtly masculine character and not one who is going to take easily to this sort of life of walking a couple of paces behind the queen." When asked in an interview what he thought of his royal role, Philip replied, "I don't." "He grew up with a very strong sense of duty," Eade says, "and he realized that his duty was first and foremost to support the queen in her work, and that was really by far and away his most important, how he saw his role, that was what was at the top of his list." Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II are seen with members of the British royal family (file photo). /AP Over seven decades, Prince Philip navigated the highs and lows of a Royal Family permanently in the public eye. He helped the family cope with difficult times in the 1990s, including the divorces of Prince Charles and Diana, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Diana was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 alongside her fiance Dodi Fayed. Philip was known for his wry sense of humor, which came in handy whenever he had to brush aside any suggestion of his role as a secondary figure. He once said his best speech was in 1956, when he opened the Summer Olympics with eight words: "I declare open the Olympic games of Melbourne." His jokes on occasion caused offense but he had a serious and lasting effect on the monarchy, pushing it to change with the times, says Matthew Glencross, a royal historian at Kings College London. "That is something Philip always saw for himself, is this idea that the monarchy must evolve. For example, he was very pro having the cameras in for Elizabeth the Seconds coronation in 1953. You'd think because of his reputation that hed be one of the people who was quite conservative. Actually, no. He saw television as the future. People want to see more of their monarchy," Glencross said. Prince Philip retired from official royal duties in 2017. A year later, he was involved in a serious car accident while driving near the Royal Family's country estate at Sandringham. His last public appearance was in July 2020 at Windsor Castle. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II had four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. They have eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Fulfilling his roles as consort and father, Prince Philip had a lasting effect on a 12-hundred-year-old institution, a monarchy that is more visible and relevant to its people as a legacy that he forged, effectively, from his place two steps behind. Shadowed by an overwhelming surge in COVID-19 caseload, Peru is set to hold its general elections on April 11. The vote is expected to pull the Andean state out of political turmoil which has seen five leaders change in the span of the past four years. Sundays election would not only determine the country's next president but also two vice presidents, 130 members of unicameral Congress and five representatives to Andean Congress. Voting is mandatory in Latin American country. However, the recent dramatic surge in coronavirus infections paired with voters unwillingness to choose amongst the contesting candidates has cast a shadow over the elections. A recent survey revealed that no vote still remains the most popular choice amongst the country's 25 million registered voters. Elections amid COVID-19 Running parallel is the problem of COVID spike, which has now overwhelmed the country's hospital systems. With ICU units and Oxygen availability at breaking points, the administration is going with precautionary health measures like extra polling booths to reduce infection. As per the latest tally by John Hopkins University, Peru has reported a total of 1,628,519 cases while more than 54,285 people have died. Peru began the first round of immunization in February after receiving 300,000 doses of vaccine from Chinas Sinopoharm laboratory. It has also secured enough Pfizer doses to vaccinate almost two-thirds of its population. The pandemic has also annihilated the country's economy which fell 11.1 per cent compared to the previous year, as per IMF. Additionally, the country has struggled to maintain consistent levels of economic growth since 2013, according to data from the World Bank. The polls open at 0700 (1200 GMT) on Sunday and close 12 hours later when pollster Ipsos Peru will give an exit poll. The electoral office has announced that it will offer its first partial result at 1130 pm local time (0430 GMT on Monday). Image Credits: AP/PTI New York, April 10 : Global investment analysts at a closed door JP Morgan huddle are betting that "risky assets" will cruise, market volatility will decline, asset bubbles are still far away in the broader equity market and that US president Joe Biden will remain focused on "supercharging" the US economy before midterm elections in 2022. "While there is a lot of talk about asset bubbles, it is hard to see one in the broad equity market, but certain segments that have more than tripled in price over a short period of time are likely experiencing bubbles, such as innovative ESG sectors like clean energy, solar energy and Electric Vehicles, along with crypto assets and SPACs," JP Morgan wrote in a "Global Research Perspectives" background note reviewed by IANS. The bank's forecast comes as signs of rapid hiring pick up in the US economy, boosted by swift vaccinations across the adult population. It is a "blessing in disguise" that the global recovery is not synchronized, the bank wrote. "The staggered rally has prevented broad-based asset bubbles." "The scenario for the global environment remains favourable for risky assets backed by above-trend global GDP growth, continued policy support and progress on vaccination and re-opening of economies," reads the note. JP Morgan lists 10 takeaways from the meeting, with the top three headlining US and China: 1. US growth is entering a boom period with positive spillovers; 2. The post pandemic recovery is different from the "scarring" after the 2008-2009 financial crisis as both the US and China will close the output gap and will likely be operating above full employment by the end of 2022; 3. The staggered global economic recovery - led by China last year, moving to the US now, with Europe to come later this year - supports the market recovery and risky assets will continue to benefit. JP Morgan's assessment points to the Biden administration likely doubling down and "supercharging" the economy before the 2022 mid-term elections. The high level view is that the passage of the $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure bill is likely to happen by end-September using budget reconciliation even if tax increases are not approved. The optimism comes on the heels of Biden getting a surprise boost in recent weeks, after the US Senate parliamentarian greenlighted a workaround that would allow Democrats in the 50-50 chamber to rely on a 51-vote win to advance crucial bills, rather than the 60 votes typically needed. The rule can now be used more often, giving Democrats a way to steer around the GOP blockade. "The implications of this ruling could mean that Democrats could try and pass much of the infrastructure bill, especially the parts pertaining to social equity, through budget reconciliation," notes JP Morgan. On the corporate tax rate, the dominant view is that greenlighting for a 28 per cent rate is "highly unlikely to pass". An increase in the "22-24" per cent range is seen as "more likely". "Disorderly rise is the word on US bond yields as the "projected $3.8 trillion budget deficit will require $3 trillion in net new US Treasury supply with ongoing concerns on whether flows will be absorbed smoothly." The JP Morgan insights are drawn from two April 7 sessions on the sidelines of the IMF/ World Bank Spring Meetings featuring external speakers, J.P. Morgan's Policy Center, Federal Government Relations and Global Research team to discuss the priorities for the Biden administration for the next 100 days and the macro and market implications. LAPWAI - Just before 11:00 p.m. Friday, police were called to a reported shooting on south Main Street in Lapwai. According to a release from the Nez Perce Tribe, officers responded to the call and took one suspect into custody. One victim was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No additional parties were involved. The Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Idaho State Police and Nez Perce Tribal Police responded to the call. The case is currently under investigation; no additional information has been made available. Prince Philip's birth certificate has been unearthed by The Mail on Sunday after lying buried for almost a century in an archive close to the Greek villa where he was born. The document was written by hand in Katharevousa Greek, a purist version of modern Greek, by a priest named Spiridon Tryfonas on the island of Corfu. It has been gathering dust for decades in a municipal archive housed in an old British Army barracks that sits within the imposing Venetian fortress overlooking Corfu's Old Town. But yesterday a member of staff agreed to give The Mail on Sunday access to the leather-bound book in which the Prince's birth was recorded. Prince Philip's birth certificate has been unearthed by The Mail on Sunday after lying buried for almost a century in an archive close to the Greek villa where he was born. (Above, Princess Alice with her infant son, Philip) The document (above) was written by hand in Katharevousa Greek, a purist version of modern Greek, by a priest named Spiridon Tryfonas on the island of Corfu. It has been gathering dust for decades in a municipal archive housed in an old British Army barracks that sits within the imposing Venetian fortress overlooking Corfu's Old Town It details how Prince Andrew of Greece, Philip's father, presented a baby boy to the priest, which he said had been born at 10am on May 28, 1921. Philip was actually born on June 10, 1921 but experts say his birth was registered using the old Julian calendar, which was still being used in Greece in the early 20th Century. The document declares that the baby's mother was 'Her Royal Princess Aliki' (Alice), whose father Louis, Prince of Battenberg was 'born in Windsor Castle'. It adds that during his baptism into the Greek Orthodox Church, the baby was formally given the name 'Philippos' by two sets of godparents Queen Mother Olga of Greece, who was represented at the ceremony by Princess Olga, and the Municipality of Corfu, which was represented by two local city officials. Last night, the granddaughter of Stylianos Maniarizis, the then president of Corfu's Municipal Council and one of the officials who witnessed Philip's baptism at the stunning Church of St George, spoke of her pride at the family's involvement in the early life of such an historic figure. Pharmacist Vasiliki Maniarizi, 70, said: 'It was a great honour that my grandfather was one of the two godfathers to Prince Philip. 'Although I never met him, my father would recount the story of the baptism many times. I am proud of my grandfather.' It details how Prince Andrew of Greece (left), Philip's father, presented a baby boy to the priest, which he said had been born at 10am on May 28, 1921. Philip was actually born on June 10, 1921 but experts say his birth was registered using the old Julian calendar, which was still being used in Greece in the early 20th Century. The document declares that the baby's mother was 'Her Royal Princess Aliki' (Alice, right), whose father Louis, Prince of Battenberg was 'born in Windsor Castle' Philip (above) was reportedly born on a kitchen table at the palace, which was used by the Greek royal family as a summer residence. Although he was a Prince of Greece, Philip had no Greek blood. His complex background was in fact Danish, German, Russian and British The document offers an extraordinary insight into the tumultuous first 18 months of Prince Philip's life. The Queen's future husband and consort was born at Mon Repos, a neo-classical villa nestled in woodland overlooking the Ionian Sea. He was reportedly born on a kitchen table at the palace, which was used by the Greek royal family as a summer residence. Although he was a Prince of Greece, Philip had no Greek blood. His complex background was in fact Danish, German, Russian and British. His family was forced to flee Corfu in December 1922 after Philip's father, a lieutenant-general in the Greek army, was arrested and charged with high treason in the aftermath of defeat by the Turks during the Greco-Turkish War. Evacuated on a British warship, HMS Calypso, the newborn prince was carried to safety in a cot crafted from an unused fruit box. With its peeling paint and weathered facade, the grandeur of Mon Repos has faded during the past century, although its elegant ground-floor rooms, which now house a museum, give a hint of its royal past. The only visible sign of its links to Philip is a blue and red plaque, written in Greek and English, next to the entrance gates. On Friday, a bouquet of six white roses was left by the gate, with a card reading 'Rest in peace, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh'. Lynn and Vivian Church, who are among 6,000 Britons who live in Corfu, visited to lay their own flowers yesterday. Mrs Church said: 'We just came to pay our respects.' Mr Church added: 'He was probably more important than any Prime Minister because of the length of his service. We feel sorry for the Queen he was her rock through her whole life.' Meropi Ydraiou, mayor of central Corfu and the Diapontia Islands said: 'On behalf of all Corfiat people I express my sincere condolences.' The owners of Bunga Bunga the London nightclub once frequented by Prince Harry are preparing a legal battle to recover millions of pounds in an insurance dispute. Inception Group, co-founded by Duncan Stirling and Charlie Gilkes, paid 130,000 for comprehensive annual insurance cover for 11 bars, restaurants and clubs in London, including Mr Foggs, Maggies and the Barts speakeasy. The group filed a claim in March last year after Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people to stay away from bars and restaurants, triggering an immediate collapse in revenues. Bunga Bunga: The nightclub's owners are preparing a legal battle to recover millions of pounds in an insurance dispute In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, insurance company AXA initially appeared to suggest the company could be covered for loss of business. However, AXA said last night that Inception Groups policy does not provide cover for losses due to the pandemic. A test case in the High Court ruled that thousands of firms with similar claims are eligible for compensation for Covid-related losses as a result of the lockdown. Inception Group says AXA is trying to wriggle out of making a payout and it plans to launch a 3million claim in the High Court. It is represented by Fenchurch Law, which is also acting for firms including chef Marco Pierre Whites Black and White Hospitality. Inception will tomorrow open five venues with outside spaces. Stirling said: We just want to move forward and focus on the recovery path. But 12 months later were still having to fight insurers that were meant to be protecting our interests. To see them behave in this disgraceful way after we have paid thousands of pounds in premiums has been a big wake-up call. A spokesperson for AXA said: No cover is provided by the policy wording for this particular claim. We are continuing to work to ensure all valid claims are paid as quickly as possible. COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) A prosecutor says he wont retry a Georgia couple for their newborn daughters death more than a decade ago after the states highest court overturned their murder convictions. Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Mark Jones has filed motions to drop all charges against Ashley and Albert Debelbot, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported. The two were convicted in October 2009 in their daughter McKenzys death, but the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously overturned their convictions in February 2020. The high court found the Debelbots attorneys were ineffective so they didnt get a fair trial and granted them a new trial. Jones motion to drop charges cites insufficient evidence and the interests of justice. A hearing is to be held Tuesday. Jones told the newspaper that dismissing a case is a tough decision but, he said mounting medical evidence caused him to believe reasonable doubt about the couples guilt exists. The current evidence and other demands on his office led him to believe it wasnt worth retrying the case. I dont see how we have time to invest in it, he said. The Debelbots met in the Army and got married, moving to Columbus for Fort Benning. McKenzy was born May 29, 2008, and was released from the hospital the next afternoon. Early on June 1, the Debelbots brought their baby back to the hospital after finding a lump on her forehead, and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 a.m. A medical examiner found that the infant died from trauma caused by a blow or multiple blows to the head. Both parents were charged with murder and convicted in October 2009. Attorneys for the Debelbots have since argued in appeals that McKenzy was born with a brain deformation and argued the couples trial attorneys failed them by not calling medical expert witnesses. The state Supreme Court found that the prosecutor misstated the measure of proof required to overcome reasonable doubt. You dont have to be 90 percent sure. You dont have to be 80 percent sure. You dont have to be 51 percent sure, the prosecutor told the jury. The Debelbots trial lawyers failed to object to that even though it was inaccurate. The high court found that was grounds for a new trial. Albert Debelbot is now 35 and Ashley Debelbot is now 36. They each began serving sentences of life in prison in December 2009. They were released on bond in July. The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has urged the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, not to be partisan. He explained that although Mr Bagbin was an NDC member, his new position placed him above NDC issues. I believe that even though your position places you above partisanship, NDC is in your DNA and we cannot disengage you from the party that has nurtured you from being an MP to the position of speaker, he stated. Thanksgiving Mass Mr Ampofo was making a statement at a thanksgiving Mass in honour of Mr Bagbin at Sombo in the Nadowli-Kaleo constituency last Thursday. Mr Bagbin was in his native town to give thanks for his election as the Speaker of the eighth Parliament. He was accompanied by the leadership of Parliament including the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joseph Osei Wusu; the Second Deputy Speaker, Mr Andrew Asiamah; the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu; the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Cyril Kwabena Nsiah; the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih; the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia as well as other personalities. Mr Bagbin, who hails from Sombo in the Nadowli-Kaleo constituency, was in the region for a three-day tour to express his utmost gratitude to the people for supporting him wholeheartedly in his 28 years role as a Member of Parliament (MP) and his final elevation to the pinnacle seat as the Speaker of Parliament. Roots He reminded Mr Bagbin that it was the NDC that helped nurture him from his first time as an MP to his current position. Mr Speaker, for the past three months, you have been described by the NDC as New Patriotic Party (NPP) speaker, at one time the NPP has described you as NDC Speaker. But Mr Speaker, you have maintained the position that you are the Speaker of Ghanas Parliament and I believe that the various description give credence to the fact that you will be capable of standing in the middle and steer the affairs of this Parliament to a successful end, he stated. Support Mr Ampofo said that the NDC would continue to support Mr Bagbin in his endeavours, saying that the party was his achievement, especially since he moved up in ranks from being a member of the first Parliament under the Fourth Republic to being Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Deputy Speaker and now a Speaker. We will continue to offer our prayers and support to you and pray to the Almighty God that at this critical stage of our national development you will rise above partisanship and put Ghana first so that we can all address the socio-economic challenges facing our country. We will eliminate hunger, poverty, disease and bring prosperity to all of us, he said Mr Ampofo said because the eighth Parliament was the most complicated in the history of Ghana, it required someone with dexterity, experience and the necessary capacity to manage it. He said he had no doubt that Mr Bagbin would live up to the expectations. Background Mr Bagbin had been the MP for Nadowli-Kaleo since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1993 until he decided not to seek re-election to the eighth Parliament. On January 7, 2021, he was proposed for the speakership position by the NDC caucus in Parliament and he won against the candidate of the governing NPP, Prof. Mike Oquaye, who was the Speaker of the previous Parliament. During his 28 years as MP, Mr Bagbin held many positions, including Minority Leader, Majority Leader, Second Deputy Speaker, Minister of Health and Minister of Works and Housing. Source: Graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its ongoing strike for an initial period of four weeks. The president of the association, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES late Saturday night. The strike has been suspended for four weeks and isolation centres resume 8 a.m. on Sunday and others on Monday, he said. Mr Okhuaihesuyi said the decision to end the strike followed a new agreement reached with the federal government on Saturday morning. All house officers yet to be paid, will be paid by Monday. All our members on GIFMIS would be migrated to IPPIS and paid their owed salaries in earnest and those still being owed 2020 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF)will be paid from the supplementary 2021 budget. 2021 MRTF sorted and Increment in hazard allowance is being worked on, the president said. The Strike PREMIUM TIMES reported how the doctors commenced an indefinite strike on April 1 after a meeting with a government delegation on March 31 ended in a deadlock. The strike, which entered the ninth day on Saturday, crippled activities in tertiary hospitals across the country and left many patients and their relatives stranded. Nigerias minister of labour, Chris Ngige, threatened the doctors with the no work, no pay rule, a day after the strike commenced. Unperturbed, the doctors continued with their strike, leaving only few doctors to attend to emergency situations. The doctors are demanding, amongst other things, payment of all salaries arrears, review of the current hazard allowance to 50 per cent of consolidated basic salaries for all health workers, and payment of the outstanding COVID-19 allowance especially in state-owned tertiary Institutions. Payment of death in service insurance for all health workers who died as a result of COVID-19 infection or other infectious diseases in the country. The doctors are also demanding the implementation of September 2017 Memorandum of Terms of Settlement between NARD and the government in order to bring lasting peace to the health sector and curb the ongoing ugly trend of brain drain from the health sector. There have been numerous complaints of poor remuneration of health workers in Nigeria. The doctors had downed tools in June and September 2020 over these same issues. Resident doctors, who are undergoing training to become consultants, make up a large percentage of doctors in Nigerias tertiary hospitals. Deliberate efforts PREMIUM TIMES reported how the resident doctors met with a government delegation on Friday during which the government pledged to meet most of the doctors demands. ADVERTISEMENT The meeting was the second between both parties since the strike began. At the end of the meeting, a communique jointly signed by the NARD leadership and the government delegation was made public. Mr Okhuaihesuyi and Phillips Ekpe, the general secretary of the NARD, signed for the doctors union. The government delegation also signed the communique. The signatories from the government team include Ngozi Onwudiwe, Director, Hospital Services at the health ministry; T. A. B. Sanusi, the registrar, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN); J. A Momoh, Chairman, committee of medical directors among others. Dated April 9, the communique detailed new commitments on the pending demands of the doctors. The communique shows that the government acceded to many of the demands of the doctors including the payment of salary arrears and the abolition of the bench fees. Thousands of people rallied in capital cities on Saturday to protest against the deaths of Indigenous Australians in police custody. Five Indigenous people have died in custody since the beginning of March, adding to more than 470 deaths now recorded since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its final report and more than 300 recommendations in 1991. Speaking to a crowd of hundreds outside Sydneys Town Hall, actor Meyne Wyatt said recommendation after recommendation had been completely ignored. Meyne Wyatt addresses the crowd in Sydney. Credit:Brook Mitchell Youre sick of hearing about racism? Im sick of f---ing talking about it, he said. Police and Guam Crime Stoppers are asking the community for help finding two men who beat then stole keys and a cellphone from a security guard working at 88 Leisure Game Room in Maite. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on April 6, according to Guam Police Department spokesman Sgt. Paul Tapao. "An unknown man entered the establishment and began assaulting a security guard within the building. During the course of the attack, a second man entered and joined in the attack on the security guard," Tapao stated. "Both men quickly (left) the establishment, taking the security guard's keys and cellphone." The security guard was treated by Guam Fire Department medics. Video surveillance captured a vehicle possibly used by the suspects, which was described as a white sedan with a black hood. The men were described as both standing at about 5 feet, 5 inches in height, with black hair and both having a dark complexion. The first suspect was wearing a black sweater and gray shorts. The second suspect wore a gray shirt with black shorts. Guam Crime Stoppers is seeking assistance from the community to find the men who attacked the security guard. Watch the video online at https://bit.ly/3uDKXPo. Anyone who may have information that can aid in the investigation is encouraged to submit a tip online at guam.crimestoppersweb.com. All tip information will remain completely confidential, and a cash reward of up to $1,000 could be paid if the information provided leads to an arrest and a grand jury indictment. Local history buffs know all about Eddie Jacobson and his role in shaping the birth of Israel via his army buddy and biz partner Prez Harry Truman. However, this note synthesizes the story and offers a bit more insight on the global impact of small town friendship. Read more . . . Its just before noon and the sunlit kitchen floating high above the Exchange District is a flurry of white coats and lettuce leaves. Its just before noon and the sunlit kitchen floating high above the Exchange District is a flurry of white coats and lettuce leaves. Today, first-year students in Red River Colleges culinary arts program are working in the garde manger, or cold kitchen, learning how to prep and assemble salads in plastic takeout containers destined for the schools public food court two floors below. The lab is running at half-capacity and the student uniforms white coat, apron and toque, the iconic pleated chefs hat have been augmented with blue face masks and safety glasses; just a few of the more noticeable changes to hospitality training amid the pandemic. irst-year Red River culinary arts students have adjusted to an altered curriculum in light of the state of the restaurant industry. There are 206 students enrolled in Red Rivers culinary arts, professional baking, and hospitality and tourism-management programs. They are 206 students who will soon be seeking work in an industry that, at the moment, feels pretty inhospitable. The coronavirus pandemic has halted tourism, emptied hotels and turned dine-in restaurants into glorified takeout counters. Despite the bleak job prospects, the attitude inside the towering Main Street campus is surprisingly optimistic. "It is a little troubling," first-year culinary student Jackson Loepp says of the future. "But I think the food industry will never go away. No matter what happens, people will always need to be fed and have food made for them." Loepp has had a lifelong interest in cooking. He applied to Red River a few months before the pandemic hit and, even though he didnt know if classes would be online or in-person, he decided to follow through when his acceptance letter arrived in the mail. In an ideal world, Loepp would be heading across the world to cook in Japan post-graduation. In a less-than-ideal reality, his sights are set closer to home. "There are jobs out there," he says. "Whether it be in a restaurant, a catering business or someone who works in an old folks home." Frst-year student Jackson Loepp working in Cold Kitchen, Garde Manger under the instruction of Norman Patorin. Last March, Red River abruptly closed its campuses and moved classes online a difficult task when the majority of curriculum is designed for hands-on education in response to the virus. Hospitality and culinary arts students focused on the theory portion of their studies until learning labs reopened in August. Administrators have revamped the schedule to make up for lost time and to align with public health protocol. Theory is still taught virtually and evening labs have been added to allow for reduced class sizes. "That has doubled our resource requirements and doubled the amount of instructors that have had to be working," says Karen McDonald, chair of the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. "We have some term instructors helping us out to fulfil that." Norm Pastorin former head chef of The Grove, Cornerstone and co-owner of Black Bird Brasserie is one such term instructor. A Red River alumnus himself, Pastorin has enjoyed the opportunity to mentor up-and-coming cooks. First-year students work in the kitchen under the instruction of Norm Pastorin, who is enjoying the chance to teach while the three restaurants where he is normally head chef are closed. "I found a particular strength in mentoring my staff, so it was a natural progression," he says during a break from teaching in the garde manger. Hes also excited about the energy he sees among students, "A lot of chefs in the industry, they struggled with adapting (to pandemic restrictions) and now this is just normal for (the students), so they have more opportunity to create a new set of standards in hospitality." Down the hall, there is a sweet, yeasty smell wafting from the professional baking and pastry lab. Its the week before Easter and students in the year-long certificate program are learning how to make hot cross buns in large industrial ovens. Culinary arts professional baking instructor Chantalle Noschese (centre) works with students Valerie Boeringa (left) and Corrina Avila. Instructor Chantalle Noschese has been teaching at the college for 10 years; this semester has taken some getting used to. "It has its pros and cons," Noschese says, her safety glasses fogging up as she speaks. "The students, they get more of my attention, but I have noticed a kind of decline in energy because theres less students in the classroom." Danielle Petrie is one of seven students in the morning cohort and is grateful for the extra room. Janes lunch special of pork tenderloin with scallops, roasted corn puree and grilled asparagus. "I cant imagine being in here with 20 people," Petrie says. Taste-testing is the only part of her education thats been encumbered by pandemic protocols. "Youre six feet apart and you can have one bite and its like, OK, now I have to go wash my hands and put the mask (back on). Its not the most convenient thing." Most Red River diplomas include some form of on-the-job training. While the culinary arts and hospitality programs have struggled to find enough co-op placements for students in local restaurants and hotels, the baking program has had no shortage of work opportunities bakeries have been busier than ever. "If last year proved anything, its that bakeries are here to stay," Noschese says. "People still wanted bread... despite everyones attempt to make their own sourdough." Downstairs in the ornate, high-ceiling dining room of Janes restaurant, hospitality and second-year culinary arts students are in the middle of lunch service. The restaurant is a training facility in which instructors oversee the operation while students cook and serve meals to real-life customers. Second-year student Jeric Cruz passes a finished dish over the hotline to a server at Janes, a fine dining restaurant that is part of Red River College Culinary Arts program Todays lunch special is pork tenderloin with scallops, roasted corn puree and grilled asparagus. There are only two reservations on the books, which gives Marco Ilas ample time to step away from the heat of the kitchen to talk about his goals for the future. Hell be graduating soon and is well aware of the current state of the restaurant industry. "Its going to be tight, thats for sure, but cooks are always in line for jobs," Ilas says, adding that one day hed like to run his own food truck. "If you start your own (business) or dream big and pursue it hard as you can, I believe you can do anything." Lunch at Jane's Restaurant is an elegant experience. Like all restaurants in Manitoba, Janes was closed for in-person dining during code red, so the school had to rely on simulated meal service, with students playing the role of both staff and guests. "They dont get that interpersonal workout when dealing with real customers," says instructor Jean-Marc Blanc of the ways the role-playing falls short. "And also the sense of urgency of being busy normally in a regular season, each server would have maybe two or three tables, so they have to multitask those skills are really important." Janes reopened for lunch and dinner in February and so far business has been slow. During lunch, hospitality students dressed in all black buzz around the perimeter of the dining room, waiting anxiously for the chance to clear plates and refill water glasses. Kendra Mackey is stationed at the host stand, watching for an unexpected customer to walk in the door. The hospitality program is more theory than lab and this is the first time shes been in the same room as her classmates. "Online courses are a lot harder," Mackey says, adding that she has two kids at home and once had a fire break out during an online lesson. "No matter how well you prepare, you cant turn off home." First-year students working in Cold Kitchen, Garde Manger under the instruction of Norman Patorin. Mackey is from the Bahamas and has worked in hotel management for 20 years. Shes attending Red River to add an "official document" to her resume and is confident the tourism and hospitality industry will rebound post-pandemic. "When people are able to travel again and when theyre able to go out and dine regularly its gonna be a burst, " she says. "Once the floodgates are open, its gonna be a flood." eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @evawasney Eva Wasney Arts Reporter Eva Wasney is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Read full biography New Jersey on Saturday reported another 2,993 cases of the coronavirus and an additional 33 deaths as nearly half of the states adult population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose. Meanwhile, the rate of transmission dropped below a key benchmark. Gov. Phil Murphy announced the latest data on social media, the day after the governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy both received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Atlantic City mega-site. The states 71 hospitals reported 2,344 patients as of Friday night, down 14 people from a day earlier. Hospitalizations had been rising this week, but remain well below the recent high of 3,873 on Dec. 22. The last two days, hospitalizations have dropped. New Jerseys seven-day average for confirmed cases is 3,284, down 19% from a week ago, but up 17% from a month ago. NEW JERSEY #COVID19 UPDATE: 2,993 new positive PCR tests 834,182 total positive PCR tests 839 new positive antigen tests 115,921 total positive antigen tests 33 new confirmed deaths 22,286 total confirmed deaths 2,573 probable deaths https://t.co/JW1q8awGh7 pic.twitter.com/F7yWcgckUD Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 10, 2021 New Jersey health facilities and vaccine centers have now administered more than 5.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since the states first shot was given Dec. 15. That includes more than 3.3 million people with at least one dose, nearly 50% of the states adult population, according to state data. Approximately 31% of the states adult population are fully vaccinated. The states rate of transmission declined again Saturday to .98, following a steady drop through the week from 1.07 on Monday. Any number over 1 indicates that the outbreak is growing, with each new case leading to at least one other case. A declining transmission rate means the spread is slowing. In all, New Jersey has now reported 834,182 coronavirus cases out of more than 12.5 million PCR tests since the state reported its first case on March 4, 2020. There have also been 115,921 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 9.2 million people has reported 24,8259 residents have died from complications related to COVID-19 22,286 confirmed deaths and 2,573 fatalities considered probable. The probable deaths, which are revised weekly, increased by five on Wednesday. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage HOSPITALIZATIONS There were 2,344 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases across New Jerseys 71 hospitals as of Friday night 14 fewer than the previous night. That included 464 in critical or intensive care (four more than the night before), with 265 on ventilators (one fewer). There were also 301 COVID-19 patients discharged Friday. By comparison, hospitalizations peaked at more than 8,300 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in April. SCHOOL CASES New Jersey has reported 240 in-school coronavirus outbreaks, which have resulted in 1,070 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 last week 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. But Murphy clarified Tuesday that students and teachers who have health issues that could put them at greater risk of a serious coronavirus case will have a virtual option. 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 (22.8%), 18-29 (19.8%), 65-79 (10.3%), 5-17 (9.4%), 80 and older (4.5%) and 0-4 (1.9%). 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 (46.2%), followed by those 65-79 (33.5%), 50-64 (15.9%), 30-49 (4%), 18-29 (0.4%), 5-17 (0%) and 0-4 (0%). At least 7,999 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 229 facilities, resulting in 3,345 active cases among residents and 4,117 among staffers. Those numbers have been slowing as vaccinations continue at the facilities. GLOBAL NUMBERS As of Saturday, there have been more than 134.7 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 2.9 million people have died from coronavirus-related complications. The U.S. has reported the most cases, at more than 31 million, and the most deaths, at more than 561,000. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon. 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. BEIJING - Alibaba Group, the worlds biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators on Saturday for anti-competitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over fast-growing tech industries. FILE - In this May 27, 2016, file photo, a man talks on his phone as a woman rides on an electric bike past a company logo at the Alibaba Group headquarters in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Chinese authorities summoned 11 companies including Alibaba and Tencent for talks regarding the security of voice technology, as Beijing steps up scrutiny over the internet sector. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) BEIJING - Alibaba Group, the worlds biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators on Saturday for anti-competitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over fast-growing tech industries. Party leaders worry about the dominance of China's biggest internet companies, which are expanding into finance, health services and other sensitive areas. The party says anti-monopoly enforcement, especially in tech, is a priority this year. Alibaba was fined for abusing its dominant position to limit competition by retailers that use its platforms and hindering free circulation of goods, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced. It said the fine was equal to 4% of its total 2019 sales of 455.712 billion yuan ($69.5 billion). Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination, the company said in a statement. It promised to operate in accordance with the law with utmost diligence. The move is a new setback for Alibaba and its billionaire founder, Jack Ma, following a November decision by regulators to suspend the stock market debut of Ant Group, a finance platform spun off from the e-commerce giant. It would have been the world's biggest initial public stock offering last year. The logo for Alibaba Group is seen at the company's headquarters in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, on Dec. 24, 2020. Chinese regulators announced Saturday, April 10, 2021 that they have fined giant e-commerce giant Alibaba 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) on charges of violating anti-monopoly rules. (Chinatopix via AP) Ma, one of China's richest and most prominent entrepreneurs, disappeared temporarily from public view after criticizing regulators in a November speech. That was followed days later by the Ant Group suspension, though finance specialists said regulators already had been worried Ant lacked adequate financial risk controls. Alibaba, launched in 1999, operates retail, business-to-business and consumer-to-consumer platforms. It has expanded at a breakneck pace into financial services, film production and other fields. The government issued anti-monopoly guidelines in February aimed at preventing anti-competitive practices such as exclusive agreements with merchants and use of subsidies to squeeze out competitors. The next month, 12 companies including Tencent Holdings, which operates games and the popular WeChat messaging service, were fined 500,000 ($77,000) each on charges of failing to disclose previous acquisitions and other deals. Regulators said in December they were looking into possibly anti-competitive tactics by Alibaba including a policy dubbed choose one of two, which requires business partners to avoid dealing with its competitors. Also in December, regulators announced executives of Alibaba, its main competitor, JD.com, and four other internet companies were summoned to a meeting and warned not to use their market dominance to keep out new competitors. Judgement Calls- Episode 41: The Raptors Chris Boucher and Sun Life want to get Canadians moving Members of the German Bundestag have described the treatment of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny as "targeted torture" and demanded the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture review the conditions of his detention. The letter, posted on Facebook on April 10, called Navalnys treatment "incompatible" with the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, saying Russia is a party to the convention as a member of the Council of Europe. The letter is signed by Manuel Sarrazin, with Germanys Green Party, and a bipartisan group of 11 other members of the Bundestag, the lower house in Germany's parliament. It was made available on Sarrazin's Facebook page in German and Russian. "Notwithstanding the arbitrariness and illegality of the judgments pronounced against you, we demand a review of your conditions of detention by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture," the politicians said. The lawmakers said they believe the legal process against him was not carried out under the standards of rule of law and consider the judgment politically motivated and arbitrary with the goal of silencing him. They said they were following reports about his imprisonment and health condition with great concern and expressed their "full solidarity" with him. Navalny was imprisoned after returning to Russia in January from his recuperation in Germany after his exposure to a nerve agent last August in Siberia. He has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering security agents to assassinate him, something the Kremlin denies. Navalny was treated in Germany after the poisoning, and Sarrazin said that he had the impression that Navalnys treatment was meant to reverse his partial recovery. Navalny has complained of back pain and numbness in his hands and legs and accused the authorities of withholding adequate medical treatment. Navalny declared a hunger strike last week, raising even more concerns about his overall health. Attorneys for Navalny, 44, said after visiting him on April 8 that he was suffering from two herniated disks in his back and a third bulging disk, and said he is losing about 1 kilogram a day. With reporting by dpa and Der Tagesspiegel Theres so much to [early-onset dementia] that you dont really think about, says Macqueen, who appears later in another Zoom call. Of course, its heartbreaking, and its challenging, but its also funny, and its fun, and its life affirming. And it also affects a lot more people than we know about. In Australia, younger-onset dementia is categorised as any form of dementia diagnosed in someone under the age of 65. About 28,000 people are estimated to have it, according to Dementia Australia, while in Britain, the number is about 42,000. Firth and Tucci have been friends for more than 20 years. While dementia is not a new subject on screen - the recent Anthony Hopkins vehicle The Father turns it into a thriller, while Julianne Moore won an Oscar in 2015 for Still Alice, in which she played a woman with Alzheimers - Supernova brings a real intimacy to the subject. There are no stock shots of wandering lost through traffic, of smashed glassware, no tear-streaked fall-to-the-floor moments. In fact, there are very few tears at all. I was always confident that the power of the film would come in how quiet and subtle it was, says Macqueen. And if youre making a story that is just about two people, its about the little raw nuances of that relationship. If you allow the audience to invest time in getting to know the characters, and the little idiosyncrasies, then the much more broad and important context of the story is just there effortlessly, and its not impacting all the time on your viewing of the film. You have to love the characters first. And it felt, to me, the way we would love the characters was to present them as naturally as possible. Its the chemistry between Firth and Tucci that makes Supernova hum, and its something that plays off the pairs friendship of 20-plus years. They live near each other in London and first met playing Nazi officers in the 2001 TV movie Conspiracy. Tucci was the one who suggested it to Firth, sending him the script without telling Macqueen. You want to do it [Supernova] with somebody who is really good, like him, says Tucci, nodding to Firth. And somebody who you know and respect. Adds Firth: Sometimes when something is proposed to you, its a potential job. Its the next job in your life. But this didnt really feel like that at all. It felt like a potential experience. And it was completely bound up in Stanley, for me, and the possibility of that relationship. For Maqueens part, having Firth and Tucci on board allowed him to play with their on-screen personas: Firth has been an imperious love interest of one sort or another since he waded out of a lake as Mr Darcy in the BBCs 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, while Tucci has skittered between tragicomic and high-camp roles in everything from The Devil Wears Prada to The Hunger Games. British director Harry Macqueen on the set of Supernova, which is set around Britains Lake District. Theyre both very fragile in the film, theyre both normal guys, says Macqueen. Colin quite often plays characters that have a high status within a film. And with Supernova, thats really subverting that because hes the carer, hes the person without the status, even though hes the person in charge of the journey. And the same for Stanley. He gets the chance to play a lively, fun character, which hes done many times before, but underneath it is heartbreak and this subtext of deception and lies. And that is not something Ive ever seen Stanley do before. The challenge for Macqueen also came in breaking down Firth and Tuccis relationship and moving beyond their friendship. Its fair to say they saw a lot of their relationship in the characters and in the characters relationship, says Macqueen. I mean, obviously, its not similar in many, many ways. But you have two people at a certain time in their life that absolutely love each other, that trust each other that would go to the ends of the earth for each other, and they are like that as people. And when youre working with two actors that literally love each other and have a pre-existing history, its a real coup. And you have to use as much of that as you can. So we did. And at times, it was effortless, because theyre just so quick and natural with each other. But the task then becomes making sure that the film isnt just Colin and Stanley, that its Sam and Tusker and that the nuances of that relationship are really locked into. Speaking of that certain time of their life, both Firth and Tucci are now 60. For women actors, historically, thats a time where theyre considered 30 years past their use-by date. How do Firth and Tucci feel about their older age? How do you think I feel, says Tucci. Jumps in Firth: Id rather be 59. Tucci: I dont want to be 60. Firth: Its quite a number. I wasnt quite ready. I was in denial until one minute before midnight of being 59. I had photographers outside my house. To take a picture of somebody being 60. Tucci: Thats not very exciting. Firth: I try not to think about it too much. But if that number comes to my mind for any reason, or if somebody asks how old I am, theres a voice inside my head that screams, What? Tucci: Sixty-one is going to be even worse. Just that one. Then theres going to be no hope. Loading Firth: Theres no rehearsal for being whatever age you are. I think when I was young, I thought older people were another species. Theyre somehow fated to be the age they were. And its a little bit of a jolt when you realise it happens to you as well. And what about Macqueen? How does he feel, having paired up two of cinemas favourite actors only to turn it into a tragic love story. Havent we suffered enough this past year? Im really sorry about that, he says, laughing. 227 Shares Share Indian parents are perfectionists. This is what I had come to understand and believe, even before I had the vocabulary to define it. Perfection was the expectation. Not excellent, not superb, but perfection, and only perfection. After years of reflection, I dont take issue with the expectation of perfection, but, rather, how I perceived it to be defined for me a well-behaved, beautiful and academically successful girl who does not err or fail. Daddy and Mom loved when I succeeded in school, and I loved to be loved. So, I made As and always followed the rules. Be a good girl. The first grandchild, the first child of immigrant parents, Everyone is watching. No one said it, but I heard it. Internal dialogue is powerful. Programming is powerful. I created an image of what I believed they wanted me to be. I put this alternate Ruchi on a bar that I would repeatedly raise just as I had neared it. So, I was never perfect. Moreover, despite my persistent efforts to check all the boxes I needed to check to be a good girl, the infinitely lofty male bar remained elusive. I dont remember anyone telling me that male is standard, male is perfect; I just knew it. How unfortunately imaginative a child can be. Internal dialogue is powerful. Programming is powerful. I had begun to feel the vulnerability of stereotype threat. Indians are nerds, and I did not want to be a nerd. I wanted to be beautiful. Mom often encouraged me to make friends with other Indian girls. In hindsight, I should have listened. This tiny brown, vegetarian human desperately needed to be surrounded by other tiny brown humans. But I did not want to be a nerd or associate with nerds. And, as many children are, I was drawn to what was beautiful. Beautiful is blond hair and blue eyes. Beautiful is American. American is perfect. One afternoon I walked home from the bus stop with a beautiful little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl who lived at the end of my street. I hungered for her validation. As we approached our street, she started to tell me that she couldnt be friends with me anymore. And when I asked why, she said her mother didnt want her to be friends with someone who is Black. But wasnt I a good girl? Wasnt that enough? The initial gut-punch of confusion (because I am brown and not Black) ended quickly, after which the agony of rejection ensued and lingered for years. I stood on the sidewalk, a tiny brown human rejected, and watched her smooth blond hair swish freely as she walked away. The standard of beauty had discarded me. I was not beautiful. I was not American. I was not perfect. I didnt need to be told; I just knew it. Thus began my personal identity formation. I did not know who I was, but I knew what I was not. I added the standards of beauty to the bar of expectations to which I held myself daily. Acutely aware of my inability to physically parallel phenotypic perfection, I devised a strategy to emulate it. In high school, I closely observed my beautiful peers and wrapped myself in a costume of friendly, bubbly, albeit feigned, behavior. I couldnt quite propel myself far enough to become academically careless as this would move me further from perfection at home (I loved to make As). I understood my costume to be the qualities of the American good girl. I didnt need to be told how to conform. I improvised, adapted, and learned how to do it. I fell for all that programmed me and stood for nothing. I went to medical school in India, where annually, over 600,000 students take a national exam and vie for ~ 30,000 MBBS seats. Undeniably the competition is fierce. Fortunately, my path to admission as a non-resident Indian (NRI) did not require me to take this exam; however, I began this next adventure alongside my 69 classmates in the late summer of 1995 with an intelligence insecurity and vulnerable once again to stereotype threat. But, this time, to that of the stereotypical American, I embodied all of what were believed to be Americas sins. My perky attitude and Valley Girl accent only confirmed my classmates suspicions of my tendencies to be wild and airheaded, entitled and profligate. But, I was a good girl, wasnt I? Suddenly, I no longer wanted to be bubbly I wanted to be a nerd. Once again, I carefully watched my industrious peers and transformed my costume into one of reserved, respectful, and perhaps submissive behavior. I altered my accent to disguise myself during oral examinations. Determined to change teachers possibly preconceived notions, I followed the rules, immersed myself in study, questioned nothing, accepted a berating with my head down when my answer was incorrect, plunged further into textbooks, and graduated. In retrospect, despite achieving in medical school, I felt psychologically unsafe. I fell for all that programmed me and stood for nothing. Thus began my professional identity formation. I did not know who I was, but I had learned how to become something I was not. If I was not American, how could I despise myself for being American, and if I was not Indian, how could I despise myself for being Indian? Does an individual define an entire race or nationality? And does race or nationality define an individual? By the time I began my residency in pediatrics in Buffalo, New York, the bar of expected perfection had become so complicated and distant. I ached for the external validation of both Indians and Americans, for someone, everyone, to tell me I was a good girl. I followed all the rules, although who writes the rules remains unclear. I was bubbly and friendly and often volunteered to help my co-residents, but no one told me I was a good girl. I was intelligent and hard-working, and I followed the tradition of an arranged marriage. But no one told me I was a good girl. I realized that I relied upon external validation to confirm to me that I was, indeed, a good girl and that this is why I had always enjoyed attending school. Because the A was my good girl trophy. The A was my external validation, my proof of perfection. Following the birth of my first daughter, I needed to intervene and break the good girl cycle. I refused to bring my perfect little girl, loved wholly and simply because she existed, into my spiral of ever-changing costumes to appease the external critics. I, alone, planned, staged and was the subject of the intervention. I reflected on what I believed it meant to be human and to be a perfect version of me. After several months of reflection, I enumerated my values: empathy, humility, community, advocacy. I rejected any and all stereotypical definitions of myself based upon gender, race, nationality or culture, while simultaneously openly accepting myself as wholly Indian and wholly American. I began to hold myself accountable only to these surrogates for perfection. On any given day, if my actions reflected these attributes, I had a perfect day. I destroyed all the bars I had set, dethroned the alternate Ruchi, and accepted and loved myself as a human who was born perfect into this real, imperfect world. Hence far has my personal identity transformed. I sought counsel and mentorship from peers and heroes who taught me that every human has a purpose on our planet, and I had only to discover mine. I enveloped myself in the growth mindset, forgiving and congratulating myself for the mistakes I made. I took risks, fell, asked questions, developed and succeeded. I felt Indian and American and beautiful and perfect. I designed my own individualized, psychologically safe space. Hence far has my professional identity transformed. As I attentively listen to the stories of my patients and families, I realize that every child is setting bars, often falling below these bars because their ability to imagine what could be is clouded by the images and rules made for them. As I attentively listen to the stories of my learners, I realize that every learner is setting bars, often falling below these bars because their ability to imagine what could be is clouded by the images and rules made for them. The time has come, I tell my daughters to discern which rules were meant to be rewritten, which standard was meant to be reimagined, which dreams were meant to be dreamt. It is time to create supportive environments for our children, patients/families, and learners in which they will grow and thrive, recognizing the unique effects of the intersectionality of race, gender, religion and ability throughout their journeys. I would like to thank Dr. Lauren Gambill and Dr. Subha Pruthi for reviewing this manuscript. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Saumya Dave and Dr. Ibram Kendi, authors of Well-Behaved Indian Women and How to Be an Antiracist, respectively, who inspired me to share my personal story of growing up brown in America. And I would like to recognize Daddy and Mom for leaving their families and country, coming to America to better our lives, sacrificing daily for our success, prioritizing education, pushing me to dream higher, and being, simply stated, the most perfect parents a good girl could ask for. Ruchi Kaushik is a pediatrician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com ALBANY, N.Y. The independent investigators hired by Attorney General Letitia James office to probe sexual harassment claims against Gov. Andrew Cuomo have wide-ranging powers and are being paid a pretty penny for their work, internal documents obtained by the Daily News reveal. James tasked Joon Kim, former acting U.S attorney for New Yorks Southern District, and employment discrimination attorney Anne Clark to lead the inquiry last month as accusations against the embattled governor piled up. Documents outlining the scope of the probe show Kim and Clarks firms are authorized to utilize any of its resources as it deems appropriate to carry out their review of Cuomos conduct. The firms involved also conducted reviews of current clients and former engagements, and have not identified any conflict of interest. James said at the time of the appointments in early March that the work will be comprised of but not limited to issuing subpoenas and related compliance; examination of relevant documents and records; interviews, including formal depositions; and analysis of data and information pertinent to the investigation. Engagement letters sent to both firms show that theyve been contracted for at least six months, but the term can be extended by James, and all involved are barred from discussing the probe publicly. The contracts reveal that Kim and two other lawyers from his practice, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have been named Special Deputies to First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. Clark and another lawyer from her firm, Vladeck, Raskin & Clark have the same special designation. Investigators are required to update Levy on their progress weekly. When the review is completed, the team will produce and publish a written report of its findings, James office said. The agreements, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show principal or senior partners working on the probe are being paid $750 an hour. Mid-level partners are making $575 per hour, while junior partners are paid $500. Senior associates will be paid $450 an hour and junior associates make $325. All involved have their work cut out for them as several women, including two members of Cuomos staff, have accused the 63-year-old of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior. One current employee alleges that the governor groped her late last year in his office at the Executive Mansion. Dozens of officials in the administration have already reportedly received subpoenas and have been to told to preserve any relevant documents. Several of the accusers have already been interviewed as well. Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide to the governor who claims Cuomo asked her about her sex life and whether she had ever been with older men, met via Zoom for more than four hours with investigators in March. During the interview, Bennett revealed new details about the governors behavior and what she said was a sexually hostile work environment, according to her lawyer, Debra Katz. The current Cuomo staffer who says the governor reached under her blouse and groped her breast after she was asked to help him with his cell phone last November was interviewed last month as well, according to the Albany Times Union. While he has apologized for workplace comments that may have made anyone uncomfortable, Cuomo has strongly denied ever touching anyone inappropriately. Despite his assertions, the allegations have prompted calls for the governors resignation from both sides of the aisle. Cuomo repeatedly said he has no intention of stepping down and has pleaded with New Yorkers to reserve judgment until the completion of the AG probe and an ongoing impeachment investigation being conducted by the State Assembly. New Delhi: Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and global star Priyanka Chopra Jonas extended their heartfelt condolences on social media after the demise of popular rapper DMX. The rapper passed away on Friday at the age of 50. Following the news of his untimely demise, the `Gully Boy` actor took to his Instagram handle on Saturday and posted a story in remembrance of DMX, with the song `Let me Fly` playing in the background from the late rapper`s 1998 album `It`s Dark and Hell is Hot`. Priyanka also took to her Twitter handle and mourned the loss of the three-time Grammy-nominated rapper by writing, "He was one of my favourite artists growing up, and then to have had the opportunity to work with him was such a dream come true. Such a big loss for the music industry. #RIP DMX. Sending my thoughts and love to his family. Here's the tweet: He was one of my favourite artists growing up, and then to have had the opportunity to work with him was such a dream come true. Such a big loss for the music industry. #RIP DMX. Sending my thoughts and love to his family. PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) April 9, 2021 "DMX, who rose to fame in the late 1990s, died at the age of 50 after being on life support for a week following a heart attack, his family said on Friday, reported Sputnik. The rapper, born Earl Simmons, had been battling drug addiction and was hospitalised in New York last week with a heart attack following a reported overdose. Upon admission, his condition was so critical that he was resuscitated and placed on life support. The American Music Award winner was a prominent figure in the hip-hop and pop music industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His first five albums had hit the top of the Billboard album chart. Chennai, April 10 : DMK President M.K. Stalin on Saturday condemned the central government's decision to scrap the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) located here. In a statement issued here, Stalin said the central government should form public sector enterprises, but the current BJP government is scrapping or selling off the existing organisations. He said the appellate boards reduce the load on the courts and also render speedy justice. IPAB deals with intellectual property disputes between corporates and also for deciding on Geographical Indication. According to Stalin, the BJP government's decision is an injustice done for Tamil Nadu. Kindhearted Restaurant Owner Inspired By Easter Offers Burglar a Job After Break-In A Georgia restaurant owner has responded in a kind manner after a burglar broke into his premises. Instead of pressing charges against him, the compassionate owner has offered for him to swing by for a job. Carl Wallace, the owner of Diablos Southwest Grill in Augusta, was woken up in the middle of the night on Easter Saturdayalso Wallaces 45th birthdaywhen a hooded man (as seen according to Wallaces CCTV image) used a brick to smash the restaurants front window. Carl Wallace, owner of Diablos Southwest Grill in Augusta, Georgia. (Courtesy of Carl Wallace) The thief, who broke in shortly after 4 a.m., was dismayed to find the cash register empty after he had shaken it. Within 45 seconds, he was back out the front door no money was taken, Wallace told the Press Association, The Irish News reported. Though the man didnt steal anything, Wallace said he was disheartened. Really frustration and damage was the only thing done we get woken up in the middle of the night, you have to run into the store, clean up the big mess and scramble to get the store back open by 11 oclock, he said. However, recalling it was Easter weekend, he questioned himself: What would Jesus do? Would Jesus have somebody locked up or would he offer forgiveness? Thus, instead of calling the police, Wallace took to Facebook. Our burritos are such a smash hit weve got people breaking in at 4 a.m. for their fix, the business owner wrote. So if ya see our door looking hurricane fabulous at Wheeler Rd this is why. But he didnt stop at just a simple explanation of what had occurred. In a surprising display of kindness and forgiveness, Wallace offered the thief a job and said he wouldnt involve the police. To the would be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues please swing by for a job application, wrote Wallace. Before signing off from the post, Wallace suggested that there were better opportunities the thief could have chosen. Needless to say, Wallaces post went viral and inspired netizens to take to the comments section. Ive always said youre only one bad decision away from a totally different life, wrote one law enforcement retiree. This morning you made [me] think that sometimes youre only one GOOD decision away from a totally different life. Its exactly that one good decision that Wallace hopes to inspire in the thief who smashed his restaurant window. After coming across Wallaces post, other business owners shared their own CCTV footage of the same man breaking into their buildings, according to The Irish News. Wallace who owns various businesses in Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama is extremely hopeful that the burglar will be in touch soon. That would be one of the greatest stories you take somebody that was on the wrong path, someone gives them a hand, he said. Wallace, who decided to be forgiving, believes that the man might never have even been given an opportunity and must have been always put down in his life. Theres so much hate in this world, he added, we dont understand each others problems and challenges in life. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Four persons were killed as CISF personnel allegedly opened fire after coming under attack from locals, who "attempted to snatch their rifles", in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Saturday, police said. The incident took place in Sitalkuchi area when voting was underway, a senior police officer said. "As per preliminary reports, four persons were killed as CISF personnel opened fire after coming under attack in a village. "A scuffle took place and locals gheraoed them and attempted to snatch their rifles, following which the central forces opened fire. Further details are awaited," he said. Election officials said a report on the incident has been sought from the district officials. (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 Johns Island family that was terrorized by a rapist and kidnapper in 2018 has settled their lawsuit against the authorities they say allowed the attack. An April 7 document filed in Charleston County indicated that the legal battle ended with a Zoom mediation between the family and authorities. Details of the agreement werent included. The couple filed on behalf of themselves and their five children in January 2020, saying several departments the S.C. Department of Corrections; S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services; and the sheriffs departments of Charleston, Berkeley and Spartanburg counties had neglected to stop Thomas Lawton Evans from breaking into their home and brutally attacking the woman and her daughter. Evans, whos now serving four life sentences in the assaults, was released from a previous prison stint on Feb. 1, 2018. According to court records, Evans had told authorities at Kershaw Correctional Institution that he worried his release would allow him to act on violent impulses and drug addictions. He was also disciplined for taking his roommate hostage less than a month before his release. When Evans was released to parole, he failed to report to the parole agency's Spartanburg County site within 24 hours, as was required of him. While Evans moved in with a childhood friend, according to court records, the agency didnt get a parole violation warrant for him. Within a few days, authorities believe Evans began using drugs and stabbed his childhood friend, Sharon Nanette Hayden. Though the plaintiffs believe Spartanburg deputies were informed of Haydens disappearance, they didnt immediately advertise Evans as a person of interest or inform the parole agency of the attack. By the next day, Evans had taken Haydens vehicle and fled to Charleston County, according to court records. A gas station clerk called deputies to question Evans when he tried to use several non-functioning credit cards. While Charleston deputies questioned Evans and noted that he didnt have a drivers license or title to the vehicle, court records indicate that they didnt hold him for questioning or check to see whether Evans was on the parole database. Authorities believe Evans laid low for about five days after that incident, staying in a friends shed while doing drugs. But on Feb. 11, authorities had one final run-in with Evans before he reached Johns Island. Berkeley County deputies ran his information through their systems when they found him begging in a neighborhood, according to court records. They saw that his license was suspended, and upon calling Haydens mother about the vehicle learned that he was a person of interest in the owners disappearance. But Evans walked free. On Feb. 13, 2018, Evans followed a young family home and burst inside, where he beat and raped a mother for almost an hour. The womans injuries were so severe that she couldnt call for help, authorities said, and was helpless to stop Evans from kidnapping her 4-year-old daughter. Evans took the girl to Alabama, where police found the child alive. She had been sexually assaulted and injured. Both mother and daughter required extensive medical help, and other members of the family suffered from trauma and stress. Court records indicate that the family paid more than $380,000 in medical bills after the attack, and couldnt afford to move from the house filled with memories of that day. So the family sued authorities for financial compensation, leveraging a negligence complaint against each department, as well as loss of consortium as the mother couldnt care for her children after being attacked. I never read but I heard some shitty things about the creator's politics so I'm glad it ended badly? LOL Reply Thread Link The show has a lot of right wingy stuff, it's a good show but that always made me feel put off, also Mikasa the main girl is basically a servant of the main dude and she's quiet And ready to give her life for him... Yikes Reply Parent Thread Link I havent seen this show like forever so this is disappointing bc she deserves getting her life. Mess Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Problem with most mangas. I was glad Jujutsu Kaisen had female characters who weren't obsessed.with the men Reply Parent Thread Link Never read the manga but watched the first 2 seasons of the anime, was considering watching more but heard that the mangaka basically advocates for Japanese neo-colonialism so I noped outta that fast Reply Thread Link Ha! I was going to comment about being unsure about fascist undertones I had heard about, but I was beaten easily by the first few comments, so it's cool we're all on the same wavelength. Reply Thread Link definitely not the message I took away from it. Maybe you have to look at it through a Japanese lens to see it that way. TL;DR Synopsis: the Eldians (who turn into titans) were persecuted for being dangerous weapons, and the ones who stayed behind in the nation Marley have to wear armbands (very Nazi Germany, which might explain the interpretation) and act as weapons by passing down the titan powers they have. The Eldians on Paradis Island, where the MCs are born, are under constant threat of genocide because people fear their titan powers. So, I guess, in an allegory, they would be Japan(?). But they're not exactly the good guys either. In the end, [ Spoiler (click to open) ] the MC drags his friends into attacking a civilian harbor that kills a whole lot of people (Marleyans+some Eldians), and then he lets loose what are essentially nukes in titan form and kills off 80% of the world population. Finally, it turns out that the MC was victim to causality and time shenanigans anyway and that that was the "destined" way to rid the world of the titan powers by making their sort-of-goddess see that sacrificing your love for the greater good/because that person was bad is an option(???). And after all that, the cycle of violence/vengeance still isn't necessarily resolved. You get to see the humanity and parallels in violence from the perspective of the MCs and the "bad guys," and my ultimate takeaway was: "War and persecution are bad, y'all. Don't do it." And the story was just so off-the-rails that it was really hard to draw any direct parallels to our world. Edited at 2021-04-10 01:31 pm (UTC) I'm kind of curious why people think that. I see those types of critiques of it, but that'snot the message I took away from it. Maybe you have to look at it through a Japanese lens to see it that way.TL;DR Synopsis: the Eldians (who turn into titans) were persecuted for being dangerous weapons, and the ones who stayed behind in the nation Marley have to wear armbands (very Nazi Germany, which might explain the interpretation) and act as weapons by passing down the titan powers they have. The Eldians on Paradis Island, where the MCs are born, are under constant threat of genocide because people fear their titan powers. So, I guess, in an allegory, they would be Japan(?). But they're not exactly the good guys either. In the end,You get to see the humanity and parallels in violence from the perspective of the MCs and the "bad guys," and my ultimate takeaway was: "War and persecution are bad, y'all. Don't do it." And the story was just so off-the-rails that it was really hard to draw any direct parallels to our world. Reply Parent Thread Link I think people don't necessarily consider the story itself as blatantly pro-fascism but a long while back a Twitter account that's believed to be Isayama's stated that one of SnK's characters was based off a Japanese war criminal who contributed to the colonization of Korea and called said person "frugal and respectable" and basically said colonization was beneficial for Korea, it's not fair to compare Japan's actions in Asia to the Holocaust, and other similar bad takes. Edited at 2021-04-10 02:16 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It's more the creator than the actual manga or anime. Tho it has questionable designs. Reply Parent Thread Link Now lets see if we see the endings of one piece, x, Jojo, Hajime no Ippo and many other that have been running since the 80s/90s, in this lifetime Reply Thread Link The author to One Piece apparently said it would AT LEAST end in the 2020s with 2024/2025 at the earliest. So I'm looking forward to the final chapter dropping on December 31, 11:59 PM on 2029! edit: to add the name hot damn me. Edited at 2021-04-10 01:15 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Waiting for CLAMP to come out with the ending for x/1999 since 2004. Reply Parent Thread Link THE PAIN. Reply Parent Thread Link I love x1999 and nobody that I know cares for it Edited at 2021-04-11 11:48 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I wonder if Miura will get his shit together and end Berserk Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Im praying that the new Tokyo Babylon anime will finally get CLAMP to finish X, but Im lowkey anxious about that ending. Theyve said in the past that both the ending of the anime and the movie are not how the manga will end, which means either both Fuuma and Kamui live or they both die. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Praying for Jojolion getting the shine it rightfully deserve. We got part 6 in which we been knew news, im just glad it happened now. Which means Part 7 will be a bucket of craziness and the part 8 will be undoubtedly an masterpiece in our time. Im hyped. Also, Universe, lemme in!!! Add all these + another decade of this stallion runnin wild. Yeah. ....hype I said in been84years.gif Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I want One Piece to end only bc I need to know what one piece actually is. I think Araki will end jojo eventually, but I want Hajime no Ippo, Baki and Golgo 13 to run forever. Dont ask me why I just want them to Reply Parent Thread Link OP has been crap for years. He needs to end that manga already. Reply Parent Thread Link I mean InuYasha FINALLY ended so there's hope for everyone Reply Parent Thread Link still waiting on the rest of nana Reply Parent Thread Link Gonna go check out the live action adaptation instead, which I also just found out about today THIS IS LITERALLY A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION??????? pic.twitter.com/JbMMotWWrW Sinbad's Manager (@tojitwt) April 8, 2021 I'm today years old when i found out that The Way of the Househusband has an anime adaptation (and the animation is apparently horrendous. Lmfao)Gonna go check out the live action adaptation instead, which I also just found out about today Reply Thread Link I was so looking forward to this and then it's just a coloured version of the manga with as little animation as possible. Calling it an adaptation is way too generous and it really feels like false advertising from Netflix. lol Reply Parent Thread Link It's basically the equivalent of those voiced manga videos on youtube. Still watched the whole thing but some effort would've been nice. They tried to play it like it was on purpose. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Holy shit. That's bad. There's like, 1-2 key frames per shot. Wow.... Reply Parent Thread Link YES!!! Thank god I thought I was alone on that. I was really truly taken aback on this. I was so confused and all like ????????? I didnt want to be too critical and thought it was just the first episode but it went on to the point had me gasped in horror. What happened? How depressing lmao. Damn, it really hit me hard especially when come to thinking about the older style and aesthetics. Plus it sort of spook me out seeing other stuff compared to this plus Sailor Moon Crystal. Hollllly smoooke. Thats another whole story to talk about, lmao. Reply Parent Thread Link Oh what a shame lol I just put this in my queue last night. Reply Parent Thread Link I want to read this manga, because I love Yakuza (like the actual video game franchise and whatnot). Reply Parent Thread Link LMAO you could feel their budget get fucked over. Reply Parent Thread Link They spent all their money on Beastars and Dorohedoro and didn't want to wait I guess lmao Reply Parent Thread Expand Link oh no I wanted to watch this :( Reply Parent Thread Link Don't think the drama is any better. Gave the first episode a try, saw they changed the story a bit by adding new characters... Reply Parent Thread Link they didn't do it justice! i thought it was going to be dramatic and full of over the top movements but we got a ppt presentation instead. i finished it off in in one sitting feeling very disappointed Reply Parent Thread Link that transition ffffff noooooooooo though this is fine after ex-arm last season Reply Parent Thread Link [ Spoiler (click to open) ] Ellen finally became a bird. Bless Ellen. Oh fuck lmao guess I gotta play it safe since this is a confirmed translation leak, shitty as it is. Edited at 2021-04-10 01:16 pm (UTC) I can't believeOh fuck lmao guess I gotta play it safe since this is a confirmed translation leak, shitty as it is. Reply Thread Link Good riddance. Reply Thread Link People being surprised that this series ended shitty lol. I dropped this manga after it started coming out that the author was pro Imperialism/anti-Semitic. Reply Thread Link But it's funny that most fans are so dissatisfied with it, very GOT-reminiscent. And another funny thing, IIRC, is that many male fans are apparently unhappy because [ Spoiler (click to open) ] the "cool" genocidal hero, after he becomes super powerful etc., in one panel at the end whines and cries about not getting to date the main girl, which makes him a "simp" in their mind and the patheticness ruins their cool image of him, lol. seethe, nerds Tbh I only watched the first few eps of the anime when it came out so the plot is beyond me, and the ending sounds crazy, very shounen-typical and pro-genocide/nationalistic enough that I'm not really planning on ever seeing more.But it's funny that most fans are so dissatisfied with it, very GOT-reminiscent. And another funny thing, IIRC, is that many male fans are apparently unhappy because Reply Thread Link i tried watching a couple of eps when it first came out and the world building was a bit much for me, one thing i hate about anime tropes is that they introduce a rule/limit to what can happen, eg powers etc only for a character to come along and break those rules, the cycle repeats. I saw it coming from a mile away with AOT Reply Thread Link I tried watching it but didn't really like it. Then as everyone mentioned, the writer is a right winger, and that influence is quite visible in the manga itself. On a different note, my friends recommended Yukio Mishimo too, but after I heard that he was a right wing misogynist, I didn't bother Reply Thread Link thank god Reply Thread Link Okay, maybe a weird rec ask, but can anyone recommend a shoujo manga or anime where the female main character has their own distinct, non-submissive, "normal" personality? Like, something with as few cliches as possible. I've only seen the new Fruits Basket and Ancient Magus Bride in the last couple of years, which are good but the main character in the first one is basically a martyred saint who fixes everyone with the power of her innocent love, and I barely remember the personality of the main character (if she had any) in the latter. Reply Thread Link Ouran High School Host Club! Both manga and anime (which ends before the manga finished). Haruhi, the lead character, is pretty great, as is the entire cast and the romance aspect of it takes some time to develop. It's more ensemble focused, which I love and it's just funny. Reply Parent Thread Link Thank you, I'll check it out! Reply Parent Thread Link Lol ouran is ridiculous and cute. I really enjoyed it. Reply Parent Thread Link I love Haruhi. I rewatched Ouran recently to see if the comedy still held up (because I first watched it as a teen and at the time I thought it was the funniest thing I ever saw), and while I didn't exactly find it as hilarious as back then, I was surprised by how good the character development is which is something I completely missed in my first watch (I was still too immature to get it, methinks). And how ahead of its time it is. Haruhi's father is a good example of that. But also Haruhi herself. There were some parts that were very oof like comparing the Lobelia trio to nazis/feminazis, but overall it still is a great anime even more than a decade later. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link OURAN IS MY FAVORITE I re-read like once a year it's perfect Reply Parent Thread Link Ouran for me is one of those shows you really like but can't bring yourself to finish it for some ungodly, unknown reason lol. Reply Parent Thread Link Its kinda difficult to find shoujo manga like that, because i think shoujo is kind of supposed to be that way (as disappointing as that may sound). But josei/seinen manga are typically more realistic. I like Emma and Otoyomegatari (brides tale) by Kaoru Mori. And though it has some iffy elements I really liked Ran to Haiiro no Sekai by Aki Irie, which is kind of a magical girl story. They all have women leads with personalities. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Finally someone agrees with me about Fruit Basket. I used to be obsessed with that manga until near the end. Then I opened my eyes when all she had to do was hug and offer love to the last protagonist/antagonist???? Who knows that everything would solve by her offering unconditional love to everyone. That's when I first learned about Mary Sue. And the mangaka dragged the will them won't they with the main 3 for so long, that when she introduced another potential girl, it just felt cheap. I have alot of feeling still after all these years Reply Parent Thread Expand Link God I hated Tohrus who character in Fruits Basket tbh. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link The only anime Ive watched in recent years are Anohana and Your Lie in April, both of which I guess fit this request? Ive also heard good things about Violet Evergarden but havent gotten around to watching it yet. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Honestly that is a hard ask even in non shoujo categories since anime unfortunately loves it's cliches and tends to have a lot of issues with sexism. I never made it through Fruits Basket because I couldn't deal with *another* anime like that. If you want to go outside shoujo though I think my favorite female characters recently come from Jujutsu Kaisen. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen! The manga is fantastic and the anime is nearly the same as the original manga! Plus its fun and educational on variety of ramen irl. Its one of my faves <3. I plan to use these manga in Japanese edition for my studies bc I love Ramen, need to learn more stuff, and its super cute Reply Parent Thread Expand Link As a teen I devoured Lovely Complex, which is abt a rly tall (for Japanese standards) girl, who definitely has a TON of personality. I haven't read it in many years but I remember being super emotionally engaged when other shoujo stuff left me cold for similar reasons of the main girls being so... watery, idk lol. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Kaleido Star I don't know if it's shoujo technically, but it's one of my favorite female driven anime. More "action" and magical girl, I guess. Such a fun and entertaining experience to watch as a kid. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i would also recommend ouran high school club if you want a more traditional shoujo anime! what you're requesting is definitely more into the josei category though. i'd highly recommend NANA, this is a seminal piece of josei work and has some of the best defined characters ever, but is rather serious. if you want something a wee bit more light, but still with a lot of characterization, there's also princess jellyfish. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link So, it's not shoujo per se, but Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken literally healed my soul. I'd been watching a bunch of shounen crap for a while and desperately needed something with female leads that didn't speak in little squeaky toy voices and Eizouken delivers on all fronts. The animation is top notch, the cast is almost entirely girls and they're all SO unique and fun and funny. It's really a love letter to anime itself as well, as the main characters are a pair of artists and their long-suffering, grumpy project manager trying to get their high school animation club off the ground. They talk a lot about the process of creating animation and go into these wild imagination sequences as they talk about their ideas, it's just wonderful. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It's been a while since I read these so I can't remember if the female main characters fit what you described or if they're just "not as bad" in the context of the story, but I really liked Dengeki Daisy and QQ Sweeper/Queen's Quality for manga recs. For anime, Ouran is my favorite shoujo of all time, but Ao Haru Ride is also pretty great with the characterization of its female lead and portrayals of healthy vs toxic friendships despite being a bit cliched if you're used to lots of school romance plots. It's also beautifully animated with a good OST. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link As someone else said, that's really difficult to find in Shojo. But you could watch Part 6 of JoJo, "Stone Ocean"! Jolyne is a pretty awesome female protagonist <3 Aside from that, MAYBE you could give "Skip Beat!" a try. It is Shojo but the manga only got a very small anime adaptation and it's still running (I think it has around 50 volumes already? It's bonkers). The protagonist is cliche at first until her childhood sweetheart breaks her heart, then she vows to never fall in love again and pay him back by also entering the entertainment industry. Reply Parent Thread Link oresama teacher! main character is a former high school delinquent who can beat anyone up but is also very stupid. shenanigans ensue. also by the same author - monthly girls nozaki kun! it has an anime adaptation which i highly recommend too and it's very cute n funny. Reply Parent Thread Link If you will enjoy Ouran High School Host Club, I suggest also checking Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge/The Wallflower. Also Chihayafuru. Reply Parent Thread Link I kinda liked the Wallflower(Perfect Girl Evolution). Weird goth girl gets her life disrupted when her aunt decides making her live with the hottest guys in school will hopefully turn her into a normal girl *narrator voice* it doesn't. More josei than shoujo, but Tramps Like Us(You Are My Pet). Career woman takes in homeless boy. which is a gross simplification, but does address the problems successful assertive women in Japan face both in the work place and in dating life. The only good live action adaptation was the first J-drama with Koyuki and Matsumoto Jun. These are all old titles because I stopped reading/watching manga/anime years ago. Reply Parent Thread Link Vision of Escaflowne. I just finished my rewatch and it cemented Hitomi as one of my favorite heroines in anime. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Toradora maybe? MC is definitely not submissive in that one. Reply Parent Thread Link Ouran is really cute. Also Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun is an underrated gem. The MC has a crush a boy at her school, but I wouldnt say shes submissive. She tries to find ways to confess to him but shes awkward/nervous and hes oblivious. The side pairings in that one are also very cute. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link If you're interested in non-shoujo at all, I thought Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu had great women characters and fantastic writing in general. They're not the protagonists of the story, but they're integral to the drama and definitely have their own personalities. I also think Eureka Seven had great characters if you like mecha intertwined with your romance. Reply Parent Thread Link Horimiya is a recent shojo that finished a few weeks ago and the heroine is pretty strong-headed! The anime exists as well, but I would personally recommend the Manga since the anime keeps a lot of content. Reply Parent Thread Link Akatsuki no Yona is a good one. She starts off very cliche but there's growth~. Definitely Ouran High School.Gekkan Shoujo plays with the tropes. Horimiya might be a good one. Maybe Kimi Ni Todoki, but if you didn't like Tohru, you won't like the MC. I'm thinking more of the supporting cast. I know there's more but that's all that comes to mind. Reply Parent Thread Link ESCAFLOWNE Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken and Gekkan shojo nozaki-kun, not shojo, but I think they have the vibe you are looking for. Ouran has not aged well imo Edited at 2021-04-10 09:52 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link maybe try kimi ni todoke but it's kinda cheesy lol Reply Parent Thread Link anime-wise, shoujo is being less animated these seasons and many suggestions here (despite being great) are not shoujo, but shounen/seinen romance. i second ouran though! i second most of the recs here, actually. stuff from Akiko Higashimura (mostly josei) is great as well. this is not a shoujo as it is an original anime, watch princess tutu!! see you in my 19th life as a webtoon. the leader is definitely strong but the synopsis is basically a woman in her 19th life chasing her love from her 18th life so it might be a turn-off. Reply Parent Thread Link Utena. Which deals with, in some respects, how nutso a girl like that would actually be. Is also one of the best anime ever. I've heard good things about Saiunkoku Monogatari, but haven't seen it and heard some people were pissed about the ending. Reply Parent Thread Link lovely complex! Reply Parent Thread Link Gokinjo monogatari and its sequel paradise kiss by ai yazawa. Read the manga because both anime versions lesve out vital stuff. Reply Parent Thread Link Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ Reply Thread Link Edited at 2021-04-10 07:41 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. Advertisement Looked at from the outside, the Duke of Edinburgh was a kind of living model of the British establishment ever-present at all those State ceremonial occasions, Trooping the Colour, openings of Parliament. Lean, imperious, with an eagles stare and a hawk nose, dressed in the bearskin and scarlet of colonel of the Grenadier Guards, or the gold and dark navy of Lord High Admiral; and caught when in mufti, perhaps carriage-driving, in tweeds and bowler, even a top hat. Standing more or less to attention at the Queens side across nine decades, rigid with duty, terse with words, with the grimace of a man unlikely to suffer fools gladly, Prince Philip looked the part of the insiders insider. This, no doubt, is how millions of people will remember him. And yet it completely, utterly misunderstands him. It fails to get anywhere near the unusual, shy, self-critical, and sometimes radical figure that he was. The Duke of Edinburgh was always an outsider. All the uniforms, medals, awards, titles and adulation never really hid this truth. Looked at from the outside, the Duke of Edinburgh was a kind of living model of the British establishment ever-present at all those State ceremonial occasions, Trooping the Colour, openings of Parliament. (Pictured: On duty during a 1984 tour of Canada) He came from a class and a generation which didnt believe in emotional exhibitionism. He rarely complained or, as he would put it belly-ached. But he had a woeful, desperately, lonely and destabilising upbringing, and suffered many frustrations in his adult life. He was born on Corfu because, in a classic 19th Century royal stitch-up, his grandfather, a Danish prince, had been chosen as the new king of Greece. But instability haunted the young Philip from his first weeks: after a disastrous war against Turkey, there was a coup in Greece and the babys father, Prince Andrew, an army officer, was arrested by the vengeful junta that took over the country. Had King George V not intervened, Philips father might have been executed by firing squad. Plenty of his friends and colleagues were. As it was, he, his four sisters and his parents were able to escape in a British destroyer. Baby Philip was, according to royal legend, carried aboard in an old orange crate. George Vs intervention was not surprising: Philips mother, Princess Alice, had been born at Windsor Castle and he was related to the British Royal Family through multiple cousinly connections. But, after settling near Paris, this royalty-for-hire family began to break up. Alice, suffering from a form of religious mania, ended up in a Swiss clinic before becoming a devout nun in the Greek Orthodox Church. Philips father, rather less devout, headed to the Riviera where he settled down with a mistress and led a casino life. Eventually the four sisters married German princes. Nobody, it seemed, was much around to look after young Philip. Sent to school, first in Germany just as the Nazis were taking power, he was then dispatched to Britain under the nominal care of his uncles, the Marquess of Milford Haven and Lord Mountbatten. In fact, apart from holiday breaks, he barely saw them. As an eager, and brilliant, young recruit to the Royal Navy,Philip served bravely, was decorated and promoted, and ended that war having risen from midshipman to a naval officer who colleagues thought might have made it all the way to Admiral (Pictured in 1946) He spent his time at the newly-founded Gordonstoun School in Scotland, under the watchful eye of the man who was probably his major male influence, the Jewish-German educationist Kurt Hahn. Gordonstoun was a very tough, somewhat puritanical school and Hahn, who had been a significant diplomatic figure in the Kaisers Germany before having to flee Hitler, had a bleak view of the modern world. To combat moral decay, Hahn wanted a cadre of no-nonsense, unsentimental, tough young men (women were not involved). Philip was one. Indeed, much in the adult Duke of Edinburgh, with his distaste for the mealy-mouthed and the sloppy, can be traced back to Gordonstoun and Kurt Hahn. This was certainly the origin of his most famous achievement as Consort, the Duke of Edinburghs Award scheme. By this stage in his life, the young Philip might have seemed a most unpromising recruit for the British establishment. He might be bluff and anti-blubbing but he carried deep emotional scars from family and abandonment, and had been encouraged to take a pessimistic view of modern times. What helped was the coming of the Second World War. As an eager, and brilliant, young recruit to the Royal Navy, Philip served bravely, was decorated and promoted, and ended that war having risen from midshipman to a naval officer who colleagues thought might have made it all the way to Admiral. By that time, he had first glimpsed the Queen as a young girl she had been just 13 when they first met and then begun to court her. By now, many of his lifetime traits were visible a bounding, irrepressible energy, a combative outspokenness in speech and a gleeful relish in upending conventions and shocking the pompous. He could certainly be a disconcerting figure. I remember trying to make small-talk with him about Charles Darwin, and saying that I thought he was the most important Briton of the Victorian period. He gave me a long glance but glance is the wrong word: it felt more like being thoroughly scoured with bleach. I intensely dislike generalisations, he said, before turning on his heel. Yet his conversational pepperiness, which caused him so many rows with the press, and spread so much offence, at least to journalists, derived not just from an impish sense of humour but from a deep sense of impatience. The Duke hated sloppiness, fudging, evasion. Time was always short. So much needed doing: get on with it. Those who knew him well thought that he was always much harder on himself than anyone else. In 1960, he famously coined the word dontopedalogy, which he defined as the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years. The frustration came from the fact that, with the clear sight of an outsider, he was strongly critical of the British Establishment, and British business and industry more generally. After he married the Queen in 1947, he had to cope with an immense amount of snobbery and sneering from courtiers and senior politicians, who delighted in mocking him as the German. After he married the Queen in 1947, he had to cope with an immense amount of snobbery and sneering from courtiers and senior politicians, who delighted in mocking him as the German. Pictured: Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in a wedding photograph in 1947 When he first wore the kilt, he curtsied to the King. In footage from the Coronation, he organises and bosses around assorted nobility and crowned heads for the photographers, as if they were dim sheep. He certainly knew Germany better than they did: three of his four sisters had married Germans who served Hitler in the war one of them rising to become an SS colonel, working with Himmler. Such in-laws were excluded from his wedding. As a boy, he had been sent to school at Schloss Salem, just as the Hitler Youth (whom he mocked) were taking over the place. His brave and dedicated service in the British Navy never counted much among civilian snobs, compared with those German connections. His chosen family name, Mountbatten, was a clumsy anglicisation of Battenberg and helped persuade the then Tory Cabinet that it must not become the surname of the dynasty, which would remain Windsor. Philip was bitterly hurt by this and some of his grandchildren have responded by hyphenating the name. Archie, for example, son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has been christened with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. In fact, Philip always thought of himself as fundamentally Scandinavian, in particular Danish which was, in a family sense, absolutely true. The Duke was, among other things, the Queens Viking. For the Queen and Philip it seems to have been love almost at first sight, a genuine coup de foudre. They were lucky people. Four children followed quickly. Nothing made the Duke of Edinburgh angrier than press stories about his alleged affairs. As a young married man, its true, he was immensely attractive and found the stifling conventions of London Court life intolerable. He hung around a racy, hard-drinking, dirty-story-telling set. But he was also attended everywhere by a private detective and none of this makes him a philanderer. Finding solace in his art: He flew aircraft, painted pictures and wrote books. There was far more to Philip than his action-man image as this picture of him painting in 1969 reveals No, first and foremost, he was an awkward, probing, sceptical outsider. A practical man, he saw through the self-congratulatory and delusional puffery of much of 1950s British industry. He realised things were going to have to change if Britain, his attractively stable adopted home, was to succeed in the post-war world. So he threw himself into encouraging industrial and commercial modernisation, devouring books on management and touring factories. He was an tenthusiast for innovations such as Sir Christopher Cockerells hovercraft which Philip dented on a sea trial, characteristically, by taking it across the waves too fast. And he caused a satisfactory quantity of offence in 1961 by telling captains of industry: Gentlemen, I think it is time to pull your fingers out. They regarded this as another gaffe and didnt listen to him properly. After the family disasters of his early life, the really big blow as he settled into the role of Consort was that he never had any mechanism or system to make proper use of his energy and intellect. Where he did find a role, he quickly made a difference in shaking up the running of Buckingham Palace, or greatly raising the profile of the World Wide Fund for Nature. But he could easily have been a dynamic source of modernisation and chivvying at the heart of the British state. He certainly had the ideas new ways to engage British youth; new enthusiasms about everything from energy efficiency to environmentalism; a restlessly curious mind, well-read and forceful in expression. He chaired committees. He made speeches. He flew aircraft, painted pictures and wrote books. But he never had his hands on the levers of real power. He mourned the useful and exciting naval career that was cut off, brutally, when he married Princess Elizabeth. He could seem like a caged wild creature, prowling palaces, snarling at gawpers and rattling his gilded, wrought-iron bars. No one could ever fault his duty. The patron of innumerable charities, a tireless fundraiser for good causes and almost always at the Queens side during interminable global tours and local visits, he always got on with it and did his bit. But monarchy is not a constitutional system which wants, or expects, practical work from its emblematic figures, and the Duke of Edinburgh found it hard to reconcile himself to this truth. The bigger charge against him was that he turned out to be a poor father. Given his own childhood, this would have been unsurprising. From Gordonstoun to the Navy, he had grown up in a ferociously male world. If he wasnt an empathetic, emotionally open modern man, thats hardly a shock. It is often said that his son Charles was a disappointment and that Philip was, in turn, a disappointment to Charles. Although the two of them were profoundly different in temperament, they always shared more than much of the outside world understood. Charles drew his spiritual interests in part from his father and the same is true about his passionate interest in nature, farming and environmentalism. No one could ever fault his duty. The bigger charge against him was that he turned out to be a poor father. Given his own childhood, this would have been unsurprising. (Picture taken in 1968 at Windsor Castle) Both men sought solace in painting, with both rather better than adequate with their brushes. The Duke of Edinburgh was said to have found his sons adultery hurtful and incomprehensible, but the Windsors are hardly the first family to have struggled with different sexual mores during the second half of the 20th Century. Those who know best, his children and grandchildren, talk of a wise, engaged and listening man. And the Duke got on very well with the younger children. There is plenty of unaffected, impossible-to-stage film footage of horseplay to prove it. Much later on, when Charless marriage to Diana broke down, he wrote the Princess letters he meant as kind, loving and helpful advice. In the depths of her misery, she didnt agree but again, that was hardly his fault. After her death, he worked hard to support William and Harry and maintained a warm relationship. Many men would be quietly proud of such a record. What is undoubtedly true is that he was a man of his time. He was sensitive and, friends said, shy. He thought deeply about some of the biggest modern problems, such as the effect of the human population on the planet, and he had any eager amateurs interest in science. But he presented a bluff and often forbidding exterior to the world. He was deeply interested in religion. He read philosophy, and poetry but he spoke as if he didnt. In many ways, he did represent the Britain of the beginning of the Queens reign a much more military society, hierarchical, terse, buttoned-up, inclined to see the rest of the worlds human families in crudely stereotyped terms. Like many of that generation, he probably found younger Britons incomprehensibly scruffy, tattooed, overweight and self-pitying. As the British changed so, a bit, did the Duke. He was an early thinker about environmental protection, pollution and the destruction of wild spaces. If he was never the dangerous socialist radical, he never lost his belief that most things, most of the time, deserved to be challenged and shaken up. One of the Queens great achievements is that throughout her long reign, she kept her personal opinions so effectively hidden. She understood that she was an emblem a symbol of the nation and symbols shouldnt speak. Her consort and supporter for so many decades no doubt understood this as well; she couldnt have been such an effective monarch without him. But unlike her, he never found it easy. His death will leave her bereft. But isnt it extraordinary that such a lonely boy, whose own family was so shattered, goes to his grave as the patriarch of such a huge, basically happy and varied family? Meghan Markle, pictured with Prince Harry, will not attend the April 17 funeral of Prince Philip, said Buckingham Palace. (Photo: Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images) Meghan Markle will not attend the funeral of Prince Philip, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday, ending speculation over whether the actress would accompany Prince Harry across the pond. "The Duke of Sussex is planning to attend. The Duchess of Sussex has been advised by her physician not to travel. So the duke will be attending," a royal spokesperson told People of the Windsor Castle funeral service on April 17, which will be closed to the public in accordance with pandemic guidelines. Markle and Prince Harry, who share son Archie, 1, are expecting their second child, a daughter. On Friday, the Duke of Edinburgh who is the husband of Queen Elizabeth, died at age 99, the palace announced "with deep sorrow." That day, Markle, 39, and Prince Harry, 36, posted a tribute to Prince Philip which read, "In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of EdinburghThank you for your service.You will be greatly missed." Prince Philip, pictured with Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2017. (Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) It will be Prince Harry's first trip back to England after his and Markle's March 7 CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which Markle shared details of her mental health crisis while living in the palace with little emotional support. The couple, who moved to Montecito, Calif., also claimed that before the 2019 birth of Archie, members of the royal family made racist comments about their unborn child, allegations the palace said it takes "very seriously." The interview caused tension among the royals Harry's older brother Prince William denied that their family is racist and Prince Albert of Monaco called the televised event not "appropriate" and it's unclear if Harry's visit will heal the family. Harry will come home, and a meeting between the brothers and perhaps, with luck, a reconciliation over their dead grandfather could be a possibility, a royal historian Penny Junor told the New York Times. Story continues Harry, who has always been close to his grandparents, later clarified to Winfrey that neither one was responsible for the racist remarks. Related: What impact will Prince Philips death have on the royal family? Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Donald Trump held a campaign event for his old press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Mar-a-Lago on Friday to endorse her gubernatorial run in Arkansas. The former president, who has been seldom seen since leaving office and being banned from social media, appeared before a cheering crowd to endorse Sanders. He praised her and boasted about how he won Arkansas 'by so much' in 2016 and 2020. 'A special woman, this was so easy for me. This has to be the easiest endorsement that I made,' he said. Scroll down for video President Trump speaking on Friday at a campaign event at Mar-a-Lago to endorse Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his old press secretary, as the next governor of Arkansas Donald Trump endorsing Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday at Mar-a-Lago 'You're going to be a great governor. The governor got involved the other night in something that was quite controversial for him to handle. 'That was not situation but he is not a good friend of the people in my opinion. I don't think he was a good friend ever. 'But you are going to be the greatest governor of that incredible state. I tell you, I won it by so much. 'Sarah said, "the people love you." After the event, she thanked him for hosting it on social media. 'Thank you President Trump for hosting an amazing event for my campaign last night!' she said. Donald Trump held a campaign event for his old press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Mar-a-Lago on Friday to endorse her gubernatorial run in Arkansas Trump kissed Sanders before taking to the mic to greet the crowd Earlier this week, Trump sent out an email throwing his weight behind Sanders. Trump has rarely been seen or heard from since he left office in January. He is banned from Twitter and videos of him speaking have been scrubbed from Facebook. Sanders launched her campaign in January. She served with Trump from 2017 until 2019, replacing Sean Spicer as Trump's press secretary before becoming an adviser. On Thursday, Trump emailed a statement to subscribers to endorse Sanders and trash the current governor of Arkansas. He said Gov. Asa Hutchinson 'supported the chemical castration of children' because he vetoed a bill banning hormone treatment for transgender children. 'Asa Hutchinson, the lightweight RINO Governor of Arkansas, just vetoed a Bill that banned the CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF CHILDREN. 'Fortunately for the Great State of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders will do a fantastic job as your next governor. 'Bye-bye Asa,' that's the end of him!' he added. San Francisco, April 10 : More than 500 employees have sent an open letter to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, demanding that the company stop protecting the harassers and provide workers an environment free from their abusers. The letter came after former Google engineer Emi Nietfeld wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, alleging that she was forced to have one-on-one meetings with the man who harassed her. "My harasser still sat next to me. My manager told me H.R. wouldn't even make him change his desk, let alone work from home or go on leave," she wrote. The letter that was published on Medium late on Friday, read that "This is a long pattern where Alphabet protects the harasser instead of protecting the person harmed by the harassment. The person who reports harassment is forced to bear the burden, usually leaving Alphabet while their harasser stays or is rewarded for their behaviour". The employees said that Alphabet has a history of such workplace harassment. Andy Rubin, the creator of Android mobile software, was awarded a $90 million exit package after a woman accused him of coercing her into performing oral sex. Amit Singhal, a former search executive, was awarded $35 million when he was forced to resign after a sexual assault investigation. "Even after more than 20,000 Alphabet workers walked out to protest sexual harassment and protection of harassers, Alphabet has not changed, and did not meet any of the Google Walkout demands," the letter stressed. "Alphabet workers deserve the right to work in an environment free from their abusers. Alphabet must prioritise the safety of their workers by prioritising the concerns of those harmed," it added. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said: "We've made significant improvements to our overall process, including the way we handle and investigate employee concerns, and introducing new care programmes for employees who report concerns". Brussels, April 10 : The Council of the European Union (EU) approved an additional funding of 121.5 million euros ($144.6 million) from the bloc's budget to address urgent needs related to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement issued on Friday, the EU Council said the additional funds will be used to prepare for digital green certificates to facilitate free movement and develop further the exchange platform for passenger locator forms, reports Xinhua news agency. The funds will also be used to strengthen the capacity of EU member states to detect and monitor new variants of the coronavirus, while ensuring sufficient testing capacity in the member states. The Council said the funds will be drawn from the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve, which is intended to help member states and third countries in emergency situations. They will be channelled through the Emergency Support Instrument and the EU contribution to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The European Parliament is expected to discuss the package next week, aiming for approval in its plenary at the end of April. The Covid-19 death toll in Europe surpassed one million on Friday, reaching 1,001,313, according to the dashboard of the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Washington The House Ethics Committee said Friday it will investigate sexual harassment allegations against Rep. Tom Reed, the most senior Republican in New Yorks congressional delegation. Reed, R-Corning, is accused by a former lobbyist of sexually harassing her in 2017. Nicolette Davis told The Washington Post that Reed rubbed her body and unhooked her bra while seated next to her in a bar. The six-term congressman last month publicly apologized to Davis and said he will not run for Congress or any other office in 2022. Reed had been considered a potential Republican challenger to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo next year. Reed acknowledged in a statement with his apology that he has struggled with alcohol addiction. First, I apologize to Nicolette Davis, Reed wrote. Even though I am only hearing of this matter as stated by Ms. Davis in the article now, I hear her voice and will not dismiss her...Second, I want to share that this occurred at a time in my life in which I was struggling. Upon entering treatment in 2017, I recognized that I am powerless over alcohol. The House Ethics Committee said Friday it would make no other public comment about Reed until the investigation is finished. Reed said in a statement Friday that he would cooperate with the investigation. We have already publicly addressed this situation, and consistent with that are cooperating with the House Ethics Committee to bring this matter to conclusion, Reed said. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Canadian church shut down, fenced off for not complying with COVID-19 lockdown orders Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Police in Canada have placed metal fencing around a church that's led by a pastor who was jailed for holding worship services that violated provincial lockdown rules in order to physically shut it down until it can demonstrate the ability to comply with the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Police on Friday put up additional fencing around GraceLife Church in Edmond, days after Alberta Health Services closed the building by fencing it off, ahead of Sunday worship, Edmonton Journal reported. Officials have accused GraceLife of violating public health guidelines on multiple occasions by holding in-person worship services where attendees did not social distance or wear face masks. Last month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged the church as an entity for holding worship services in February that exceeded the limit of 15% capacity. On Wednesday, around a dozen RCMP vehicles arrived to place fencing adorned with black cloth around the perimeter of the building as well as the parking lot, the Journal said. Additional fencing was put up on Friday to ensure the entire premises subject to the executive officer orders closure is secure and access to the public is closed off, AHS spokesman James Wood was quoted as saying. Church members and supporters were gathering near the building, and RCMP spokesman Fraser Logan was quoted as saying that several noise complaints had been received on Thursday after a man used a megaphone throughout the afternoon. With COVID-19 cases increasing and the more easily-transmitted and potentially more severe variants becoming dominant, there is urgent need to minimize spread to protect all Albertans, AHS said in a statement, according to The Epoch Times. In February, GraceLife Church Pastor James Coates turned himself in to authorities for violating ongoing lockdown restrictions that, among other things, limited in-person worship gatherings to no more than 15% capacity. He was released in March, with his next court date being May 3. Coates is accused of violating the Alberta Public Health Act, which limits many in-person gatherings in response to COVID-19. As part of the effort to help Coates and GraceLife, a GoFundMe page was created by John Klassen to pay for any legal fees the pastor and the church accrue. Coates has been a rare and refreshing voice of courage in these [unprecedented] 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, read the fundraising page, in part. Im raising money to benefit Pastor James and GraceLife Church of Edmonton, to do good as Galatians 6:10 exhorts us to, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) One city and five municipalities in La Union province are now under modified enhanced community quarantine to curb the further spread of COVID-19. La Union Governor Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III placed San Fernando City and the municipalities of Agoo, Aringay, Naguilian, Luna, and Tubao under MECQ. The MECQ is in force unless superseded or modified by subsequent policies, Ortega said in Executive Order 10. The strict quarantine classification in San Fernando City is effective until April 23 "unless sooner revoked or extended," Ortega said in a separate EO. The rest of the northern Luzon province is under the lowest form of quarantine until the end of the month. Non-essential travel is prohibited during the MECQ period. People who need to go outside of the province for work must register to the COVID-19 tracking system NAPANAM a day before departure, present a government-issued ID, travel order from their companies or proof of official business, and negative RT-PCR test results issued within the last 30 days of testing. Those with outbound and non-official travel must comply with the same requirements except for the travel order. Travelers passing through La Union are required to show negative RT-PCR test results in checkpoints and sign up on NAPANAM. Returning overseas Filipinos should present negative swab test results issued within three days before their arrival in La Union. But if they present their Bureau of Quarantine certificate in lieu of a test result, they will be brought to a facility for testing and they must stay there until results are released. Read the full MECQ guidelines here. This United States of America, the idealized beacon of hope for the free world, has failed miserably in its promise to become the land of liberty and justice for all. The nation's trees have created a mere mirage of beauty and natural grace; their green leaves and dancing branches serve as duplicitous devices that hide the dark truth of their complicity in the country's ugly racist past. How horrific that Oregonians, in particular, must manage guilt associated with institutional racism that is triggered by their state's towering trees. How preposterous that evergreens could be considered for Portland's Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School mascot so they may perpetuate the pain associated with their historic link to lynching, a mob-style administration of justice that took the lives of even more whites than blacks in the state. Oregon's Douglas firs, red alders, hemlocks, and bigleaf maples are harbingers of distress. Stark reminders of humanity's murderous prejudice and limitless greed, these trees carpet the earth and purify the air, all the while echoing guilt, guilt, guilt as they cry out from drought, disease, flooding and fire. The prodigious number of trees in Oregon's forests; therefore, must be repurposed for the greater good of the state and the nation. It is time to clear cut forests; chopping down all of the state's trees will ensure that there will be no ugly mascots to marginalize the tragic murders that occurred on their branches. Ultimately, this brave endeavor will bring a richness never before experienced in the Beaver State and the rest of the country. Oregon will quickly replace the sound of crackling branches with a ka-ching! when the Chinese purchase the state's conifers for pulp. The lucrative sale of Oregon's oak and white ash hardwood to China will pump money into the American economy and offset the costs of improving the infrastructure when the Biden administration's tax hikes prove insufficient. Oregonians will also be able to take pride in the fact that they are helping China to secure raw materials for its people's burgeoning furniture, wood flooring, and plywood demands while preventing the sleeping giant from taking predatory measures to deforest other nation's woodlands. Indeed, Oregon residents will be performing a soul-cleansing service by selling the state's natural resources to China, a nation that stealthily chooses indoctrination, sterilization, and extermination of its minorities rather than openly allowing a barbaric act of assigning a woke symbol that could conjure up distressing reminders of Tiananmen Square or other massacres that bloodied its borders. Felling trees will also establish Oregon as a major player in the international fuel wood market for 2021. Russia, the leader in this industry, will find itself challenged by a formidable competitor. Such a venture will empower Oregonians to forge international friendships and to help improve the U.S. gross national income via sales to India, one of the largest consumers of fuel wood in the world. India's new stockpile of wood charcoal, chips, pellets, and sawdust will warm the hearts and homes of that country's rural poor. In turn, America will be able to negotiate stronger international alliances and secure its role as a global superpower. There will be no more jokes in America about money going up in smoke from stimulus checks and trillion-dollar infrastructure budgets; indeed, fuel wood profits will replenish Oregon's and national coffers and keep America's spirit and finances burning. As a dendrophile, it brings me no joy to offer these suggestions. I do not reside in Oregon, and I have nothing to gain by chopping down Oregon's trees. As an American, however, I must propound this heartfelt solution to the Oregon mascot dilemma. Life is an arduous journey, and we must find ways to increase our revenue so we can balance our budgets and provide relief to hardworking Americans who have been crushed by COVID and its associated quarantines. More importantly, we must no longer tolerate any statues or monuments, whether they are enshrined in marble or living high above us as trees, that divide our nation and compound our grief. There is no reason for woke Oregonians to carry the burden of guilt prompted by the racist acts of their predecessors, and in order for them, as well as all Americans, to live freely, happily and justly, there is one viable solution. The state's trees must go. Image: Pixabay. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Advertisement A black family whose ancestors built a seaside resort near Los Angeles a century ago, only to have it taken from them by 'racist policies', will have the land returned, officials announced on Friday. Key dates in battle for Bruce's Beach 1912 - Willa and Charles Bruce, who moved to California from New Mexico, buy a beachfront plot of land in Manhattan Beach. She had purchased for $1,225 the first of two lots along the Strand between 26th and 27th streets. They open up a resort. 1924 - Manhattan Beach city council orders the Bruces sell, via eminent domain. They say they need to build a park. The Bruces challenge it in court, but lose. The city paid them $14,500, and they left their beach and lost their business. 1950s - The area had sat empty for decades, but the city council began to realize that questions might be asked unless the park, for which the land was supposedly taken, was not built. They create City Park, later renamed Beachfront, then Bayview Terrace Park. In 1974, it was named after a sister city in Mexico, Parque Culiacan. 2006 - Amid a growing interest in the history of the area, the city council voted 3-2 to rename the beach after the Bruce family largely because of an appeal by Councilman Mitch Ward, the citys first black elected official. 2017 - Kavon Ward moves to the area and hears the story of Bruce's Beach. She begins campaigning to hand it back to the original owners. 2018 - A Bruce family reunion is held at the beach, with around 150 people attending. 2021 - The City Council agrees to hand the land back to the Bruce family. Advertisement Los Angeles County plans to return prime beachfront property in Manhattan Beach that could now be worth more than $72 million to descendants of the black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, who built a seaside resort for African Americans. The story of the Bruce family caught the eye of a Los Angeles county supervisor who earlier this year started looking into what could be done to make things right, according to ABC. Advocates and others had for years been telling the story of the Bruce family - and the remaining members of the family itself had been speaking out over what they saw as the injustice. The Bruces and their son, Harvey, came from New Mexico during the early 1900s and were among the first black people to settle in what would become the city of Manhattan Beach. 'It is the county's intention to return this property,' said Janice Hahn, the member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who had first started looking into the issue, at a press conference on Friday to announce the news. Meanwhile, the city of Manhattan Beach issued a statement acknowledging and condemning its city's actions from the early 20th century - but the statement stopped short of a formal apology. The site, known as Bruce Beach, now has a county lifeguard training headquarters building on the property. It is along some of the most coveted coastline in Southern California. The property encompasses two parcels purchased in 1912 by the Bruces, who built the first West Coast resort for black people at a time when segregation barred them from many beaches. They built a lodge, cafe, dance hall and dressing tents with bathing suits for rent. Initially it was known as Bruce's Lodge. 'Bruce's Beach became a place where black families traveled from far and wide to be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of a day at the beach,' Hahn said. It did not last long. The Bruces and their customers were harassed by white neighbors, and the Ku Klux Klan attempted to burn it down. Charles Bruce was often out of town, working as a dining car chef on trains to Salt Lake City, so it was Willa Bruce bought the property and handled much of the business at the resort. She had purchased for $1,225 the first of two lots along the Strand between 26th and 27th streets. 'Wherever we have tried to buy land for a beach resort, we have been refused,' she told The Los Angeles Times in 1912. 'But I own this land and I am going to keep it.' The Manhattan Beach City Council finally used eminent domain to take the land away from the Bruces in the 1920s, purportedly for use as a park. Charles and Willa Bruce moved to Manhattan Beach from New Mexico with their son, Harvey, and bought land in 1912 The beachfront lot, which now has a red-rooved lifeguard station, will be returned to the Bruces. The parking lot behind it, and the park, were not the Bruce's and will remain the city's Eminent domain is when a government body takes private land for public use - oftentimes to build infrastructure like a highway. The Bruces fought the eminent domain order in court, but lost their case. The city paid them $14,500, and they left their beach and lost their business. 'The Bruces had their California dream stolen from them,' said Hahn, the county supervisor. 'And this was an injustice inflicted not just upon Willa and Charles Bruce but generations of their descendants who almost certainly would have been millionaires if they had been able to keep this property and their successful business.' The value of the property has not been assessed, officials said. However, homes along the sea front, known as The Strand, regularly sell for around $20 million. One blog estimated that the land alone was worth $72 million. The family are yet to say whether they will sell it for developers, or keep it in the family. A return of the land could include an option for the Bruce descendants to lease the land back to the county for continued use. A couple in their 1920s swimming attire relaxed at Bruce's Beach at a time when few beaches in the area allowed blacks Bruce's Beach and resort ran by the Bruces soon became a popular destination for black Americans, barred from other areas Beachgoers flocked to the southern Californian coastline to relax at Bruce's Beach People are seeing enjoying Bruce's Beach, in the city of Manhattan Beach, in the 1920s Bruce Beach is seen in the 1920s, when the land was owned by a black couple, Charles and Willa Bruce The Manhattan Beach seafront lot was renamed Bruce's Beach in 2006, after its original owners The beach today can be seen as a relatively empty space amid a sea of development along Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles Manhattan Beach today Population: 35,183 Racial makeup: White - 78.2% Asian - 13.5% Hispanic - 8% African American - 0.5% Average house price: $2 million plus Average per capita income: $96,343 High school or higher education: 98% Source: US Census Advertisement Their case aroused anger. Members of the NAACP participated in a 'swim-in' to assert their right to the sea in 1927, and several black beachgoers were arrested that year. One of their descendants, Anthony Bruce, 38, said it was time to correct a historic wrong. 'I just want justice for my family,' he told The New York Times. He now lives in Florida and has childhood memories of visiting the California land his relatives once owned. Another descendant described the 1920s decision as a 'scar' on his family. 'What we want is restoration of our land to us, and restitution for the loss of revenues,' said Duane Yellow Feather Shepard, 69, a relative of the Bruces who lives in Los Angeles and is a chief of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation. 'It's been a scar on the family, financially and emotionally.' Both descendants told the paper that the issue was about more than just their family. 'We've been stripped of any type of legacy, and we're not the only family that this has happened to,' said Shepard. 'It's happened all over the United States.' The Bruce's Beach decision comes at a time some see as a reckoning in relation to land rights. Last month Evanston in Illinois became the first city to announce it would pay reparations to black homeowners, in recognition of the horrors of slavery. After lying unused for years, the land was transferred to the state of California in 1948 and in 1995 it was transferred to Los Angeles County for beach operations and maintenance. The last transfer came with restrictions that limit the ability to sell or transfer the property and can only be lifted through a new state law, Hahn said. The pale blue lifeguard tower can be seen in front of what was the Bruce family land The Bruce descendants will reclaim the lot, and will be able to lease it to the city if they wish Janice Hahn is the member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who heard about the family's plight and decided to do something about it. Duane Shepard, a spokesman for the descendants, said that the forced sale of the land was a 'scar' on his family's history State Senator Steven Bradford said that on Monday he will introduce legislation, SB 796, that would exempt the land from those restrictions. 'After so many years we will right this injustice,' he said. If the law passes, the transfer to the descendants would have to be approved by the county's five-member Board of Supervisors, said Liz Odendahl, Hahn's director of communications. Manhattan Beach is now an affluent city of about 35,000 people within Los Angeles County on the south shore of Santa Monica Bay. Its picturesque pier juts into swells prized by surfers, and luxury residences have replaced many of the beach houses along an oceanfront walk called The Strand. According to Census data, its population is 78 per cent white and 0.5 per cent black. The current City Council this week formally acknowledged and condemned city leaders' efforts in the early 20th century to displace the Bruces and several other black families, but stopped short of formally apologizing, Southern California News Group reported. 'We offer this Acknowledgement and Condemnation as a foundational act for Manhattan Beach's next one hundred years,' a document approved by the council says. 'And the actions we will take together, to the best of our abilities, in deeds and in words, to reject prejudice and hate and promote respect and inclusion.' A hill rising steeply behind the beachfront property has a beach parking lot and above that is an ocean-view city park that was renamed Bruce's Beach in 2006. The lot and park were not part of the Bruces' property and would not be part of a transfer to the family, Odendahl said. Kolkata: A first-time voter was Shot dead by unidentified persons outside a polling booth in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Saturday. The Trinamool Congress alleged that the BJP was behind the killing, while the saffron party claimed that the deceased was its polling agent at the booth and pointed the accusing finger at the ruling party in the state. The youth, identified as Anand Burman, was dragged outside polling booth number 85 in Pathantuli area of Sitalkuchi while voting was underway and shot dead, a police officer said. The incident triggered a clash between TMC and BJP supporters and several people were injured as bombs were lobbed outside the booth, according to news agency PTI. Central forces had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control, he said. "We have received information that a person was shot dead outside a polling booth in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district. We have sought a report from the micro-observer as soon as possible and the returning officer was called up to know about the situation," an election official said. Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed in the area. Incidentally, BJP state chief and MP Dilip Ghosh had come under attack from 'TMC workers' in Sitalkuchi area a few days back. TMC leader and Natabari constituency candidate Rabindra Nath Ghosh alleged that the BJP workers were behind the killing. "BJP goons are behind the killing. They were creating a nuisance here for several days as they are losing the elections and now, they are killing people," he said. Dismissing Ghosh's claim, Sitalkuchi's BJP candidate Baren Chandra Barman said that the deceased person was the party's polling agent at the booth and TMC activists were behind the murder. "He was our polling agent and was going to the booth when TMC goons shot him dead. Rabindra Nath Ghosh's claim is a total lie. We have informed the SP and the ECI about the incident, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits," Barman said. He also claimed that police or central forces were not present near the booth when the killing took place. Brisk polling is being recorded in the fourth phase of elections for 44 assembly constituencies when 1,15,94,950 electorates spread across five districts namely South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Alipurduar and Coochbehar are exercising their franchise on Tuesday morning. According to Election Commission data, around 15.85 per cent polling has been recorded in the first two hours, a shade better than the first three phases held on March 27, April 1 and April 6. Alipurduar, where five constituencies are going for the polls recorded the highest percentage of 17.97 per cent followed by Howrah where 17.48 per cent of polling was recorded in the 9 assembly constituencies. Live TV New Delhi, April 10 : He became a pan-India sensation almost overnight, with his portrayal of Harshad Mehta in last year's popular series "Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story", and has now planted his feet in Bollywood. With the spotlight firmly on him, actor Pratik Gandhi says he does not believe in competition among contemporaries. "There can't be competition between actors. Had it been products, there would have been competition. If I was a biscuit or a soap, there would be competition," Pratik told IANS. He added: "I am a human being. How can two people, looking so different and having distinct types of acting, be compared? I don't take the pressure that your next thing has to be bigger than the previous one. Gujarati actor Pratik first made his mark on stage and his name was included in "Limca Book Of Records" for a monologue he performed in three languages, in the play "Mohan No Masalo". He would tell you the "Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story" success has been a progression of his steady rise as an actor, and it has opened up opportunities. "I would convert this as excitement where people are giving me different opportunities now. They are open to work with me in different subjects -- which is very exciting for me as an actor, and I am just looking forward to playing another character. So yeah, I don't think that much. My theatre background is helping me here," Pratik said. He insists fame and success are peripheral products. "I don't think about all these things (fame and success) because they are peripheral byproducts. I am getting much love from the audience all across, and across all age groups. I don't think about it much. It is the character that worked for them," he said, about his "Scam 1992" success. Before starring in the OTT show, Pratik was also seen in the Hindi film "Loveyatri", but he admits Hansal Mehta's web series was a game changer for him. "It is an absolute gamechanger. It changed a lot of things for me personally and professionally. More so, it has changed the way people look at me now," he said. He finds all the love coming his way satisfying and describes it as "a very overwhelming feeling". "It has something that I have been waiting for, over the last 16 years," he concluded. (Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text American Blues musician Richard Ray Farrell will be performing at Almunecar's Casa de la Cultura on Saturday 17 April. The concert will start at 7pm. The musician and composer will be performing tracks from his latest album, Three Pints of Gin, which was released in February 2020, as well as some of his older work. The album has been nominated for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year award by the Memphis Tennessee Blues Foundation. Richard Ray Farrell has collaborated with Spanish flamenco musicians in the past as well as classic Blues artists. The performer has lived in Andalucia since 2014, having busked on the streets of Paris for a number of years. Tickets cost 12 euros and can be bought from La Casa de la Cultura (Calle Puerta de Granada, 5) or Viajes Ecuador (Paseo del Altillo, 2). Poet, critic, writer, and MacArthur fellow Maggie Nelson says she knew she was biting off quite a bit when she decided to write about freedom. The idea for her 10th book, On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint, publishing in September with Graywolf, began when she was working on 2011s The Art of Cruelty. Writing that book, she recalls, I noticed that if you focused on the sibling or cousin concept, the first thought of crueltys opposite would be kindness. "But once I started to think about cruelty as being compressed space or choices, humiliation or violence, its opposite seemed to be freedom. Then I became interested in writing about it. Theres no more vexed word, with all the things freedom means to different people. Nelson is excited about On Freedom, her first book since the pivotal and successful The Argonauts, which won the 2015 NBCC award in criticism. The intro to On Freedom, she says, swoops through the four spheres I wanted to write about in a concrete and contemporary way: art, sex, drugs, and climate. As a writer, I dont feign interest in things that dont move me, and these four are important to me. She goes on to explain that art is a natural fit: shes taught art and writes about art. She calls art, along with sexual freedom, her most native ground. Her chapter on drugs is more niche, esoteric, but as a sober person Im interested in substance abusethe idea of being enslaved, enthralled. And climate is whats on everyones mind. This took the longest to write, because I read a lot about it. Ethan Nosowsky, Graywolfs editorial director, was a big fan of Nelson for years. "Maggie and I were in touch after shed been awarded a fellowship from the Creative Capital Foundation, where I was a consultant for some years, he tells me. Shes a writer who published a bunch of books and writes in a critical mode thats also lyrical. The Argonauts caught both, and at Graywolf, we really got the book. We understood it, knew how to publish it, pitch it, talk about it. Its a conversation about gender and family that came at the right moment. Nosowsky and Graywolf publisher Fiona McCrae knew about On Freedom when Nelson and her agent, Janklow & Nesbit partner PJ Mark, attended Graywolfs 45th anniversary gala in September 2019 in Minneapolis, where Nelson was a featured author. The Argonauts did really well for us, and we really wanted to publish Maggies next book, Nosowsky says. We had a lovely conversation, during which Fiona and I made a case for Graywolf acquiring the next book whenever Maggie was done with it, when Maggie pulled a copy of On Freedom out of this big bag she was carrying! Graywolf, Nosowsky adds, made it clear that we would stretch to make a competitive offer. This book is a contribution to the cultural conversation. Maggie takes the loftiest ideas and tethers them to the ground; she makes important things legible and theres warmth to her writing. Also, she doesnt come to answers but poses questions. The book is full of thinking and feeling. Shes appreciative of human messiness: a 21st-century intellectual. A two-book, North American rights deal was announced in January 2020, for what Nosowsky calls a very substantial advance for Graywolf. (The second title will be a collection of essays.) Mark has been Nelsons agent for 15 years, since The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial, about the murder of her aunt. He and Nelson are in sync on the new book. Maggie and I speak the same language, he says. Shes been writing this book since 2015; I knew she was trying to untie the knots of freedom. The manuscript was finished in fall 2019, but Mark was seeing pieces as early as 2016 and they were discussing it. Maggie, he says, is extraordinary. Shes a broad thinker; for her thinking is an ethical act. She gathers sources and unpacks them and wrestles with the world in a way that most writers cannot. Instead of a hot take, she pulls across fields and genres to make something new. Every book invents something new. Mark tells me that there were only conversations with Graywolf. Maggie was happy with the publishing relationship. Shes been published by both large and small publishers and found an amazing collaboration with Graywolf. It made sense to stay with them. On Freedom sold to Jonathan Cape in the U.K. in a major deal and will publish there simultaneously with the U.S. release in September. To date, the book has been sold in 18 other foreign territories. The plan, Mark says, is to take it to the 2021 London Book Fair in June. The practice of freedomi.e., the morning after, and the morning after thatis what, if were lucky, takes up most of our waking lives, Nelson writes in her intro. This book is about that experiment unending. Correction: This piece initially misstated how Nelson and Nosowsky met, and misidentified the Creative Capital Foundation. In addition, it has been updated for clarity. Kishanganj, April 10 : Kishanganj police station in-charge in Bihar, Ashwini Kumar, was killed on Saturday morning by a mob in West Bengal when a police team reached there to arrest the accused in a theft case in Pantapara village, near Goalpokhar police station area bordering Bihar's Kishanganj district. A police official said SHO Ashwini Kumar had arrived at a village near Dheksara to arrest the accused in the police investigation in a bike theft incident near the Sadar police station area. The people living here said the accused's home was at Pantapara village in West Bengal. The police team was surrounded by the locals as soon as they reached the village. People from nearby areas also gathered there, following which the police team tried to save themselves from the mob. The police station in-charge was killed on the spot in an attack by the mob. Confirming the incident, Purnia Inspector General of Police, Suresh Kumar Chaudhary, said the body has been taken by the police and sent for post-mortem. The deceased police official was a resident of Janakinagar in Purnia. district. Police rushed to the spot after the incident. Chaudhary said raids are being conducted to nab the accused. Biden launches commission to look into packing Supreme Court Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Presiden President Biden has created a 180-day commission to consider adding seats to the U.S. Supreme Court or setting term limits for justices, a move that some have warned could lead to irreversible damage. The president acted under pressure from activists pushing for more seats to alter the ideological balance of the court after President Donald J. Trump appointed three justices, including one to a seat that Republicans had blocked his predecessor, Barack Obama, from filling for almost a year, The New York Times reported. The purpose of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court is to provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals, The White House said in a statement. The topics it will examine include the genesis of the reform debate; the Courts role in the Constitutional system; the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court; the membership and size of the Court; and the Courts case selection, rules, and practices, the statement added. The co-chairs are Bob Bauer, Barack Obamas former White House counsel, and Cristina Rodriguez, a former official in the Obama Justice Department, The Wall Street Journal noted in an editorial. The commission will have an unwieldy 36 members, who tilt markedly to the political left, the editorial added. Caroline Fredrickson is a former president of the American Constitution Society, the left-wing legal lobby. Michael Waldman runs the Brennan Center for Justice, the highly partisan legal shop at NYU that wants to restrict political speech. Laurence Tribe is the Harvard professor whose Twitter feed hasnt helped his reputation for judgment or reason. While a few legal conservatives are part of the commission, they will lend a bipartisan patina to a commission that by its very existence is meant to pressure the Supreme Court, it added. The threat of court-packing is intended to make the Justices think twice about rulings that progressives dislike. Many of our legal friends think the threat has already had a notable impact on Chief Justice John Roberts on gun rights and abortion cases. Earlier this week, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a Democrat, warned during a speech at Harvard that packing the court will diminish confidence in the courts, and in the rule of law itself. In 2019, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democrat, spoke against the idea of packing the Supreme Court. My worry is that the next time the Republicans are in power they will do the same thing, I think that is not the ultimate solution, Reuters quoted him as saying. A 2020 survey by The New York Times and Siena College showed that a majority of Americans oppose the idea of packing the Supreme Court. Among likely voters, 58% said Democrats should not look to increase the size of the Supreme Court, while only 31% said they were in favor of it, Fox News reported that the time. Mike Davis, founder and president of the Article III Project, called Bidens move alarming, saying it must be met with the harshest of denunciations from both sides of the aisle as it could lead to irreversible damage. Packing the Supreme Court would destroy centuries of hard work from Democrat- and Republican-appointed justices to insulate the high court from partisan politics, The Daily Wire quoted Davis as saying. It also raises serious red flags as to what unconstitutional actions President Biden is planning that a more favorable Supreme Court might tolerate. Carlton coach David Teague spoke to the media after the game... Q: One of the best things about that, David, thats probably a game you might lose last year, but the toughness and experience in the team, extra toughness and extra experience got you home tonight? A: Yeah, I dont know if we would have lost it last year. I think we won five out of our eight close games. But weve experienced it and you learn from it. I thought our last quarter, I know we didnt finish on the scoreboard, but I thought our last quarter to fight the game out the way they did - you can very easily get frustrated. Dominate the play or own periods of the play, which we did for short periods of time, when the score doesnt go on, sometimes it has a negative effect. I thought the guys kept remaining in the moment and kept competing and I was really impressed with the last quarter. Q: You play next week against Port Adelaide. What did you like that you can build on and what also did you see that you really need to improve upon to compete with the Power? A: We changed up structure a few times throughout the game and I thought the way the players adjusted to that, we had an extra after the stoppages and [Jack] Bowes off the back was hurting us so we went back to six forwards to engage him. I thought that shifted the game a little bit at times. Later in the game, we changed again. I thought the way the players adjusted to it was really good. One of the things Im really looking forward to is our fans coming out next week. I cant wait to play against a great opposition in Port. I cant wait for our members and our supporters and fans to feel the G and make it as loud as they can and give Port a little bit of their own medicine from when we go over there. Q: How was Jack Silvagni? That was a critical tackle on Bowes late that set up the Harry McKay goal. A: Yeah, it was a great tackle and thats one thing Jack has done really well, is competed for the team, and he puts his body on the line. In terms of how it is, I actually dont know yet. I think it looked like he hurt it straight away. It was instantaneous. Last time he missed a week, so Im probably leaning towards something like that but I dont know. Q: Is it one of those things with Jack that he has to manage it. It seems it is the same shoulder. Is it an ongoing thing? A: Im probably not in position to say anything. I dont want to say anything. I dont want to say anything in terms of my understanding of it. I know the first week we thought it would be worse than it was, and he was never a chance the first game, but by the second game he was ready to go again. So, hopefully it is something similar. I dont know. Im not sure whether this time there has been greater damage to the inside or not. Im not sure. Q: Also Harry McKay had a great week last week, and he was kept pretty quiet in the first half, but are you happy with the fact he sort of found a way to get himself in the game and get himself on the scoreboard? A: I did. They are the little steps, the little growths, whether it is for a team or an individual, and he wasnt alone. There was probably a few other guys who hadnt had their best nights but they kept competing and making sure - particularly for Harry, I didnt see too many times when the ball went in his area and we got outmarked. His ability to get the ball to ground and Gold Coasts ability to get back into our forward 50, they were good at that and at times we needed Harry and Levi to get the contest to ground and bring in your smalls and I thought Murph [Marc Murphy], Gibbo [Michael Gibbons], Fogs [Lachie Fogarty] and Ed [Eddie Betts] got at fall of the ball. What I thought today he did he worked really hard on his craft. Q: Did you have any instructions to the players about the conditions out there, because there was obviously a lot of mishandling of the ball, a lot of fumbling. It is notoriously difficult up here. A: We have been reasonably good in the wet and it turned into a bit of a wet game. We probably stayed in dry mode for a little bit too long, in terms of going backwards, and mishandling the ball, and balancing up the contest for those conditions. But I thought, particularly in the last quarter, the boys adjusted really well and we started getting the ball from the contest forward and we were able to keep it in our front half. It probably took us a little bit longer than you would love to, but what I loved was they kept competing. I thought Jacob Weitering behind the ball was outstanding. And he is probably not alone. I think Liam Jones had quite a few intercept possessions. So, the backs - our back line probably got really challenged after the Collingwood game, in the last two weeks, the way they have really bought into their role and getting their job done is something they should be really proud of. NORTH BRANFORD Stephanie Boughton and her husband, Edward Boughton Jr., are sitting in the backyard of their North Branford home. Propped on the wicker couch beside them are two posterboards covered with photos of their son, Jonathan Boughton - Jonny to friends and family. Its just two weeks after the 18-year-old, driving his moped to work in March, got into a fatal crash. His parents, who have set up a scholarship fund in his honor, are sharing memories of him - his smile, his hugs, his hunger to learn how the world worked, his brilliance in mechanics and his plan to take over the family auto shop. Among the photos the Boughtons have laid out is their sons school portrait. A talented senior at Eli Whitney Technical High School, Jonathan Boughton was studying automotive technology. Other photos hint at Boughtons passion. Theres one of him visiting the Essex steam train with his family, and one of him, just four years old, riding a lawn mower. Another picture, taken on Boughtons fourth birthday, shows him sitting in front of Thomas the Tank Engine, wearing a Thomas the Tank Engine shirt and holding a Thomas the Tank Engine toy. Hes smiling wide in almost all of the photos. Tornado baby Jonathan Boughton loved life, and he loved doing things, according to his mom. He hated sitting still, and rarely watched TV. Instead, he wanted to learn how things worked, she said, adding that he earned the nickname tornado baby because he had to touch everything around him, sometimes taking things apart. You knew Jonny had been in the room because all the batteries had been taken out of the TV remotes, Edward Boughton Jr. said. At age 12, after a neighbor gave the Boughtons a broken-down go-kart, Jonathan Boughton bought a motor and got the vehicle to work, according to his father. Jonathan Boughton was the youngest of three boys. Edward Boughton III, his oldest brother, said they cleared some brush in the backyard to make a racetrack. Theyd zip the go-kart up the driveway and around a nearby barn. The youngest brother also showed off his mechanical skills at his fathers business, an auto repair shop for emergency vehicles called EJ Boughton Co. As children, Boughton Jr.s two older sons loved to visit his workplace so they could sit in the firetrucks, he said. But Jonny, the youngest of the three, loved to visit so he could figure out what was wrong with the fire trucks. According to his family, he was always salvaging items off the side of the road, from computer monitors to car parts, to fix up and sell. His first moped he literally pulled out of a dumpster, Boughton III said. Boughton Jr. remembered arriving at the shop one day to find two dilapidated mopeds. Within a week (Jonathan Boughton) had one of them completely rebuilt, he said, adding that his son was 14 years old at the time. When you think of a prodigy, you think of an eight-year-old girl who can play Mozart on the piano. Thats what he was to mechanics. According to his family, Jonathan Boughton had received a scholarship to Albertus Magnus College, where he was going to study business and get a degree that would help him eventually take over his fathers shop. A ball of love When he set his mind to something, Jonathan Boughton was relentless, according to his family. Gurbeer Athwal, Boughtons close friend and classmate, said the same. We would always try new things, whatever we felt like. We were pretty relentless, he said. If they wanted to rig something together, we wouldnt let anything get in our way. Wed find a solution to literally anything. But there was another side to Boughton: a soft, loving side. He lived life to the fullest but he always looked out for others, Athwal said. Hed definitely notice if you were acting different or quieter, if something was up. Kayla Vernon, who dated Boughton for four years, said when she was having a bad day, he could always make her laugh. He had a huge heart and a unique, unconditional way of showing his love, she said. Lalitha Kasturirangan, Boughtons English teacher, described him as funny, smart and a sweetheart of a person. Even though she sometimes had to pester him about assignments - she said English was not his priority, though he was a brilliant writer - he always respected her. There was just no malice in the child, if you know what I mean. He was good-hearted, he was genuinely affectionate. He never held it against you that you were chasing him, she said. That really stands out in my mind. Peg Sonntag, Boughtons social studies teacher, said he always had a smile and a joke, and that he loved asking questions. He was just a real joy to have around, she said. He made everybody comfortable, and we enjoyed his company. Boughtons parents also loved spending time with their son. He was my best friend, Edward Boughton Jr. said. We did everything together. Snowmobiling was a favorite activity for the father-son pair, who trekked up to New Hampshire every chance they got. Stephanie Boughton remembered the first time she dropped off her youngest son at nursery school. He clung to her leg so hard, she started calling him barnacle boy. Being his mom was just awesome because he was such a ball of love, she said. He never stopped smiling. Jonathan Boughton ended all conversations with his mom, including their last, by telling her he loved her, she said. Keep his memory alive The day after their sons fatal crash, Edward and Stephanie Boughton woke up knowing they had to do something. Something that would keep his memory alive, something that he would be proud of, Edward Boughton Jr. said. They set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for a scholarship in their sons honor, to be awarded to students who showed talent in the trades. I think he put the thought into our heads, because it just came, Stephanie Boughton said. It can be expensive to kick off a career in the trades - tools cost a lot of money, and when youre new to the business, companies might be wary of lending their equipment, she said. We wanted to give kids an opportunity to get those tools and a good head-start to doing what they love, said Edward Boughton Jr. The couples hardest cry came after they launched the GoFundMe page and saw it raise more than $800 in minutes. I know that hes here and hes going, this is awesome, Stephanie Boughton said. It helps with the hole It does, her husband chimed in. that we can make something good out of the most heinous thing ever, she continued. Though they are still working out details, the Boughtons said they intend to give two scholarships to Eli Whitney students and one to a North Branford resident each year for as many years as possible. As of Friday afternoon, the family had raised nearly $45,000 for the scholarship fund, according to its GoFundMe page. Those wishing to donate can do so at www.gofundme.com/f/jonathan-r-boughton-memorial-sholarship. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com Complaints have been made in the past about the 74-year-old reportedly funnelling Republican donations into his own pockets, including at his private resort Mar-a-Lago, where he is pictured playing golf. ((Getty Images)) The GOP has reportedly raised concerns over Donald Trumps future influence with donors after new figures revealed that Republicans spent $1.2million at Mar-a-Lago in the last five years. This weekend the Republican National Committee (RNC) has booked out the Four Seasons Hotel in Palm Beach to discuss the partys future with political members and 400 major donors who will be expected to lay down five or six figure sums. But those who wish to hear the former president speak will need to travel 10 minutes down the road to his Florida resort, Mar-A-Lago, after Trump reportedly refused to participate unless it benefited his own, private business. Complaints have been made in the past about the 74-year-old reportedly funnelling Republican donations into his own pockets. Spending by Republicans at the members-only club rocketed by 69 times in the last five years, from $17,066 between May 2011 and May 2016, to $1,179,686 between May 2016 and 2021, Huff Post has claimed following an examination of Federal Election Commission filings. But fears have also been discussed over whether the scores of new donors attracted to the party by Trump during his presidency, will give to new Republican candidates who take his place or if Trumps own political group will cannibalise a significant portion of the partys financial base, as reported by Politico. Trumps latest distracting move has reportedly not pleased some of the major donors, as well as some of the 2024 hopefuls, like former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, house minority leader Kevin McCarthy, senators Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and Rick Scott as well as governors Ron Desantis, of Florida and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who will be making their own RNC appearances. The cost for the RNC to hire Mar-A-Lago for his speech will not be made available until May. One donor, who asked not to be named, reportedly told Huff Post: Youve got to hand it to him. President Trump is a powerful leader in the party. When youre a former president and you have a large following, you can make certain demands to participate. A lot of the donors are very pleased to have the opportunity to go there. Other potential 2024 candidates might not like it, but thats the reality here. Story continues Joe Walsh, a former GOP congressmen who ran against Trump for the 2020 presidential nomination, added that demands like this by Trump would not stop any time soon. To succeed and do well in the Republican Party, you must prostrate yourself before the king, he said. It will be this way at least through 2024, probably for as long as the king lives. Huff Post reported that during the years of his presidency, Trump instructed the RNC and his campaign to spend $8.5 million in donor money at his own businesses, including $639,031 at Mar-a-Lago. In 2018, Trump allegedly received $286,919, from the RNC for hosting an evening dinner and luncheon. Republican candidates and committees outside Trumps control spent an additional $2 million at his properties during his four years in office, according to the HuffPost review, and that pattern is continuing, notwithstanding Trumps deep unpopularity in the nation as a whole. Read More Trump ridiculed over tiny statue of himself in his Mar-a-Lago office Do you miss me yet?: Trump crashes Mar-a-Lago wedding and lashes out at Biden Trumps Mar-a-Lago club partially closed due to Covid outbreak, reports say Im not going anywhere: Gaetz boasts of support from Trump, MTG and MAGA nation amid sex-trafficking claims Trump addresses GOP as power to shape national debate wanes Bengaluru: Karnataka has geared up to follow through with the 11-day 'corona curfew' which will come into effect in some districts of Karnataka, including the state capital, from Saturday (April 10) night. This curfew aims at containing the spread of coronavirus and only essential services, patients and passengers would be allowed to ply. The state government had announced night curfew between 10 pm and 5 am every day from April 10 to 20 in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumakuru, Udupi-Manipal cities. The curfew will be in place in other prominent towns and district headquarters, the government said. The police have made elaborate arrangements to ensure compliance of the rules at night. In Bengaluru, Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told reporters that vehicles providing essential services, patients and their relatives will be allowed to travel at night. Besides, home delivery, e-commerce and the transportation of essential goods such as vegetables and food commodities for sale in the morning will be allowed in the night. "Passengers coming to and going from Bengaluru are also allowed to travel. They must carry with them travel documents," Police Commissioner Pant said, according to News agency PTI. Companies that operate at night can continue to function, but their employees have to report to work before 10 pm. "We will shut the city in the night," Pant said. When asked about issuing special passes for vehicular movement, the Commissioner said there is no question of issuing passes. He warned that those violating the norms will be booked under the Epidemic Act. The decision to impose night curfew was taken due to surging coronavirus cases in the state at an alarming proportion. The state reported 7,955 fresh COVID-19 cases and 46 fatalities on Friday. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV Marshall D. Sahlins, a brilliant and witty anthropologist who, starting in the 1970s, explored how individuals shape and are shaped by their cultures a point he had already put in practice a decade earlier as the inventor of the teach-in against the Vietnam War died on April 5 at his home in Chicago. He was 90. His son, Peter Sahlins, a historian at the University of California, Berkeley, confirmed the death. Professor Sahlins had not fully developed his ideas about culture when, in March 1965, he and several colleagues from the University of Michigan gathered in his living room to discuss what they could do to oppose President Lyndon B. Johnsons escalation of the war. Some wanted to go on strike, a move that threatened to shut down the university and, Professor Sahlins worried, harm the students they were there to instruct. Instead, he said, taking a page from the sit-in protests of the civil rights movement, what if they set aside their syllabuses and gave lectures about Americas foreign policy, politics and history? Professor Sahlins called friends at Columbia, where he had received his Ph.D., and other schools, and within weeks faculty at dozens of campuses were holding teach-ins. In May 1965, Professor Sahlins led a national teach-in in Washington that received worldwide news media coverage. Surgery by Free Clinic in Orange Helps Man Overcome Epilepsy ORANGE, Calif.Twenty years ago, Israel Zuniga, 39, was asleep in bed when he experienced an event that would change his life forever: his first seizure. I was sleeping one night and when I woke up, I was on my bedroom floor surrounded by paramedics, Zuniga said. My brother was sleeping next to me. He was the one who realized something was wrong. We didnt know what was happening. Zuniga was taken to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with epilepsy, a medical condition caused by unusual electrical activity in the brain that often results in seizures. Over the next two decades, Zuniga experienced one to three seizures per day, he said. They arrived unexpectedly, often with little warning while he was at work, and he was under constant medical care. I was a prisoner to the disease. I depended on so many people. I always had the fear of when the next seizure would happen, Zuniga said. Then he heard about the Lestonnac Free Clinic, a facility in the city of Orange that provides medical care to uninsured and low-income county residents. Soon after, he was introduced to an epilepsy specialist at the clinic, and that was the start of a major change in his life. The Long Battle Over 1 million people in the United States have uncontrolled or drug-resistant epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. After Zuniga was first diagnosed with the medical problem, he was sent home. But his condition worsened. They gave me pills, but I kept having seizures, he said. The doctors increased the dosage of drugs to minimize their severity, but Zuniga would still get small ones that would last a few seconds. They would paralyze memake me drool and unable to speak. Zuniga got a job working at Carls Jr., a fast-food restaurant, but lived in a constant state of fear. He was worried that one of his frequent seizures would occur while he was serving customers. I can imagine a customer watching a seizure must be very uncomfortable, Zuniga said. Sometimes I could feel them coming, and if I was at work with customers, I would leave. They were so strange: I was immobile and wanted to speak, but couldnt. Though he learned to work around the challenges, the constant pressure never allowed him to operate comfortably and burden-free, he said. He would feel chills and other sensations, like the need to use the bathroom, right before the seizures would hit. They happened so often, even fellow workers recognized the signs. My co-workers learned how to tell that the seizures would be coming. They would see the signs and tell me to go to the break room and relax, he said. The condition required frequent visits to the doctor. During one such visit to his general physician at St. Joseph Hospital, he was told about the Lestonnac Free Clinic. Israel Zuniga (L) stands with his family in front of the Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Calif., on March 19, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Israel Zuniga waits for treatment at the Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Calif., on March 19, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The Specialist Dr. David Millett is director of the epilepsy program at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. A board-certified neurologist specializing in seizures and epilepsy, he also established a successful program within the Los Angeles Department of Health Services that provides care to thousands of underserved patients. Millett connected with the Lestonnac Free Clinic, which provides medical services to uninsured and low-income residents. The fact is that minority populations generally have a number of risk factors for epilepsy which we dont really see in patients that were born and raised here, Millett told The Epoch Times. Oftentimes theyre born under impoverished circumstances. Their perinatal care wasnt particularly good. So you can have perinatal infections, strokes, and complicated labors and delivery, which sets them up for brain damage at birth. Millett said for many patients, as with Zuniga, the seizures affect the entirety of their lives. We often see patients that have been in a school for a few years when their seizures began, and it was just too cumbersome for them to continue, Millett said. They dont really have access to high-level care to fix it. Clinic staff and Millett were able to access resources earmarked for the community and get Zuniga approved for free brain surgery. Zuniga said the procedure could not have come at a better time. It was hard to think about it, but my wife pushed me and I said, Lets do it. Then a couple of months after agreeing to the surgery, we found out she was pregnant, said Zuniga. Zuniga successfully underwent a five-hour surgery in November 2019, a few months after he met Millett through the Lestonnac Free Clinic. It would have been a hard life if his epilepsy didnt improve, he said, because I may not have been able to hold my baby and enjoy her the way I do now. I can care for her without any fear of harming her. Millett said he noticed changes in his patient almost immediately. Hes much more at ease and he smiles much more easily, said Millett. He seems more relaxed, and he doesnt seem to be worried about when is his next seizure is going to happen, or when is he going to have to call in from work or somebody is going to have to send him home or his wifes going to have to call the paramedics. Zuniga said he noticed changes and improvements to his life right away. Life after surgery is really different now. I dont tremble anymore. I havent had any seizures, Zuniga said. My wife can go to work without worrying about me. I can take care of my daughter alone. I can feed her and bathe her. When Zuniga discussed the procedure, he became emotional and wiped away tears. Finding Lestonnac was a huge blessingnot just for me, but for my wife and my family who were always worried about me, he said. Dr. Millett was 100 percent dedicated to me and provided me with an expensive surgery for free that totally changed my life. Its such a blessing. I had surrendered to the idea that this is who I am, this is a part of me, and I have to live with it. I believed that something bad had come into my life to staybut I was wrong, Zuniga said. There are always doors that God opens up for us to take away these bad things. Sometimes our faith makes us believe that God will send an angel to touch you and heal you. But sometimes we forget that God has put people here, like people at Lestonnac or Dr. Millett, who act like angels or heroes, who come and say, We are taking this bad thing away. Then God opens up doors and blesses us. The Lestonnac Free Clinic continues to operate at no cost to Orange County taxpayers. Uninsured county residents in need of help can visit the clinics website at Lestonnacfreeclinic.org. Madhuri Dixit Nene is the latest Bollywood actor to join the list of celebrities vacationing in the Maldives in the last few months. The Hum Aapke Hain Koun actor has been frequently sharing pictures from her family holiday on Instagram. Here is everything you need to know about her latest post and how her fans and followers reacted to it. Madhuri Dixit Nene's photos from the Maldives Dil Toh Pagal Hai star Madhuri Dixit is currently in the Maldives, having a gala with her husband Dr. Sriram Nene, and their two sons, Arin and Ryan. The actor took to her Instagram handle earlier today and shared a stunning picture of herself, overlooking the beach, with the sun setting in the background, making it the perfect backdrop for a picture. Dixit wore a floral halter neck top and paired it up with red-colored shorts and left her hair open as she smiled at the camera. Her caption read, "The magic hour ." Fan reactions to Madhuri Dixit Nene's Instagram post The Aaja Nachle star has a following of almost 23 million people on the social networking site and her recent picture from the Maldives garnered close to 600k likes within a few hours. Fans and followers of the Dhak Dhak girl bombarded the comments section with fire and heart emojis and complimented her look as well. While one fan called her the most beautiful, another one wrote, "Looking So pretty ." Madhuri Dixit Nene's Maldives photos The actor has shared several pictures and videos from her trip. Recently, she posted candlelight dinner images featuring her husband, Shriram Nene. The actor could be seen raising her glass in the black and white image. Madhuri Dixit Nene's husband and the actor were seen enjoying their candlelight dinner on the beach, near the ocean. Her caption read, "Nothing like a candlelit dinner. Cheers!" On the work front, Madhuri Dixit Nene was last seen in the film Kalank, directed by Abhishek Verma. The film starred Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles and it received negative reviews from the audience and the critics alike. The actor is currently seen on the dance reality show Dance Deewane as one of the judges. Image Credits: Madhuri Dixit Nene Official Instagram Account 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. Cornwall's most famous chef Rick Stein has revealed he 'nearly lost his whole business' during the Covid pandemic. The chef and TV presenter, who runs his restaurant empire from Padstow and employed 600 people at the time, admitted he was on the verge of bankruptcy. The 74-year-old splits his time between Cornwall and Australia, where he lives with second wife Sarah. In March last year, he found himself making Zoom calls back to England as the future of his restaurants hung in the balance when Boris Johnson shutdown the country. In the end, he lost two of his Cornish restaurants in Porthleven and Falmouth, but was able to survive on a combination of the Government's generous furlough money and the success of his Stein's At Home food boxes. Rick Stein (pictured during the filming of Secret France) has revealed the the Covid pandemic nearly ruined his entire business Rick Stein and second wife Sarah Burns at their home in Mollymook, Australia, in 2014 Rick Stein's restaurant at the harbour in Porthleven, Cornwall. He lost the restaurant during the pandemic as the prime minister's lockdown battered business Rick Stein's restaurant in Marlborough, Wiltshire Speaking to The Times, he said: 'It was very scary and we nearly lost the whole business. 'And it's certainly not just my work we're talking about - Jill [Rick's ex-wife and business partner] and the children have put so much into it too. Not being there was horrible.' But in the end his businesses were buoyed by the furlough scheme, which has covered 80 per cent of workers' salaries for much of the pandemic, and his at home cooking boxes. The Stein's at Home, which have been hugely popular with gourmets missing their local restaurants, are sent straight to customers' doors and provide them with the ingredients and instructions to craft three course seafood meals. Prices start at around 45 for his Hake Box and rise to 100 for the lobster menu. At the start of lockdown, Rick was condemned when he shut up shop and stopped paying his staff, claiming his restaurant empire was on the brink. The multi-millionaire chef's managing director Ian Fitzgerald told his 600 staff: 'It remains a challenging time for everyone as we come to terms with the implications and repercussions of the coronavirus crisis. 'Sadly, with less customers expected in the future, it is likely that we will need to employ fewer people. 'Ongoing discussions with the bank and our landlords have not yielded sufficient progress and therefore we are having to sadly look at the viability of a small number of operational sites which includes consulting with Porthleven, Falmouth and Marlborough.' Fortunately, the prime minister's roadmap out of lockdown means that Rick has already received 30,000 bookings for his restaurants for the summer ahead. Rick added: 'It would have broken my heart to lose it all. So yes, I am very grateful to be coming through it.' Not only are the Steins coming through it, but Rick and his 35-year-old son Charlie, are looking forward to opening a new coffee shop in the Cornish port of Padstow. Cornwall's most famous chef Rick Stein (with his ex-wife Jill) has admitted 'we nearly lost the whole business' during the Covid pandemic last year. His ex-wife Jill is still a co-owner of the business and an interior designer for Stein restaurants and shops The chef and TV presenter, 74, who runs his restaurant empire from Padstow and employed 600 people at the time, was on the brink of bankruptcy 'This lockdown really made me think about my family: do you want this business to survive? If so, youll have to fight for it. And all that time at home gave me an idea,' Charlie told The Times. Rick also spoke to the paper about the ongoing EU trade war over the shellfish ban. With many exports of UK shellfish to the EU currently banned, Rick has been using some Cornish shellfish in the Steins At Home food boxes and also been making YouTube videos showing how to prepare lobsters, crabs, oysters and mussels. He said: 'It's so frustrating. If for any reason France or Spain weren't able to export their seafood they'd just eat it all. Here we don't see what we have. It's absurd. British seafood is so bloody lovely and I wish people could see that.' The family's empire has been buoyed by furlough and the success of the Stein's At Home seafood meal boxes (pictured: with his ex-wife Jill in Padstow) He'll soon be promoting the Duchy again in a follow-up to this year's well-received BBC series Rick Stein's Cornwall. He opened The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow in 1975 which operates as the flagship eatery, and he also has restaurants in Barnes, Sandbanks and Winchester. Since then has launched a bistro, cafe, fish and chip shop, bar, fishmongers and cookery school in the seaside town. His ex-wife Jill remains a co-owner and is an interior designer for the business, as well as being chairwoman of the tourism organisation Visit Cornwall. The Steins' new cafe, which will feature a 12,000 coffee machine, is to stand at the site of their former patisserie in Padstow, nicknamed Padstein. New York, April 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Auto Catalyst Market Research Report by Type, by Application - United States Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06015048/?utm_source=GNW Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. The United States Auto Catalyst Market is projected to grow with a significant CAGR in the forecast period. Economic development and substantial infrastructure development have constituted regional revenue generation. Further, the patterns associated with domestic production, import and export, and consumption have helped market participants to analyze and capitalize on potential opportunities. Besides, the qualitative and quantitative parameters provided in the report with detailed analysis highlights the driving and restraining factors of the United States Auto Catalyst Market. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Auto Catalyst to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Type, the Auto Catalyst Market studied across Palladium Catalysts, Platinum Catalysts, and Rhodium Catalysts. Based on Application, the Auto Catalyst Market studied across HDV, LDV-diesel, and LDV-gasoline. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. 360iResearch FPNV Positioning Matrix: The 360iResearch FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Auto Catalyst Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. 360iResearch Competitive Strategic Window: The 360iResearch Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The 360iResearch Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the United States Auto Catalyst Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the United States Auto Catalyst Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the United States Auto Catalyst Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the United States Auto Catalyst Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the United States Auto Catalyst Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the United States Auto Catalyst Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06015048/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ From his experience raising a wolf dog hybrid, Mark Rowlands knows firsthand what can happen when animalsespecially those prone to separation anxietyare jilted from their accustomed routine. On the ferry from Britain to Ireland, Rowlands left Brenin (Welsh for King, named for the pups lion color) alone in his parked car while he strolled the ferrys top deckuntil the announcement calling him to return immediately. Rowlands with Brenin Brenin had completely destroyed the inside of the car, there was nothing left that was recognizablethe gear stick gnawed, the seating ripped down, an incredible mess, recalled Rowlands, professor and chair of the Philosophy Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. One of the deckhands thought he was angry enough to harm the dog. But he had no such intention; instead, he explained to the man that you cant hold animals responsible for what they do. The experience dovetailed into philosophical research Rowlands was doing at the time and became grist for his first book on animals, Animal Rights. To date, Rowlands has authored 17 books, including the forthcoming World on Fire: Humans, Animals and the Future of the Planet. It all stemmed from a wolf dog eating my car, he laughed. While the anecdote is an extreme one, Rowlandswho emphasized that his knowledge of animals is limited to dogs and wolvesnoted that pets are first and foremost creatures of habit and that an abrupt return to the office by some workers who have been working remotely for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, is best managed in transition and phases. Dogs really like routine, and its clear why that would be because knowing what comes next is the only sort of power they have over their life, he said. We decide everything for themwhen theyre fed, when we leave them and come back. Knowing what comes next is the only semblance of control that they have, and they get a bit upset when this goes. While Rowlands expects to continue working from home in the near future, at least part of the time, he has adopted the routine of taking his current furry friend, a German shepherd, out for morning exercise. He suggested other pet owners might do the same. As a general rule, a tired dog is a happy dog, so taking them out for a lot of exercise before you go to work is a good idea, he said, noting that it may be difficult to fit in, but it will make their lives a lot better. Rowlands recognized that some people are particularly connected to animals and suggested that a heightened sense of empathy is probably at play. Some people have a highly attuned sense of feeling with other beings, whether human or other, he said. It has to do with the ability to empathize, to project yourself in the mind of another, and to work out how things must be for them. This attunement may have its foundation in the philosophical notion of intrinsic value. While Rowlands does not fully embrace the belief that something has value in and of itselfand so does not derive its worth from usin terms of caring for pets, the concept is essential. Thats a necessity for any pet owner, he said. To value a pet is to recognize that its an end in itself, that it has a life and has wants and needs that it needs met. This is going to require some restructuring of your life because now there are some things you can and cannot do because of your companion animal. Dog adoptions and sales have skyrocketed during the pandemic. Shelter, rescues, and breeders reported increased demand as consumers in the United States with children or home alone have sought to lessen their isolation with canine companions, according to a Washington Post article. Not exactly the best reason to seek a pet, according to Rowlands. It will be a disastrous reason to acquire a pet to meet your own needs. It puts too much on the pet, and it doesnt end very well when youre doing it for your own needs, he said. People quickly tire of their pets. If you seek out a companion animal simply because you have certain needs and youre not empathizing properly with that animal, youre not recognizing it for what it is: a creature with needs and wants of its own, with ways of achieving happiness of its own. Its an unhealthy way to relate to any animal. Even with service animals, which are nearly exclusively dogs, he pointed out that there are wonderful owners and others who fall short. The great owners recognize that the animal is a distinct being with needs of its own. Its not simply there to meet your own needs, he said. These owners give their dogs time off where they can do what they want, he explained. These things can be set up fairly or unfairly, Rowlands said. The really good service animal owners that Ive known have been very fair and just peopleand they behaved in this way toward their animals. Rowlands forthcoming book World on Fire explores a range of topics, a principle one being the impact of food choice on global climate, extinction, and pandemics. Youll find at the heart of all these things is this practice we have for raising and eating animals for food. And we can, to a considerable extent, ameliorate these problems if we stop doing that, he said. She was crowned Miss Universe Australia in the country's first virtual pageant during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And six months on from taking home the title, Maria Thattil is gearing up to represent Australia at the 69th Miss Universe Pageant in Florida, in the United States. In as little as five weeks, the 28-year-old will stun on stage in lavish frocks specifically designed for the once-in-a-lifetime occasion. Va-va-voom! Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil (pictured), 28, is gearing up to represent Australia at the 69th Miss Universe Pageant in Florida, United States To celebrate, the brunette posed up in a series of stunning dresses by the designer who is creating her dresses for the pageant, with the images being shared exclusively with Daily Mail Australia. Maria, who is of Indian heritage, looked sensational as she modelled four glamorous frocks by Melbourne-based Alin Le' Kal Haute Couture, which took six months to create. She oozed perfection in one of the gorgeous floor-length outfits, which featured intricate beading and dripped in sequins. An outfit for every occasion! To celebrate, the brunette posed up in a series of stunning dresses by the designer who is creating her gowns for the pageant, with the images being shared exclusively with Daily Mail Australia Confidently standing in a forest for the photoshoot, Maria completed her outfit with natural makeup, a single neutral coloured bangle and diamante earrings. The detail on the dress was then highlighted as she posed on her back under natural light in another picture. Maria then ramped up the glamour in a shorter, more glitzy number, which accentuated her toned arms, pins and broad shoulders. Showstopper: Maria then ramped up the glamour in a shorter, more glitzy number, which accentuated her toned arms, pins and broad shoulders She looked every inch of perfection in the silver coloured piece, which she completed with dainty earrings, a diamante bracelet and several rings. Other dresses Maria was pictured in include a tight, long-sleeve mini dress and a stunning evening dress, with a sweetheart neckline. She paired the show-stopper with pearl earrings and necklaces, and several rings on her left hand. Hot! Other dresses Maria was pictured in include a tight, long-sleeve mini dress and a stunning evening dress, with a sweetheart neckline Another look: Maria paired the floor-length evening dress - featuring a sweetheart neckline - with pearl earrings and necklaces, and several rings on her left hand Maria immigrated to Australia with her parents in the '90s and is passionate about promoting equality and inclusion for black, Indigenous and people of colour around the world. 'I'll head off to the US several weeks beforehand where all the contestants will be required to individually hotel isolate for eight days initially,' Maria said of the May 17 event, which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. 'I'll be practising my walk and as much as I can in my hotel room before joining the others.' Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 14:40:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A participant flies a kite at the Pattaya beach in Pattaya, Thailand, April 9, 2021. Pattaya Kite on the Beach 2021 will be held from April 9 to 19. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren) BANGKOK, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's tourist hotspot Pattaya is hosting a first-ever kite festival on the beach to woo tourists and boost its pandemic-hit tourism sector. The event, with a theme of "Pattaya kite on the beach 2021," was scheduled for April 9-19, with a kaleidoscope of kites lighting up the sky of the Pattaya beach. The highlight of the event are a 35-meter-long whale kite and kites adorned with LED lights. By hosting the kite festival, Pattaya hopes to attract travelers and offer a relief to the pandemic-ravaged economy and people, said Pattaya's deputy mayor Ronakit Aekasing. The event also saw kite sales and kite-making workshops teaching children how to make kites at the beach. The kite festival was part of the city's celebration of the country's most important annual festival, the Songkran festival, which is usually celebrated by massive gatherings and water splashing activities that have been cancelled this year because of the latest outbreak. Tourism-reliant Thailand has gone without millions of foreign tourists for more than one year, leaving hotels and tourism businesses struggling to stay afloat. To help businesses counter the impact, the Thai government unveiled a series of stimulus measures, including offering soft loans to small businesses and providing subsidies for domestic traveling. Enditem Toni Collette was having a ball filming scenes for her new Netflix series Pieces of Her on Wednesday. The actress, 48, appeared to be in the middle of a romantic plot line, but continued cracking up laughing as she performed opposite actor Aaron Jeffrey, 50. The pair were shooting scenes for the drama in the picturesque Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Laughs: Toni Collette was having a ball filming scenes for her new Netflix series Pieces of Her on Wednesday. Pictured with Aaron Jeffrey Toni was rugged up in a comfortable navy blue puffer jacket, worn with jeans and white sneakers. She carried a retro powder blue suitcase in the scenes, during which Aaron collected her in a cuddle and landed a kiss on her cheek. Aaron looked smart in a tan jacket, blue jeans and chunky brown sneakers, his long hair down around his handsome face. This is serious! The actress, 48, appeared to be in the middle of a romantic plot line Close: She and Aaron cuddled up for an awkward hug in the tense scene So funny! However, Toni continued cracking up laughing as she performed opposite the actor Cosy: Toni was rugged up in a comfortable navy blue puffer jacket Toni meanwhile had on a natural-looking makeup palette and wore her blonde hair in a ponytail. In between scenes, she stripped off her jacket and showed off her slim figure in the skinny jeans and a fitted white T-shirt. Chatting to a crew member, she hid under an umbrella as the weather momentarily turned rainy. Trendy and functional: The jacket was worn with jeans and white sneakers Sweet: Aaron collected her in a cuddle and landed a kiss on her cheek in the scenes Heavy load: She carried a retro powder blue suitcase in the scenes Details: Aaron looked smart in a tan jacket, blue jeans and chunky brown sneakers In between filming, Toni was wearing a black brace on her hand, perhaps due to an injury. She appeared to be shooting further scenes alongside a car, or rehearsing the upcoming scene. Pieces of Her is based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter, and is about a young woman named Andrea who is caught up in a mass shooting at a diner. Plot: Pieces of Her is based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter, and is about a young woman named Andrea who is caught up in a mass shooting at a diner Moved: It was originally supposed to be filmed in British Columbia, Canada, last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the shoot delayed and production moved to Australia Past: According to What's On Netflix, Toni will portray Laura Oliver, who is a mother with a mysterious past life Mystery: On surface, Laura is described as 'seemingly the perfect Southern woman, devoted to her work as a speech pathologist and to her disaffected daughter, Andy' It was originally supposed to be filmed in British Columbia, Canada, last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the shoot delayed and production moved to Australia. According to What's On Netflix, Toni will portray Laura Oliver, who is a mother with a mysterious past life. On surface, Laura is described as 'seemingly the perfect Southern woman, devoted to her work as a speech pathologist and to her disaffected daughter, Andy'. Break: In between scenes, she stripped off her jacket and showed off her slim figure Ouch: In between filming, Toni was wearing a black brace on her hand, perhaps due to an injury Drizzle: Chatting to a crew member, she hid under an umbrella as the weather momentarily turned rainy Chatting: She stood talking to various crew members by the car Looking good: Toni had on skinny jeans and a fitted white t-shirt with stripes Rehearsing: She later appeared to be shooting further scenes alongside a car, or rehearsing the upcoming scene The website also states that Bella Heathcote and Lord of the Rings star David Wenham will appear. Bella will play Laura's daughter, who goes on a journey to discover her mother's secrets. David will play Jasper Queller, a man from Laura's past life. The series is getting plenty of buzz as it's being produced by the same company behind HBO's The Undoing and Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal. Democrats have cried taxation without representation for years as reason to make Washington D.C., the 51st State. The Constitution is clear that the seat of government must be a district that is not part of any State. To pay lip service to the Constitution, current legislation would redraw the federal district to include just key government areas and make the commercial and residential areas a state. To eliminate taxation without representation, redraw the district boundaries along the lines the Democrats propose, but cede the commercial and residential areas of Washington D.C., to Maryland and Virginia. Residents would then vote in those state elections, and would be fully represented in the House and Senate. Maryland and Virginia would gain seats in the House commensurate with their increased populations. There is no precedent for creating a state out of single city. This is not ancient Greece, with city-states. On the other hand, large parts of Washington are already closely aligned with suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. Metropolitan areas such as Kansas City already include two states. If eliminating taxation without representation truly motivates the current legislation, this compromise could get strong bipartisan support. If Democrats persist in pushing for an unprecedented city-state, it will again be clear that their high-sounding oratory is just cover for ambition and power expansion. Cloyd Gatrell ,Carlisle, Pa. A man has been charged after allegedly indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl at a train station in Perth. The man, 28, was arrested early Friday morning by sex offender management squad officers after the incident Bull Creek station in Perth's southern suburbs. The young girl was allegedly assault at 6.40am while waiting at the station. A man has been charged after allegedly indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl at a train station in Perth The man, 28, was arrested early Friday morning by Sex Offender Management Squad officers He has been charged with indecent dealing with a child under 13. Police footage shows the man being arrested at a home before being put in the back of a police car. Five officers led the heavy-set man from the house hours after the incident. The 28-year-old will face Perth Magistrates Court on Saturday. President Joe Biden has restored the prisoner-of-war/missing-in-action flag to its former location atop the White House. The black-and-white POW-MIA flag returned atop the chief executive's residence, just below the American flag, on Friday, which is National Former POW Recognition Day. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the return was 'in keeping with the president and first lady's commitment to honor the sacrifices of all those who serve.' Last summer, former President Donald Trump had moved the POW flag from its customary perch to a less prominent location for a 'sacred memorial' on the White House South Lawn. The location atop the White House can be seen from a much greater distance. President Joe Biden has restored the prisoner-of-war/missing-in-action flag to its former location atop the White House The black-and-white POW-MIA flag returned atop the chief executive's residence, just below the American flag, on Friday, which is National Former POW Recognition Day The flag's return to the White House came after a request from a bipartisan group of senators. Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, tweeted that he was 'proud' to see the flag above the White House again as a way of honoring 'the sacrifices of our brave servicemembers who were held behind enemy lines, and those who have not yet returned home.' The Trump White House declined to explain why the flag was relocated last summer but said last year it was done in a private ceremony with full military honors. The move drew backlash, particularly after Trump once famously ridiculed war prisoners in remarks slamming his late nemesis John McCain. 'He's not a war hero,' Trump said of McCain in 2015. 'He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured.' Former White House spokesman Judd Deere did say last September: 'President Trump dedicated a POW/MIA memorial site earlier this year on the White House grounds to forever remember our heroic service members who were prisoners of war or missing in action.' The Trump White House declined to explain why the flag was relocated last summer but said last year it was done in a private ceremony with full military honors Trump had moved the POW-MIA flag somewhere on the South Lawn (above) but no photos of the site could be found on file 'The President selected a site on the Southwest corner of the South Lawn for this prominent and sacred memorial, which is visible to all those who visit the White House, that features the POW/MIA flag,' he added. But the flag's move drew fury, particularly after a report in the Atlantic magazine alleging that Trump had called fallen American soldiers 'losers' and 'suckers' sparked outrage and controversy. Trump denied the allegation, but the claims haunted him in the final days of his re-election campaign, particularly in light of his prior public remarks about McCain. 'It's bad enough that President Trump publicly ridicules American heroes like Senator McCain and others who were captured on the battlefield,' said Democratic Senator Jack Reed last year, demanding the flag be returned. 'He inexplicably promotes the Confederate flag but fails to fly the POW/MIA flag,' said Reed. 'It's part of a pattern of disrespect by President Trump toward those who honorably served our nation.' The black-and-white POW-MIA flag reads, 'You are not forgotten,' and depicts a man beneath a guard tower gazing down at a barbed-wire fence A group of bipartisan lawmakers had been calling on Biden to return the flag to the top of the White House. 'It is a powerful way to continually remember and pay tribute to the tremendous sacrifice of prisoners of war and missing service members,' Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan said in a statement on Friday. The black-and-white POW-MIA flag reads, 'You are not forgotten,' and depicts a man beneath a guard tower gazing down at a barbed-wire fence. About 82,000 U.S. servicemembers are still listed as missing from conflicts dating back to World War Two. 'The president and the first lady are proud to be doing this. They moved forward in making sure that the flag went up,' a White House official said. U.S. law requires the flag to be displayed in a 'manner designed to ensure visibility to the public.' Brussels, April 10 : For Danica Angela Marcos, the weirdest yet saddest scenario was to watch her grandfather's funeral live on Zoom, seeing her cousins crying on the screen but not able to give them a hug because of the lockdown. "It's not like we can do (it) all over again when the pandemic is over ... I cannot re-attend my grandpa's funeral," mumbled the black-hair Londoner in her 20s, rolling eyes to hold back tears, whose grandfather passed away in California, the United States, towards the end of last year. Many Europeans, like Marcos, have undergone similar human sorrows and pains, as the nightmare of Covid-19, which has shrouded the continent since more than one year ago, is still hovering around, Xinhua news agecy reported on Friday. On Friday, the Copenhagen-based World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Office announced that the European region has recorded more than 1 million Covid-19-related deaths. Since breaking out in late 2019, Covid-19 has been causing infections and deaths at an accelerated pace across Europe. One after another, governments of different countries were woken up to the danger, announcing partial or full lockdowns, and even night curfews, moves rarely seen since the end of World War II. Schools closed, flights grounded, hairdressers and restaurants shutdown, only grocery and shops selling essential goods, in most countries, were among the few that were allowed to open, while the customers were required to wear masks and keep social distance of more than one meter. Before the reopening of schools, online courses were offered to students who were forced to stay home during the pandemic in many European countries. Many schools sent assignments to parents via e-mail or other digital tools, or shared free online resources. However, not all students are self-disciplined. In France, about 5 to 8 per cent of students were "lost," or unreachable by their teachers, estimated the French Ministry of Education in April 2020. "This virus has imposed limitations on all of us. I have practically no social life and can't hug the people I love. My personal life has turned completely around. Few things remain from my previous life. And as a person, I feel exhausted, restless, and uncertain," Abigail Mora Sanz, a psychotherapist in Spain, told Xinhua. Besides the continent's aging population and the overwhelmed healthcare systems, some experts attributed the bleakness in Europe to frequent policy changes, which have swung between lockdowns and relaxations for several rounds. One of the major challenges for European countries is "the temptation of too fast reopening, which is politically popular but can cause another wave of epidemics before proper vaccination," said Miklos Hargitai, an editorialist of Hungary's daily Nepszava. "In addition, Europe has not adopted the practice of the most successful countries in curbing the virus," Hargitai told Xinhua. Another factor behind Europe's current COVID-19 resurgence is the alarming and explosive spread of the highly contagious virus variants, which increases the risk of hospitalization. The slow rollout of vaccination may also prolong the pandemic. According to WHO Europe Office, only 10 percent of the region's total population has received at least one vaccine dose and 4 percent has received both, as of April 1. "Vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic... However, the rollout of these vaccines is unacceptably slow," said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe. On April 1, Kluge called upon governments in the region to "scale up both vaccine production and vaccination." German photographer Ulrich Hufnagel was diagnosed with COVID-19 last September, with so-called mild case symptoms and was quarantined for more than 20 days. "It is very annoying that some people in Germany and Europe do not take the virus seriously. My hope now rests on quick vaccination. I think this is the only possibility to get our normal life back," Hufnagel said. Due to what appears to be an acute shortage of vaccine doses earlier this year, tensions once remained high between the European Union, Britain, and some central-eastern European countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. The connection between blood clots and the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which has been purchased and administrated in large amounts by many European countries, also raised concern among people. The European Medicines Agency confirmed on Wednesday that the occurrence of blood clots with low blood platelets are strongly associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Faced with such dire challenges, some governments in the region have started to look for the alternatives. Serbia and Hungary have granted permission for the use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China. Some other countries, like Poland and the Czech Republic, also voiced interest in Chinese-made vaccines. "We fully support the Chinese idea of establishing a global anti-pandemic community of cooperation and help," said Sylwester Szafarz, former consul general of Poland in the Chinese city of Shanghai. However, vaccines themselves are not a panacea for the pandemic, until people are inoculated in huge numbers, WHO Europe Office warned, noting that it can give a false sense of security, inducing the public to stop wearing masks and taking other precautions. Besides measures to accelerate the vaccination, several governments and health care experts deem social restrictions a key tool for containing the disease and reducing deaths. "Now is not the time to relax measures. We can't afford not to heed the danger. We have all made sacrifices, but we cannot let exhaustion win. We must keep reining in the virus," Kluge said. With their life being changed amid the pandemic, many people in Europe have been eventually getting used to wearing face masks outside, working and studying from home. To some people, the future seems less gloomy and confidence is growing. Once worried that the lockdowns could totally ruin his business, Remi Boute, director of a bookstore in southeast France's Saint-Etienne, feels relieved as his shop reopens. "When the stores reopened, we had the satisfaction of seeing people tell us they were happy to see our stores open. They returned in large numbers," he said. "We faced something that we'd never seen and so what we tried to do was to understand it, to better treat our patients and save or try to solve the problem in the most cases we could," said Pere Domingo, senior infectious disease consultant and coordinator of COVID-19 at Barcelona's Sant Pau Hospital. "This intellectual component ... has been something that has stimulated us, and helped us overcome all these negative feelings that at one time or another we have all had," said the Spanish professor, who has been devoted to the research of infectious diseases since 1989. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Asad Ali, Investment Advisor at Navigator EMF Ebene Cyber village/New Delhi [Mauritius/India], April 10 (ANI/PNN): With the global economic picture looking bright for new-age startups, what they need is the right investment push. Navigator Emerging Market Fund company operating under a Category 1 Global Business License issued by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission believes in this very objective. Navigator EMF has recently invested in EZ Capital, the brand name for Exclusive Leasing & Finance Private Limited, an NBFC in India with registered offices in Delhi and branches in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Delhi. Navigator's investment objective is simple and sharp - it aims at providing superior returns by investing in equity, derivates, and debt obligations in both emerging and non-emerging markets. It is this clear and focused goal of "building and preserving" wealth that has kept it moving from strength to strength ever since its inception in May 2019. Investing in Emerging Markets poses the opportunity of raking in superior earnings, hence the inclination. EZ Capital works on similar lines, providing credit to low-income households in two- and three-tier cities. Their chief projects include two-wheeler loans and loans against property. Navigator eyed the two-wheeler market as one in demand during the pandemic-induced crisis due to limited public transportation and social distancing rules and supported the tie-up. Navigator EMF has always shown keenness to invest in the financial services sector, with a special focus on NBFCs and micro-finance. It is also interested in Fintech companies and recently established solution-centric startups, along with Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) meant for sophisticated investors. Their team of certified advisors has global-level expertise in the field of financial markets and investments. "At Navigator, our objective lies in backing up good and promising projects, no matter when they have started. We would like to emerge before businesses and individuals, men and women, salaried individuals and startup founders as a one-stop platform catering to all their financial needs," said Asad Ali, Investment Advisor at Navigator EMF. Story continues In terms of geographical focus, NavigatorEMF is primarily eyeing businesses and ventures from Emerging Markets such as India, UAE, Singapore. It is here that they visualize a clear trajectory of solid growth in the near future. With a global presence already, their approach is to make it as diverse as possible. According to Navigator EMF, fintech is indeed the future, and they are here to empower those who are stepping into the fieldTheNavigator Emerging Market Fund also appears excited to invest in NBFCs, including EZ Capital, which caters to small businesses and individuals, special sections such as women entrepreneurs and so on. The Fund believes in supporting those individuals who possess the drive, vision, and capability to deliver. Through such collaboration, Navigator is promoting inclusive growth for those who are still starting in the economic pyramid. Its investment decisions are not just driven by profits but also by the mission to generate a positive measurable impact in emerging markets. Without compromising their investors' strategic investment goals, Navigator is also consistently catering to inclusive diversity. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. New Delhi: Sadhguru, Founder Isha Foundation, said on Saturday (April 10) that it was a matter of great joy that the Uttarakhand Government had freed 51 temples including the famed Badrinath and Kedarnath from state control. Consistent with his cause to free Hindu temples from Government control, Sadhguru has urged all state governments to show willingness and sort out the complex issues and ensure that all obstacles are cleared. The spiritual leaderss message comes after Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat, in a historic decision, overturned the decision made by his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat. This is a very big step for the Hindu aastha (belief) because the Hindu aastha should be in the hands of the community. Without the heart of a devotee, there is no aastha, Sadhguru said. "Congratulations Shri @TIRATHSRAWAT ji, to govt of Uttarakhand & to all others who supported the #FreeTemples movement including media houses, over 3 cr people, & many spiritual & religious leaders who have stood up for this cause. I express my utmost gratitude to everyone," Sadhguru said in a tweet, along with a video message. Congratulations Shri @TIRATHSRAWAT ji, to govt of Uttarakhand & to all others who supported the #FreeTemples movement including media houses, over 3 cr people, & many spiritual & religious leaders who have stood up for this cause. I express my utmost gratitude to everyone.-Sg pic.twitter.com/nXygtRhOYR Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) April 9, 2021 He said that the Government can improve the infrastructure and make transportation more convenient, but the temples itself must be run by the devotees. I am glad the Uttarakhand government has realised this and my particular congratulations and blessings to the Honourable Chief Minister, he added. When Tamil Nadu was gearing up for polls, Sadhguru launched a nationwide campaign to free temples in the southern state from government control. He said that more than 3 crore people have voiced their support for the movement. This campaign has seen celebrities, politicians, industry leaders and media representatives joining the ordinary citizens in appealing to the Tamil Nadu government to end the discriminatory practice of managing Hindu spaces of worship. Sadhguru said he will work with the new government to free Tamil Nadu temples. Live TV By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Pavel Polityuk ANKARA/KYIV (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the "worrying" developments in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region to come to an end after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, adding Turkey was ready to provide any necessary support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held more than three hours of talks with Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a previously scheduled visit, amid tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over the conflict in Donbass. Kyiv has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and over a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass. The Russian military movements have fuelled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat, but says they will remain as long as it sees fit. The United States says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraine's eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed separatists in Donbass. On Friday, Turkey said Washington will send two warships to the Black Sea next week. Speaking at a news conference alongside Zelenskiy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through dialogue based on diplomatic customs, in line with international laws and Ukraine's territorial integrity. "We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the ceasefire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements," Erdogan said. "We are ready to provide any support necessary for this." Major combat in Donbass ended with a truce agreed in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, whose implementation France and Germany have helped to oversee. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to implement a ceasefire. Story continues Zelenskiy said the positions of Kyiv and Ankara coincided on threats in the Black Sea and the response to those threats, and added he briefed Erdogan "in detail" on developments in Donbass. "We discussed in detail the issues of security and joint counteraction to challenges in the Black Sea region and it is worth noting that the visions of Kyiv and Ankara coincide both regarding the threats themselves and the ways of responding to these threats," he said. NATO member Turkey has forged close cooperation with Russia over conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the defence and energy areas. But it has criticised Crimea's annexation and supported Ukraine's territorial integrity. It has also sold drones to Kyiv in 2019. Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey and Ukraine launched a platform with their foreign and defence ministers to discuss defence industry cooperation, but added this was "not in any way a move against third countries". Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the increase in violence in the conflict, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a call with Erdogan on Friday, accused Ukraine of "dangerous provocative actions" in Donbass. Kyiv said on Saturday Ukraine could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in Donbass. (Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Frances Kerry) Question: Should President Biden be described as a devout Catholic and should he receive communion? I have decided to rush into territory where angels often fear to tread commenting on a dispute in another faith tradition that is different than my own. Let me state for the record that I am not a Roman Catholic. Since the age of six and a half I have been a member of the Southern Baptist denomination and an ordained Southern Baptist minister since the age of 23. Clearly, Baptists came out of the left-wing of the Reformation starting in Switzerland in the 16th century (circa 1525). However, I do believe the question of whether President Biden should describe himself, or be described by others, as a devout Catholic when he is such an aggressive pro-abortion proponent is a valid and important one. An even more important question is whether being such a pro-abortion proponent, he should be denied communion by a priest when he presents himself for communion. The most recent iteration of this controversy was ignited when Archbishop Joseph Naumann, the Chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Committee issued a statement declaring that President Biden should not describe himself as a devout Catholic because of his militant pro-abortion stance and agenda and made it clear that he believed that the President should not receive communion. Source:The Christian Post SHEFFIELD A fellowship in honor of Samya Stumo, who died two years ago in an airline crash, has been launched to support young women who also want to pursue ideas to revolutionize global public health. This year, the Washington-based ThinkWell Institute will fund four women from several countries through the Samya Rose Stumo Memorial Fellowship for Global Health to work full time for one year on a project of their choosing. This years fellows hail from Kenya, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Indonesia. ThinkWell, a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to health care and currently working to help countries find ways to pay for and deliver COVID-19 vaccines, has, so far, raised about $400,000 as it begins to support an increasing number of fellows into the future, said founder and CEO Yogesh Rajkotia. Stumo, a Sheffield native, died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people, as she began traveling to Kenya and Uganda for public health work with ThinkWell. She was 24, and already a passionate innovator, when the Boeing Max 737 jet went down right after takeoff, six months after another Max jet crashed in the Java Sea. The crashes grounded the planes worldwide and set off multiple federal investigations in which Boeing was found to have cut corners when building the jets and federal regulators were lacking during certification of the planes. As her family members continue to fight for airline safety, as well as corporate and regulatory ethics, they also are governing the trust to ensure that women like Stumo have a chance to make a difference for humanity. The great thing about it is that no longer will it be only people like Samya coming from the U.S. or Europe; these are people who are applying to work in their own countries, said Stumos mother, Nadia Milleron, of Sheffield. Its something Samya would really like. It also is giving women without resources a chance, Rajkotia said. There are a lot of young women out there who are incredible thinkers, and its just really hard to get a leg up, he added. Samya fought through the system and worked to be in a position of influence. Were really trying to find young women who have a lot of enthusiasm and flair and spark and a burning desire to see change, and to help them start making that change. He said there are two types of women the fellowship will help: one has an idea but no support, the others want to make change but arent sure how. ThinkWell will co-create with them, Rajkotia said. The Stumo family wants the fellowship funded for 50 years, reflecting what members believe would have been Stumos productive life, had she not died so young. Stumo studied medical anthropology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and received a masters degree in global health from the University of Copenhagen. She previously worked as a consultant for the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, monitoring viral hepatitis in more than 27 European countries. ThinkWell and the family are hoping to find more women like Stumo, and will continue to fundraise to add more fellows to the program every year. A GoFundMe account is collecting donations. The fellowship also is one way that the family and ThinkWell employees are dealing with the loss. Weve been in mourning for some time now, Rajkotia said. Its really affected the office hard. 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. Codehesion recently moved into new offices in Southdowns to accommodate its rapid growth over the last 12 months. Codehesion is South Africas top mobile app development company and is well known for building world-class mobile apps for local companies. The company was founded in 2017 by Hector Beyers, who said he always loved entrepreneurship and software development. Beyers studied computer engineering at the University of Pretoria and completed undergraduate and masters degrees before joining the working world. He served in numerous technical roles, including systems engineer and product architect at Internet Solutions, before deciding to start his own company. Starting a software development company was a perfect fit for me, because of my love for software development and business, he said. The companys focus on mobile app development and its highly-skilled team of software engineers quickly gave it the reputation as the go-to place to build a new smartphone app. Codehesion showed rapid growth, and in 2018 they moved into new offices in Centurion to accommodate this growth. Their client and project list continued to grow, and two years later it once again had to find new offices. This time it selected the Southdowns Office Park which gives if a lot of expansion possibilities and a modern working environment. Beyers said Codehesion only employs the best software engineers to ensure they offer South African companies world-class services. To ensure they build strong development teams, the company invests heavily in staff happiness and a great working environment. There are many perks to working at Codehesion, including using the latest technologies and having the option to work on personal projects on Fridays. The images below provide a behind-the-scenes look at Codehesions new office in Southdowns. Just as COVID was changing plans for events across the country last year, it also meant that the 2020 Great Falls Custom Car Show was canceled. Michael Storrusten, who has been coordinating the show for nine years, told the Sun Times that he is seeing a big response as the 2021 show prepares to launch this weekend. Larger than 2019, for participating displayers and vendors as well, he said. Storrusten said that there will be some minor COVID restrictions, but those will be addressed by the show and the employees of Montana Expo Park. There will be 25 trophies awarded at the show, split among cars, trucks, race-performance, boats, motorcycles, customs, original, muscle car and popular. Everyone that comes out to the show is able to cast their votes. Its a great show for everyone, including families. And, being indoors, makes it super for some of the people with displays as well as the vendors. Its a relaxing atmosphere and we try to create a very clean and fun show with a large new variety of impressive builds and restorations. It really is about all the great people and all of their creations. These builders give up a weekend to share their art with the public, said Storrusten. The show opens at Montana Expo Park Four Seasons Arena on Friday, April 2 at 5 pm. On Saturday, the fun gets underway at 10 am. The show closes at 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the show will run from 10 am until 5pm. Admission is $5, with kids under 12 getting in for free. Texas Lawmaker Urges Bold Stance Against Organ Harvesting in China WASHINGTONThe United States should take a bold stance against the Chinese communist regime and hold it accountable for illegal organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience, Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) said on April 9. The U.S. government has stood idly by for far too long, Babin said in an interview with The Epoch Times. This is one of the worst practices. It harkens back to the Nazi era in the 30s and 40s. In early March, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers in the House and the Senate introduced the first legislation to combat Chinas state-sanctioned practice of forced organ harvesting, which targets religious and ethnic minorities. If approved, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act would hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for these inhumane atrocities, according to Babin, who has co-sponsored the House bill (H.R.1592). Similar legislation was introduced in the previous session of Congress in December last year. While there have been a number of congressional hearings and resolutions condemning forced organ harvesting, theres no U.S. law that addresses the issue. The international community has remained silent, Babin said, despite the vast amount of evidence, mainly because the CCP is the bully on the block, pressuring other governments both economically and militarily. I think also here in the United States, weve seen people that may have either inadvertently or on purposebecause of profits, because of political pressurelooked the other way. And its time to stop doing that, he said. Its reminiscent of how people looked the other way in the 1930s, he noted. Had we stood up to Hitler and his regime in those days, maybe we could have saved a lot of lives, even spare ourselves the horror of World War II. If enacted, the bill would authorize the U.S. government to identify, expose, and sanction individuals and government officials responsible for human trafficking or organ harvesting across the world. The bill also mandates an annual report by the U.S. State Department on human organ trafficking in foreign countries. The report would introduce a tiered ranking system for determining which countries have the lowest (tier one), intermediate (tier two), and the highest (tier three) levels of organ harvesting and trafficking. This reporting system would shed light on governments that are directly or indirectly involved in the crime. I dont think the average American has a clue about whats going on with this forced harvesting of organs, Babin said, adding that the more Americans know about this, the better chance we have of pushing back on the Chinese Communist Party. Its horrible to even contemplate that somebody would be sedated, placed on a gurney because of their faith, and then have a liver removed, or a kidney, and then left to die in the corner. Cold Genocide The issue of organ harvesting in China has gained prominence following the final judgment issued in June 2019 by the China Tribunal, an independent peoples tribunal based in London. The tribunal found that the killing of detainees in China for their organs has continued since allegations of forced organ harvesting for transplant surgery first surfaced in 2006. The tribunal concluded that the practice has been taking place on a significant scale, with adherents of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline thats also known as Falun Dafa, being the principal source of human organs. Evidence of organ transplant crimes continues to emerge in China, with investigative reports indicating that the number of organs harvested continues to surge and that organs are available on-demand, with short waiting times. If passed, the U.S. bill would end the silence on this issue, according to human rights experts. The U.S. government would be able to deny or revoke passports for people who engage in the illegal purchase of organs. The bill would also mandate an annual report on collaboration between the U.S. medical institutions and foreign entities involved in forced organ harvesting. In addition, it would prohibit the export of transplant surgery devices to entities involved in this crime. Besides Babin, sponsors of the bipartisan bill are Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.). A similar proposal was introduced in the Senate (S.602) by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.). A 2018 paper published by the journal Genocide Studies and Prevention described the organ harvesting campaign by the Chinese communist regime as a cold genocide, slow-motion and concealed, against Falun Gong practitioners in China. Researchers stated that a cold genocide is a slow and often subtle, multi-dimensional destruction of a group over a long span of time. Its the strategy used by former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who initiated the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, to thoroughly and effectively eradicate the practitioners of the discipline without alerting the international community, according to researchers. I agree with that wholeheartedly, said Babin, when asked if he agreed with the depiction of organ harvesting as a cold genocide. Falun Gong practitioners in China have been notoriously persecuted, he said. There is much evidence, many of it firsthand, that they are having their organs harvested. While theres less evidence of organ harvesting from Uyghurs in Chinas Xinjiang region, Babin said that the current mass detentions of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities could make them new victims of organ harvesting. He said other religious and minority groups, including Christians, are vulnerable to being subject to organ harvesting. The time to act is now. People are being murdered. And these atrocities will continue as long as we look the other way, Babin said. ADVERTISEMENT The Northern Governors Forum has urged the Acting Inspector General (IG) of Police, Usman Alkali, to take proactive measures in tackling crimes in the country. The Chairman of the forum, Simon Lalong, made the call in a congratulatory message to the acting IG by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Macham, on Saturday in Jos. The Plateau Governor said the forum would give Mr Alkali all the necessary support to enable him to provide the leadership needed for implementing proactive policing for the safety of lives and property. He said his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari was well deserved, considering his track record of diligent service to the nation, across various police formations in the country. He said: As northern governors, we remain committed to community policing and any other measure that will lead to securing our region which has been bedeviled by different forms of insecurity. We must work together to adopt new measures that will enable us to overcome these challenges and remain on top of the situation by preventing criminals from carrying out their nefarious activities. Mr Lalong said the forum was particularly concerned that many farmers in the region were discouraged from cultivating their farms because of criminal activities. The forums chairman urged the police boss to bring an end to banditary, kidnapping and insurgency in the country. He wished him a successful tenure and called on Nigerians to support him and the entire security architecture of the country for a more secured nation. (NAN) Hello Charlie Cast: Jackie Shroff, Aadar Jain, Shlokka Pandit, Elnaaz Norouzi, Rajpal Yadav, Girish Kulkarni Direction: Pankaj Saraswat Rating: * * (two stars) BY VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY Take a good guy with no brain and a bad guy in a gorilla suit, pack them off in a truck and what do you get? A miserable excuse for mirthless slapstick, in a film that rambles down the road to nowhere. "Hello Charlie" is one of those 'fun films' where you struggle to recall a single gag that was funny enough, within two minutes that the end credits have rolled. The 'fun film' classification should draw a ready audience base, for a start. The film -- if you can call this a film -- will struggle to retain audience interest thereon. Director Pankaj Saraswat of "Hello Charlie" had once upon a time screenplayed a delightful little comedy called "Main Meri Patni Aur Woh". That was in 2005, over a decade and a half ago. All these years later, Saraswat has chosen mindless monkey mayhem for his feature film directorial debut -- the sort that stopped being funny a while back. The Bollywood slapstick largely draws from stock formulae, banking mostly on not very witty but nonetheless funny gags to score. It takes a certain knack to pull off such a trick (random recall: Rajkumar Santoshi's "Andaz Apna" or the numerous films Priyadarshan recreated from his old Malayalam hits, or even Indra Kumar's "Dhamaal"). The generic prerequisite of such films is to raise the laughs, never mind being low on logic. "Hello Charlie" has neither the laughs nor logic. Aadar Jain is Chirag Rastogi, or Charlie, who would seem like the resident town idiot of Indore, who evidently can't make out the difference between a real gorilla and a man in a gorilla suit. Charlie arrives in Mumbai looking for a job because there's his father's 15-lakh loan to repay, and lands at mamaji's (Darshan Jariwala) place. Twist in the tale sees him transporting a gorilla in his uncle's truck to Diu. Charlie, of course, has no clue that the gorilla is actually a fugitive on the run -- industrialist MD Makwana (Jackie Shroff), who is wanted for a 4000-crore bank fraud. Assorted characters thrown into the brainless plot, as Charlie and his cargo hit the highway, include Makwana's girlfriend, model Mona (Elnaaz Norouzi), a dancer named Padma (Shlokka Pandit) who Charlie rescues along the way and whose sole purpose of existence in the script is an item dance, a greedy circus owner Patel (Girish Kulkarni), a drunk vet (Bharat Ganeshpure), a forest ranger called Solee Topi (Rajpal Yadav, with little actual action in the comic script), and a real gorilla that has escaped from the zoo and that seems smarter than most of the human cast. The idea is to create comic chaos. The outcome is too forced to be comic, too lazy to be chaotic. "Hello Charlie" is the sort of film that stands to gain due to a direct-to-OTT release. A lot of people will watch because everyone needs a dose of comic prescription in the time of curfew and Covid. The makers fritter away that advantage by not trying hard enough to excel. -- Syndicated from IANS Deadly force instead of none. Sgt. Jody Stiger, who works with the Los Angeles Police Department Inspector Generals Office, continued to explore the use-of-force issue by saying that Mr. Chauvin used deadly force when he should have used none. He also teed up another aspect of the trial that came into focus later in the week: whether Mr. Floyds death was caused by asphyxia, or a lack of oxygen. He was in the prone position, he was handcuffed, he was not attempting to resist, he was not attempting to assault the officers kick, punch or anything of that nature, Sergeant Stiger said. Responding to questions from the defense, Sergeant Stiger said that Mr. Floyd resisted arrest when the officers tried to place him in the back of a squad car. In those early moments of the arrest, Mr. Chauvin would have been justified if he had decided to use a Taser, Sergeant Stiger said. The defense has argued that people who do not appear to be dangerous to officers can quickly pose a threat. The sergeant pushed back on that argument, saying that officers should use force that is necessary for what suspects are doing in the moment, not what they might do later. Physical evidence of drug use. Mr. Floyds drug use was a recurring point of discussion throughout the week. On Wednesday, the jury heard testimony from McKenzie Anderson, a forensic scientist with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension who processed the squad car that Mr. Floyd was briefly placed in on the night he died. An initial inspection found no drugs in the vehicle, but during a second search, requested by Mr. Chauvins defense team in January, the team discovered fragments of pills. In testing the fragments, Ms. Anderson said a lab found DNA that matched Mr. Floyds. Chandigarh, April 10 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday condoled the demise of veteran Punjabi actor Satish Kaul (76), who passed away in a private hospital at Ludhiana. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister described Kaul as a versatile actor, who played a pivotal role in the promotion of Punjabi cinema, art and culture. "Being a staunch votary of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat, Kaul would be ever remembered by one and all for his enormous contribution for making Punjabi cinema popular amongst the people," added the CM. Washington: A new possible problem with the American aerospace major Boeing's 737 Max airplanes has several airlines once again pulling dozens of the troubled jets out of service. Boeing announced that it has recommended 16 carriers to address a potential electrical issue in a specific group of 737 MAX planes, which were globally grounded after two fatal crashes that took place within months, before further operation. "We are working closely with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on this production issue. We are also informing our customers of specific tail numbers affected and we will provide direction on appropriate corrective actions," Boeing said. The company said the issue is not related to the flight control software system that has been blamed in two crashes that killed 346 people. The 737 Max had only returned to commercial U.S. service in late December after the jets were grounded for some 20 months following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The new problem is one that "could affect the operation of a backup power control unit" in newly manufactured 737 Max jets, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The problem apparently resulted from changes in the production process at Boeing. The FAA said Boeing had notified the agency late Thursday of its recommendation to temporarily remove some planes from service to address a manufacturing issue that could affect the operation of a backup power control unit. Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine under review by EMA over blood clot rate Updates: Pakistan approves China's Sinovac Vaccine for emergency use Joe Biden sets up commission to study the possible expansion of Supreme Court Courtesy: UC Davis / The city of Davis says its No. 1 when it comes to No. 2. Fifteen new sewage sampling sites have been added to the citys coronavirus monitoring system, expanding the Northern California college towns ability to detect any possible spike in infections. Five people were killed in fresh election bloodshed in the Indian state of West Bengal on Saturday, including four shot dead by paramilitary troops "in self-defence", officials said Kolkata, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2021 ) :Five people were killed in fresh election bloodshed in the Indian state of West Bengal on Saturday, including four shot dead by paramilitary troops "in self-defence", officials said. West Bengal in eastern India has seen thousands killed in decades of political violence, and the current state election campaign has triggered deadly clashes between rival parties. The latest incident in the northern district of Coochbehar 700 kilometres (450 miles) north of Kolkata saw a crowd of around 400 people surround troops guarding a polling station. "Paramilitary troops opened fire in self-defence after being challenged by over 400 people," a senior Election Commission official said. "They also formed a ring around the troops and tried to snatch rifles... Four people were killed in the shooting. " Addressing an election rally in Siliguri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said chief minister Mamata Banerjee "and her goons provoked the paramilitary forces to open fire". Elsewhere in the state a man was shot dead on Saturday in clashes between supporters of Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress and Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), police said. "The victim was a BJP supporter," local party chief Dilip Ghosh told AFP. "Three people who were injured in the clash were admitted to a local health facility."Winning power in the state of 90 million people when results are announced on May 2 would be a major victory for Modi. Banerjee, one of Modi's most prominent critics, has accused the BJP of attempting to import divisive sectarian politics into the state, which has a large Muslim minority. Representatives from major world powers and Iranian officials continued talks on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Friday in Vienna, with the US and Germany both expressing cautious optimism about the state of the ongoing negotiations, DW reports. "The United States team put forward a very serious idea and demonstrated a seriousness of purpose on coming back into compliance if Iran comes back into compliance," a top US State Department official in the talks told reporters Friday. The official said the US is now waiting for Iran to reciprocate its efforts. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described the ongoing talks as "constructive." "All sides showed a willingness to work with the necessary sincerity towards the same goal the full implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran," Maas told German outlet RND in comments published on Saturday. "It won't be easy. We are only at the beginning of intensive negotiations." EU diplomat Enrique Mora called the talks "constructive and results-oriented." Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said JCPOA participants "noted with satisfaction the initial progress made." Sitalkuchi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Saturday clarified that its troops were not involved in the firing incident in West Bengal's Cooch Behar in which four civilians were killed. "Regarding recent incident being reported in media about the killing of 4 civilians outside booth 126, Jorpatki in Sitalkuchi Assembly Constituency, Cooch Behar, it's clarified that CRPF component was neither deployed at the said booth nor involved in the incident in any way,'' the CRPF said. It was earlier reported that 4 persons were killed in firing as CISF personnel allegedly opened fire after coming under attack from locals, who "attempted to snatch their rifles", in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Saturday. The incident took place in the Sitalkuchi area when voting was underway, a senior police officer said. "As per preliminary reports, four persons were killed as CISF personnel opened fire after coming under attack in a village, according to news agency ANI and PTI. "A scuffle took place and locals gheraoed them and attempted to snatch their rifles, following which the central forces opened fire. Further details are awaited," he said. Election officials said a report on the incident has been sought from the district officials. A first-time voter was Shot dead by unidentified persons outside a polling booth in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Saturday. West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 33.98 per cent till 11.30 am across 44 constituencies in five districts during the fourth phase of the state Assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC). The Falakata constituency in the state has witnessed the highest voting percentage with a voter turnout of 40.45 per cent till 11.30 am, while the Jadavpur constituency witnessed the lowest voting percentage with a voter turnout of 21.23 per cent. This phase of the elections will witness an intense battle between 373 candidates in 44 constituencies of the state across five districts -- Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. BJP candidate from Bhangar constituency in South 24 Parganas district, Soumi Hati cast her vote for the fourth phase.ITBP personnel, deployed on election duty, at polling booths in Rishra of Hooghly district helped an elderly woman as she arrived to cast her vote for the fourth phase of West Bengal polls. Security personnel also helped a woman voter get to a polling station in Alipurduar, as the fourth phase of Assembly elections is underway in the state.A total of 1,15,81,022 voters will participate in this phase, out of which 2,63,016 are first-time voters. The smallest constituency is Bally with 1,76,001 electorates whereas Chunchura is the biggest constituency with 3,13,701 electorates. As many as 15,940 polling stations will be used, including 12,361 main and 3,579 auxiliary stations. Security has been beefed up in all 44 constituencies with a total of 900 companies of security forces deployed to ensure a peaceful election. Out of these, 140 companies of central forces are deployed in the nine Assembly seats in Howrah, 175 for Hooghly`s 19 seats, 185 for South 24 Parganas` 11 seats, 105 in Alipurduar and 188 in the nine seats of Cooch Behar. Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar.The fifth phase of the assembly elections will commence on April 17. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. Live TV Rebecca Roberts and her partner struggled with infertility for more than a year, so when they got a positive result with an at-home pregnancy test, they were overjoyed. But the news did not feel real until the first ultrasound appointment, when the couple saw their baby on a sonogram screen and listened to the calming cadence of a steady heartbeat. On Roberts's medical chart, her obstetrician wrote: singleton. "I remember walking away from the very first scan so happy," said Roberts, 39, who lives in Wiltshire, England. READ ALSO: Houston woman cuts her record-breaking nails after nearly 30 years But her excitement abruptly shifted to shock five weeks later at the 12-week ultrasound appointment, when the sonographer spotted something astonishing: It appeared as though Roberts was suddenly carrying two babies - one of which was considerably less-developed than the other. The room fell silent. "I thought something awful had happened," Roberts said. "The sonographer looked at me and was like, 'Do you know you're expecting twins?' " But this was not a typical set of twins, Roberts learned. Her pregnancy was diagnosed as superfetation, a rare condition in which a woman who is already pregnant conceives another baby. Roberts's pregnancy is one of few superfetation cases recorded in medical literature, said her obstetrician, David Walker. Superfetation is so uncommon that Walker struggled to diagnose it. In his 25 years as an obstetrician, it was something he had never seen before. "It just doesn't happen," Walker said, adding that it took several scans before he could confidently diagnose the condition. "We were concerned because the second twin was much smaller. It was only by regularly scanning and seeing that the rate of growth was consistently three weeks behind that we realized it was superfetation," he explained. The true number of superfetation cases is not known, but according to a report published in 2008 in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, fewer than 10 instances of the phenomenon had been recorded at the time. Ordinarily, hormonal and physical changes during pregnancy prevent another conception from occurring. That was not the case for Roberts. "Instead of stopping ovulation, she released another egg about three or four weeks after the first one, and the egg somehow miraculously managed to fertilize and implant in her uterus," Walker said. Although Roberts was taking a fertility drug to stimulate ovulation, Walker said he's "not convinced" that the medication - which can increase the chances of having multiples - is what caused the superfetation. "She didn't release two eggs at the same time, which is what the medication normally does," Walker said. "But we have no way of proving it one way or another." While Walker was initially concerned about how the pregnancy would progress, he said, "the rate of growth for both of the babies was good, which was reassuring." When he gave Roberts and her partner, Rhys Weaver, 43, the diagnosis, "it was a massive shock," said Roberts, who also has a 15-year-old daughter. "We went home and got straight onto Google." SORRY, AUSTIN: Houston is, in fact, the unofficial capital of Texas. And we don't care who disagrees. Surfing the Web, she said, proved mostly futile because there is minimal research and there are few examples of successful superfetation pregnancies. The condition is so rare that alleged cases are sometimes met with cynicism. "There is very little information, because this is not supposed to happen," Weaver said. "It was just crazy news." Over time, though, the notion of carrying two separately conceived babies began to normalize, Roberts said. While it might not have been the pregnancy she expected, after years of longing for another child, she was thrilled to have not just one but two on the way. Given the rarity of the condition, coupled with Roberts's age and the common risks associated with carrying twins, the pregnancy brought some challenges, particularly during the third trimester. The couple were told that the younger baby might not survive. "Anything that can go wrong with a pregnancy is more common with twin pregnancies," Walker said. "But with a three-week difference, you don't want to compromise the smaller twin by delivering too early. You have to keep a really close eye. The delivery was crucial in this case." Roberts knew preterm labor was probable, so ensuring that the smaller baby was far along enough before birth "was a really massive worry for us," she said. At just over 33 weeks into the pregnancy, the smaller fetus's umbilical cord was not functioning normally, which started to affect the baby's growth. Doctors decided it was time to deliver. Although Roberts's children had different due dates, she had a Caesarean section and gave birth to both babies on Sept. 17. Noah came first, weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Two minutes later, his younger sister, Rosalie, arrived, weighing 2 pounds, 7 ounces. "We got to see both of them as soon as they were born," Roberts said. "It was absolutely beautiful." "One of the best feelings I've ever had," Weaver said. The family's initial bonding time was short-lived, as both babies were whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit. Noah remained in the hospital for just over three weeks, while Rosalie stayed for 95 days. The couple drove to the hospital every day to visit their children until just before Christmas, when they were given the go-ahead to bring Rosalie home. "We could finally get on and start our lives. It felt like we were on hold having them in the hospital," said Roberts, who designs children's clothing. Taking care of twins, who are now almost 6 months old, has been a whirlwind, especially during the pandemic lockdown and while working from home. But Roberts said it has made her heart full to watch the babies grow and develop over the past few months. "Even though they were born on the same day, there's definitely an age difference between them," she added. "It's noticeable." Rosalie is much smaller and less advanced than her brother, "but she's catching up to him fast," said Weaver, a mortgage adviser. Regardless of their developmental differences, the twin bond is unmistakable, the couple said. "When we lay them down next to each other on their play mat, they look at each other, reach out and touch each other, and talk to each other as well," Roberts said. "It is so beautiful to watch." Roberts and Weaver have been documenting the twins' growth over the past few months on an Instagram page, and thousands of people around the world, fascinated by their story, are following along. "We want people to be able to continue to watch as they grow up," said Roberts. "Miracles can happen, and my children are proof of that." Kolkata, April 10 : Anup Majhi a.k.a. Lala, the alleged kingpin of the illegal coal smuggling case is once again being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday in connection with the case. According to CBI officials, Majhi appeared before the CBI around 11 a.m. A CBI official said that he is being questioned in connection with the case and about his financial dealings and his properties in the state. The CBI had earlier grilled Majhi for several hours on April 1, 6 and 8, and on March 30 in connection with the case. Majhi's close aide Ganesh Bavaria was questioned on April 3, and Birbhum's former Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh on April 1. The CBI had also questioned former Asanol Commissioner, Laxmi Narayan Meena in connection with the case. On April 5, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the money laundering part, attached Majhi's immovable assets to the tune of Rs 165.86 crore. The attached assets include land, factory premises, plant machinery and other assets of two companies -- Ispat Damodar Private Ltd and Sonic Thermal Private Ltd. The manufacturing plants of both these companies are situated in West Bengal's Purulia and Bankura. Majhi, the director of a company engaged in the purchase and sale of dry fuel, is accused of alleged illegal coal trading in the Asansol-Raniganj belt of West Bengal. The CBI had registered a case involving alleged illegal coal pilferage in November last year, naming Majhi, Eastern Coalfield Ltd General Managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL chief of security Tan Das, area security inspector Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai, and SSI and security in-charge Kajora area Debashish Mukherjee. It had also recorded the statement of Rujira Banerjee, wife of Trinamool Congress MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his sister-in-law Menka Gambhir in the last week of February. The agency has recently carried out searches at several locations in the state, including at the premises of Amit Agarwal, a close aide of Majhi, raising the heat in poll-bound West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool and the BJP are engaged in a pitched battle. HARTFORD Police are investigating a second shooting Saturday afternoon, hours after a 3-year-old was shot and killed in the north end. Police responded to Magnolia Street near Mather Street, television station WTNH reported. Two people were taken to the hospital, the outlet reported. Police are investigating the incident as a homicide, police spokesman Aaron Boisvert confirmed Saturday. He said officers located rifle shell casings at the scene. NBC News reported multiple weapons were involved in the shooting and the victim was a male. Several reporters in the area reported hearing gunshots. Earlier that afternoon police said a 3-year-old was killed during a drive-by shooting on Nelson Street. It is unknown if the two incidents are related. This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as more information becomes available. Kolkata, April 10 : A political controversy erupted in West Bengal during the fourth phase of the elections when BJP's IT cell released an audio tape of Trinamool' election strategist Prashant Kishor where he was heard saying a 'ClubHouse' chat that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hugely popular in West Bengal and this is one of the factors that will decide which party sweeps the state. BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's election strategist Prashant Kishor had accepted the BJP's victory. Malviya shared the audio of Prashant Kishor's discussion on the ClubHouse platform on social media. In this, Kishor is chatting with some journalists. In a public chat on ClubHouse, Mamata Banerjee's election strategist concedes that even in TMC's internal surveys, BJP is winning. The vote is for Modi, polarisation is a reality, the SCs (27 per cent of WB's population), Matuas are all voting for the BJP, Amit Malviya- National in-charge of BJP's Information & Technology department wrote in his tweet. In the audio, Kishor is saying that on a public chat at the clubHouse, Prashant Kishor admitted that BJP is winning in TMC's internal survey too. People are voting for Modi and polarization has taken place. SC and Matua, 27 per cent of Bengal's population all voted for the BJP. Another candid admission by Kishor is that -- all that the Left, Congress and TMC ecosystem have done in the last 20 years is Muslim appeasement. Implication? It has resulted in resentment on the ground. The speakers had not realised that the chat was public, Malviya wrote. That moment when Mamata Banerjee's strategist realised that the ClubHouse room was open and his admissions were being heard by the public at large and not just a handful of Lutyens journalist. Deafening silence followed, Malviya added. Prashant Kishor was immediate to react. "I am happy that the people of BJP are taking my clubHouse chat more seriously than the statements of their leaders. I appeal to them to release the entire conversation except for some part of the chat. In the part that has been released, the question was being answered about how BJP is getting 40 per cent votes and how it has been thinking that the BJP is winning. He also said through social media that the BJP will not be able to cross the 100 mark in Bengal elections" Kishore tweeted. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A customer walks into Innisfree shop in Seoul in this 2018 file photo. Korea times file By Kim Jae-heun Stand-alone cosmetics shops near universities in the capital area or on main streets in downtown once thrived, with the market growing to be worth 2.81 trillion won ($2.58 billion) in 2016. However, the figure has fallen since then, plummeting to 1.7 trillion in 2018. One of the most popular skincare franchises, Missha, now has only 400 stores nationwide, closing down 164 last year alone and 30 more this year as of last month. At its peak, Missha operated 800 stores. Sluggish consumption and intensifying competition have been behind the dramatic decline, alongside the rise of online malls and flourishing Health & Beauty stores such as Olive Young. But the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has also played a decisive role. People spending more time at home saw less reason to wear makeup, as well as shifting their daily purchases online to avoid spreading the coronavirus. Cosmetics brands operated by major companies were not an exception. AmorePacific's Innisfree and LG Household & Health Care's The Face Shop have shut down 135 and 264 stores, respectively. Etude House, another popular skincare brand operated by AmorePacific, closed 229 stores from 2018 and now has just 164 left. "Many brands have carried out a large-scale restructuring and they are almost finished. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic does not look like it will end anytime soon so it will be unavoidable for cosmetics firms to close more stores," an industry source said. Some cosmetics firms have sought to diversify their business portfolios. Tony Moly has entered the pet food market by acquiring single ingredient pet food manufacturer Ocean, and seeks to use its outlets as a new profit generator. "We want to adopt the infrastructure we created overseas with cosmetic products to newly launched pet food items," a Tony Moly official said. LG Household & Health Care has reformed its online shopping mall to seek mutual growth with its stores. It has opened an online platform for franchises, mostly run by individuals. "Small dealers will be able to sell their products on our platform to improve their sales and profits," an LG Household & Health Care official said. NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into SolarWinds Corporation (NYSE: SWI). In December 2020, news outlets reported that the Company was the target of a massive cyberattack that exploited the Company's monitoring software to infiltrate government agencies and private-sector companies, which the Company confirmed the next day, disclosing that a "vulnerability was inserted within the Orion products and existed in updates released between March and June 2020." Subsequent news reports revealed that the Company had been made aware of the vulnerabilities the prior year and that even after being aware that their software had been compromised, the malicious updates were still available for download, which ultimately ensnared nine government agencies and more than 100 other organizations. Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws, which remains ongoing. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether SolarWinds' officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to SolarWinds' shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of SolarWinds shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-swi/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors in seeking to recover investment losses due to corporate fraud and malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Related Links http://www.ksfcounsel.com The River North neighborhood is among the many new flashpoints of an emerging third surge of cases on Chicagos North Side. From West Town and Lincoln Park to Edison Park, these neighborhoods have some of the citys highest rates of vaccination so far, as many as 42% of residents getting at least one shot in the period studied. And yet the third surge has affected them more than some areas that suffered greatly in previous surges. The U.S. Air Force indicates the importance of little-known equipment and aircraft by the amount of money it devotes to maintaining and expanding their capabilities. One of the best examples of this is the BACN (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node) technology and the aircraft used to carry it aloft. The air force recently spent $3.6 billion just for development and testing of new hardware and software for BACN. In addition. Congress also approved the purchase of E-11A BACN to replace one lost in early 2020 in a crash landing in Afghanistan. The air force is seeking air force budget money for five more E-11As over the next five years. One justification for the billions in additional BACN development spending is to put new, smaller, more capable and cheaper sets of BACN equipment in additional aircraft, like the aerial refueling aircraft and UAVs. This is already done, but not with full BACN capability provided by three E-11As and three EQ-4B (Global Hawk) UAVs that also carry BACN. Most people dont notice the E-11A because it is a twin-engine business jet filled with BACN electronics, mainly communications equipment which enables the E-11A to serve as the equivalent of a communications satellite. This lets American and allied ground and air forces communicate freely without worrying about the interference Afghanistans many mountains create for most types of wireless communications. Equally important, it provides an Internet-like network shared by ground troops and air force combat and non-combat aircraft. Ground troops can quickly report enemy activity and request air support or ground reinforcements. BACN connects ground forces with transports delivering supplies by parachute, army helicopters coming in to evacuate casualties, or providing AC-130 or helicopter gunship support. In effect, BACN aircraft provides Afghan and foreign troops with more effective communications than anyone else in the country, especially the Taliban and drug gangs. The bad guys can use satellite phones but these are very expensive and detectable. BACN is encrypted and designed to resist jamming. There are only six BACN aircraft available now; three E-11As and three EQ-4Bs and these are crucial to quickly linking air controllers on the ground with warplanes in the area. Some of warplanes benefitting from BACN are those that provide airstrikes using smart bombs or missiles. Most of the airstrikes carried out in Afghanistan depend on BACN to maintain a link between the aircraft and ground troops. Because of this, the BACN aircraft operate 24/7 over Afghanistan to speed up the delivery of air support and better communications in general. BACN capabilities are useful in any remote area where American troops are operating. The new air force development contract will provide that by putting BACN equipment on a wider variety of aircraft. Since BACN does not require any external modification to the user aircraft, the new generation of BACN could be put on a cargo pallet used by C-130 transports and rolled aboard a C-130 that would just spend hours providing an aerial platform for BACN, which never required airborne personnel to operate it. That is all done from the ground. The need for BACN became obvious soon after American forces entered Afghanistan in late 2001. By 2005 a test version of BACN was sent to Afghanistan and it performed as predicted. By 2008 the first E-11A was in service and was soon followed by the first UAV version. In 2011 the air force assigned new designations (E-11A and EQ-4B) to the manned aircraft and UAVs that have been operating as communications satellite substitutes. The E-11A could be carried by any twin-engine business jet but the current ones are 44-ton BD 700 business jet and the UAV BACN is carried by the RQ-4B Global Hawk UAV. This is the largest UAV in American service about the same size and capacity of most business jets. Since 2008 BACN service has been available over 98 percent of the time to provide communications relay services over Afghanistan. Both E-11A and EQ-4B carry the same BACN equipment. The BACN software does more than just act as a communications satellite. In order to make it possible for ground troops to not only talk to others farther away (anywhere, in fact), it also enables ground troops to quickly connect with other military aircraft combat and support) overhead. This is done with software that automatically transfers the data between the normally incompatible radio equipment aircraft and ground troops use. BACN also provides communications between aircraft. BACN not only provides ground troops with unlimited communications range but also handles linking normally incompatible communications systems with each other. BACN also provides a substitute for satellite communications which, right after 2001, was in short supply for troops in Afghanistan and that was one reason for creating BACN. The E-11A can stay in the air for over ten hours per sortie, while the EQ-4B can do more than twice that. Both fly at 12,900 meters (40,000 feet). The E-11A entered service first, followed about a year later by the EQ-4B. Currently, BACN aircraft have not been needed anywhere else, mainly because no other combat zone has the many high mountains and numerous valleys where normal military communications are often blocked. The new generation of BACN equipment will change that because BACN was found useful as more than a communications satellite. BACN created a more effective army-air force battlefield Internet and more army and air force aircraft are being equipped with encrypted digital communications meant to operate like BACN. The best example of this is the communications capabilities found in the F-35 stealth fighter. Other fighters and bombers already have dome of this network capability. The E-11A is used when you have to get some BACN capability somewhere in an area that might require some skilled piloting. The EQ-4B is for when you want to keep the BACN capability going someplace 24/7 and you have time for the EQ-4B ground controllers to deal with the details. BACN is not a new idea for the air force. In 2003, realizing that every aerial battlefield in the past few decades has featured several KC-135 tankers circling, waiting to refuel a thirsty warplane, the U.S. Air Force gave the tankers an additional job. By adding a few hundred kilograms (220 pounds) of electronics mounted on a cargo pallet, which KC-135s are equipped to handle, the tanker was turned into a node in a lower altitude (then BACN) aerial communications network. This solved the problem of how to connect warplanes to the new battlefield Internet when those planes do not have satellite communications capability. The aircraft use line-of-sight communications, which cannot connect with any ground station or aircraft that is over the horizon or behind a mountain. The system, called ROBE (Roll-On Beyond-line-of-sight Enhancement), was particularly useful in a mountainous areas throughput the Middle East, with Afghanistan being the worst case. After the first 20 ROBE units, costing about $900,000 each, entered service, an upgraded model was introduced in 2017. The Department of Defense and NATO have already developed standards (LINK 16) for the transfer of video, picture and data electronically between ground stations, aircraft and ships using radio or satellite communications networks. KC-135s can't use BACN because they normally fly lower, at about 6,700 meters (20,000 feet) than required to truly act as a satellite substitute. Moreover, there are some mountains in Afghanistan higher than the KC-135 working altitude. The air force effort to develop a much-improved version of ROBE is what the new BACN will also do. The future ROBE will also provide surveillance and EW (Electronic Warfare) function as well. On the banks of the Amazon River, in a village without electricity or drinking water, Andrea Rodrigo makes the yuca flour that her family sells in markets along Perus remote borders with Brazil and Colombia The 21-year-old Peruvian woman and seven of her neighbors recently paddled for half an hour down the vast river to two Indigenous communities where they put up posters for their political party, the Agricultural Peoples Front of Peru. Known as Frepap, it is the political arm of a messianic religious group called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact, which merges Old Testament Christianity with Andean culture. Adherents believe their leader, Jonas Ataucusi Molina, is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the Amazon is the promised land or the land without evil, leading the faithful to populate remote forests bordering Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. Amid widespread disgust with traditional politicians and an extremely fragmented electorate, Frepap has emerged as a potential favorite in legislative elections Sunday, when Peruvians will also cast ballots for president. Observers say its surprising growth as a political force has to do with the roots it has put down and the proselytizing it has done in remote communities and poor neighborhoods, as well as weariness with seemingly endless corruption scandals among the establishment parties. All of Perus former presidents since 1985 have been accused of corruption, with some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions and one taking his own life before police could capture him. Despite being prosecuted, one is currently running for president and another is seeking a seat in parliament. In the last 12 years, 57 former governors and 2,002 ex-mayors have been prosecuted or are fugitives. An official audit in 2019 found that corruption was consuming $17 million a day in Peru, enough to feed the countrys poor. I would like to see more members of Congress from Frepap, teaching people not to steal, Rodrigo said as she adjusted her hair covering. Hanging on the wall of her hut was a painting of a blue fish, the symbol of the party created in 1989 by the late shoemaker Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal, founder of the religious movement and father of its current leader. In a January 2020 special election called after President Martin Vizcarra dissolved congress, Frepap stunned prognosticators by winning 15 of 130 seats to become the third largest bloc in the country's fragmented legislature. In the year since, Frepap has maintained its image as separated from the scandals and without attitudes that reflect religious fanaticism or radical conservatism, said anthropologist Carlos Raez, who has studied the party. Polls suggest no single party may win even 10% of the legislative vote Sunday, and analysts say Frepaps clean image and backing in distant or impoverished communities far away from media and pollsters could produce another electoral surprise. Almost one third of voters are undecided. Frepap candidates appeal to voters with promises to fight for agricultural development, oppose corruption and defend the rights of the poor. They are staunch religious conservatives, opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. On a recent day, Milca Copa, a teacher in a town near Rodrigos village, was one of three Frepap candidates who crossed the Amazon with a message for voters: She was one of them. I have walked in the mud, I have lived without water, without electricity, without internet, Copa told supporters. Frepap does not come one day and leave," she added, to applause and chants. "We live here. For more than 30 years, Israelite communities have popped up in the Amazon as the faithful migrated there from the Andes or desert areas along the Pacific, obeying their founder's call to populate the rainforest. Many of the faithful live in Mariscal Ramon Castilla province, a forested area larger than Belgium and divided by the Amazon River near Colombia and Brazil. The first people to join the Israelites of the New Universal Pact were poor Andean migrants, sometimes sick or orphaned, who had no contacts in the cities, experts say. They were drawn to the movement because it offered them a way to survive in communities, in agriculture, said Juan Ossio, a professor of anthropology at Perus Pontifical Catholic University who has written a book about the Israelites. Frepaps political opponents say its members are united but also impenetrable, and express concerns about the messianic group's rise on the political stage. They are very hard-working, very united, but very closed, said Julio Tuesta, the Popular Action party mayor of San Jose de Cochiquinas, a village on the banks of the Amazon. What makes me doubtful is that they mix religion and politics. What will it be like when they have more power? But Pablo Rodrigo, Andreas father, said the group's political gains have won their people respect. In the hamlet of Jose Carlos Mariategui, he and his neighbors grow rice, lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapples, papayas and yucas. Several months ago he bought an electrical generator and a computer to draft community agreements. God says if you work, you will be flooded with bread," Pablo Rodrigo said. "But if you are idle, you will be poor. Its a humble but honorable life, he added: We dont drink, we dont smoke, we live in peace. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Another week, another mass shooting in America. On Thursday, the news came from Bryan: a gunman killed one person and wounded five others at a cabinet manufacturing plant, then wounded a state trooper while fleeing the scene. It would be naive to expect such a tragedy to lead to some kind of sea change. But it should give Texas voters a moments pause, at least, especially with state lawmakers on track to expand gun rights this session. This might well be the year that permitless carry comes to Texas, for one thing. Another measure, which has the support of Gov. Greg Abbott, would make this a Second Amendment Sanctuary State, meaning that state agencies would effectively be directed to ignore any new federal rules and legislation that may come down the pike. And, sad to say, the fate of these measures may have as much to do with national politics as with whats best for, or preferred by, the people of this state . President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a first round of executive actions on gun safety, as many Democrats have been calling on him to do since his inauguration in January. Gun violence in this country is an epidemic, and its an international embarrassment, Biden said, adding that no amendment is absolute. The latter phrase gave some conservatives the vapors, but Biden was merely restating a point made by legions of legal scholars from all corners of the ideological spectrum. His orders, too, are far less sweeping than they might have been. Biden ordered the Justice Department to issue a couple of new rules, including one to study the proliferation of ghost guns those assembled from a kit, at home, and accordingly lacking a serial number. He also ordered DOJ to come up with a template red flag law for use by states that might be interested in passing such legislation. Such laws allow family members or police to seek a court order to prevent a person in crisis from accessing firearms for a period of time. All things considered, it would be disingenuous to pretend that Biden is indulging in executive overreach. And yet. In a tweet, Gov. Greg Abbott denounced Bidens announcement as a new liberal power grab to take away our guns. It's time to get legislation making (Texas) a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary State passed and to my desk for signing, the governor continued. Abbott, it should be noted, has not always espoused such a hard-line stance on the issue. In 2014, while campaigning for governor, he advocated expanding gun rights, but with certain caveats. He supported allowing guns on the campuses of public colleges and universities, for example, with the proviso that universities should be able to opt out; the campus carry legislation he signed in 2015 did not include such a proviso. More recently, Abbotts made occasional gestures to the gun-safety crowd a large one in the general electorate, if not the subset of Texans who vote in Republican primaries. After eight students and two teachers died in a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in May 2018, Abbott issued a school and firearm safety action plan. One recommendation was that legislative leaders be encouraged to consider the merits of a red flag law, of the type that Biden has called on Congress to pass. In an October 2019 poll from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune, 68 percent of respondents expressed support for such a measure. The (L)egislature should consider whether the existing protective order laws are sufficient, or could be amended to include emergency risk protection, or whether emergency risk protective orders should be independently created, the plan said, after stipulating that any such measures should include appropriate due process protections. Its hard to see whats changed since then, other than Abbotts political calculus. In May 2018, he was running for a second term as governor, which he ultimately won easily. He has yet to draw an opponent for 2022, assuming he decides to run again, and is thought to be interested in running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. If so, his record of expanding gun rights in Texas would presumably appeal to primary voters across the country. Of particular concern to the women and men of the grassroots gun safety movement Moms Demand is House Bill 1911, a permitless carry bill, which passed out of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety last week. The bill would allow Texans who would otherwise be eligible to carry a handgun to do so without obtaining a license, as is currently required. It is authored by state Rep. James White, a Republican of Hillister, and has nearly 50 joint and co-authors, all of them Republican. In recent years, the push for permitless carry, also referred to as constitutional carry, has been scuttled in the Texas House by the leaders of that chamber as much as its members. In 2019, for example, then-Speaker Dennis Bonnen declared the legislation in question dead after one of its proponents approached the homes of several lawmakers, including his own an aggressive and obviously objectionable tactic. (If you want to talk about issues and you want to advocate, you do it in this building. You dont do it at our residences, Bonnen explained.) Advocates on both sides of the issue should expect HB 1911 to get a floor debate this year, according to Enrique Marquez, communications director for Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican. Hearing different viewpoints is a hallmark of the Texas House, and makes the chamber and ultimately legislation stronger, Marquez told me, adding that Phelan himself has a record of defending the Second Amendment. Thats fair and Texans who have a view on the legislation at hand, for or against, should consider taking a moment to contact their representatives. In the House, at least, there will be a chance for substantive debate over measures expanding gun rights. But the governors recent statements should leave no doubt that hell sign any legislation lawmakers send him. erica.grieder@chron.com 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 The US is sending two warships to the Black Sea amid a rapidly escalating crisis in East Ukraine. On Friday, the Turkish government confirmed that the Pentagon had issued a formal request 15 days ago that two of its warships be allowed to pass through Turkish straits, to be deployed in the Black Sea until May 4. The sending of US warships to the Black Sea is the latest in a series of extraordinarily provocative moves by NATO-backed Ukraine and the US in the crisis. In March, shortly after Joe Biden took office and reaffirmed that Crimea is Ukraine, the Ukrainian government of Volodymyr Zelensky announced a strategy to recover Crimea and the Donbas. The Crimea, a highly strategic peninsula in the Black Sea, was annexed by Russia in 2014 following a US- and German-backed coup in Kiev. The Donbas has been the site of an ongoing civil war for almost seven years, and is controlled largely by Russian-backed separatists. The announcement of an offensive to retake these territories was tantamount to declaring that Ukraine is preparing for war. Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 photo of U.S. warship (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq) This was the immediate backdrop for the growing fighting between the separatists and the Ukrainian army. Zelensky has since urged NATO to accelerate the admission of Ukraine to the military alliance, and Ukraine and NATO have announced joint military exercises. Last Friday, Zelensky met virtually with US President Biden, who assured him of full US support against Russia. In response to these provocations, Russia has amassed troops on the borders to Ukraine, announced military exercises and is reinforcing its navy in the Black Sea. Like the US, Germany and France have denounced Russian aggression. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called upon Putin on Thursday to withdraw troops from the border of East Ukraine. Zelensky is set to travel to Paris next week to meet for negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron. The French government has also demanded on that Russia explain the troop movements in the region. On Thursday, Zelensky traveled to visit the Ukrainian troops in East Ukraine on Thursday, whom he praised for being a true example of heroism and dedication. A significant number of the troops and militias still fighting in what is a deeply unpopular war in Ukraine are affiliated with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion and similar far-right formations, which have been systematically built up by the Ukrainian state and the US, especially since the 2014 coup. In speaking of Russian aggression, the imperialist powers, Kiev and their lackeys in the media are turning reality on its head. It is Ukraine, backed by NATO and the US, not Russia, that has been systematically escalating the situation and pushing the region to the brink of all-out war. On Friday, the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia was taking precautions given the dangerous, explosive region at its borders. He warned that the situation was so unstable that the dynamics . created the danger of a resumption of full-scale hostilities. In a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of resuming dangerous provocative actions. A day before, the deputy head of Russias presidential administration, Dmitry Korzak, said that Russian forces could intervene to defend Russian citizens in the region. The Kremlin has also offered Russian passports to residents of the Donbas and all Ukrainians who wanted one. He stated that a war could mark the beginning of the end of Ukraine. Writing for the right-wing think tank publication National Interest, Ted Galen Carpenter noted that the situation now was reminiscent of the lead-up to the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, when the US deliberately encouraged Georgia to take aggressive action against Russia. He wrote, The parallels between Washingtons excessive encouragement of Ukraine and Bushs blunder with respect to Georgia [in 2008] are eerie and alarming. Vladimir Putins government has given the West numerous warnings over the years that attempting to make Ukraine a NATO military client crosses a bright red line in terms of Russias security. Carpenter warned that the situation could escalate into a nuclear confrontation between Russia and the US. Map of the Black Sea region The extraordinarily dangerous situation in the Black Sea region can only be understood within its broader international and historical context. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union by the Stalinist bureaucracy in 1991, the culmination of decades of the nationalist betrayal of the October Revolution, the US has sought to offset its economic decline by militarily bringing the entire region under its control. NATO, despite earlier assurances to the contrary, has rapidly encircled Russia. The US, with heavy support from the EU, has also orchestrated several coups in the former Soviet Union to install pro-Western regimes, including in Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004, 2014), and Kyrgyzstan (2010). Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the main architects of US foreign policy for many decades, summed up the significance of Eurasia, which encompasses all of Europe and Asia, in 1997: With Eurasia now serving as the decisive geopolitical chessboard, it no longer suffices to fashion one policy for Europe and another for Asia. What happens with the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to Americas global primacy and historical legacy ... In a volatile Eurasia, the immediate task is to ensure that no state or combination of states gains the ability to expel the United States or even diminish its decisive role. Within Eurasia, the Black Sea region is of particular geostrategic significance as it connects Europe, the energy-rich Caucasus and the Middle East. In 2018, the Pentagon openly declared that the US was now refocusing on great power conflict,that is, war preparations against nuclear-armed Russia and China. Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region are central to these efforts. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the war drive, above all by the US. Underlying this are mounting class and political tensions within the United States itself. The Biden administration, following the course of the Trump administration, has taken an extraordinarily aggressive course toward China. At the same time, the US has deliberately escalated tensions with Russia. Just a few weeks ago, US President Joe Biden called the Russian president a killer, triggering a diplomatic crisis. There are indications that US policy in the Black Sea region targets not only Russia but also China. Over the past decade, China has become a major economic partner of many countries in the region, particularly of Ukraine. While the EU is still Ukraines largest trading partner, China has become the single largest nation trading with the country, bypassing Russia. In early 2019, China became Ukraines second biggest import partner, accounting for almost 14 percent of total imports, more than Russia. It also became Ukraines third largest export partner, with 6.2 percent of total exports. In the US, Ukraines growing economic partnership with China has provoked significant irritation. Notably, in March, right at the time when the Ukrainian government announced its strategy to retake Crimea, Kiev also declared that it would cancel a planned $3.6 billion deal to sell the Ukrainian helicopter and airplane engine maker Motor Sich to Chinese investors, after years of pressure from Washington. The nationalization of the company comes at enormous economic cost for Ukraine, which is highly indebted and impoverished. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of the Ukrainian governments National Security and Defense Council, stated that the decision had been made for the sake of the national security of the country. Anders Aslund, a longtime US foreign policy pundit for the region, said that the decision showed that Ukraine stands with the US even at considerable cost and called it an excellent step that the US should greatly appreciate. The imperialist war drive poses immense dangers to workers internationally. The Russian oligarchy has nothing to counterpose to the imperialist war drive but a combination of appeals to the imperialist powers, and the promotion of nationalism and militarism. The danger of war can only be averted through the construction of a socialist anti-war movement in the working class and a fight to put an end to the root cause of imperialist war: capitalism. Emily Mieure covers criminal justice and emergency news. She also leads the News&Guides investigative efforts. She has reported for WDRB TV in Louisville, Ky., WFIE TV in Evansville, Ind., and WEIU TV in Charleston, Ill. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 19:39:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Nov. 2, 2019 shows the building of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasilia, capital of Brazil. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) China sympathizes with Brazil and firmly supports the Brazilian government's efforts to contain the pandemic and restore its economy, Wang said, adding that China, within its capacity, is willing to continue vaccine cooperation with Brazil to meet its pressing need. BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday that China is willing to work with Brazil to promote their comprehensive strategic partnership to continue to make new progress. Wang made the remarks in a phone conversation with Carlos Alberto Franco Franca, Brazil's new foreign minister. Congratulating Franca on his appointment as foreign minister, Wang said as large developing countries, representatives of emerging economies and BRICS partners, China and Brazil are important forces driving forward the world's multipolarization and share extensive and close common interests. China, Wang said, has always viewed and developed China-Brazil relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, placing Brazil in one of the priority directions for its foreign relations. Workers carry boxes of China's COVID-19 vaccines in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 18, 2021. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Brazil have fought against the pandemic with solidarity, and overcome the difficulties together. Despite the adverse trend, their pragmatic cooperation has grown, with smooth progress in a number of major projects, which fully reflects the strong resilience of the two countries' cooperation, Wang said. Noting the virus is the common enemy of humankind, Wang said at present, the pandemic in Brazil and other Latin American countries is still very severe. China sympathizes with Brazil and firmly supports the Brazilian government's efforts to contain the pandemic and restore its economy, Wang said, adding that China, within its capacity, is willing to continue vaccine cooperation with Brazil to meet its pressing need. People visit the Brazil pavilion during the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing) He said the economies of China and Brazil have obvious complementary advantages and great growth potential, and cooperation is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples. The two sides should promote the steady growth of bilateral trade and actively expand cooperation in 5G, digital economy, artificial intelligence and other fields. It is believed that Brazil will provide a fair and open business environment for Chinese companies operating in the country, Wang said. Stressing both China and Brazil pursue independent foreign policies and respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wang called on the two countries to continue to understand and support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests. Targeting no third party, China-Latin America cooperation focuses on common development and pragmatic cooperation, which meets the needs of both sides, Wang said, hoping that Brazil will play an important and active role in this regard. For his part, Franca, who thanked Wang for his congratulation, noted that Brazil-China relations are of great strategic significance and the two countries have conducted sound and healthy cooperation in various fields. The Brazilian foreign minister said he believes the phone conversation will inject impetus into bilateral cooperation. Brazil hopes to further develop harmonious relations with China and carry out long-term cooperation, Franca said, and he suggested that the two countries make full use of and improve the existing communication channels and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, strengthen their strategic dialogue and keep deepening their relations. Thanking China for its selfless help to Brazil since the outbreak of the pandemic, Franca said China is an important producer of pharmaceutical raw materials in the world. Noting Brazil is in urgent need of vaccines and medical supplies in the fight against the pandemic, Franca said his country hopes for continuous strong support from China. Scientific and technological cooperation is of great significance to the two countries, and Brazil is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in such fields as digital economy and 5G, and maintain close communication with China on promoting China-Latin America cooperation, Franca added. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 19:05:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, April 10 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed and six others were injured on Saturday morning in a suicide bombing in Baidoa, southwest Somalia. Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, spokesperson of the Federal Government of Somalia, said in a brief statement that the incident happened when a man wearing explosives blew himself up at a restaurant in Baidoa city of Southwest State. Enditem Patna, April 10 : Irate mob torched a police vehicle on Saturday after two people were killed in a road accident in Bihar's Bhojpur district. The deceased were identified as Ajit Paswan and Vikas Paswan, both residents of Kori village. "As per eyewitnesses, a police team was chasing both Ajit and Vikas who were on a tractor, as a result Ajit, who was driving the vehicle, lost control over its wheels and mowed down two minor children before plunging into a canal. It resulted in Ajit's death on the spot," said Santosh Kumar Rajak, SHO of Garahani police station. The incident triggered massive outrage in the area with the villagers blocking the busy Arrah-Sahar road near Pawna Bazar for hours. Later, a police team reached the spot and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters. The villagers then retaliated and set a police van on fire and even allegedly attempted to snatch the cops' rifle. "The protesters attacked the police team and torched one of our vans," Rajak said. "Heavy police force has been deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident. The situation is now under control," he added. What does it mean to be Pilates Strong? We use the word "strong" a lot and it usually means resilience, passion for something, perseverance. The last 24 months of my life found me changing careers and becoming an entrepreneur. It required that I lived the motto I created: Pilates Strong. Here is my story of how an advertising sales executive from Long Island dropped everything to start a Pilates studio during the pandemic and created a Pilates apparel line that grew to over $160,000 in gross sales in the first year. In the summer of 2018, I was navigating a life change that I could have never anticipated. Divorce. Unfortunately, far too many people understand how overwhelming the experience is and I found myself engulfed in sadness. My entire life was about to change after knowing for 10 years who my best friend was and what we were going to do together on a daily basis. On top of that, I was saying goodbye to a home I loved from the moment I stepped foot in it. While I sat on my couch in a half-empty apartment, I watched happy New Yorkers pass by, enjoying the warmth of the summer. It was at that moment I knew the world wasnt going to make me happy again; I had to take control of my own happiness and discover how to turn that corner to find it. After 20 years in advertising, I thought why not? and began researching what I had always wanted to do -- open my own Pilates studio. I began to think through and even pretended to understand the difficulties that came with going from the professional world I knew for two decades to a Pilates studio. It all was going to be completely new to me. The moment I typed into Google Pilates Franchises in NY, the heaviness that I was feeling started to lift. The world opened and now it seemed like a new beginning, a new life was ahead of me. This was my first step in making my dreams come true. Opening a Pilates Studio has many questions. Build something from scratch or find a franchise? Where should I open the studio? What kind of budget can I afford? Where will I get the extra money from needed to open? Who is going to help me do this? As they say, it truly takes a village. Related: The Top 10 Franchises That Can Be Run Part-Time From Home or Through a Mobile Unit I knew that becoming a franchisee was the right path for me, even though franchises in this industry are quite rare. A franchise has the playbook, the resources, and the community. The feat of finding a Pilates franchise in Brooklyn, specifically, was not an easy one. I first spoke to two companies; one was a large franchise that unfortunately was at capacity in Brooklyn (good sign as there was a lot of interest) and another was a company that I didn't feel connected with (style, vibe was not who I was). Now some call this a personality strength and others might consider it a personality flaw, but once I put my mind to something, its all I can think about, so I was determined to make this happen. I dug further into the search results, deep into the pages, and I found an Australian brand with a cult-like following called Studio Pilates International. I was surprised to see they had 30+ studios across Australia, New Zealand, and China, but none in the U.S. I knew I had nothing to lose by filling out the form to speak with them and soon after, on June 19, 2018, everything changed. I received a response from Studio Pilates asking to schedule a call and, after navigating time differences, we were able to make it happen. Luck would have it; the co-owners, Jade and Tanya Winter were going to be in New York the following month for their winter holiday. The weight I was holding on to for so long was being peeled away, layer-by-layer like an onion, and I realized my hard work and determination paired with blind luck was resulting in creating my own happiness. July's serendipitous meeting with Jade provided me with an in-depth background of the brand, why it started, how it evolved, and where they envisioned it moving forward. Here is a quick synopsis of our conversation over brekkie. Me: Jade, I am in. Jade: Marisa, you havent even experienced Studio Pilates as of yet, are you sure? Me: I have never been surer of something than I am right now. Your passion for Pilates, your vision for the company is everything that I connect with. I am ready to help Studio Pilates expand into the US. All of this sounds great but now the real work was in front of me. It is like planning for a new job. The fun part is the research, but the hard work is making it happen. I immediately found people with areas of expertise that would help me. First was real estate. I spent the next four months looking at a variety of commercial spaces. There are a variety of topics to consider such as location, layout, overall size, and of course price. Like buying a house, you get to quickly narrow down your focus as you see more. It becomes easier to understand what location is going to make your dreams come true. For me, I found a brand-new building in Park Slope Brooklyn with a great commercial space that had never been touched. Exciting to have a blank canvas, at least that is what I thought at the time. Related: The Top 5 Franchises of 2021 From the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 The lockdown changes everything Over the months, I work on negotiating the lease, had legal calls, worked with architects to draw out every spec of the plan, spoke with the marketing team to think about how we draw new customers to the store, and of course headquarters going through the onboarding process. So, the lease is signed, the plans are signed off, now I had to find instructors and people to work. I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people were interested in becoming certified. Just as they started their onboarding work (education session) the world would throw us a curveball that none of us were expecting. It was March 2020 and everything I had been working so hard for had completely come to a halt. I had to tell headquarters that all construction was shut down, all permits were canceled, my training sessions were on halt, and to pause marketing. I was devasted simply because what if this was the end of my dream. None of us knew what to expect. It was three weeks into a complete lockdown and I felt lost without the Pilates community. That was when I thought of creating a Pilates-inspired clothing line to connect with the community. But how? I am not a designer? I have never run an ecommerce business. I know nothing about the production of clothes. Just like the Studio I did some research and put everything into this. I found Shopify for creating my website, connecting ecommerce capabilities, and even connected with a print-on-demand company, prints clothes for me when a sale happens. No need for upfront expenses of buying products in bulk. I found Breaking Free Industries who I have now partnered with; not only do they have a great social mission of employing people who need a second chance, but their business model gives me a lot of flexibility for how we build products and ship them to consumers. Pivoting to ecommerce Marisainmotion was launched. First, it was tees and tank tops, then it was sweatshirts and hoodies. After that, I launched into custom-made socks (I designed every part of the material and stitching) and most recently I launched a custom Pilates Reformer Mat that provides the ultimate in germ-free, no-slip and easily washable experience. Now from a marketing perspective, I had to get my name out there. Having been in advertising for many years, we know every small business starts with two partners. Facebook to drive consideration for a new company and Google to be where people are searching for products. After the first two weeks, there were a few hundred dollars of sales. What a feeling to have designed a product and then all of the sudden people I do not know are buying them. After the first month, I just had eclipsed $1,000 in sales. Now the challenge was on, how do I grow this. So, I worked to optimize the site experience, added more products as mentioned above and worked on more engaging creative. There was a lot of testing that went on during these early few months. What is driving interest? What is driving sales? Related: The Complete, 12-Step Guide to Starting a Business As the month went by the business continued to see growth, but a long way to go to be profitable. Each month I am learning more, building new products, optimizing the production cycle to improve profitability. I even started to get wholesale inquiries! A studio owner saw their clients wearing my apparel in their studio and wanted to personally sell them in their studio. This brought up new questions. How do I price for wholesale, how do I handle shipping and production cycles? What kind of customizations might I allow (unique combinations or style and design, what about their logos on the clothing? Before long, over 20% of my business was wholesale. Future prospects As of today, the business is almost 12 months in and has over $160,000 in total sales. For someone who has never done this before, the challenge and excitement of building this from scratch, and now seeing people post on social media every week with my clothing is incredibly rewarding. That does not mean there are not hard days (lost shipping, items not fitting well) but I take each comment in stride, learn from it. In the summer of 2020, construction was allowed to resume. Construction and permits were all over the place because New York City has a lot of rules so every time you think you solved all the outstanding issues, more come up. It took 5 months for permits to be filed and approved, and for construction to be done. In January of 2021, I was able to have all my instructors complete their final training. The studio was done, the lights, the plumbing, the music, the reformers, were all where they needed to be. However, something that my business plan did not account for, CDC guidelines. All reformers are now 6 feet apart. We have special cleaning spray. Everyone has to wear a mask at all times. In NY, we are even getting graded like restaurants are and I am very proud to have that A rating on my door. I am now the owner of a beautiful Studio Pilates franchise in Park Slope Brooklyn. Nothing has been harder or more rewarding than this entire experience. You need to find a passion, people you can trust to help compliment your passion and finally put all doubt to the side. Being an entrepreneur means you are in control, so go make it happen. A review from one of my Studio Pilates clients, I have never done Pilates and let me say it is no joke! 100% recommend going here for the hard-core workouts. Everyone is so nice and welcoming. In these times of Covid, the way they have handled guidelines and respect everyone is amazing! I will keep going here as long as I can, will never go anywhere else especially because they are so nice there, I have never had the kind and genuine hospitality that the show! This review has made all the hurdles of construction, permits and COVID all worth it to be able to open my doors to this amazing Pilates community. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Coronation Street and Emmerdale will return to screens next week after they were pulled off air on Friday in the wake of Prince Philip's death. ITV has now confirmed that both soaps will return on Monday April 12 for special one-hour episodes in order to catch up, The Mirror reports. Emmerdale will run from 7pm-8pm with Coronation Street filling the channel's 8-9pm time slot. Back: Corrie and Emmerdale will return to screens next week for one-hour episodes after being pulled off air in the wake of Prince Philip's death (pictured: Emmerdale cast in 2018 still) After the popular shows were pulled, fans took to Twitter to share their disappointment with some highly insensitive comments. One social media user wrote: 'Give it a f**king rest now. phillip died, now we want to see bloody coronation street.' Another added: 'They cancelled the scheduled airing of Coronation Street in England yesterday because Prince Philip died and frankly, how dare they,' While a third joked: 'An old man passed away. And the country mourned as one. But deep down felt a bit miffed. That Coronation street wasn't on.' The Royal Family announced Prince Philip's passing in a statement Friday that read: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Longer: Emmerdale will run from 7pm-8pm with Coronation Street filling the channel's 8-9pm time slot (Pictured: Coronation Street cast in 2020 still) 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss'. The news of Corrie and Emmerdale's extended air time comes after it was claimed in March that hit UK soaps have seen a significant drop in their viewing figures. According to data published by The Mirror, Corrie's audience has fallen by 19 per cent in the past four years while EastEnders has fell by around 37 per cent. The numbers also showed the amount of people tuning into watch TV is down nine per cent in the first eight weeks of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2017. As well as EastEnders and Coronation Street's viewing figures being down, ITV soap Emmerdale also saw their numbers drop by 22 per cent in the period compared. Missing out: After the popular shows were pulled, fans took to Twitter to share their disappointment Writing in Broadcast magazine ratings expert Stephen Price said: 'The soaps' dominance of traditional TV appears to be on the wane, no longer impervious to challenge from the linear opposition and losing fans to the streamers. 'With volume falling faster than overall TV viewing and the challenge of other genres more keenly felt, soaps' all-conquering prowess is disappearing.' The study also reportedly found that younger viewers had turned away from soaps in general, claiming that EastEnders lost 53 per cent of viewers aged 16-34. Despite the fall, EastEnders and Corrie still manage to maintain overall viewing figures in the millions. I spent 13 years of my life behind bars for a crime that never occurred. I am one of the fortunate ones, because after 24 long years, I was exonerated and compensated by Texas, and finally had my record expunged. However, anyone familiar with my case understands the role that unreliable testimony can play in convicting an innocent person for a crime they did not commit. So while my case did not involve a jailhouse informant, I am well aware of the consequences that an informant can have against a defendant. In most informant-involved cases, the prosecution offers a deal. The deal or promise is what makes testifying more attractive to informants. In most cases, it leads to shorter sentences, being released on personal recognizance bond or help with an upcoming parole hearing even though informant testimony has frequently been proven unreliable. The bond that exonerees share with one another is hard to explain. The love, respect and loyalty we have for one another are undeniable and unbreakable. That is why the case of Anthony Graves, a close friend of mine, stands out when I think about the detrimental effects that can come from an informant. Graves spent nearly two decades in prison 12 of those years on death row for a crime he never committed, a conviction based solely on the testimony of an informant. He had no record of violence, no motive; he had witnesses confirming his alibi; and there was no physical evidence connecting him to the crime scene. But the real perpetrator pointed the finger at Graves, claiming he was his accomplice. He also accepted a deal to testify against Graves. If not for two stays of execution, Graves may very well have been executed for a crime he did not commit. Anthony was just 26 years old when he was sent to prison. Theres another case a travesty of injustice that really strikes me when I think about how imperative it is that we change the laws around informant testimony here in Texas. In 1993, Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted of murdering his children in a 1991 fire at his family home and sentenced to death. In addition to the arson evidence presented at the trial, a jailhouse informant named Johnny Webb testified, claiming that Cameron confessed that he set the fire to hide an injury or death of one of the girls that was actually caused by his wife, despite there being no physical evidence to suggest this claim. The prosecutor even noted that Webb was considered an unreliable witness, but that same prosecutor later supported his early release from prison. Ultimately, Willingham was executed by Texas in 2004. And although both Webb and the prosecutor have denied there was a deal for the testimony, 10 years following Willinghams execution, the Innocence Project discovered a handwritten note in Webbs files indicating this type of a deal was being discussed. Jailhouse informants can be, and have proven to be, detrimental to a defendant. The secret deals, promises and favors offered to informants have played a huge role in the wrongful convictions of countless exonerees in Texas. Innocent people are sent to prison for decades, losing their freedom and their lives. That is why the Texas Legislature needs to pass House Bill 2631, which would protect the innocent against lying jailhouse informants by requiring their vetting prior to providing testimony in a serious violent case, and also requiring that cautionary jury instruction is provided if a jailhouse informants testimony is admitted. As an exoneree, I know the effects that a wrongful conviction can have on the person sent to prison, as well as their loved ones. Please ensure unreliable jailhouse testimony does not send another innocent Texan to jail for a crime he or she didnt commit. Pass HB 2631. Anna Vasquez spent 13 years in prison before being exonerated in 2016, along with the other members of the San Antonio 4 who were wrongfully convicted of child sexual assault. She now works for the Innocence Project of Texas as the director of outreach and education. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 22:27:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close File photo shows members of the media, wearing protective suits and masks, walk after they receive briefing from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) employees (in blue) in front of storage tanks for radioactive water at TEPCO's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. REUTERS/Toru Hanai BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday expressed hope that the Japanese government will conduct a thorough assessment of the possible impact of the disposal plan for tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. "The radioactive leak caused by the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has had a profound impact on the marine environment, food safety and human health," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily press briefing. "We hope the Japanese government will act with a high sense of responsibility toward its own people, neighboring countries and the international community, conduct a thorough assessment of the possible impact of the disposal plan for tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, disclose relevant information in a voluntary, timely, strict, accurate, open and transparent manner, and make prudent decisions after full consultation with neighboring countries," Zhao said. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday that his government will soon decide whether to discharge treated radioactive water building up at the disaster-stricken nuclear complex in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea despite strong opposition from the fisheries sector. Dramatic footage has captured the moment a tornado tore through Central Mississippi, bringing flash flooding and leaving 34,000 homes without power. A video posted to social media shows a twister charting a path through Pelahatchie, Rankin County, late Friday evening, as a tornado siren blares in the background as a warning to local residents. Another tornado was reported near McClain Lodge in Brandon while the severe storms also brought hail, strong winds and flash flooding to central and northern parts of the state. At least two homes were destroyed but no injuries have yet been reported. Dramatic footage has captured the moment a tornado tore through Central Mississippi, bringing flash flooding and leaving 34,000 homes without power A video posted to social media shows a twister charting a path through Pelahatchie, Rankin County, late Friday evening, as a tornado siren blares in the background Trees and power lines collapsed on a mobile home in Lake Harbor around 9:30pm Friday as a storm made its way through the area, reported WBLT3. Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey reported another downed tree in the Castlewoods neighborhood, while the severe weather led to a scheduled event at the Brandon Amphitheater to be canceled. This came just after the roof collapsed on a home on Brecon Drive, in Northeast Jackson, in what a witness described as 'easily the scariest moment of my life.' Residents in Jackson and Brandon were faced with flash flooding and the National Weather Service in Jackson issued tornado warnings for several areas including McLaurin, Purvis, Lamar County, Palmers Crossing and McCallum Friday evening. Nearby areas were also under severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings. A total of 14 Mississippi counties were under a thunderstorm watch at 10:30pm, including Forrest, Lamar, Jones, Covington, Marion, Jefferson Davis, Perry, Lawrence, Lincoln, Wayne, Greene, Adams, Franklin and Jefferson counties. Authorities, including in Forrest County and Lamar County, opened safe rooms and shelters in preparation for the storms. Pictured a tornado making its way through Rankin County. Trees and power lines collapsed on a mobile home in Lake Harbor Friday night The severe storms also brought hail, strong winds and flash flooding to central and northern parts of the state The severe weather caused widespread power outages for homes and businesses in affected areas. By 11.30 pm local time, more than 11,000 residents were without power. By 7.30 am, this had increased to 34,000, according to poweroutage.us. The tornado watch remained in place for parts of Mississippi, including the Pine Belt, until 7 am Saturday, as well as parts of Louisiana. The NWS updated its advisory at 5:45 am, announcing on Twitter that the severe weather threat was over but urging caution due to persistent flooding. Tornado warnings were issued for areas including McLaurin, Purvis, Lamar County, Palmers Crossing and McCallum Friday evening The NWS updated its advisory at 5:45 am, announcing on Twitter that the severe weather threat was over but urging caution due to persistent flooding 'The severe weather threat has ended across our area, and the last round of rain is in the process of moving out,' the NWS Jackson MS tweeted. 'If you are venturing out this morning, please remain vigilant for any areas where flooding persists. And remember #TurnAroundDontDrown!' The NWS will survey the extent of the damage this weekend to determine the tornado's strength and wind speed. The latest bout of severe weather comes just two weeks after a stream of tornadoes and storms pummeled the Deep South leaving at least seven dead back in March. While Alabama and Georgia were hardest hit, a 62-year-old Mississippi woman, Ester Jarrell, died when a large tree toppled onto her mobile home in Wilkinson County. (Newser) The UK's national broadcaster switched instantly into mourning mode when Prince Philips death was announced Friday. The BBC canceled its regular programming and aired special coverage hosted by black-clad news anchors throughout the day. Popular prime-time shows such as the cooking contest MasterChef were supplanted. Some Britons saw the BBCs actions as a fitting mark of respect. For others, it was a bit much. The broadcaster received so many complaints alleging its reporting was excessive that it set up a special website page for viewers to register objections if they felt there was "too much TV coverage of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh." The AP reports it didnt disclose how many people had complained by Saturday. story continues below The publicly funded BBC often finds itself under fire from all sides for its treatment of major national events. When the Queen Mother Elizabeth died in 2002, the broadcaster received criticism because the announcer who delivered the news did not wear a black tie. Britains other TV stations also gave extensive coverage to Philips death, but the BBC is under unique pressure because it is taxpayer-funded. Scrutiny and questions about its role have grown in recent years as commercial rivals and streaming services give audiences more choice. BBC Director-General Tim Davie has acknowledged the organization must evolve with changing times, but says it remains essential to British society. "We have a different purpose" than broadcasters such as Netflix, Davie told UK lawmakers last month. "I'm not running a business for profit. Im running ... an organization for purpose." (Read more Prince Philip stories.) Glenwood Canyon Glenwood Canyon follows the Colorado River for 12.5 miles from Dotsero westward to Glenwood Springs. It passes through rock walls as high as 1,300 feet along the way. A section of Interstate 70 carves through the canyon and features 40 bridges, two 4,000-foot-long tunnels, and 30,000 tons of structural and reinforcing steel. Credit: Jimmy Thomas (Flickr) Lawton, OK (73501) Today Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies in the evening, then becoming cloudy overnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Guwahati, April 10 : Wildlife authorities on Saturday translocated and released three rhino calves into the Manas Tiger Reserve (MTR), which were rescued during floods at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNP&TR) in Assam, officials said. Senior wildlife official Rathin Barman said that these rhino calves would remain in the dedicated 'boma' (specified areas) for around a month for their familiarisation with the forest and then they would be freed to the wilderness of the reserve. "During this one month we would closely supervise their movement and health conditions," Barman told IANS over phone. KNP&TR Director Karmashree P. Sivakumar said that the three rhino calves -- two females and one male -- successfully shifted from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga, where they were kept ever since they were rescued during the floods in 2019. He said that these rhino calves have undergone a protocol of rehabilitation for two years before they translocated on Saturday to MTR, 176 km west of Guwahati. The two female calves were rescued from Hatimura and Kuthuri areas, while the male was rescued from Solmara during the floods that hit Kaziranga in July-August 2019. The translocation is part of an ongoing effort to increase the number of wildlife at the MTR in Baksa district bordering Bhutan. The national park was devastated for many years due to terror activities and rampant poaching. "The intra-state rhino translocation would help improve the gene pool of the species," Sivakumar said. "Under our commitment to bring back Manas, we have augmented the national park with 19 rhinos, including offsprings of the released rhinos, out of the total population of 44 rhinos," he added. Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors is faced with new criticism over BLM finances after buying a $1.4 million house in the rustic and mostly white Los Angeles neighborhood of Topanga Canyon. Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 37, is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California, and has been married to Janaya Khan, co-founder of BLM Toronto, for about five years, according to Dirt. Khan-Cullors wrote "When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir," released in 2018. BLM co-founder buys a $1.4 million house in L.A. A secluded mini-compound in L.A.'s rustic and semi-remote Topanga Canyon was recently sold for a little more than $1.4 million to a corporate entity owned by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, social justice visionary and co-founder of the galvanizing and, for others, controversial Black Lives Matter campaign. In 2013, in response to George Zimmerman's acquittal in the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, Khan-Cullors, married social activist Janaya Khan, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, and created the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. Since then, the increasingly autonomous movement has been at the center of discussions about police brutality and racially-based violence against Black people, especially in the aftermath of George Floyd's death last summer, which prompted widespread demonstrations around the U.S. and the world. 1 Dead, 5 Others Shot In Texas Cabinet Plant Shooting; Suspect In Custody During nationwide demonstrations against George Floyd's killing by a Minneapolis police in the summer of 2020, the BLM campaign grew. BLM received a flood of donations. Following public pressure, the company announced that it raised $90 million in 2020. Khan-Cullors has been busy making deals since founding BLM. According to The Los Angeles Times, she signed a contract with Warner Bros. T.V. last fall to produce original content that elevates Black voices on streaming platforms and conventional T.V. networks. However, with BLM's visibility and financial clout raising, Khan-Cullors was called out for allegedly profiting from the Black tragedy. Co-founders Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi left BLM over differences over how the company should be handled. Boy Dies After Jumping From 15-Story Apartment Building, Landing on a Car in New York BLM co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors faces criticism over the new house Khan-Cullors is now facing even more criticism as a result of her $1.4 million home purchase. People asked why and how she is spending so much money on the house, but most tweets in response to political scientist @JamelTheCreator were dedicated to why she picked Topanga Canyon. For somebody that claims to love Black people, it's kinda strange that she chose a place to live that's practically devoid of Black people pic.twitter.com/UluZTLfxNs Sheikh Judd Hashisho (@glubokiy_boy) April 9, 2021 @Twitter Some also accused her of profiting from the Black Lives Matter movement. "She used the 'Injustice Against Black People' bag to her advantage. They've been swindling people from the beginning," said another. She capitalized on that Injustice against Black People bag. Theyve been scamming since day 1 Ryan Lee (@LTM_RBG_321) April 9, 2021 @Twitter Including a three-bedroom, two-bath main house and a single one-bedroom, one-bath guest unit, private entry, and a living room with a kitchenette, the BLM co-new founder's residence is just under 2,400 square feet. The average price of a home in Topanga is $1,419,592, as per Zillow. South Carolina Shooting: Police Puzzle Why Ex-NFL Pro Philip Adams Killed Dr. Robert Lesslie and Family @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. There are so many different ways that you can hug a person. Obviously, each type of hug is going to have a little different meaning to it,... Parents asked please avoid car-sharing and please dont hang around at the school gates in latest detailed council update The latest local update has been published by Wrexham Council, detailing the precise local area figures and a return of the local data tables. If you want to check the figures where you live, visit the Public Health Wales data dashboard and click on the MSOA tab, and select Wrexham on the right hand side to get a zoomed in map. In another positive update the data shows only one sub-area (Wrexham West) has over the 51 case per 100k benchmark, with the council adding None has more than 6 cases in the week; in fact, all but that one have 0 to 3 cases. There are, therefore, no hotspots. The number of cases locally in the seven day window is recorded as 44 across Wrexham up to the 4th. The council, who run the Test Trace Protect system for Wrexham and therefore have the data on positive cases and their locations and spread say household transmission is still the driver locally. They added, After months of strict lockdown, it feels great to be able to do more of the things we used to (and probably took for granted). But we need to stay safe and do things carefully. We want to thank everyone in Wrexham for their efforts in fighting the virus. Its been a hard winter and its good that summer is now approaching and we can all feel more positive. But we need to keep working together to keep Wrexham safe. On schools specifically they said, Schools in Wrexham and the rest of Wales will reopen to all children both primary and secondary this Monday, April 12. Some schools will have teacher training days next week, but will let parents know if this is the case. If youre a parent, please avoid car-sharing, and please dont hang around at the school gates. These two simple things can make a big difference. With retail reopening on Monday, they added, When you come into town to support local businesses, please stick to social distancing, use hand sanitiser in shops, and wear a face mask unless youre exempt. The full council update from yesterday is copied in full below, as usual any bolding or italics is from Wrexham Council: When we usually think about wildflower hikes, our minds wander to the sweeping landscapes of the Columbia River Gorge, where yellow balsamroot and purple lupines bloom on hills overlooking the mighty Columbia. As crowds continue to flood outdoor recreation areas around the Pacific Northwest, these renowned wildflower hikes have become overcrowded to the point of inaccessibility on sunny spring weekends. Those in search of a quieter experience would do well to drive through the Columbia Gorge, crossing the river into Washington and heading up into the hills just beyond. Here, a sparser landscape brims with wildflower blooms that are no less beautiful than the crowded spots by the river. One such place is the remote and beautiful Swale Canyon, a narrow chasm between rolling, wind-swept hills where the land comes alive with color every spring. A footbridge leads to the Klickitat Trail along Swale Creek, from the Harms Road Trailhead near Centerville, Wash.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian The purple flowers of Columbia desert parsley bloom amid yellow desert parsley flowers along the Klickitat Trail in Swale Canyon. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian The Klickitat Trail descends into Swale Canyon, with yellow desert parsley flowers blooming along Swale Creek in early spring. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Yellow desert parsley flowers bloom as the plant grows out of a wall of loose rocks along the Klickitat Trail in Swale Canyon.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian On Thursday, just a week into April, the canyon was alive with blooming desert parsley flowers, their yellow heads bobbing in the wind above bright green bunches of leaves. They dotted the harsh black and red stone of the volcanic landscape, where orange and yellow lichens glowed in the morning light. Trickling Swale Creek ran alongside the trail, its rocky banks stained chalk-white with minerals. Pine trees dotted the canyon with splashes of dark green and orange, alongside bare gray cottonwoods, alders and maples that were just beginning to bud. Squirrels had the run of the place, scampering back and forth across in the sun, as songbirds flitted through the trees and raptors circled on the wind. A pair of crows chased a hawk from their cliffside perch, their caws echoing off the canyon walls. Notably absent from Swale Canyon were humans. Aside from myself, I counted only one pair of hikers along with a pair of cyclists on the trail through the late afternoon. Yellow desert parsley flowers bloom alongside the Klickitat Trail in Swale Canyon.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Swale Creek runs alongside the Klickitat Trail as it descends into Swale Canyon near Centerville, Wash.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian The Klickitat Trail descends into Swale Canyon, with yellow desert parsley flowers blooming along Swale Creek in early spring. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian The Klickitat Trail runs through Swale Canyon, with yellow desert parsley flowers blooming along Swale Creek in early spring. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Swale Canyon is only one part of the long-reaching Klickitat Trail, which runs 42 miles through the hills of Klickitat County to the tiny Columbia Gorge town of Lyle. The trail was built along an old railroad line, the remains of which can still be seen. In Swale Canyon, old ties and spikes can sometimes be seen beside the trail, while several small rail bridges have been converted for foot traffic. Managed by Washington State Parks and the Klickitat Trail Conservancy, the Klickitat Trail is open to hikers, cyclists and equestrians, as well as dogs on leash. And while its length and beauty might pique the interest of backpackers, camping is not allowed anywhere along the trail. If past spring reports from other hikers are any indication, Swale Canyon is just beginning to bloom. Aside from desert parsley, the canyon is known to host poets shooting star, yellow bells, grass widow and other wildflowers. And soon, the trees that line the canyon will be bursting with flowers and leaves. The views arent quite as awesome as those in the Columbia River Gorge, but if its spring color and a beautiful natural landscape youre after, Swale Canyon holds its own against the best. Cyclists head out on the Klickitat Trail along Swale Creek near Centerville, Wash.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian SWALE CANYON HIKE Distance: varies Difficulty: moderately easy (rocky trail) Amenities: portable toilet Since the 42-mile Klickitat Trail runs through Swale Canyon, you can approach it from either side. This hike begins at the eastern side of the canyon, at the Harms Road Trailhead, where parking is easy and the access is clear and simple. To reach the trailhead from downtown Lyle, turn north onto Centerville Highway from WA-14, and drive 14.7 miles to Harms Road. Turn left onto Harms Road, where just across a small bridge youll see the trailhead and a portable toilet on the left. Park off to the side of the gravel road, wherever youre able. From the trailhead, pass through a gate and cross a wooden bridge beside Swale Creek. The trail will gradually descend into Swale Canyon, the rolling hills soon turning into steep canyon walls. Youll need to pass through two green gates near the beginning of the hike look for latches on the left side. The Swale Canyon section of the Klickitat Trail is about 12 miles in all, and unless you have a car parked at either end, its up to you to decide how far out you want to hike before turning back around. The desert parsley flowers are abundant for about the first three or four miles, then begin to peter out deeper into the canyon, making a good point to turn around for a six to eight-mile day. About six miles down the trail, halfway into the canyon, the trail crosses a long wooden footbridge over the creek, marking a good stopping point for a lengthier 12-mile day. However far you decide to go, simply turn around and go back the way you came to return to the trailhead on Harms Road. --Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB ANN ARBOR, MI - After four years of arguing he should have access to the papers of anti-immigration activist John Tanton housed at the University of Michigan because they are a public record, a Virginia-based attorney will get to make his case in an upcoming trial. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in a dispositive order Friday, April 9, affirming by equal division of the court in a 3-3 vote a 2019 decision by the Court of Appeals that said the sealed off records should be considered public record. When there is no majority on a Supreme Court vote, the lower court ruling stands. The decision came after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on Jan. 6. Justices David Viviano, Brian Zahra and Elizabeth T. Clement were concurring. Chief Justice Bridget McCormack wrote a dissenting statement that was joined by Justices Megan Cavanagh and Elizabeth Welch. Justice Richard Bernstein did not participate due to a familial relationship. Plaintiff Hassan Ahmad said he is looking forward to arguing that the documents should be made public in a court setting after filing a complaint seeking the papers of Tanton under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Up to this point, Ahmad said there has been no actual ruling on the merits of whether or not the papers are public record, but rather whether or not he successfully pled his case to be able to go to trial. They tried to keep me out of the courthouse doors for four years and now were in, Ahmad said of the order. UM Spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen said the university is studying the opinion. Being able to preserve the non-governmental papers of private donors, at least for a period of time, is fundamental to our academic mission and to furthering our understanding of state history, Broekhuizen said. Despite Vivianos opinion noting he was inclined to believe that the Court of Appeals reached the correct result regarding the meaning and application of MCL 15.232(i) - a provision FOIA - the application of that provision is still not entirely clear. The question here is whether a private individuals archives, given to the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library under the condition that the contents not be made publicly available for a period of time, is subject to FOIA as a public record, Viviano wrote. Rather than resort to the broad purposes behind FOIA to determine the definition of public record and resolve the case today, I would wait until we could assess whether the materials here, even if deemed public records, fall within FOIAs personal-privacy exemption. In her dissenting opinion McCormack said she was concerned the Court of Appeals decision missed the mark, noting that the Legislatures enacting of FOIA was to provide full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees. A private individuals sealed, donated writings to a library do no such thing, McCormack wrote. Tanton donated the papers with the request that those boxes remain closed until April 2035, in accordance with the terms of the gift. In total, 25 boxes of documents were donated by Tanton to the university. UM has argued while denying Ahmads FOIA request that 10 boxes of those records were from a private source and not available to the university community or the public under the agreement with the donor, because the documents were not utilized, possessed, or retained in the performance of any official University function. Ahmad filed a lawsuit in June 2017 with the Michigan Court of Claims, seeking materials documenting Tantons work as a political and environmental activist from 1960 through the 1990s. The Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit in November 2017, but the Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2019, with a panel of judges ruling Ahmad sufficiently pled that UM was storing and maintaining Tantons papers consistent with its stated purposes and the librarys official functions. The papers include a series related to his involvement with Northern Michigan Planned Parenthood, Zero Population Growth and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which Tanton founded in 1979, seeking to end illegal immigration and set a ceiling on legal immigration. No date has been set for the trial. Tanton died July 16, 2019 in Petoskey after a 16-year battle with Parkinsons disease at 85. READ MORE: Judge: Anti-immigration activists papers at University of Michigan are public record State Supreme Court to hear case on anti-immigration activists papers housed at University of Michigan Michigan founder of anti-immigration movement John Tanton dead at 85 London: Prince Philips four children have revealed how they will best remember their father in a new heartfelt tribute aired as the grieving royal family rework plans for his funeral. The Duke of Edinburgh died at Windsor Castle on Friday, nearly three weeks after being discharged from a London hospital following treatment for an infection and heart condition. He was two months short of turning 100. British media reported the Queen was by the side of her husband of 73 years when he died peacefully in the morning. Prince Charles was later driven from his home in south-west England to Windsor Castle to comfort his mother and help adapt funeral plans to adhere to coronavirus restrictions. Noida: Over 6,000 people and more than 1200 vehicle owners have been penalised for not wearing a face mask and not adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols in Noida and Greater Noida on Friday. The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police said that challans were issued to owners of over 1,200 vehicles for flouting COVID-19 protocols and traffic rules. 23 vehicles were impounded in the action, the police said. "As many as 6,006 people who were found without face masks in public places were issued challans and Rs 6 lakh collected from them in fines, a police spokesperson said. "Action was taken under Section 188 (disobeying government order) against 77 people and FIRs were lodged in 30 such cases," the official added. Challans were issued against owners of 1,262 vehicles and Rs 1.63 lakh collected from them in fines while 27 vehicles impounded, the police said. Besides checking for face masks, vehicles were checked for traffic rules like usual routine, the police added. The checking comes days after a private bus was looted by robbers at the gunpoint on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district on Monday night. At least six robbers boarded a private bus, going from Noida to Hamirpur in east Uttar Pradesh, at gunpoint in the Surir police station area of Mathura and robbed the passengers. According to the police, the robbers looted the passengers of their cash, jewellery and mobile phones. The incident happened around 1 AM. Shirish Chandra Superintendent of Police (Rural), Mathura said bus conductors were not allowed to pick passengers on the expressway. On Thursday, 3,364 people were penalised across the district for not wearing face masks in public places, while challans were also issued to owners of 1,685 vehicles, the police said. Amid a surge in cases of COVID-19, the district police is now carrying out announcements in public places and patrolling crowded places to raise awareness about the situation. Live TV The day had finally come, well, actually the night, when I got to see my home in a new light LED light to be exact. I had been waiting impat Suspicious Person Arrested at Kentucky Dam By West Kentucky Star Staff MARSHALL COUNTY - A call about a suspicious person at Kentucky Dam early Friday morning led to a man's arrest.Just before 3:00 a.m., deputies were notified that a suspicious man was standing near the dam's floodgates.Deputies arrested Randall Coursey, and charged him with public intoxication, disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, littering, wanton endangerment of a police officer, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. ALBANY Getting out of the house has been no easy task for Mary Nardiello. The 94-year-old Albany resident began using a wheelchair last year to get around after nerve damage from her diabetes precipitated a series of falls that put her in the hospital unable to walk. Now, she only leaves her home to go to the doctor. When the COVID-19 vaccine became available to seniors back in January, her daughter, Pat Mangini, briefly entertained trying to get Nardiello out of the house and to a vaccine site. It would have been difficult, she said. We would have had to arrange transportation that can accommodate her chair, get her down the ramp and with the snow and the rain we just thought we better wait for the weather to get better and go from there. Later that month, Mangini heard on the news that the Albany County Sheriffs Office was vaccinating people who cant leave their home, so she called and got her mom on a list. It would be at least another month, though, before someone actually showed up to give the shot. On April 2, a masked EMT and paramedic with the sheriffs office delivered Nardiellos final jab while her daughter watched over the scene, smiling with relief. After a year of social isolation and a close brush with COVID-19, the moment was a joyful one. You feel better knowing you have it because we have aides who come in and out, and two of them actually caught COVID at one point, Mangini said. So it just feels good knowing she has that extra layer of security. Falling through the cracks With the latest batch of New Yorkers, those 16 and older, eligible for vaccine as of this past week, providers are ramping up their efforts to reach people like Nardiello who have been eligible for months but are unable to get the vaccine because of difficulties leaving their house. This population of homebound people includes the elderly, sick and disabled, who are at particularly high risk for poor outcomes from COVID-19. But with no official state-led campaign informing this group of their options to get vaccinated, the task has fallen to local health departments, vaccine providers and offices for the aging. In addition to advertising the service on their social media channels and through local news campaigns, they have been consulting lists from local agencies of people who receive services in the home and conducting outreach that way. Still, they worry some are falling through the cracks. Theres no systemic, holistic plan for reaching this group, said Beth Finkel, state director of AARP New York. The governor has done a great job of rolling out the vaccine to so many populations and we are very thankful for that, but the group that really still needs attention is the homebound. Approximately 300,000 New Yorkers currently receive services in the home, she said, but the number of people who are unable to leave home is likely much higher. Finkel wrote a letter to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last month calling for the implementation of a statewide, coordinated plan to vaccinate the homebound, as well as their caregivers. Other states, including Texas, Massachusetts and Florida, have developed statewide approaches for vaccinating the homebound, she said. One simple option is to have a dedicated hotline that people can call to get their name on a list that could then be distributed to local vaccine providers, she said. Right now, many local communities have such hotlines, but they are spread across multiple providers and many remain unaware of the service. I'm homebound. How do I sign up? Albany County residents can call 518-720-8036 Greene County residents can call 518-822-9600 or sign up here Rensselaer County residents can call 518-270-2955 Saratoga County residents can call 518-693-1075 or sign up here Schenectady County residents can call 518-382-8481 Warren County residents should have their physician contact County Health Services at 518-761-6580 to schedule a visit Washington County residents can sign up here See More Collapse New York could build an option into its existing vaccination hotline and website for people to signal they require an in-home vaccination, Finkel said. Other states are acting to address this issue now, Finkel said. Why is New York lagging behind? Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesperson for the state Health Department, did not directly respond when asked whether the state was working to develop a coordinated, statewide campaign such as the kind Finkel described. NYS is working with multiple local agencies and organizations including local health departments, hospitals, regional vaccination hubs and their network partners, home health care and visiting nurses associations, state and local offices for the aging, in-home pharmacy providers, and community paramedicine programs and to implement creative local plans to vaccinate the homebound population," he said in an email. Due to the time-consuming nature of in-home vaccinations, providers have been asking the state to send them more single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine specifically for use with homebound people. Many are currently using the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna shots, effectively doubling the number of trips they have to make to each home. EMS agencies say they could speed up the vaccinations if their EMTs were authorized to vaccinate people without the supervision of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant as recent executive orders require. Currently, ambulance companies are sending paramedics to administer the actual vaccine, with EMTs there to assist. We know these people While some believe a statewide approach to vaccinating the homebound is needed, local vaccine providers are adamant that their familiarity with their local needs is sufficient for getting the job done. We know these communities. We know these people, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. "I cant tell you the dozens and dozens of people who have reached out to me on social media to tell me they have a loved one in Knox or Albany who could use this service and so we add them to our list. Apple said his office saw a need for the service from the very beginning, due to its history of providing services in the countys remote Hilltowns and outlying areas of Bethlehem, Coeymans and Guilderland, where many high-risk and elderly people live. In some rural areas, he said, the issue isnt even that people cant leave their homes its that they wont. A lot of folks in these outlying areas just dont go to the city, he said. They dont like to go to the city and thats why a lot of folks out here dont get the services that they truly need not for anyones fault but honestly their own because they just dont like to go down to Albany. The sheriffs office has a large emergency medical services division whose employees are authorized to administer vaccine so it began to host drive-through clinics in some of the rural areas, and has done over 150 in-home vaccinations as well, Apple said. It is very time-consuming because we have to wait with them for 15 minutes afterwards, he said. And then you move on to the next house which could be 10 miles away or two miles away. So the numbers arent huge. We try to do 10 a day or sometimes 15, but if we can only do one a day were happy to do it. John McDonald, a local state Assemblyman who runs an independent pharmacy in Cohoes, said he knows exactly which of his patients can leave their homes and which cant after years of providing home delivery of prescriptions. Hes been bringing the vaccine directly to them and anyone else who calls to say they cant leave home, though he tries to make sure the person is truly homebound, he said. I dont want people who are lazy and just dont want to get out because there are people who think its like a pizza delivery, he said. But most people are honest. His familiarity about town is also helpful to the effort, he said. Last week, he ran into a firefighter at a local Stewarts who knew a homebound person in need and added them to his list. Its happening organically because of longstanding relationships, he said. Best day of their lives In large and geographically diverse Saratoga County, 11 ambulance companies have vaccinated over 1,600 people in their homes, according to Mike McEvoy, the countys EMS coordinator. Many of the people have been formally identified through the countys vaccine interest list, an online form that launched in February for people to fill out to be contacted about inoculation opportunities. The county has been working its way through the list, calling individuals when supply becomes available and asking whether they are able to leave the home. Those who arent are put on a list for homebound vaccinations, McEvoy said. Others are identified more informally, he said. These are community paramedics, he said. "So they are out there seeing people, taking blood pressures at senior centers, and going out and picking someone up who falls down at home. They know the underserved individuals in their communities and the ones without Internet or phone. The vaccination effort has been a huge morale boost for EMS providers, McEvoy said. Residents who are stuck at home are often grateful not to be forgotten, and happy to mark an end to a grueling year of social isolation. Some have burst into tears at the thought of seeing their loved ones and grandchildren again, he said. Its a career-changing experience for a lot of our paramedics who feel like, oh, someones actually happy to see me, he said. "Because otherwise every call they get is for a person having the worst day of their lives. For some, getting this vaccine has become the best day of their lives. Power UPF Methodology Engineer San Diego , California , United States Hardware Summary Posted: Apr 7, 2021 Role Number: 200237351 Do you have a passion for crafting entirely new solutions? As part of our Digital Design Engineering group, you'll take imaginative and revolutionary ideas and determine how to turn them into reality! You and your team will apply engineering fundamentals and groundbreaking efforts, bringing forward-thinking ideas to the real world. Join us, and you'll help design the tools that allow us to bring customers experiences they've never before envisioned! You will be part of an exciting silicon design group that is responsible for designing state-of-the-art ASICs. We have an extraordinary opportunity for Power UPF Engineers, who will drive transistor level power ERC sign-off and power intent-UPF implementation & verification on mobile SOCs. Key Qualifications We are looking for applicants with experience in ASIC design methodology and an emphasis on power definition. Experience in ASIC design flows and custom IP design flows. Familiar with basic circuit & layout fundamentals. Familiar with Caliber based ERC flows. Familiar with power intent definition, implementation and verification flows. Knowledge of scripting languages like, Tcl, Perl and Python. Familiar with of power analysis and optimization methods. Familiar with entire RTL2GDS flow (RTL sim (VCS), equivalence, synthesis, P&R, intent checking) Strong communication skills are a pre-requisite as you will collaborate with a lot of different groups. NCG or Experienced. Description Imagine yourself at the center of our SOC design effort, collaborating with all fields, playing a strategic role of getting functional products to millions of customers quickly. You will have the opportunity to integrate and come-up with new insights, as well as work with a team of hardworking engineers. The main responsibility of this role is to develop and support transistor level power ERC sign-off for digital and mixed signal designs, drive power ERC sign-off at full-chip level, drive UPF implementation and verification for mobile SOCs and make current power sign-off flow more robust and expand power sign-off methodology for next generation mobile products, including: - Drive Mixed signal IP power ERC and power intent verification. - Drive coverage of power intent across static and dynamic checking methodologies. - Define and develop power ERC framework for new projects. - Bring up power intent checking flows on new projects. - Drive power intent & power ERC sign-off for tape-out. - Liaison with CAD and physical design verification team for debugging any power ERC and power intent flow issues. Education & Experience BSEE/MSEE or Computer Science required. On March 31, two days after the 13-year-olds death, police contacted his mother at about 1 p.m. and told her of an unidentified person at the Cook County medical examiners office who matched a description of her son, Brown said. His mother at that point said she had not seen her son for several days, and she identified him at 3:30 p.m. that day at the medical examiners office. April 10 : Just before the second wave of coronavirus pandemic hit Mumbai, Ajay Devgn was shooting for his directorial venture MayDay. The film went on floors in December last year. In the schedule that was been shot recently, megastar Amitabh Bachchan was shooting for the film in Mumbai. The film has now reached its final schedule. With the rising number of cases in Mumbai as well as across the country, Ajay has reportedly decided to put on hold the last leg of the shoot as Mumbai is facing a record number of cases on a single day. Ajay has, however, completed the major portion of the film. MayDay stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh among others. For the final leg, the MayDay team was supposed to head to Doha for a three day shoot schedule at the end of April. However, due to the massive surge in COVID-19 cases, the director has decided to hold the Doha schedule keeping the safety of his cast and crew in mind. MayDay is based on a real incident that took place in 2015, when a Doha-Kochi flight had a close shave due to poor visibility and had to divert to another airport in south India. Though the film was supposed to be shot at various airports across India, it was not possible due to the pandemic situation. Ajay had to create airport sets in Hyderabad for the film. The team had shot major portions of the film in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, recently, Devgns film crew got into trouble when more than a dozen crew members of MayDay were booked by Manikpur police in Vasai for reportedly flouting COVID-19 rules. However, the team reportedly claimed that they have taken permission to shoot from the tehsildar. A case was registered under Sections 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (Act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) TORONTO, April 8, 2021 /CNW/ - Young Mining Professionals Scholarship Fund ("YMPSF") is pleased to announce the continuation of its scholarship fund in 2021. The growth of the YMP Scholarship Fund is a result of the support and donations from its partners Agnico Eagle Mines Limited ("Agnico Eagle"), Alamos Gold Inc ("Alamos"), Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick"), B2Gold Corp. ("B2Gold"), Champion Iron Limited ("Champion Iron"), Equinox Gold Corp. ("Equinox"), IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD"), Joan Margaret Stewart, Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross"), The Northern Miner ("TNM"), Ore Group Inc. ("Ore Group"), O3 Mining Inc. ("O3"), TD Securities, Yamana Gold Inc. ("Yamana") and YMP Toronto. YMPSF's mandate is to attract young people to Canada's exploration and mining industry by supporting their academic studies in earth sciences post-secondary programs. YMPSF is a volunteer-based organization with 100% of its donations from partners awarded directly to the student scholarship recipients. Each of YMPSF's scholarships is unique, and awards include cash incentives and internships with certain donor partners. YMPSF is a registered Canadian charity that is eligible to offer tax receipts to its donors. Individuals and corporations who would like to support or create a scholarship are encouraged to contact us directly at the email address provided below. YMP Scholarship Fund's 2021 Program (Apply Here): The Agnico Eagle Perseverance/Kajussissimainarniq Scholarship 1 x $10K One $10,000 scholarship in partnership with Agnico Eagle, as well as an interview for an internship with Agnico Eagle, will be awarded to a Nunavut Inuit student pursuing a career in mining. Alamos Gold's Student in Mining (Northern Ontario) Scholarship 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship to a student enrolled in a mining-related program at a Canadian post-secondary education institution. Students must either be studying at an institution located in Northern Ontario or reside in Northern Ontario. Alamos Gold's Student in Mining (Financial Need) Scholarship 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship to a student enrolled in a mining-related program at a Canadian university. Students must provide a statement of financial need to be eligible for this scholarship. Barrick Gold's Peter Munk Scholarship 1 x $10K One $10,000 scholarship in partnership with Barrick, as well as an interview for an internship with Barrick, will be awarded to a student who embodies Peter Munk's entrepreneurial spirit. B2Gold's UBC Mining Scholarship 1 x $10K One $10,000 scholarship to a student enrolled in a mining-specific program at the University of British Columbia. Students must demonstrate that they are pursuing a career in the mining industry and participate in activities or organizations that align with B2Gold's vision and values of maintaining high standards of environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Equinox Gold's BC Mining Scholarship 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship to a student enrolled in a mining-specific program at a post-secondary educational institution in British Columbia or residents of British Columbia. Equinox Gold's Northwestern Ontario Mining Scholarship 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship to a student enrolled in a mining-specific program at Lakehead University or residents ofthe Kenora, Rainy River or Thunder Bay districts. IAMGOLD's Cote Gold Indigenous Community Scholarship 1 x $5k One $5,000 scholarship to an exceptional indigenous student in a mining-related program. The winner will also be eligible to interview for a summer internship with IAMGOLD at their Cote Gold Project. IAMGOLD's Cote Gold Woman in Mining Scholarship 1 x $5k One $5,000 scholarship to an exceptional female currently in a mining-specific undergraduate program at a Canadian university. Also, the recipient will have the opportunity to interview for a summer internship at IAMGOLD's Cote Gold Project. Joan Margaret Stewart New Canadian Scholarship 2 x $2.5K Two $2,500 scholarships to new Canadian students demonstrating a financial need and are enrolled in an earth sciences program at a Canadian post-secondary educational institution. Applicants should be in their second, third or fourth year of study. Kinross Scholarship 2 x $5,000 Two $5,000 scholarships (one for male and one for female), funded by Kinross, will be awarded to full-time undergraduate students attending any Canadian university and studying a technical mining field such as mining engineering, geotechnical engineering, metallurgy, geological engineering, and geology. An internship interview opportunity will be provided. The Northern Miner Scholarship 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship to an exceptional student enrolled in a mining-specific program at a Canadian university. O3 Quebec Mining Scholarship 1 x $15K One $15,000 scholarship to an exceptional student in their second, third or fourth year in a mining-related program at a French-language post-secondary institution in Quebec. Ore Group Indigenous Mining Scholarships 5 x $2K With funding from Ore Group and its portfolio companies, five $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to exceptional Indigenous students registered at a Canadian post-secondary institution. TD Securities Women in Mining Scholarship 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to an exceptional female in a mining-specific undergraduate program at a Canadian university. TD Securities Mining Capital Markets 1 x $5K One $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to an exceptional student currently in a mining-specific undergraduate program at a Canadian university with a keen interest in capital markets. Yamana Gold's Student in Mining Scholarship 2 x $5K Two $5,000 scholarship funded by Yamana will be provided to an extraordinary, aspiring industry professional enrolled in a mining-related program via an innovative one-page creation. Mining Lottery Scholarship (the "Lottery") (Apply Here) The Lottery's purpose is to attract and develop Canada's best and brightest to further their education within the natural resource industry. The individual grants from the Lottery will be $500, with the sole criteria being confirmed current enrollment in an earth sciences or mining engineering program at a Canadian post-secondary institution. Winners of the Lottery will be selected at random. The Lottery is currently funded with a minimum of $5,000 for ten students. YMPSF would like to thank Kinross, Champion Iron Ore and YMP Toronto for their generous support in seeding the Lottery. If you would like to help support YMPSF's Mining Lottery Scholarship, DONATE HERE, and all contributions over $50 will receive a tax receipt. Attention students: How to apply to the YMP Scholarship Fund Scholarships will be awarded to students pursuing a career in the mining industry and are enrolled in mining-related programs for the 2021/2022 academic year at Canadian universities. The deadline to apply for the majority of the scholarships (except for the IAMGOLD, Kinross and Lottery scholarship) is August 31, 2021, at midnight. Winners of all awards will be announced on September 30, 2021. Applications for the YMP Lottery are now open, with the first of ten draws beginning on Thursday, July 1st and occurring weekly until Thursday, September 2nd. For full details on how to apply to the YMP Scholrships, please click here. Each scholarship is unique and requires individual applications. Applicants will be considered based on the following criteria: academic achievement; extracurricular involvement; and submissions demonstrating creativity, perseverance, innovative ideas and a commitment to a career in mining. Canada's mining industry needs a strong entrepreneurial spirit; these scholarships recognize the qualities integral to developing mines and building mining and exploration companies. Best of luck to all students! About YMP Scholarship Fund YMPSF donates 100% of receipts to students via its scholarship program. YMPSF is a registered Canadian charity that is eligible to offer tax receipts to its donors. Individuals and corporations who would like to support or create a scholarship are encouraged to contact YMPSF directly at [email protected]. YMPSF's mandate is to attract young Canadians to the resource exploration and mining industry by supporting their academic studies in mining-related post-secondary programs. Further details on the YMPSF can be found at the following website: www.ympscholarships.com. SOURCE Young Mining Professionals For further information: [email protected] Mumbai, April 10 : Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal on Saturday posted a wise observation while appealing to fans that they stay indoors and stay safe amid the rising second wave of Covid. "Locked In -- glad not locked out -- #staysafe #lockdown," he wrote with a shirtless selfie. The actor will soon be seen in the action film "Sanak", besides in the series "Main Hero Boll Raha Hun", which talks of the underbelly of Mumbai crimes and greed for power. The series will start streaming from April 20 digitally. Kolkata, April 10 : Despite violence and bloodbath in the fourth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal on Saturday, which saw five people get killed at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district, the state recorded a relatively low turnout of 76.16 per cent till 5 p.m. A total of five people were killed in two separate incidents in Cooch Behar district on Saturday. Four persons were killed when central forces opened fire on an unruly mob in Sitalkuchi Assembly constituency in Mathabhanga block, while in another incident in the same constituency, a first-time voter was killed. Though the police have claimed that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on duty opened fire in self defence that led to the death of four persons, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sought an explanation and said that she would visit the village on Sunday. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a note on Friday evening that may stall the Chief Minister's plan to visit Sitalkuchi. "In Cooch Behar district where voting shall be over by today, no political leader from any national, state or other party should be allowed to enter the geographical boundaries of the district for the next 72 hours with immediate effect," the ECI said. The four persons who died on Saturday have been identified as Amjad Hossain (28), Chalmu Mian (23), Jobed Ali (20) and Nameed Mia (20). Seven others were injured in the incident, who were rushed to the nearby hospital. They are all residents of Jor Patki village and voters of Booth No. 126, where the incident took place. Following the incident, the Election Commission adjourned the polling in the booth and sought a report from the special observers and Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab by Saturday evening. According to the preliminary reports, when an unruly mob tried to snatch the firearms from the central forces at Booth No. 126 at Amtali in Jor Patki village, the CISF personnel opened fire in self-defence which left four persons dead. "A 14-year-old boy, who had come with his mother to the polling station, suddenly fell ill following which a QRT (quick response team) van that was parked nearby took the boy to the hospital. Suddenly, the incident triggered a rumour that the boy was shot at by the central forces and soon hundreds of people started to gather around the booth. They started agitating and also tried to snatch the firearms from the force personnel. Unable to control the unruly mob, the CISF jawans on duty opened fire on the mob, killing four persons," Annappa E, the DIG of Jalpaiguri range, told the media. Ariz Aftab, however, was not ready to divulge the details. Speaking to the media on Friday evening, he said, "Voting has been adjourned in the particular booth and there may be a repoll. We have sought a detailed report from the District Election Officer (DEO) and the SP and a magisterial enquiry will be held in connection with the incident." In another incident, a first-time voter, Ananda Baraman (18), son of Jagadish Barman from Pathantuli village in Sitalkuchi, died after he was shot by unknown miscreants. The incidents snowballed into a political controversy with the Trinamool Congress demanding a probe into the highhandedness of the central force in poll management. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that armed central police shot four people dead who were standing in a queue to exercise their franchise in Sitalkuchi. Speaking at a public meeting at Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas district, Banerjee asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain why lives were lost in central forces' firing during the fourth phase of polling. "After killing so many people, they (Election Commission) are saying the firing was in self-defence. They should feel ashamed. This is a lie," she said. According to Election Commission data, the fourth phase of elections in Bengal held across 44 Assembly constituencies in five districts saw an overall voter turnout of 76.16 per cent till 5 p.m. Cooch Behar registered the highest poll percentage at 79.73, followed by Hooghly (76.02 per cent), South 24 Parganas (75.49 per cent), Howrah (75.03 per cent) and Alipurduar (73.65 per cent). A totalof 373 candidates from different political parties are in the fray in nine Assembly constituencies in Cooch Behar, five in Alipurduar, nine in Howrah, 11 in South 24 Parganas and 10 in Hooghly. General secretary of the Horesca federation Francois Koepp, Managing Director of Concept+Partners Marc Fusenig, and hotelier Carlo Cravat were guests on RTL Radio on Saturday afternoon. According to the Horesca federation's general secretary, 25% to 30% of businesses opened their terraces this week. Fusenig stated that while cafe and restaurant owners are happy to be back at work, the opening times imposed by the government are not ideal. The managing director of Concept+Partners, a group which owns a number of restaurants and bars in Luxembourg, said that he had hoped for a closing time between 9 and 10 pm. Koepp added that the Horesca federation had asked the government to allow businesses to serve their customers until at least 8 pm. Cravat lamented that the situation for hotel owners in Luxembourg City, whose main activity relies on business travellers, is "disastrous". Since residents from neighbouring countries have now also been barred from coming to Luxembourg, he himself is currently struggling with an occupancy rate of less than 10%. All three guests agreed that the vaccination strategy is highly important for the industry. Rapid tests for staff and customers could however also be a part of the solution, particularly in the events industry. The sector still heavily relies on partial unemployment to make ends meet. Fusenig stated that when it was reported that the government was allegedly thinking about cutting partial unemployment by 50% even before businesses would be allowed to fully reopen, it came as a shock and led to "several sleepless nights". Koepp also stressed that the measure must remain in place for as long as the "administrative closure" of the sector is upheld. Regarding the common criticism that the aids are not being paid out quickly enough, Fusening stated that in his experience, the funds are paid out in an "acceptable time frame" as long as owners submitted a "complete" application. Cravat added that in his eyes, the financial aids were not introduced quickly enough, at least compared to how fast the country's leading politicians were to impose closures. Luxembourg's banks have also mostly let the sector down during the crisis, the guests deplored. According to Koepp, most of them have been very hesitant to grant loans to struggling businesses. Kolkata, April 10 : Despite violence and bloodbath in the fourth phase of the assembly polls after five people including four in the firing by the central forces died at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district, a high voter turnout was recorded till 3 p.m. Though the police claimed that the CISF on duty opened fire in self defence that led to the death of four people, the Chief Minister asked for an explanation from the Home Minister saying that she would visit the violence hit area on Sunday. The four persons who died on Saturday are identified as Monirujjaman (28), Hamidul Miyan (30), Nur Alma Miyan (21) and Samiul Haque (20). They were all residents of Jor Patki village and the voters of booth no 126 where the incident took place. Following the incident, the Election Commission adjourned the polling on the booth and sought a report from the Special Observers and CEO Ariz Aftab by 5 p.m. on Saturday. According to the preliminary reports that when an unruly mob tried to snatch the firearms from the central forces at Booth no 126 at Amtali at Jor Patki village in Sitalkuchi assembly seat, the central forces opened fire in self defence that took the lives of four people. "A 14-year-old boy who came with his mother to the polling station suddenly fell ill and a QRT (Quick Response Team) van that was nearby sent the boy to the hospital. Suddenly this incident triggered a rumour that the boy was shot by the central forces and hundreds of people started gathering around the booth. They started agitating and also tried to snatch away the firearms from the security forces. Unable to control the unruly mob, the CISF jawans on duty opened fire on the mob killing four persons," DIG of Jalpaiguri range Annappa E told the media. In another incident, a first-time voter Ananda Barman (18), son of Jagadish Barman of Pathantuli, Golenawhati GP, Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar died when he was shot at from a firearm by unknown miscreants. The incident snowballed into a major political controversy with the Trinamool Congress demanding probe into the high-handedness of the central forces in the election management. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that armed central police shot four people dead who were standing in a queue to vote in Sitalkuchi. While speaking at a public meeting at Hingalganj, she asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain why lives were lost in central forces' firing during the fourth phase of polling. She also said, "after killing so many people they (Election Commission) are saying the firing was in self-defence. They should feel ashamed. This is a lie." Mamata Banerjee will also hold a protest rally in Cooch Behar on Sunday against the alleged killing of four people. Despite violence and deaths, high voter turnout has been recorded in all the five polling districts. According to the Election Commission data, 66.76 per cent polling was recorded till 3 p.m. on Saturday. Cooch Behar, where the incidents of violence took place, recorded the highest polling percentage of 70.21 per cent followed by Alipurduar where 68.51 per cent polling was recorded. Apart from that, Hooghly recorded a polling percentage of 67.42 per cent and Howrah had a voter turnout of 65.23 per cent. South 24 Parganas experienced the lowest turnout of the five districts with a voter turnout of only 64.07 per cent. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text 1. Running Out Of Stocks, Mumbai Shuts Down Private COVID-19 Vaccination Centres Till Monday BCCL In a major setback to Maharashtra which is struggling to keep its COVID vaccination drive on track amid crippling shortages, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to shut down private vaccination centres in Mumbai temporarily. Read more 2. This Finch Discovered From Arunachal Is The 1,340th Bird Species In India, 5th Addition in 2021 ebird A rare bird, that was discovered from a forest in Arunachal Pradesh recently has been now added to the list of birds in India. Read more 3. Library Belonging To Muslim Man With 3000 Copies Of Bhagavad Gita Reportedly Set Ablaze TNIE In a tragic incident from Karnataka, miscreants allegedly set fire to a public library that had over 11,000 books. That included 3000 copies of Bhagavad Gita, as per a report in The New Indian Express. Read more 4. 26-Year-Old Who Took His Life In Bengaluru Points To Online 'Sextortion' Racket iStock In March, a 26-year-old MBA took his life in Bengaluru and that has put the focus on what the police are calling 'sextortion' by organised gangs via social media accounts, as per Indian Express. Read more Convicted murderer and former Fort Bragg Army Capt. Jeffrey MacDonald cannot get out of prison under a federal compassionate release law, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle said in a ruling issued Friday. MacDonald is serving three life sentences at a federal prison in Maryland for the murders in 1970 of his pregnant wife and two children at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has claimed factual innocence. The compassionate release law allows some federal prisoners over age 70 to get out of prison under certain circumstances, such as if they have served at least 30 years of their sentences or there are extraordinary and compelling reasons. The compassionate release law doesnt apply to MacDonald, Boyle said, because MacDonald was sentenced under an older sentencing law that has provisions for parole. The compassionate release law applies only to inmates whose crimes took place on or after Nov. 1, 1987, Boyle said, and who were sentenced under a newer law that replaced traditional parole with supervised release. Jeffrey MacDonald Under the parole or old-law sentencing scheme, defendants can seek immediate eligibility for parole based upon extraordinary and compelling circumstances, Boyle wrote. The judge serves on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. MORE ON THE HEARING: Fatal Vision murders: Should Jeffrey MacDonald be released? Judge hears arguments ARCHIVE PHOTOS: Fort Bragg murders: Photos of the Jeffrey MacDonald case MacDonald, 77, was convicted in 1979 and is serving three life sentences for the beating and stabbing deaths of his first wife, Colette MacDonald, and their children ages 5 and 2. He applied for parole in 2005 but was rejected. He wasnt allowed to ask again for parole until 2020. Twice he put in requests to be considered, but then he withdrew them. Late last year he instead put in his request for compassionate release. At a hearing last month, Colette MacDonalds brother, Bob Stevenson, told Boyle that her family opposes MacDonalds release. Story continues This man should never be allowed to walk the face of the Earth again, Stevenson said. MacDonalds lawyers argued he qualifies for compassionate release because he is over 70 and has served 40 years. They further cited his age, his failing health (including failing kidneys) and the COVID-19 pandemic. A WILDERNESS OF ERROR Episode 1 (Airs Friday, September 25, 8 p.m. ET/PT) -- Pictured: (l-r) Colette MacDonald, Kimberly MacDonald, Jeffrey MacDonald. CR: FX The lawyers tried and failed to persuade Boyle that the compassionate release law applies to cases that were sentenced for crimes that took place before Nov. 1, 1987. Boyle said other federal courts, including the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, have ruled against other defendants whose crimes predate November 1987. 50 YEARS LATER: Jeffrey MacDonald case intrigues 50 years later THE FIRST STORY: From the archives: Officer's wife, children found slain at Fort Bragg Highly prominent murder case The MacDonald case is one of the most-storied homicides to come from the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg community. Colette MacDonald and the children were killed in the familys residence at Fort Bragg in February 1970. At the time, Jeffrey MacDonald was an Army physician assigned to provide medical care for a Special Forces unit. MacDonald told the police he and his family were the victims of a home invasion that he woke on the living room couch in the night to find three men and a woman, and that he fought with the men until he was knocked unconscious. He said when he came to, he found the bodies of Colette and the children. Investigators grew to doubt his story based on the relatively light injuries MacDonald suffered and the limited amount of evidence of a struggle in the living room. The Army investigated, and that fall it said it found insufficient evidence to prosecute MacDonald. The military officer who oversaw the investigation recommended that civilian authorities look into a young woman who may have been the woman who MacDonald reported seeing in his home. The front page of The Fayetteville Observer on Feb. 17, 1970, the day Jeffrey MacDonald's pregnant wife and two children were found slain in their home and MacDonald injured. MacDonald left the service shortly after and resumed civilian life. Federal civilian prosecutors later concluded there was evidence of MacDonalds guilt. They persuaded a grand jury to indict him, and his trial was held in summer 1979 in Raleigh. The MacDonald family murders have been the subject of books, documentaries and television programs across the decades. The case picked up the Fatal Vision moniker because that is the title of a book and television miniseries about it. Fatal Vision author Joe McGinniss was embedded with MacDonalds legal team during the 1979 trial, and MacDonald expected him to report that he is innocent. But McGinniss concluded that MacDonald was guilty and portrayed him that way in the book. In 2012, another book called A Wilderness of Error by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris questioned MacDonalds conviction. The book was made into a documentary series that was released in 2020. Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Judge rejects release for Fatal Vision murder defendant MacDonald China's corruption watchdog has called on online video-sharing platforms to take action against "mukbang" shows, in which people livestream themselves eating or drinking excessively, saying such content encourages food waste. Mukbang videos originated in South Korea and are increasingly popular in China, but they have faced sharp criticism from state media and regulatory crackdowns especially since President Xi Jinping launched a campaign to curb food wastage last year. The country's graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), said video-hosting platforms should strengthen their supervision, stop and remove inappropriate broadcasts and block the accounts of offenders. Punishments for people uploading such content should also be toughened, the commission said in an article posted on its website on Saturday, noting that binge drinking videos have become more popular following a clampdown on heavy eating streams. "Behaviour such as 'heavy drinking videos' not only damages the physical health of the presenters and causes food waste, but also promotes an ugly mentality and seriously harms the healthy ecology of the industry," it said. The watchdog said some people uploading mukbang videos were earning as much as 3,000 yuan ($458) in pledges by fans. China cracked down on "inappropriate" content on the video-sharing website Kuaishou in 2018, suspending the account of one user known as Hebei Pangzai, who regularly shared videos of himself drinking copious amounts of beer to his 400,000 followers. He now shares videos on Twitter. ($1 = 6.5522 yuan) (Reuters) New Delhi: As news of violence during voting in the fourth phase of election in West Bengal is being reported the blame game between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has escalated rising tension in the region. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee squarely put the blame on Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "Amit Shah is completely responsible for today's incident and he himself is the conspirator. I don't blame central forces because they work under Home Minister's order," Banerjee said while addressing a rally in Siliguri on Saturday, as per a report by ANI. As many as five people have been killed during poll violence in two separate incidents. Meanwhile, Election Commission (EC) adjourned polls at polling station number 126 in the Sitalkuchi Assembly constituency of West Bengal after the reports of violence. A spokesperson of the poll panel said the decision was based on an interim report filed by special observers. A detailed report has been sought from them and the state Chief Electoral Officer. Nearly four persons were killed in Sitalkuchi in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district after the central forces allegedly came under attack from the locals while voting was underway. The CISF opened fire at the locals who purportedly 'attempted to snatch their rifles'. In another incident, violence first broke out when two unidentified men on a motorcycle fired at a queue of voters, killing one person, a police official was quoted by Reuters. TMC writes to EC Trinamool Congress wrote to the EC over the incident which lead ot the death of four persons, who were shot allegedly by central forces at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district. "We are sad to say with deep concern that firing by central forces has left four dead and four injured at Mathabhanga. We also want to say that the central forces are committing crimes and crossing all limits. The EC should come out with an explanation," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen said. As per reports, Trinamool Congress supremo and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Sitalkuchi to take stock of the situation. She will reportedly board a flight at 3:15 pm today. The Trinamool Congress in West Bengal is planning to hold a protest over the incident and demand resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah over the Cooch Behar firing in which five people lost their lives. Live TV "Mamata Banerjee has already won the Nandigram seat by a huge margin. BJP is merely selling a dream to its party workers," Sen said. She also shared clippings of purported videos, one of which showed central forces vandalising TMC camps at night. JOHN DAY, Ore. One of the most venomous battles in our polarized nation is the one that has unfolded between loggers and environmentalists in timber towns like this one in the snow-capped Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. Yet, astonishingly, peace has broken out here. Loggers and tree-huggers who once loathed and feared each other have learned to hold their noses and cooperate and this may have saved the town. It may also offer lessons for a divided country. The timber industry, by far the biggest employer in John Day, survives here only because environmentalists led by Susan Jane Brown, a Portland lawyer, fought to save these workers jobs by keeping chain saws active. John Shelk, who owns the towns sawmill, and might be expected to eat environmental lawyers for breakfast, says simply, Susan Jane is my hero. More than 600 ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) by 15 local designers were showcased on Friday night at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi as part of a series of activities titled Our Ao Dai within the framework of a campaign to honor the heritage as well as the beauty of Vietnamese women. The campaign was organized by the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU) Central Committee. Inspite of a rain, Friday nights show with more than 400 perfomers attracted large attention. The 600 designs in the shows 15 collections, themed The World in Vietnamese Ao Dai, were made from Vietnamese traditional materials such as silk and ramie, featuring scenery and cultural features of 15 different countries in the world. These are just the first 15 out of 100 collections inspired by the cultural identities of 100 countries that Vietnamese and international designers will come up with this year, to convey the idea that the Vietnamese ao dai is extremely adaptable, even to very different cultures, and that ao dai is not only loved domestically but also can spread globally, said designer Minh Hanh, director of Friday nights event. The stage was also decorated with green ramie pots and white silkworm cocoons to match the collections materials. Belows are the ao dai designs showcased in Friday nights show: Vietnamese veteran artists showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Models showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Models showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Models showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Models showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Vietnamese People's Artist Tra Giang (left) and a model showcases ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Models showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Models showcase ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Miss Vietnam 2010 Dang Thi Ngoc Han (left) showcases ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Attendants at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Spouse of French Ambassador to Vietnam (right) showcases ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) at an event titled 'Our Ao Dai' at Hanoi's Temple of Literature on April 9, 2021. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! By LISA MASCARO, BEN FOX and LOLITA C. BALDOR, The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) From a secure room in the Capitol on Jan. 6, as rioters pummeled police and vandalized the building, Vice President Mike Pence tried to assert control. In an urgent phone call to the acting defense secretary, he issued a startling demand. Clear the Capitol, Pence said. Elsewhere in the building, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were making a similarly dire appeal to military leaders, asking the Army to deploy the National Guard. We need help, Schumer, D-N.Y., said in desperation, more than an hour after the Senate chamber had been breached. At the Pentagon, officials were discussing media reports that the mayhem was not confined to Washington and that other state capitals were facing similar violence in what had the makings of a national insurrection. We must establish order, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a call with Pentagon leaders. But order would not be restored for hours. FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of President Donald Trump, including Jacob Chansley, right with fur hat, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington. Chansley made a written apology from jail, asking for understanding as he was coming to grips with his actions. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) These new details about the deadly riot are contained in a previously undisclosed document prepared by the Pentagon for internal use that was obtained by The Associated Press and vetted by current and former government officials. The timeline adds another layer of understanding about the state of fear and panic while the insurrection played out, and lays bare the inaction by then-President Donald Trump and how that void contributed to a slowed response by the military and law enforcement. It shows that the intelligence missteps, tactical errors and bureaucratic delays were eclipsed by the governments failure to comprehend the scale and intensity of a violent uprising by its own citizens. With Trump not engaged, it fell to Pentagon officials, a handful of senior White House aides, the leaders of Congress and the vice president holed up in a secure bunker to manage the chaos. While the timeline helps to crystalize the frantic character of the crisis, the document, along with hours of sworn testimony, provides only an incomplete picture about how the insurrection could have advanced with such swift and lethal force, interrupting the congressional certification of Joe Biden as president and delaying the peaceful transfer of power, the hallmark of American democracy. Lawmakers, protected to this day by National Guard troops, will hear from the inspector general of the Capitol Police this coming week. Any minute that we lost, I need to know why, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which is investigating the siege, said last month. The timeline fills in some of those gaps. At 4:08 p.m. on Jan. 6, as the rioters roamed the Capitol and after they had menacingly called out for Pelosi, D-Calif., and yelled for Pence to be hanged, the vice president was in a secure location, phoning Christopher Miller, the acting defense secretary, and demanding answers. There had been a highly public rift between Trump and Pence, with Trump furious that his vice president refused to halt the Electoral College certification. Interfering with that process was an act that Pence considered unconstitutional. The Constitution makes clear that the vice presidents role in this joint session of Congress is largely ceremonial. Pences call to Miller lasted only a minute. Pence said the Capitol was not secure and he asked military leaders for a deadline for securing the building, according to the document. In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, second from left, works beside Vice President Mike Pence during the certification of Electoral College ballots in the presidential election, in the House chamber at the Capitol in Washington. Shortly afterward, the Capitol was stormed by rioters determined to disrupt the certification. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP By this point it had already been two hours since the mob overwhelmed Capitol Police unprepared for an insurrection. Rioters broke into the building, seized the Senate and paraded to the House. In their path, they left destruction and debris. Dozens of officers were wounded, some gravely. Just three days earlier, government leaders had talked about the use of the National Guard. On the afternoon of Jan. 3, as lawmakers were sworn in for the new session of Congress, Miller and Milley gathered with Cabinet members to discuss the upcoming election certification. They also met with Trump. In that meeting at the White House, Trump approved the activation of the D.C. National Guard and also told the acting defense secretary to take whatever action needed as events unfolded, according to the information obtained by the AP. The next day, Jan. 4, the defense officials spoke by phone with Cabinet members, including the acting attorney general, and finalized details of the Guard deployment. The Guards role was limited to traffic intersections and checkpoints around the city, based in part on strict restrictions mandated by district officials. Miller also authorized Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy to deploy, if needed, the D.C. Guards emergency reaction force stationed at Joint Base Andrews. The Trump administration and the Pentagon were wary of a heavy military presence, in part because of criticism officials faced for the seemingly heavy-handed National Guard and law enforcement efforts to counter civil unrest in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In particular, the D.C. Guards use of helicopters to hover over crowds in downtown Washington during those demonstrations drew widespread criticism. That unauthorized move prompted the Pentagon to more closely control the D.C. Guard. There was a lot of things that happened in the spring that the department was criticized for, Robert Salesses, who is serving as the assistant defense secretary for homeland defense and global security, said at a congressional hearing last month. On the eve of Trumps rally Jan. 6 near the White House, the first 255 National Guard troops arrived in the district, and Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed in a letter to the administration that no other military support was needed. President Donald Trump greets the crowd at a "Stop The Steal" Rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/TNS By the morning of Jan. 6, crowds started gathering at the Ellipse before Trumps speech. According to the Pentagons plans, the acting defense secretary would only be notified if the crowd swelled beyond 20,000. Before long it was clear that the crowd was far more in control of events than the troops and law enforcement there to maintain order. Trump, just before noon, was giving his speech and he told supporters to march to the Capitol. The crowd at the rally was at least 10,000. By 1:15 p.m., the procession was well on its way there. As protesters reached the Capitol grounds, some immediately became violent, busting through weak police barriers in front of the building and beating up officers who stood in their way. At 1:49 p.m., as the violence escalated, then- Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, to request assistance. Sunds voice was cracking with emotion, Walker later told a Senate committee. Walker immediately called Army leaders to inform them of the request. Twenty minutes later, around 2:10 p.m., the first rioters were beginning to break through the doors and windows of the Senate. They then started a march through the marbled halls in search of the lawmakers who were counting the electoral votes. Alarms inside the building announced a lockdown. Sund frantically called Walker again and asked for at least 200 guard members and to send more if they are available. But even with the advance Cabinet-level preparation, no help was immediately on the way. Donald Trump supporters break into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A new report tracked violence-related internet searches in the months before the insurrection. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/TNS)TNS Over the next 20 minutes, as senators ran to safety and the rioters broke into the chamber and rifled through their desks, Army Secretary McCarthy spoke with the mayor and Pentagon leaders about Sunds request. On the Pentagons third floor E Ring, senior Army leaders were huddled around the phone for what they described as a panicked call from the D.C. Guard. As the gravity of the situation became clear, McCarthy bolted from the meeting, sprinting down the hall to Millers office and breaking into a meeting. As minutes ticked by, rioters breached additional entrances in the Capitol and made their way to the House. They broke glass in doors that led to the chamber and tried to gain entry as a group of lawmakers was still trapped inside. At 2:25 p.m., McCarthy told his staff to prepare to move the emergency reaction force to the Capitol. The force could be ready to move in 20 minutes. At 2:44 p.m., Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through a window that led to the House floor. Shortly after 3 p.m., McCarthy provided verbal approval of the activation of 1,100 National Guard troops to support the D.C. police and the development of a plan for the troops deployment duties, locations and unit sizes. Minutes later the Guards emergency reaction force left Joint Base Andrews for the D.C. Armory. There, they would prepare to head to the Capitol once Miller, the acting defense secretary, gave final approval. Meanwhile, the Joint Staff set up a video teleconference call that stayed open until about 10 p.m. that night, allowing staff to communicate any updates quickly to military leaders. At 3:19 p.m., Pelosi and Schumer were calling the Pentagon for help and were told the National Guard had been approved. But military and law enforcement leaders struggled over the next 90 minutes to execute the plan as the Army and Guard called all troops in from their checkpoints, issued them new gear, laid out a new plan for their mission and briefed them on their duties. The Guard troops had been prepared only for traffic duties. Army leaders argued that sending them into a volatile combat situation required additional instruction to keep both them and the public safe. By 3:37 p.m., the Pentagon sent its own security forces to guard the homes of defense leaders. No troops had yet reached the Capitol. By 3:44 p.m., the congressional leaders escalated their pleas. Tell POTUS to tweet everyone should leave, Schumer implored the officials, using the acronym for the president of the United States. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., asked about calling up active duty military. At 3:48 p.m., frustrated that the D.C. Guard hadnt fully developed a plan to link up with police, the Army secretary dashed from the Pentagon to D.C. police headquarters to help coordinate with law enforcement. Trump broke his silence at 4:17 p.m., tweeting to his followers to go home and go in peace. By about 4:30 p.m., the military plan was finalized and Walker had approval to send the Guard to the Capitol. The reports of state capitals breached in other places turned out to be bogus. At about 4:40 p.m. Pelosi and Schumer were again on the phone with Milley and the Pentagon leadership, asking Miller to secure the perimeter. But the acrimony was becoming obvious. The congressional leadership on the call accuses the National Security apparatus of knowing that protestors planned to conduct an assault on the Capitol, the timeline said. The call lasts 30 minutes. Pelosis spokesman acknowledges there was a brief discussion of the obvious intelligence failures that led to the insurrection. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: Members of the U.S. National Guard arrive at the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2021 in Washington, D.C., ahead of PresidentJoe Biden's inauguration. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images, file)Getty Images It would be another hour before the first contingent of 155 Guard members were at the Capitol. Dressed in riot gear, they began arriving at 5:20 p.m. They started moving out the rioters, but there were few, if any, arrests. by police. At 8 p.m. the Capitol was declared secure. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in New York, Nomaan Merchant in Houston, and Mary Clare Jalonick, Jill Colvin, Eric Tucker, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long contributed to this report. But the scarring trauma from her youth was never far from her mind. Ms. Batan struggled with chronic insomnia, a condition that began immediately after her brothers death, and she underwent years of therapy. When she thought about her brother, she sometimes fell into depressive spirals that lasted weeks. To endure the sleepless nights in her Midtown apartment, Ms. Batan tinkered with a sculpture built from Legos in her living room, stacking pieces onto it until the morning. I can stay up until 4 working on this Lego cube, she said, and slowly watch the sky become brighter. When she was 53, Ms. Batan decided to kick up the dust of her past and hired a private detective to look into the 1978 murder case. The events that transpired were documented in Missing People, directed by David Shapiro, who followed Ms. Batan for four years. The investigation uncovered vital new information about the murder, but it also added to her despair. The detective discovered that five years after Jeffreys death, an 11-year-old boy was killed by a man in College Point, Queens, and that the man had once lived in Rego Park. The killer, who was convicted of the boys murder, was briefly a suspect in the 1978 case, and he stated in police reports at the time that he had known Jeffrey. For reasons that are unclear, the documentary recounts, investigators apparently missed these connections, and Ms. Batan became aware of them only during the private investigation. She became convinced that this man was her brothers killer. The detective also learned that Jeffrey had been raped. Why did I do this? Ms. Batan said in the documentary. Why did I reopen things that had been put aside in 1978? I was expecting the block that my brothers death has put in my life, I was expecting it to be coherent somehow. As her feelings grew more intense, so did another obsession. After Hurricane Katrina, she traveled to New Orleans to help with animal-rescue efforts and came across the work of a local outsider artist named Roy Ferdinand. Mr. Ferdinand, who had died two years earlier, documented crime and poverty in the citys Lower Ninth Ward, drawing graphic scenes of gang violence that he had witnessed firsthand. In one of his paintings, a beheaded man sits propped against a brick building; in another, a gambler draws a gun to shoot another player at the card table. Mesmerized by his work, Ms. Batan began buying it, amassing a vast collection in addition to some of his personal possessions, like a cowboy hat and boots. A private jet belonging to the family of President Biden's climate czar John Kerry has flown more than 2,200 miles from Massachusetts to Idaho. The gas-guzzling aircraft completed the four-and-a-half hour journey on Thursday, according to flight activity information published on FlightAware. Kerry was not on board the jet, however, as he is currently in Asia on a climate tour. The former Democratic senator and onetime presidential candidate was appointed as the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate by Joe Biden back in January. The appointment came despite criticism that Kerry frequently uses his family's private plane - a Gulfstream IV twin-jet. Private jets are known to emit up to 40 times as much carbon per passenger as a regular commercial flight. According to The New York Post, 'flight logs indicated that his familys private jet spent over 20 hours in the air from February of last year to January culminating in an estimated 116 metric tons of carbon emissions'. In comparison, the publication reports that the average car emits just 4.6 metric tons of carbon emissions in an entire year. A private jet belonging to the family of President Biden's climate czar John Kerry has flown more than 2,500 miles from Massachusetts to Idaho It's unclear which members of Kerry's family were on board the jet, which took off from Boston Logan Airport Thursday morning and later landed at Friedman Memorial in Sun Valley, Idaho. Kerry is married to canned soup heiress Theresa Heinz, who owns a lavish property in nearby Ketchum, Idaho. She has a reported net worth of $750 million Kerry is pictured with his wife Teresa and daughters Vanessa and Alexandra in 2004. It's unclear which family members were on the private jet Thursday The gas-guzzling aircraft completed the four-and-a-half hour journey on Thursday, according to flight activity information published on FlightAware It's unclear which members of Kerry's family were on board the jet, which took off from Boston Logan Airport Thursday morning and later landed at Friedman Memorial in Sun Valley, Idaho. Kerry is married to canned soup heiress Theresa Heinz, who owns a lavish property in nearby Ketchum, Idaho. She has a reported net worth of $750 million Flights show the jet flew 100miles from Bedford, Massachusetts, to Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts on March 26. The aircraft then allegedly flew 90 miles from Martha's Vineyard to Boston two days later on March 28. Meanwhile, Kerry recently hit headlines after it was revealed he flew on the private jet from the U.S. to a climate conference in Iceland in 2019. 'If you offset your carbon - it's the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle,' Kerry told an Icelandic journalist at the time. 'What I'm doing, almost full time, is working to win the battle on climate change, and in the end, if I offset and contribute my life to do this, I'm not going to be put on the defensive,' he added. Kerry did not explain how he offsets his carbon emissions. Kerry is pictured at a Ministry of Ecology lunch and a press conference in Paris, France last month The appointment came despite criticism that Kerry frequently uses his family's private plane - a Gulfstream IV twin-jet similar to the one pictured Kerry was appointed as the U.S. Special Pesidential Envoy for Climate by Joe Biden back in January However, Kerry has not escaped controversy even when he flies on commercial planes. Last month, a snap leaked to social media showing the climate czar sitting in first class on a flight from Boston to Washington, DC without a face mask on. Face masks are mandatory on AA flights and those who are found in violation can face fines ranging from $250 for the first offense up to $1,500 for repeat offenders. Kerry claimed he only temporarily took off the covering. 'Let's be clear: If I dropped my mask to one ear on a flight, it was momentary, he wrote on Twitter. 'I wear my mask because it saves lives and stops the spread. It's what the science tells us to do.' He was subsequently branded a 'hypocrite' by conservative pundits, including Donald Trump Jr. A woman who claims she was raped by Bill Shorten at a Labor Youth Camp when she was 16 years old has launched a fundraiser to demand her police file so she can sue him in civil court. Kathy Sherriff alleges the former Labor Party leader was 19 years old when he raped her at the camp in Portarlington, Victoria, in 1986. Mr Shorten has vehemently denied the allegations numerous times since they came to light in 2014 and was cleared by a police investigation. Detectives began investigating the accusation in late 2013 but did not lay charges, concluding Mr Shorten had no case to answer. However, Ms Sherriff has now renewed her 'pursuit of justice' after another woman accused Christian Porter of raping her at the same age, before taking her own life. Ms Sherriff created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a prospective legal battle to obtain files from the police investigation into her claims. Kathy Sherriff alleges she was raped by Bill Shorten at a Labor Youth Camp in 1986 'For many years I have tried to have my voice heard. I have reported my assault to police and to members of parliament,' she wrote. 'The response from those in the legal and political system has been to silence me.' Ms Sherriff, who is from a Labor family, said she was idealistic and had political aspirations before she was allegedly raped as a teenager. She then 'lost faith in the Labor Party and politics in general'. 'My aspirational potential was never realised,' Ms Sherriff wrote. 'When I look back now, my one regret has been to not tell more people at the time. 'I was in shock. I felt shame. I ignored the truth, thinking if I moved on, my life might return to some sort of normality.' Ms Sherriff claims she has contacted Labor politicians Anthony Albanese, Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong, as well as Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young - but to no avail. She even claimed Ms Plibersek said she would speak with her at the March for Justice rally last month, only to be ushered out a back door after her speech. 'I have been broken by the people I looked up to,' she said. 'Today, I am apolitical. I have no political affiliation. I consider myself a humanitarian.' Police began investigating the accusation in late 2013 but did not lay charges, saying there was no case to answer. Bill Shorten is pictured with his wife Chloe Ms Sherriff said she is a 'shattered woman' unable to have a normal long-term relationship due to the alleged rape and her inability to trust others. She said her allegations were investigated by the sexual offenders and child abuse investigations team and they have 1,700 pages of information. Ms Sherriff said she applied for her file to be released through Freedom Of Information laws but alleges she has been denied access. 'Times have changed since 2014 when my case was investigated,' she wrote. 'The #MeToo movement gave me renewed hope women will be heard. 'Over the past few weeks, I have watched as my own (former) Labor Party has pursued a political opponent, Christian Porter, over an alleged historic rape.' Ms Sherriff also referred to former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins who recently alleged that she was raped in Parliament House. Before her, Grace Tame was named Australian of the Year for speaking out about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child. Ms Sherriff said she was confused as to why those two women were believed and taken seriously while she was 'ignored and shunned'. 'I now have no other option but to fight on my own,' she said. 'I do not have the funds for justice. Today I am a disabled pensioner with little money at the end of the week. I only have you, the people of Australia.' Ms Sherriff claimed it was hypocritical for Labor to call for an inquiry into the allegations against Mr Porter, but not Mr Shorten. 'If there is to be an inquiry, it cannot be a singular political missile aimed at one political opponent, but must include all historic rape allegations by sitting MPs,' she said. 'Otherwise, an inquiry will be seen for what it is, weaponising rape for political advantage, rendering the inquiry a meaningless farce. 'That would be a wasted opportunity for real justice for women.' Shorten addresses the media with wife Chloe after his defeat in the 2019 Federal Election Ms Sherriff said the money raised will go towards her legal fees. She has raised almost $9,000 in just five days. She said any extra money would be donated to a womens shelter or rape and domestic violence support agency. In November 2013, The Australian reported that a senior Labor figure was being investigated by Victoria Police over an alleged rape in the 80s. The politician was not identified in the article. Mr Shorten identified himself as the Labor figure nine months later in August 2014, after police confirmed they would not proceed with criminal charges. 'Late last year I learned that a claim had been made about me, going back to when I was 19,' Mr Shorten said in 2014. 'I will not go into the details, except to say that the allegation was untrue and abhorrent. 'The allegation was made by someone that I knew briefly at that time. There is absolutely no basis to the claim.' Chinas BYD confirmed that it is going all-in on LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) batteries, scrapping NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) technology from its model line-up entirely. BYD, which is backed by legendary US investor Warren Buffet through a 21% stake, is the second-largest electric vehicle brand by volume behind Tesla and also supplies other carmakers with its battery technology. The Shenzen-based company is not only touting its Blade technology as a significantly cheaper option but is making much of the safety of LFP versus ternary chemistries, particularly those with high nickel and low cobalt content, which carry a greater risk of fire. BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu told the South China Morning Post some 124 incidents of NEVs emitting smoke were recorded in China last year. Some industry participants have irrationally gone after NCM batteries [to chase after] ever-higher driving range, at the expense of stability and safety. BYDs blade battery packs achieve the highest energy density among the current crop of LFP-equipped cars, vastly improving its biggest drawback low driving range and long charging times. For its new Tang SUV, which is being exported to Europe, the company claims a 505km (314mi) range and a 30-minute charge time from 30% to 80%. The entry-level Tesla Model 3 sold in the US has a 263-mile range. In a note, BMO Capital Markets says given BYD is the industry leader in LFP this announcement isnt too surprising, and has given them a good platform to put down their ternary competition, but it does once again reinforce that a wide portfolio of battery chemistries will be used for electric vehicles over the coming years. It is however a net negative for nickel and cobalt demand. By Mining.com For Danica Angela Marcos, the weirdest yet saddest scenario was to watch her grandfather's funeral live on Zoom, seeing her cousins crying on the screen but not able to give them a hug because of the lockdown. "It's not like we can do (it) all over again when the pandemic is over ... I cannot re-attend my grandpa's funeral," mumbled the black-hair Londoner in her 20s, rolling eyes to hold back tears, whose grandfather passed away in California, the United States, towards the end of last year. Many Europeans, like Marcos, have undergone similar human sorrows and pains, as the nightmare of Covid-19, which has shrouded the continent since more than one year ago, is still hovering around, Xinhua news agecy reported on Friday. On Friday, the Copenhagen-based World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Office announced that the European region has recorded more than 1 million Covid-19-related deaths. Since breaking out in late 2019, Covid-19 has been causing infections and deaths at an accelerated pace across Europe. One after another, governments of different countries were woken up to the danger, announcing partial or full lockdowns, and even night curfews, moves rarely seen since the end of World War II. Schools closed, flights grounded, hairdressers and restaurants shutdown, only grocery and shops selling essential goods, in most countries, were among the few that were allowed to open, while the customers were required to wear masks and keep social distance of more than one meter. Before the reopening of schools, online courses were offered to students who were forced to stay home during the pandemic in many European countries. Many schools sent assignments to parents via e-mail or other digital tools, or shared free online resources. However, not all students are self-disciplined. In France, about 5 to 8 per cent of students were "lost," or unreachable by their teachers, estimated the French Ministry of Education in April 2020. "This virus has imposed limitations on all of us. I have practically no social life and can't hug the people I love. My personal life has turned completely around. Few things remain from my previous life. And as a person, I feel exhausted, restless, and uncertain," Abigail Mora Sanz, a psychotherapist in Spain, told Xinhua. Besides the continent's aging population and the overwhelmed healthcare systems, some experts attributed the bleakness in Europe to frequent policy changes, which have swung between lockdowns and relaxations for several rounds. One of the major challenges for European countries is "the temptation of too fast reopening, which is politically popular but can cause another wave of epidemics before proper vaccination," said Miklos Hargitai, an editorialist of Hungary's daily Nepszava. "In addition, Europe has not adopted the practice of the most successful countries in curbing the virus," Hargitai told Xinhua. Another factor behind Europe's current COVID-19 resurgence is the alarming and explosive spread of the highly contagious virus variants, which increases the risk of hospitalization. The slow rollout of vaccination may also prolong the pandemic. According to WHO Europe Office, only 10 percent of the region's total population has received at least one vaccine dose and 4 percent has received both, as of April 1. "Vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic... However, the rollout of these vaccines is unacceptably slow," said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe. On April 1, Kluge called upon governments in the region to "scale up both vaccine production and vaccination." German photographer Ulrich Hufnagel was diagnosed with COVID-19 last September, with so-called mild case symptoms and was quarantined for more than 20 days. "It is very annoying that some people in Germany and Europe do not take the virus seriously. My hope now rests on quick vaccination. I think this is the only possibility to get our normal life back," Hufnagel said. Due to what appears to be an acute shortage of vaccine doses earlier this year, tensions once remained high between the European Union, Britain, and some central-eastern European countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. The connection between blood clots and the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which has been purchased and administrated in large amounts by many European countries, also raised concern among people. The European Medicines Agency confirmed on Wednesday that the occurrence of blood clots with low blood platelets are strongly associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Faced with such dire challenges, some governments in the region have started to look for the alternatives. Serbia and Hungary have granted permission for the use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China. Some other countries, like Poland and the Czech Republic, also voiced interest in Chinese-made vaccines. "We fully support the Chinese idea of establishing a global anti-pandemic community of cooperation and help," said Sylwester Szafarz, former consul general of Poland in the Chinese city of Shanghai. However, vaccines themselves are not a panacea for the pandemic, until people are inoculated in huge numbers, WHO Europe Office warned, noting that it can give a false sense of security, inducing the public to stop wearing masks and taking other precautions. Besides measures to accelerate the vaccination, several governments and health care experts deem social restrictions a key tool for containing the disease and reducing deaths. "Now is not the time to relax measures. We can't afford not to heed the danger. We have all made sacrifices, but we cannot let exhaustion win. We must keep reining in the virus," Kluge said. With their life being changed amid the pandemic, many people in Europe have been eventually getting used to wearing face masks outside, working and studying from home. To some people, the future seems less gloomy and confidence is growing. Once worried that the lockdowns could totally ruin his business, Remi Boute, director of a bookstore in southeast France's Saint-Etienne, feels relieved as his shop reopens. "When the stores reopened, we had the satisfaction of seeing people tell us they were happy to see our stores open. They returned in large numbers," he said. "We faced something that we'd never seen and so what we tried to do was to understand it, to better treat our patients and save or try to solve the problem in the most cases we could," said Pere Domingo, senior infectious disease consultant and coordinator of COVID-19 at Barcelona's Sant Pau Hospital. "This intellectual component ... has been something that has stimulated us, and helped us overcome all these negative feelings that at one time or another we have all had," said the Spanish professor, who has been devoted to the research of infectious diseases since 1989. --IANS int/ (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.) India, which is projected to grow at an impressive rate of 12.5 per cent this year, needs to grow at a much faster pace to make up for the unprecedented contraction of eight per cent that it clocked during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a senior official. The International Monetary Fund Deputy Chief Economist, Petya Koeva Brooks, in an interview to PTI on Friday also made a strong case for an additional economic stimulus to address the impact of the pandemic on the country's economy. "When it comes to India there was a major collapse of output last fiscal year and the number as you mentioned is eight. "So, we are very glad to see the strong rebound this year with projected growth of 12.5 for fiscal year 21-22 and we are seeing also high frequency indicators including PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index), and trade and more mobility indicators which give us a sense that there is continued recovery in the first quarter of this year," she said. That said, there are some recent emergencies of the new variants in the localised lockdowns that are seen as one of the threats to this recovery, Brooks noted. On the recovery itself, when it comes to level in terms of the level of output, we are expecting that level to return to the pre-crisis one from 2019 to this fiscal year. That is what we have in our projections. "However, if you look at a concept of scarring, which just compares what the level of output would have been hadn't there not been a crisis in 2024, which is the measure which we are using. Then at and compare where our current growth trajectory is for India that gap is much larger, Brooks said. The gap, she said, which is eight per cent of GDP is significantly larger than what it is for the world as a whole. "For the world as a whole it's about three (per cent), which is another way of saying that even though in the near term we have this real rebound, there's still scope in the coming years to see higher growth which would reduce and hopefully, eliminate that scarring, which we are currently expecting, the top official said in response to a question. "If we were to just think about the level of output that it was prior to being a pandemic then that catch happens this year, which is not surprising also given the very high level of the underlying high level of growth which India has. But again, if we compare it to the path of what it would have been without the pandemic then we are getting too many larger gaps there, she said. Noting that the Indian government took several steps to address the COVID-19 crisis, Brooks said, We have seen policy responses, which have been coordinated and in several areas. We have seen that the fiscal support, the monetary easing as well as the liquidity and regulatory measures that were taken." What makes sense is to maintain the focus on having that coordinated policy response because this is what's going to prevent the long-term damage to the economy. Providing that support to small and medium-sized firms as well as vulnerable houses would be particularly important, she said. Brooks said the very much welcomes the measures that were announced by India during its budget. It is particularly supportive of maintaining the accommodative fiscal stance and also emphasising expenditures on health and infrastructure. We estimate that the positive impact of the measures for this fiscal year is going to be of the order of point six percentage points on growth, she said, adding that several measures announced in the budget were in line of the IMF's advice. Prominent among them are that there would not be a withdrawal of fiscal stimulus at the general government level and also that state governments would be given the temporary flexibility to go over their budget ceilings. And last, but not least, the fact that some of the other budget items on food subsidies were actually brought into the budget. Overall, the IMF is very supportive of this focus on growth. At the same time, Brooks made a strong case for an additional economic stimulus. We do think that additional fiscal stimulus would be helpful. Focusing that stimulus again on the most vulnerable is something that makes sense to us. We note that some of the income support schemes were not extended beyond November 2020 and such, she said. Taking measures in that area would be particularly helpful as well as making sure that there's priority spending on education, the economist noted. Last, but not the least, also ensuring that there is a very concrete medium-term fiscal framework is an area where we can see some room for more work in that area, she said. Now when it comes to monetary policy, we think that given the underlying slack in the economy, maintaining the accommodative monetary policy stance makes sense. This is what we understand is being planned at the moment. This has been our long-standing recommendation that we see scope for additional policy measures to address the weaknesses in the financial sector, in the banking part in the non-bank part of the financial sector. We think that this is going to be particularly important as we come out of the crisis to have that efficient credit intermediation, which is going to allow the economy to grow, the IMF official said. Responding to a question on the stimulus package, Brooks underscored the need to essentially have targeted support for households and for the firms that have been most affected is the most efficient and sensible way to provide that support. (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.) For the past few weeks, smog has completely engulfed central Nepal, majorly the Kathmandu valley. Due to that, the air quality in the major places of this area is getting hazardous every day. Uncontrolled wildfires in most places of the country, lack of rain, emissions of harmful gases and smoke from the industries and vehicles, and lack of strong wind are cited as factors behind the smog blanketing central Nepal. The depleted air quality in the country has several immediate and long-term impacts on the general health of people. Here, Dr Rakshya Pandey, a senior consultant for pulmonary and critical care medicine at HAMS Hospital, presents an overview of the problems that this level of air pollution can cause to the health of the people. Immediate health impacts A group of youth gathered at Maitighar Mandala demanding governments responsiveness against air pollution on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Pollution is called the silent killer as the effect of the pollution is neither visible nor painful immediately. However, it continues to have deadly effects on peoples health and is slowly killing us. Also, for a few days, many have been facing the immediate impacts of pollution, such as: Difficulty in breathing A constant burning sensation in the eyes Sore throats Headaches Turning asthma and cough among other diseases more severe This pollution has severely impacted asthma patients, which is clearly evident in hospitals. Sadly, many of those with a severe cough who are visiting the hospital do not even know that it has happened due to pollution. More serious problems Photo: Pexels/ cottonbro Dust released into the air contains sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other chemicals that are extremely hazardous to ground-level ozone as well as human health. Airborne dust particles are so tiny that they enter the lungs and blood vessels directly leaving negative effects on the body. For instance, it can cause fatal health problems like heart attack and paralysis increases the risk of cancer and dementia as well. Precisely, it has been found that pollution increases the risk of death of patients having asthma by 40 per cent, heart diseases by 20 per cent, and cancer by 19 per cent. This is not it, pollution also increases the risk of having a stroke, cancer, heart attack, paralysis, and dementia by 20 per cent. A 2015 report identified pollution as the leading cause of infant mortality. Another report concluded that half a million babies under one month of age died worldwide due to pollution last year. The life expectancy of the people is gradually decreasing owing to pollution. Similarly, it has a long-term effect on the overall growth of children. And, in the case of adults and healthy people, the current pollution has escalated the risk of pneumonia on them. This pollution has even worsened the health conditions of patients with chronic diseases whose lungs are already fragile. It has doubled the risk of hospitalisation and death. And, asthma patients are in the state of needing oxygen. Measures to cope with Photo: Pexels/ Ketut Subiyanto Bay Area religious leaders were waiting to see just how soon prayer groups would move from the video realm to the in-person realm after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that said California could not enforce its ban on such small religious gatherings. This is the fifth time the Court has summarily rejected the Ninth Circuits analysis of Californias COVID restrictions on religious exercise, the ruling from five of the courts conservative justices noted. Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, which represents about 800 religious communities, said he expected the 5-4 ruling would soon lead to a reexamination and revision by the mayors office and the public health department of its policy banning religious group gatherings. The city needs to digest the ruling and see how that translates, he said. The health department orders are pretty much the law of the land. Were waiting. This isnt the first time San Francisco has had to contend with disagreement out of Washington, D.C. In September, amid fears of a winter surge and with the city in the red tier, indoor religious gatherings were barred. Mayor London Breed announced that worshippers would be permitted to start gathering in limited groups starting in October, but still received a letter challenging the citys policy from former President Donald Trumps Justice Department. The letter told San Francisco that its strict ban on indoor religious gatherings and more relaxed rules for indoor businesses such as gyms and hair salons was wholly at odds with this nations traditional understanding of religious liberty. It chastised San Francisco for transforming a house of worship arbitrarily into a place for solitary confinement. The Justice Department letter was followed in February by a U.S. Supreme Court injunction allowing indoor religious services to resume at 25He said his members understood the need to stay apart and were not seeking to challenge the science behind the prayer group ban.% capacity. San Francisco currently allows indoor services to be at 50% capacity, but recommends good ventilation and that all paritioners be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. While the citys cautious approach to allowing indoor worship also prompted protest and criticism from San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Pappas said that houses of worship pivoted early on during the pandemic to online services and video conferences. The health crisis has challenged congregations, he said, and the pandemic is not over. In wartime, you have to make adjustments, he said. Our community has embraced online worship with gusto. A local prayer group leader was excited at the idea of re-starting the disbanded sessions. Doug Person, who led a prayer meditation group for Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco before pandemic rules scuttled it 14 months ago, said the high court ruling was a welcome step. Were looking forward to meeting again, he said. This is a good thing. The dozen or so members of his prayer group would meet privately every week before the main church service to meditate silently and still the mind and soul before worship, Person said. Since the ban, Person said his group met online, via Zoom video conference calls, a few times and it was less than satisfying. Theyre just not the same as being there in person, with other individuals, he told The Chronicle. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: SRubenstein@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @SteveRubeSF Deep Dive (April 9): Biden Wants Nationwide Red Flag Laws in Push for Gun Control President Joe Biden is taking executive action on gun control. He unveiled steps the administration will immediately take. But Biden says he wishes he could do even more. The Justice Department will also publish a model for red flag laws to encourage states to pass these laws. Red flag laws allow family members or police to petition for a court order that would temporarily take firearms away from people who may present a danger to themselves or others. Biden says he and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with both Republicans and Democrats to negotiate on the infrastructure package. But at the same time, he criticized Republicans for only wanting to stick to traditional infrastructure projects. He said, to automatically say that the only thing is infrastructure is a highway, a bridge, or whatever, thats just not rational. According to him, infrastructure also includes everything from sewer facilities to water pipes. Biden is also pushing for the adoption of a global minimum corporate tax rate. Biden said at a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Ive also proposed a global minimum tax, which is being proposed around the world for U.S. corporations, of 21 percent. He added: It means that companies arent going to be able to hide their income in places like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, in tax havens. While some countries welcome the proposal, others are voicing concerns. Tune into Deep Dive as we explore these topics and more. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more in-depth coverage. For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 19:07:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Martina Fuchs GENEVA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- For centuries, Switzerland has been world-renowned for its cheese, chocolate -- and watches. However, the latest developments in technology coupled with changing consumer demand appear to force the Alpine country's makers of luxury timepieces to reinvent and innovate if they want to stay on top of the market. At this year's digital Geneva edition of "Watches and Wonders" -- a trade show of the international watch and jewelry industry -- 38 of the world's top watchmakers show off their latest and best designs between April 7 and April 13. They include Rolex, TAG Heuer, Cartier and Patek Philippe. IWC Schaffhausen, a leader in luxury watchmaking and a subsidiary of the Richemont Group, is also among them. The company, established in 1868, has just launched a new collection of pilot's watches, which are ultra shock-resistant and engineered for the most extreme conditions. "Our new Big Pilot's Watch Shock Absorber XPL is the first advanced watch that is coming out of our experimental research department," IWC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christoph Grainger-Herr told Xinhua in an interview. "It takes watch engineering to the next level." ANALOG VERSUS DIGITAL Despite the latest tech trends and the dominance of digital solutions - which Switzerland's expert watchmakers are keen to keep abreast of - the classic analog watch will remain a popular choice, Grainger-Herr said. This is true even if the COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted the watch business into a new technological era with the strong growth of e-commerce, the emergence of virtual boutiques and the plethora of online events. "We just launched our IWC app that comes with an augmented reality (AR) 'try-on' function allowing all of the new product content to be fed to our customers' smartphones," he said. Customers can point their camera at their wrist and virtually "try on" the watch. "I think these steps prove that an essentially mechanical and traditional industry and a brand like IWC are still very much empowered and enabled by everything we see in the digital space today," he added. Luxembourgish watchmaker Jean-Claude Biver is a living legend and an avantgarde icon in the global watch business. He was president of LVMH's Watch Division for many years and was responsible for brands such as TAG Heuer, Zenith and Hublot, and also helped Blancpain and Omega to scale new heights. He retired in 2018 after a 43-year career, but he did not leave the industry. Just recently he has launched the historic first Non Fungible Token (NFT) auction of a luxury watch together with Swiss cybersecurity company WISeKey. NFTs are blockchain-based certificates validating that someone owns a piece of digital art. NEW LEASE OF LIFE Switzerland's watchmaking industry traces its roots back to the mid-16th century and the Reformation in Geneva. It then flourished during the 19th century, and following a crisis in the 1970s and 1980s, the sector found a new lease of life making it one of the jewels in Switzerland's economy today. Today, around 700 watchmaking firms are active in the country. Most of them are based in Geneva and the "Watch Valley" in the Jura Arc - and they all feel the squeeze cased by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, the lockdowns, store closures and restrictions on international tourism have dealt a severe blow to the watchmakers' exports. Last year, the total value of Swiss-made timepieces sold abroad fell to 17 billion Swiss francs (18.4 billion U.S. dollars) compared with 21.7 billion Swiss francs a year earlier, a sharp drop of 21.8 percent. RARE EXCEPTION The rare exception was the Chinese market, which took in 2.4 billion Swiss francs' worth of Swiss watches last year, 20 percent more than a year earlier. "China is ahead of us by far, at least in the digital and online domains," Biver commented. Meanwhile, IWC is also keen to build on its gains in the Chinese market. Grainger-Herr has recently announced his company's plan to open its first and largest flagship boutique in the world in Shanghai later this year. "We haven't done anything like this before," Grainger-Herr said. "It is going to be a big moment for us as a brand later this year. Of course, we are very excited about the opportunities in China going forward." (1 Swiss franc = 1.08 U.S. dollars) Enditem By Aislinn Laing SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The archbishop of Chile's capital Santiago, Celestino Aos, has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus, the Roman Catholic Church in Chile wrote in a statement posted on Twitter on Saturday. Aos, 76, and Monsignor Alberto Lorenzelli, the auxiliary bishop of Santiago, were confirmed by the church as having tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. Both had received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine being administered by the Chilean health authorities, the church said, with the second dose administered on March 11. The church said in its Saturday statement that Aos was admitted to a university hospital in the capital "on medical advice and in a preventive manner". "Although the effects of the disease are moderate, they need to be addressed with specialized equipment to avoid possible complications," the statement said, adding that Lorenzelli's condition had not changed. A recent study by the University of Chile of national vaccination data and contagion rates suggested that the Sinovac vaccine was 54% effective at preventing coronavirus contagion two weeks after two doses are administered. A broader, real-world study of the efficacy of the Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines being administered in Chile's rapid mass vaccination campaign will be published in the coming week by the government. Aos, who is from Spain, was appointed Santiago's archbishop by Pope Francis in December 2019 as the Vatican sought to turn the page on a sexual abuse scandal that has shaken its standing and eroded support in the conservative Latin American nation. Aos's predecessor, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, faces multiple charges that he helped cover up sexual abuse of children by Chilean clergymen. He denies the charges. (Reporting by Aislinn Laing; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Massachusetts public health officials on Saturday announced 2,107 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths related to the virus. The state on Saturday also reported 50,040 more residents are now fully vaccinated. In total, 1,727,001 residents have received either the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna inoculations, which is up from 1,676,961 on Friday. There are 2,695,542 residents who have received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna shots. Saturdays new coronavirus cases, based on 111,370 new molecular tests, bring the total number of active cases in Massachusetts to 35,847, a slight increase from 35,475 on Friday, according to Department of Public Health data. The seven-day average of positive tests is 2.3%. So far through the pandemic, at least 618,054 Massachusetts residents have tested positive for the virus and 17,034 have died. There are 685 people currently hospitalized with the coronavirus, according to DPH, with 178 patients in the intensive care unit and 98 who are intubated. Currently, 77 towns and cities are listed by DPH as high risk for spreading the virus, which is up from 55 the week prior. On Friday, Pfizer requested authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand use of their coronavirus vaccine to children 12 to 15 years of age. The request comes are more younger people are testing positive. DPH this week added data to its dashboard displaying the number of COVID infections confirmed among children younger than 15. Previously, the dashboard grouped all cases together for young people ages 0-19. Over the last two weeks, there were 1,116 cases confirmed in children 4 and younger; 1,396 infections among children between the ages of 5 and 9; and 1,722 infections in kids between the ages of 10 and 14. Here are the total COVID-19 cases in each county: Barnstable County: 12,770 Berkshire County: 5,809 Bristol County: 61,571 Dukes County: 1,071 Essex County: 91,546 Franklin County: 2,301 Hampden County: 47,417 Hampshire County: 8,571 Middlesex County: 126,060 Nantucket County: 1,383 Norfolk County: 51,355 Plymouth County: 45,508 Suffolk County: 87,274 Worcester County: 72,122 Related Content: Colombias ongoing conflict with left-wing rebels has caused serious malnutrition problems amongst indigenous and black communities, according to a study led by Doctors of the World and published on Friday. The NGO and a group of universities delivered the report to the truth commission set up to investigate atrocities related to the conflict as part of the historic 2016 peace accord that brought to an end more than a half century of conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government. Since then, though, dissident FARC guerrillas and another leftist rebel group called the National Liberation Army (ELN) have continued to fight with government troops in a multi-faceted conflict that also involves drug-traffickers and right-wing militias. The dynamics imposed by the armed actors in these territories, like confinement or the laying of antipersonnel mines and explosive devices, or simply fear, make people lose the ability to procure food, Nicolas Dotta, the coordinator of Colombian Doctors of the World, told AFP. The study looked at various black and indigenous communities in Choco, on the border with Panama, and the Awa tribe in Narino on the frontier with Ecuador, amongst others. Humanitarian crisis These people are at greater risk of contracting diseases as well as mental health problems, physical and psychosocial incapacity, and death. Clashes in Choco between the various belligerents have affected access to health services and forced people to shelter at home. As well as chronic malnutrition, there have been outbreaks of malaria and tuberculosis in this jungle region that is rich in gold and where 89 percent of the population is either black or indigenous. The ongoing conflict is violating the right of these communities to health and basic conditions such as food and clean water, said the report. On the other side of the country, the Awa are suffering from dispossession of their lands in areas rife with drug plantations and cocaine processing laboratories. Government use of the controversial herbicide glyphosate to destroy illegal coca plantations, as well as pressure from criminal gangs to replace food crops with coca, have badly affected the local populations access to food, the study says. And despite a ban on the use of glyphosate, massacres and mass displacements due to land invasions by armed gangs have left the Awa at risk of physical and cultural extermination. Right now theres a humanitarian crisis, said Awa representative Robinson Pai in an interview for the report. The ongoing conflict that has lasted almost six decades now has left nine million victims either dead, missing or displaced. There are hopes that an outdoor creative and cultural space could be developed at Glen River Park in the future. The park, which once hosted midsummer night festivals, has been mooted as an area that has potential for a performance space. At the most recent Cork North East local area meeting, Green Party councillor Oliver Moran asked Cork City Councils Chief Executive about the possibility of installing an outdoor creative and cultural space at the Glen River Park funded through the Outdoor Public Space Scheme 2021. City Council said that a proposal under the scheme is currently under development adding, a range of public spaces such as the Glen River Park are under consideration against their potential to meet the priorities of the scheme. Cllr Moran said that a new cultural space at the Glen River Park could have the potential for a number of uses. A few people have discussed the idea of a performance space at various locations in the Glen River Park. "The association of the park with Aloys Fleischmann, who was a highly influential figure in Irish musical life, gives the proposal authenticity and a genuine connection to history. "There were midsummer night festivals hosted in the park in the past that made that connection. One idea is to create a space that would be covered and could be used for creative workshops as well as performances. That could be used by schools and community groups too. He noted, however, that the competition will be very steep from other parts of the city, and said a consideration too is the fear of over-developing a uniquely natural area at the heart of the northside. Cllr Moran said that even if the Glen River Park is unsuccessful on this occasion there may be other opportunities. ALTON Each week award-winning photographer John Badman of The Telegraph captures images of the Riverbend area. Here is a sampling of his photographs from this week. They also appear in the weekend issue of The Telegraph. Bandits have again invaded Gurmana Community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing one person with 10 others abducted. Th... Bandits have again invaded Gurmana Community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing one person with 10 others abducted. The bandits were said to have invaded the community in broad daylight yesterday on motorcycles and shot sporadically to scare villagers. They moved from house to house and carted away properties. Besides the killing and kidnapping of the people, some houses and barns of yams and other foodstuffs belonging to the villagers were also set ablaze. A top member of the local vigilante simply called Idi Fylo narrowly escaped being killed by the bandits but had his house and other valuables set ablaze. Another prominent member of the community, Maiangwa Sarkin Zamma who was reportedly shot in the right arm was immediately rushed to a nearby clinic for treatment. Since the killing of six soldiers and a policeman by bandits in Allawa and Bassa last week, the bandits had been raiding villages in the communities almost on a daily basis forcing the villagers to flee their abode. Co-convener of the Shiroro Youth Associations, Yussuf Abubakar Koki, and Spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Associations, Comrade Salis Sabo, when contacted separately confirmed the incident. All effort to reach the Niger State Police Public Relation officer proved abortive as all calls and message to his phone were not responded to as at press time. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A detailed analysis report of the Global Computed Tomography System Market has been covered in the report coupled with a thorough description of each company profile with information on the H.Q, future capabilities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial outline, partnerships and new product launches and developments. The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities. The report classifies the market into different segments based on product, application and end-users. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the market. Final Report will cover the COVID-19 Impact and Recovery on this industry. Browse the complete Global Computed Tomography System Market Research Report Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Till 2027 @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ip/5916-computed-tomography-system-market-report The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the global Computed Tomography System market with company profiles of key players such as: General Healthcare Siemens Philips Toshiba Corporation Hitachi Shimadzu Samsung Neusoft Medical Systems. Medtronic Shenzhen Accuray A detailed description of each has been included, with information in terms of H.Q, future capacities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial overview, partnerships, collaborations, new product launches, new product developments and other latest industrial developments. SEGMENTATIONS IN THE REPORT: By Product Low Slice CT Scanner (<64 slices) Medium Slice CT Scanner (64 slices) High Slice CT Scanner (>64 slices) By Application Cardiovascular Applications Oncology Neurovascular Application Abdomen and Pelvic Application Pulmonary Angiogram Spinal Application Musculoskeletal Application By End Users Diagnostic Centers Hospitals By Geography: North America (NA) US, Canada, and Mexico Europe (EU) UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Spain & Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific (APAC) China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia & Rest of APAC Latin America (LA) Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile & Rest of Latin America Middle East and Africa (MEA) Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, South Africa Download Free Sample Report of Global Computed Tomography System Market @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-5916 The Global Computed Tomography System Market has been exhibited in detail in the following chapters Chapter 1 Computed Tomography System Market Preface Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Computed Tomography System Industry Analysis Chapter 4 Computed Tomography System Market Value Chain Analysis Chapter 5 Computed Tomography System Market Analysis By Product Chapter 6 Computed Tomography System Market Analysis By Application Chapter 7 Computed Tomography System Market Analysis By End Users Chapter 8 Computed Tomography System Market Analysis By Geography Chapter 9 Competitive Landscape Of Computed Tomography System Companies Chapter 10 Company Profiles Of Computed Tomography System Industry Purchase the complete Global Computed Tomography System Market Research Report @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/buy-now-5916 Other Reports by DecisionDatabases.com: Global Cone Beam Computed Tomography Market Research Report Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Till 2026 Global Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Market Research Report Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Till 2026 Global Medical Computer Cart Market Research Report Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Till 2026 About-Us: DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains. Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed. For more details: DecisionDatabases.com E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.com Phone: +91 9028057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ Source:-https://www.industrynewsengine.com/2020/11/30/computed-tomography-system-market-2020-covid-19-impact-analysis-report-2027/ Photographer Travels Through Vietnam, Preserving Rich Heritage of 54 Ethnic Tribes on Film Travel photographer, Rehahn, originally from Normandy, France, moved to Vietnam after falling in love with the kindness of its people and the serenity of the landscapes. The Vietnamese then became his muses, a passion that eventually took the form of a special decade-long project documenting 54 of the countrys ethnic groups. As he traveled with a camera in hand, Rehahn took time to build relationships with members of all 54 of Vietnams ethnic minority tribes. Taken by their stories, costumes, and the skilled craftsmanship of harvesting hemp and hand-dyeing fabrics falling into obscurity amid the speed of younger generations, Rehahn, himself a father, decided to help preserve them, thus giving birth to the renowned: The Precious Heritage Project. An Phuoc, the subject of one of Rehahns iconic photos. (Courtesy of Rehahn) Rehahn with An Phuoc. (Courtesy of Rehahn) I became obsessed with learning everything I could about Vietnams ethnic groups, Rehahn said to The Epoch Times via email, alluding to the inspiration behind his project. I realized very early on that only a small portion of information was available about many groups. Detailing the project that began in 2011, Rehahn said that there were a few details available in population reports; however, facing all the living, evolving cultures, he realized how rich the heritages of these groups are and how much of it is unknown to the world at large. I wanted to create a place to celebrate the diversity of these cultures and their craftsmanship, as well as to preserve precious artifacts, costumes, and stories, he added. Needless to say, it was impossible to reach so many ethnic tribes by telephone or email, so Rehahn traveled in person to each location. He met and forged relationships with tribal members, always explaining his project to the village elders, and delighting the children by speaking to them in Vietnamese. Far from being a chore, this was actually my favorite part of the research! he explained. I felt the emotional impact of their desire to preserve and protect their heritage. As a result, a stunning photo series emerged over the course of the next nine years, representing all 54 of Vietnams tribal minorities. Despite the myriad challenges that occurred on the way, Rehahn never considered giving up. Stopping the project halfway, he speculated, would have been like writing a book and leaving out the final chapters. He strongly believes that each group deserved to be seen, honored, and respected. Inevitably, along the way, some stories stood out to the inquisitive photographer. One portrait that always invokes a smile was taken of a little girl named Huong. She is a member of the Pa Then ethnic group, Rehahn explained. The Pa Then make special efforts to preserve their culture such as having their children wear their traditional garments to school every Monday. Their costume is particularly complicated and it was a delight to watch Huong and her father laughing together as they tried to put it on correctly for my portrait. Huong, a member of the Pa Then ethnic group. (Courtesy of Rehahn) Rehahn established the Precious Heritage Museum in Hoi An, Vietnam, in a French house to showcase 200 photographs and 62 traditional wardrobe ensembles across five rooms, entirely free of charge to the public. According to his website, most of the costumes were given to him by the chief of each village. The photographer also showcases his work on Instagram, Facebook, and on his personal website. Having been entrusted with the stories and precious costumes of the ethnic groups he documents, he says the peoples responses to his work have been overwhelmingly positive. Michael Croft of UNESCO has credited the project for its understanding and respect of traditional cultures. Rehahn has also received positive testimonials from The Christina Nobel Foundation, UNICEF, and numerous embassies and consulates within Vietnam. He was awarded the Trophee des Francais de lEtranger at the Elysee for his work in 2018. Rehahn strongly believes that its indispensable for future generations to learn about their heritage and culture. How can we celebrate diversity, heritage, and our history if we all become part of a faceless internet continent? Rehahn posed, speaking to The Epoch Times. Slowing down and taking time to learn traditional skills that have been passed down through generations creates a culture of respect. As for his precious project that was completed in 2019, Rehahn feels honored to have had the chance to enter into the lives of so many extraordinary people. My camera slowed down the world. I took time to listen to stories and to see things that I might have simply passed by before, he added. Below Are Some More Pictures From the Inspiring Series: Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter After guiding students through Falwell sex scandal, Liberty U campus pastor resigns Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment David Nasser, Liberty Universitys campus pastor and senior vice president of the schools spiritual development office, who helped steer students through the shameful sex scandal involving the institutions former president, Jerry Falwell Jr., will resign at the end of the semester. With his wife, Jennifer, by his side, Nasser, who began working with the university in 2014 after serving as pastor of Christ City Church near Birmingham, Alabama, announced in a video message to students Wednesday that this semester will be his last. After seven years of being a part of this staff as campus pastor, the Lord is transitioning me out of this role, and this will be my last semester here, Nasser said. He explained that God is calling him to move with his family to Nashville, Tennessee, and serve at an exciting new nonprofit, which he did not name. Well be moving to Nashville to lead an exciting new nonprofit that we believe God has given tremendous favor to," he said. "Although this ministry is less than two years old, its fast become a force for good in a pretty massive and unusual way." Nasser said what compelled him to take the job at Liberty seven years ago was a similar call from God to help "raise up evangelists." What compelled my heart to say 'yes' seven years ago was not the job but the call the very call to serve and to love and to daily give our lives away to a group of college students. As a mentor of mine always says, You ultimately dont change a generation, you get to raise a new one,'" he said. So back in 2014, we came here in hopes to play a small role in raising a new generation. We love church planting, so we came to raise up church planters. We wanted to see the great commission carried out. So we came here to raise up evangelists." In a statement, Liberty University assured that Nasser is departing on "good terms." "David Nasser is moving onto the next opportunities the Lord provided, using his voice on behalf of the most vulnerable, ministering on behalf of orphans and foster children," the statement reads. "The programs of our Office of Spiritual Development are of vital importance to our mission, and the university appreciates his service to the students and staff and wishes him well. The parting is amicable and on good terms. Nassers resignation comes just seven months after the board of trustees at Liberty University, one of the largest evangelical Christian universities in the world located in Lynchburg, Virginia, announced that they had accepted Falwells resignation after he and his wife, Becki, were implicated in a sex scandal. The Falwells are alleged to have had an affair with former pool boy Giancarlo Granda, 29. Granda reportedly attempted to blackmail the couple. As the scandal unfolded, Falwell claimed he was shocked to learn about his wifes affair. But Granda contradicted that claim when he said he had engaged in the affair with Falwells knowledge and provided audio evidence. Becki and I developed an intimate relationship, and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room, Granda told Reuters. He claimed his liaisons with Becki Falwell were frequent happening multiple times per year noting that they would meet at hotels in Miami, New York and the Falwells home in Virginia. In condemning Falwells behavior, Nasser did not mince words as the campus community tried to process that news last summer. This moment that were in is a mess. Let me begin by saying to you I am sorry. In my opinion, you as a liberty student deserve better, and the embarrassment thats been brought upon you as a Liberty student and, more importantly, brought upon the name of Christ is wrong. I know that many of you are hurting, and that breaks my heart. Your concerns, if youre concerned, are valid. If youre not concerned, you should be concerned, Nasser said during a Campus Community event. You and your family have worked hard to pay for a Christian education and this wasnt what you signed up for. I heard from one of you that you hesitated wearing your Liberty T-shirt this summer because you did not want the more recent baggage that came with it. And it just shouldnt have been that way. So let me be the first to say to you, if no one else has, and to personally apologize, and say I am sorry not on behalf of anybody else but me. On Thursday, the university named Falwell's brother, Jonathan Falwell, the senior pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, as the new campus pastor. President [Jerry] Prevo, Pastor Jonathan Falwell, the spiritual subcommittee of the [Board of Trustees], and our [Office of Spiritual Development] directors and team are working side by side to make this transition as smooth as possible, Nasser said in the video. These people love God, they love you, and they are committed to making sure we all keep growing in Christs likeness. If the defendant does not bring the 13-year-old with him, if he doesnt bring his gun with him while on gun offender probation, if he doesnt shoot that gun seven to eight times on a city street with (Toledo) standing in arms length of him while hes firing those shots none of it would have happened, Assistant States Attorney James Murphy said in court. For the first time in Manitoba, paramedics are expected to staff an emergency room in a rural hospital. For the first time in Manitoba, paramedics are expected to staff an emergency room in a rural hospital. A plan is underway to reopen the ER at Altonas hospital by hiring two paramedics to take over nursing duties. A nursing shortage at the southern Manitoba hospital forced its ER to close in late March. It reopened April 6 for limited hours for urgent-care needs, but health officials plan to keep the ER running for 12 hours a day, 9 am to 9 pm. The Southern Health regional authority is working with Shared Health, the provincial organization that oversees Manitoba hospitals, to bring in paramedics as they try to recruit and retain nurses to the town of about 4,000, said Dr. Denis Fortier, chief medical officer for Southern Health. The proposal was expected to be introduced to the public during a virtual town hall meeting on April 12. Lack of staff is a long-standing issue in rural health centres, Fortier said, and the Easter long weekend was far from the first time Altonas ER was forced to close. He said its been especially difficult to retain casual nurses during the pandemic. Temporary ER closures took place more than 100 times in the Southern health region last year. "It became clear that it was time to do something a bit more drastic, which is what were now faced with here. So Im asking for understanding and patience as we work through this, really to support and strengthen the nursing team there so that in six months, we can reopen an emergency department that is strong and sustainable," Fortier said. He said no hiring decisions have been made, but the plan is to hire one advanced care paramedic and one other paramedic not required to be trained in advanced care. Theyll work alongside ER doctors, five of whom work at the hospital on a rotating basis. The organization that represents paramedics in Manitoba hadnt been officially informed of the plan when contacted by the Free Press, but it will closely watch the hiring process. Rebecca Clifton, a full-time paramedic and administrative director of the Paramedic Association of Manitoba, said theres a long-held concern among rural paramedics that Shared Health hasnt recognized their advanced-care credentials and hasnt hired them to fill advanced-care paramedic roles, despite their training and licences. Those jobs have gone to advanced care paramedics from Winnipeg, Clifton said, and the association doesnt want rural paramedics left out of the Altona plan. "As long as its a fair and equitable process, I think its great that as part of the first realm of looking at this issue, theyve brought paramedics to the table. We would definitely support that based on the diverse role that paramedics can provide whether it is in an ambulance, in a nursing station, in an ER, in the community," Clifton said. "Itll hopefully be a good thing and itll hopefully create more open doors to be able to continue providing Manitobans with good health care and access to health care even when things need to close." Paramedics are already called upon to staff ERs in other jurisdictions, and in rural Manitoba, when people call 911, they regularly step in to divert patients to other hospitals and care for them when their local ER doesnt have enough staff to remain open. "Its not disclosed as often as it could be that hospitals end up on diversions regularly," Clifton said. "Sometimes its longer durations, sometimes its shorter durations, but any time this happens where an ER has to go on nurse-managed care, where they have to turn away ambulances coming to their door or call 911 for someone who walks through their door, I think paramedics can be a part of that solution." Fortier said there are no current plans to hire paramedics to work in other rural ERs, but he said the health authority will monitor how the plan works in Altona. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay A MAN put himself at risk of prison by delivering presents to his daughter on Christmas Day. The man in his 30s pleaded guilty to a charge of putting his ex-wife in fear by breaching a safety order at her home on December 25, 2020. Inspector Pat Lyons said at Cork District Court that gardai were called to the domestic incident at 4.40pm on Christmas Day. The woman complained that her ex-husband arrived in a car, got out, forced open her door and put a bag containing presents inside the door. The complainant attended her local Garda station and reported that the accused was in breach of a safety order in place since July 2018. The complainant did not write a victim impact statement, but she was called to give evidence on how the offence had affected her. She said that she was at the front door when she saw him running towards her house so she closed the door. She said that he forced in a bottom panel of the door and left in a bag of toys, saying, why do you keep doing this? to his ex-wife. She saw him jump into a car and could make out that there were other people in the car, but she could not see who they were. I was very frightened. I suffer from anxiety. I had difficulty sleeping since, she said. Solicitor Frank Buttimer said it was Christmas Day and the defendant wanted to bring Christmas presents to his daughter. He had not seen her in some time and has not seen her since this, the solicitor said. The sole purpose was to deliver Christmas presents. It was an emotional day. He was completely wrong to try to effect the delivery in the way he did, Mr Buttimer said. He also said the defendant said that he had pushed the door rather than breaking a panel. Judge Olann Kelleher imposed a four-month prison sentence on the accused, which he suspended on condition that the accused keep the peace for the next two years. When emotions were running high on Christmas Day, he took the law into his own hands, rather than leaving them [the presents] outside, Judge Kelleher said. Two deputies were wounded one shot in an eye and the other in the face after some type of altercation outside the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office, the sheriff said. The sheriff, Rosie Rivera, said the deputy who was shot in the face was in stable condition and the other was in critical condition. The gunman was dead but Sheriff Rivera did not specify how he died. She said the altercation took place on a grassy area outside the office, where it is common to find individuals sleeping or waiting for a bus. The two deputies were performing a routine security check around the campus when they saw the gunman, who was armed, Sheriff Rivera said. Imperial Valley News Center Pharmacist Sentenced for Receipt of Misbranded Drugs Imported from China Salt Lake City, Utah - Daniel Kevin Richards, 37, of Sandy, Utah, was sentenced to three years of probation and a $10,000 fine in federal court on Monday after previously pleading guilty to receiving misbranded chloroquine from China with the intent to sell the drug in the United States. In the plea agreement, Richards admitted that, in April of 2020, he imported and received over 50 kilograms of misbranded and mislabeled chloroquine from China. Richards admitted that the chloroquine was falsely mislabeled as Boswellia Serrata Extract and that the drug was not manufactured and prepared by an establishment registered as a drug manufacturer with the Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, the labeling on the drugs failed to bear adequate directions for use as required by federal law. Richards has also been ordered to pay for the destruction of the drug by proper authorities with the United States Food and Drug Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Utah U.S. Attorneys Office prosecuted the case. Special Agents of the Food and Drug Administration- Office of Criminal Investigations, the FBI, and investigators from the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office conducted the investigation. Striking resident doctors have reached an agreement with the federal government and may call off their strike today. The details of the agreement were contained in a communique jointly signed by the leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and a government delegation after a late Friday meeting. The doctors strike entered the ninth day on Saturday, crippling activities in public tertiary hospitals across the country and leaving patients and their relatives stranded. A federal government delegation on Friday met with officials of NARD at the ministry of labour in Abuja in a bid to resolve dispute. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the doctors commenced an indefinite strike on April 1 after a meeting with the government delegation on March 31 ended in a deadlock. The minister of labour, Chris Ngige, had threatened the doctors with the no work, no pay rule during an interview on Channels Television penultimate Friday, a day after the strike commenced. Unperturbed, the doctors continued with their strike, leaving only few doctors to attend to emergency situations. Resident doctors, who are undergoing training to become consultants, make up a large percentage of doctors in Nigerias tertiary hospitals. Thursdays meeting between the government and the doctors lasted till midnight as both sides tried to resolve various pending issues that triggered the mass action. They include: non-payment of House Officers, non-recruitment of House Officers, abolishment of the bench fees, and non-payment of National Minimum Wage consequential adjustment arrears. Other issues discussed at the meeting were residency training allowance; hazard allowance and payment of Resident Doctors on GIFMIS platform. New commitment At the end of the meeting, a communique jointly signed by the NARD leadership including Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa, the president, and Phillips Ekpe, the general secretary, was issued. The government delegation also signed the communique. The signatories from the government team include Ngozi Onwudiwe, Director, Hospital Services at the health ministry; T. A. B. Sanusi, the registrar, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN); J. A Momoh, Chairman, committee of medical directors among others. Dated April 9, the communique detailed new commitments on the pending demands of the doctors. The communique shows that the government acceded to many of the demands of the doctors including the payment of salary arrears and the abolition of the bench fees. Contacted to know if the doctors are planning to call off the strike with the new commitments, Mr Uyilawa, the NARD president, said the doctors are currently holding a meeting to take a position. The communique shows that the doctors are to get back to the government today, after their meeting. ADVERTISEMENT Below are the new commitments (unedited) reached at Thursday meeting as contained in the communique: NON-PAYMENT OF HOUSE OFFICERS (H/Os) SALARIES: The meeting noted the efforts of the Medical and Dental Council (MDCN) and OAGF and praised them for working over the holidays to effect payments. The meeting however noted that the payment of the House Officers salaries experienced some irregularities as double payments were made to some H/Os in some centers and a few have not been paid as of date. In view of this situation, a 5 man Committee was set up to harmonize the list of the names submitted by NARD, Chairman, Committee of Chief Medical Directors (CCMD) with MDCN. The Committee was to work for 72 hours and produce a valid list to IPPIS through the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH). The Committee is made up of: a) FMoH -Dr. M. C. Maha Chairman b) MDCN Dr Henry Okwuokenye Secretariat c) IPPIS- Emmanuel Akor d) NMA- Dr Philip U. Ekpe e) NARD- Dr. Kingsley Okeke f) Committee of CMDs Dr Jaf Momoh ii). IPPIS is to as soon as possible create a platform where all payments made and the recipients would be made available for accessibility and information, without which it would be difficult to determine those that have been paid and those not paid. iii). IPPIS should adopt the folio number of H/Os as a means of identification of them as they are being engaged and for their payments. 2. ABOLISHMENT OF THE BENCH FEES: It was earlier agreed as part of MoA 1 that the policy should be abolished following due process to be initiated by Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) through the National Council on Health (NCH). During the transition period, CMDs are to waive this payment. The Permanent Secretary FMoH is to issue a circular to this effect and send a Memorandum on this for ratification at NCH whenever convened. 3. (A) NON-PAYMENT OF NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE CONSEQUENTIAL ADJUSTMENT ARREARS (B) SALARY SHORTFALL IN 2014 2016 OF RESIDENT DOCTORS NARD and CCMDs should immediately submit list of affected institutions and personnel strength in order for it to be captured in the 2021 Supplementary Budget. The arrears should be from April 2019 to December 2019 as in MoA 1. The Budget Office of the Federation (BoF) informed that a circular was earlier issued by the Honourable Minister of Finance setting up a Committee to look into the issue of all shortfalls and is chaired by the Director General (DG) BoF. The CCMDs and the Permanent Secretary of the FMoH are to work on this with the assistance of the BoF in order to also capture it in the Supplementary 2021 Budget. The special issue of the 2014 2016 Salary Shortfall is to be treated here too. Two (2) weeks is dedicated to this. 4. RESIDENCY TRAINING ALLOWANCE It was reported that 558 people who are not Residents were wrongly paid and bonafide Residents who were not paid are 1003 in number. Those not paid will be captured in the 2021 Supplementary Budget while those wrongly paid will be requested to refund same. The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) is to provide a special account for this remittance. The Post Graduate Medical College is to henceforth compile the list of all Residents eligible for this payment and transmit to the Budget Office (BoF) through the Federal Ministry of Health. 5. HAZARD ALLOWANCE The meeting noted that the issue is not peculiar to NARD but cuts across the entire Health Sector and her workforce. The meeting was informed that the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS) would be meeting on Monday, 12th April, 2021 at the Federal Ministry of Finance to examine the hazard allowance issue with National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) after which the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), NARD and other stakeholders will meet on Wednesday, 14th April, 2021 in the Federal Ministry of Labour (FML&E) with their position papers with the PCS. NARD is to come with their position paper as part of the NMA team. GROUP LIFE INSURANCE PAYMENT On Group Life Insurance claims for deceased NARD members, NARD should facilitate the compilation of the list of deceased members by CMDs at the appropriate desk in their institutions. This will be forwarded to the relevant insurance Companies for payment through the FMoH. This should be accomplished on or before end of April 2021. 6. PAYMENT OF RESIDENTS ON GIFMIS PLATFORM The meeting noted that NARD is happy with the progress being made to migrate affected Doctors from GIFMIS to IPPIS platform before the end of April 2021. IPPIS confirmed that one week after getting the verified list from BoF, payment will be made. In view of these understandings, NARD National Officers Committee (NoC) will consult urgently her Executive Council with a view to giving this conciliation process a chance for industrial peace by calling off the strike embarked on 1st April 2021. NARD is to communicate to the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment on their decision before 12 noon of 10th April, 2021. No member of NARD is to be punished for this strike. WORCESTER, Mass., April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This Sunday, April 11, the St. Vincent Hospital nurses will begin their sixth week on strike as part of their ongoing struggle to convince Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare to address a growing patient safety crisis at the Worcester-based hospital. As the strike continues, St. Vincent's for-profit owner is projected to spend more than $33.5 million* to prolong the strike, inclusive of costs for hundreds of replacement nurses paid twice as much as regular staff, more than $30,000 a day for police details, along with other costs associated with avoiding meeting the nurses demands for better staffing and other patient safety measures. "It is truly disheartening to see our employer continue to throw away millions of dollars to avoid accountability for providing nurses the resources we need to keep our patients and our community safe," said Marlena Pellegrino, RN, longtime nurse at the hospital and Co-Chair of the nurses' local bargaining unit with the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "In the face of this corporate greed, our members are stronger than ever and remain totally committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure our patients finally receive the care and dignity they expect and deserve from our community hospital." Weekend Strike Events Keep Spirits High A key factor buoying nurses' spirits throughout the strike are a number of special events they themselves have planned along with events organized by supporters, including two candlelight vigils held for the nurses by Interfaith Worcester, a coalition of 21 faith-based organizations, who are standing behind the nurses' cause and who have been calling for Tenet to meet its moral obligation to the nurses and the patients of Worcester. Other events this weekend include: Saturday, April 10, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Poor People's Campaign Car Caravan circling the hospital and ending with a rally on the strike line. Saturday, April 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Union Troubadour Ben Grosscup will bring music and song to all of the entrances on the line. Saturday, April 10, beginning at 12 p.m. Grilling hotdogs and hamburgers with State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Rep. Tami Gouveia. Sunday, April 11, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Rally, union songs and music on the strike line by DSA (Democratic Socialists of America). Sunday, April 11, beginning at 12 p.m. Grilling sausage, peppers and onions with the North Worcester County Legislative Delegation State Senator John Cronin and State Reps Natalie Higgins, Meg Kilcoyne and Mike Kushmerek. The strike began on March 8, after Tenet refused to negotiate with the nurses over improvements the nurses are seeking to address unsafe patient care conditions in the hospital. The decision to strike followed earnest and painstaking efforts over the last two years by the nurses to convince Tenet to improve the patient care conditions at the facility, poor conditions that have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Adding insult to injury, the same day nurses voted to authorize the strike, Tenet announced profits of more than $400 million. The nurses' strike and their stand for safer patient care has galvanized support from a variety of public officials, labor, faith-based organizations and community advocates, including the entire Worcester City Council, the Worcester state legislative delegation, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Edward Markey, Congressman Jim McGovern and Attorney General Maura Healy, who have all visited the nurses strike line. Senators Warren and Markey and Congressman McGovern sent a letter to Tenet's CEO in Dallas urging Tenet to negotiate with the nurses to address the nurses' concerns over needed staffing improvements to ensure safe care. Policymakers Work to Ensure Striking Nurses Access to COBRA Subsidies The nurses received another boost this past week as Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Congressman James P. McGovern (MA-02) and Congresswoman Katherine Clark (MA-05) worked with the U.S. Department of Labor's Secretary Marty Walsh to ensure that the St. Vincent nurses, along with other striking workers across the nation are eligible for full COBRA subsidies under the American Rescue Plan. "As St. Vincent nurses continue organizing to demand fair staffing ratios and patient safety, I'm proud we secured this important guidance affirming that no worker should be asked to choose between fair labor conditions and health care," said Rep. McGovern. "This is a big win, not just for the nurses at St. Vincent, but for workers across the country. Health care is a human right and we will continue working to protect and expand access to high quality care for all Americans." "The nurses of St. Vincent Hospital deeply appreciate the leadership provided by Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and the Biden administration, Congresswoman Pressley, Congressman McGovern, Congresswoman Clark and Congressman Courtney for their efforts to provide COBRA subsidies to ensure our 800 nurses have access to quality health care for our families, as we now move into our sixth week of a strike to ensure the safety of our patients and our community," said St. Vincent RN Pellegrino. "Being on strike is a stressful process but having the support of such great leaders gives us the strength to persevere and do what we know is right." In the last year alone, nurses have filed more than 600 official "unsafe staffing" reports (more than 110 such reports have been filed since Jan. 1, 2021) in which nurses informed management in real time that patient care conditions jeopardized the safety of their patients. The nurses also report their patients in Worcester have experienced an increase in patient falls, an increase in patients suffering from preventable bed sores, potentially dangerous delays in patients receiving needed medications and other treatments all due to lack of appropriate staffing, excessive patient assignments, and cuts to valuable support staff. Staffing Improvements Sought by the Nurses As evidenced by its own report of massive profits, Tenet can well afford the additional positions necessary to implement the MNA staffing proposal that could end this strike. The money being spent to prolong the strike could easily address the proposed staffing improvements the nurses are seeking, which are staffing standards on a par with other hospitals in Worcester and across the state, including: Improvements to the current staffing guidelines to ensure all nurses have safe patient assignments and support staff to ensure safe patient care. Throughout the hospital, Tenet has forced nurses to consistently care for too many patients while it has cut essential support staff positions. The nurses' staffing proposal calls for improved limits on the number of patients nurses are assigned on many units, including a resource nurse (to coordinate care on the unit and provide support with complex cases) and a commitment to provide support staff positions across all units. A critical aspect of the staffing proposal is a four-patient assignment on the medical surgical floors, which is consistent with the standard of care provided at UMass Memorial Medical Center and a number of other hospitals in the state. Creation of a pool of nurses who are expert in caring for critically ill patients, which is essential to support nurses in the emergency department who, in addition to taking care of five or six patients, are also expected to care for patients in need of ICU level care, who are waiting for a bed to open in the ICU. ICU and trauma patients must have a nurse dedicated to no more than one or two patients, which is the safe standard of care for these patients. The addition of what are called "STAT and Rapid Response" nurses, which are nurses who would be available to respond to urgent and critical situations when a patient is suffering a code or other serious decline in their condition on the medical/surgical floors. When needed, these nurses assist in stabilizing and caring for the patient until they can be transferred to the ICU. They are especially important to support newly graduated nurses, who most often work the off shift where there are often fewer experienced nurses working. Again, UMass Memorial Medical Center provides this level of support to its nurses. For a more detailed review of the staffing crisis, efforts by nurses to convince Tenet to address the crisis, as well as proposals nurses are seeking to improve patient care, click here to view a previous press release on the matter. *The estimate of $34 million is based on Tenet's public disclosure at the outset of the strike that the cost of replacement nurses was $5.4 million for the first week multiplied by the six weeks of the strike, and also including the city's confirmed weekly cost for police details of $210,000 multiplied by six weeks. This figure does not include the hospital's cost for its own expanded internal security force, the installation of special high-tech camera systems outside the hospital entrances, and the fleet of buses and vans the hospital is using to transport the strike replacement nurses to and from the facility throughout the day every day of the strike. The MNA last week sent a letter to Tenet CEO Carolyn Jackson requesting a copy of the contracts for the strike replacement nurses so that the nurses and the public have a full picture of the resources Tenet is using to prolong this strike. For a copy of that letter and other information related to the strike, visit www.massnurses.org/StVincentNurses. MassNurses.org Facebook.com/MassNurses Twitter.com/MassNurses Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association The recent round-up of 30 fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy at sea, off Poonakary in the northern Kilinochchi district, reveals militarys brutal methods in the occupied north and east of Sri Lanka. The fishermens so-called offence was trying to earn a livelihood by diving to the seabed at night to catch a creature named sea cucumber, which comes out on the seabed at night-time. However, the fisheries ministry has restricted the sea cucumber catch since March 2019, limiting it only to permit holders and banning night catching on conservation grounds. On March 29, Navy sailors boarded three vessels around 1.30 a.m., clubbing and kicking the fishermen before arresting them, tying their hands. An advanced offshore patrol vessel of the Sri Lanka Navy (Wikimedia Commons) The arrested fishermen told the Navy that two of their colleagues were in the water at the time, pleading to take them on board. The sailors ignored their appeal. The two abandoned fishermen survived only by swimming seven nautical miles to the shore. All the fishermen were from Kiranchchi village in Poonakary. They were brought to Valaippaadu, seven kilometers from Kiranchchi, then packed in a small lorry and brought to fisheries department office in Kilinochchi, 65 kilometers away. The fishermen were detained at Kilinochchi court premises before they were released on bail at 5.30 p.m. None were treated for their injuries caused by the assault by Navy personnel. They were held without food and water for more than 17 hours. Their trial on charges of illegal fishing has been scheduled for October 10. If convicted, they would be fined 25,000 rupees ($US125), equivalent to one or two months income of a fisherman in the area, depending on the fish harvest. This is the Navys second round-up of Kiranchi fishermen in three months. The Navy attacked fishermen in the same brutal manner on January 7, arresting 23. These naval operations are part of continuing repression by the Sri Lankan military, even 11 years after successive Colombo governments 26-year communal war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended in a bloody massacre of the LTTE. Many villagers in the north and east have traditionally engaged in fishing. During the war, the villagers lived as refugees, constantly on the move. Dependent on businessmen to finance purchases of fishing equipment, they are now exploited to the hilt amid the devastation left behind by the war. The Sri Lankan Navy declared in a news release that naval operations in the last two weeks of March caught 75 persons engaged in illegal harvesting of 10,219 sea cucumbers. It declared: Sri Lanka Navy has increased its day and night patrols covering the seas around the island in an attempt to prevent adverse effects on the marine environment Under President Gotabhaya Rajapakses government, the militarys activities have been intensified. Publicly presented as attempts at defending national security and curbing terrorism which is raising its head, these operations aim to intimidate the Tamil and Muslim population and to provoke communal hatreds to divide and weaken the working class. Rajapakse is moving to entrench a presidential dictatorship based on the military. He has appointed at least 28 in-service and retired high-ranking military officers to top government positions and deployed military forces to perform civilian duties. He has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unprecedented social and economic crisis it caused, by intensifying the drive towards authoritarian rule, terrified at growing social anger uniting Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers alike. During the war, fishing at sea was totally banned much of the time. When it was briefly allowed, fishermen were issued permits. However, they faced arrest, murder, abduction and being disappeared at all times. After the war, fishing communities living conditions did not improve. They still work day-to-day, struggling to preserve their families from hunger. Like hundreds of thousands of people in the North and East, these fishermen also lost family members and belongings during the war. They are among those whom successive governments neglected and prevented from rebuilding their lives. Many still live in makeshift huts. None of the Tamil nationalist parties are concerned about the plight of these fishing communities or, for that matter, of any section of the workers and poor. The Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) is part of the ruling coalition headed by Rajapakse, backing his dictatorial moves. The other Tamil nationalist parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), represent layers of the Tamil bourgeoisie who are busy maneuvering with the Colombo regime, and especially with Washington and the other western capitals to secure their privileges. Tamil businessmen including those who exploit the fishermen are connected to those parties as well. Dire difficulties drive fishermen to undertake dangerous activities like catching sea cucumbers, even with improvised diving gear. Some divers do not have even oxygen tanks for survival and gather a meager harvest of sea cucumbers to sell them to predatory businessmen who exploit their misery. Fishermen depend on boat owners who pay them half the price of the catch. Sea cucumbers are priced from 1,000 to 1,500 rupees (US$5 to $7.50) according to the size, which varies from 0.4 to 2.5 kilograms. However, once exported, principally to be sold as an up-market nutritious food in East Asian countries, a kilogram of processed sea cucumber is sold at around $3,000. Thanusan, a young fisherman, told the WSWS he has no boats or nets and is compelled to catch sea cucumbers. He had to stop catching them since the navy arrests began, however, and he is now indebted 42,000 rupees to the village shop. He said: We can catch cucumbers for only six months and for the rest I catch big black sea crabs. The price of the crabs has fallen to 3,000 from 4,800 rupees due to the corona pandemic. Now I have no livelihood. I catch some fish in a pond near the sea and sell them for a pittance. We prepare curry with soya, dhal and if possible tin fish for meals. He added, I have two children. My second son is just two years old. Many families like mine have fallen into economic hardship due to the governments new regulations on fishing. The government is now trying to develop sea cucumber farms at sea, providing investors with plots measuring at least one acre. Some big investors are involved in this lucrative business. Poor fishing communities are not in a position to invest in these farms, however, and risk being left out or facing intensified exploitation from farm owners. Daniel Bruhl first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as primary antagonist Baron Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War. After the Battle of Sokovia left his family dead, he was driven to villainy. He aimed to turn the Avengers against each other, hoping a battle among the saviors would lead to the superheroes demises (or, at the least, their disassembling). Eventually, the good guys figured out his scheme, and before Zemo got a chance to shoot himself, he was captured and placed in a German prison. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky and Wilson need his help, so they help him break out of prison and recruit him (as a last resort) to stop the Flag Smashers. Daniel Bruhl of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Pascal Le Segretain / Staff During an interview with ExtraTV, Daniel Bruhl discussed his role in the show and recalled where he was and how he felt when his agent called to share the good news: that the MCU wanted him back as Zemo. Bruhl talks about getting the call to star in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Bruhl explained to ExtraTV that, after his appearance in Civil War, he didnt expect to be called back for a reprisal. However, because his character wasnt killed, he held on to some hope that he could reappear. On getting the call, Bruhl said Phenomenal. I remember it. It was summer, I was in Hungary in Budapest, shooting another show that I revisited. That was the first one that I revisited. So, I was actually in a good mood anyway, but I then got the call by my agent, I think it was. She was the first one to call me, and I said, Thats amazing. And, its so rewarding because it shows you, OK, you werent that bad. They brought you back. Bruhl | ExtraTV RELATED: Producer Describes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Best of Both Worlds Bruhl knew he could come back to the MCU one day, but as time passed, he forgot about it The MCU actor explained that getting the call was a pleasant surprise, before going on to note his initial thoughts following Civil War. Bruhl said: And, I always knew that since they didnt kill me, they just put me in a German prison cell, was a good sign that maybe, one day, I could potentially break out of that prison. But then time passed, and I kind of forgot about it. I was blown away when I got this call. Had a glass of champagne and did my little dance. Bruhl | ExtraTV Bruhl got called back, and viewers at home are happy he did. Zemo adds a layer of unpredictability to the series and also presents some internal conflict for Bucky Barnes who had to overcome a great deal of emotional trauma to stand opposite a man who abused him for so long. The man killed when a tornado ripped through a stretch of homes in Palmetto early Saturday has been identified as 27-year-old Jose Antonio Higareda of Opelousas, St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard confirmed. Higareda was identified by family members and has been released to Williams Funeral Home, Bellard said. His family plans to take him back to Mexico for a funeral, he said. Higareda worked at a farm only blocks from his home in Palmetto. His home was lifted off its foundation by winds and Higareda was thrown from the home. He was breathing when first-responders arrived on the scene, but died en route to the hospital, authorities said. The winds that tore through the small St. Landry Parish community were about 130-140 miles per hour, according to Roger Erickson of the National Weather Service. He estimated it was an EF2 or EF3 tornado. The parish received the first 911 call about the damage at Bolden Road and La. 359 from a SLEMCO crew at 2:20 a.m. Fifteen homes were damaged and five or six vehicles were destroyed as they were blown apart by the winds, while a large grain hopper trailer was tossed into the roadway and a home was picked off its pillars and settled back down on the street, Bellard said. No search and rescue efforts were underway Saturday morning because all residents had been accounted for. Of the seven people transported to hospitals, five have been released, one patient remains hospitalized in Lafayette and another in Alexandria, Bellard said. +10 One killed, multiple injured after tornado decimates homes in Palmetto: Theres nothing left One person has been confirmed dead and seven others were taken to area hospitals after a tornado ripped through a stretch of homes in Palmetto Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated Higareda was 28. He is 27. The Acadiana Advocate regrets the error. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 04:37:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Portugal's former Prime Minister Jose Socrates wearing a face mask leaves the court in Lisbon, Portugal, April 9, 2021. Portugal's former prime minister Jose Socrates will be the country's first head of government to stand trial, having been indicted for money laundering and forgery of documents, according to a decision by Judge Ivo Rosa on Friday. (Photo by Petro Fiuza/Xinhua) LISBON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's former prime minister Jose Socrates will be the country's first head of government to stand trial, having been indicted for money laundering and forgery of documents, according to a decision by Judge Ivo Rosa on Friday. However, the magistrate withdrew the passive corruption charges from the Socrates trial, saying "the facts against the accused ... are insufficient to uphold an indictment for passive corruption." Socrates, who served as prime minister between 2005 and 2011, was accused in 2017 of 31 crimes of passive corruption, money laundering, forgery of documents, and tax fraud, in a process that has lasted seven years. He was arrested at Lisbon Airport in 2014 in Portugal's biggest-ever corruption investigation, codenamed Operation Marquis. Prosecutors alleged that Socrates received around 34 million euros (40.5 million dollars) between 2005 and 2015 from companies. Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Friday declined to comment on the lawsuit involving Socrates, whom he has always called a "friend." "I had the opportunity to answer this question six years ago. And I still have nothing to add to what I said," he said in a quick statement to the press. In 2014 Costa visited Socrates in prison and stated that he hoped that "justice would work, ensuring the presumption of innocence," the prosecution's investigations, and "the right for people to defend themselves." The Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office has already announced that it will appeal Judge Ivo Rosa's decision to uphold the corruption charges against Socrates. Enditem A bill aimed at expanding the definition for domestic violence in Connecticut has been combined with another proposal and is headed to the full state Senate but without the names of the two women who advocates say inspired it. The bill was first introduced as Senate Bill 1060, or Jennifers Law, after Jennifer Dulos, the New Canaan mother who vanished in May 2019 and whose estranged husband was charged in her death and disappearance. However, the bill, which was introduced by state Sen. Alex Kasser, D-Greenwich, was seen as too narrow in scope, state lawmakers have said. Last month, it became known as Jennifers Law when it included Terryville resident Jennifer Magnano in its namesake. The broader domestic violence bill became SB-1091 and passed the state judiciary committee on Thursday with a 34-4 vote. Ill continue to fight to ensure the opposition doesnt gut the legislation and get it passed in the Senate and the House before June 9, when session ends, Kasser said Friday. This was a victory, but there are still miles to go. Lawrence Cook, a spokesman for Senate Democrats, said the combined bill is now officially named An Act Concerning a Study of Criminal Laws of This State. The names of the two previous bills will not be included. People colloquially called the name Jennifers Law, but thats not an official title, said State Rep. Steve Strafstrom, D-Bridgeport, who chairs the judiciary committee. Certainly, advocates can refer to the bill any way they want, he said, noting the two widely publicized cases that inspired the bill were part of the reason the General Assembly is seeking to address domestic violence during this session. However, he pointed out there are hundreds of other domestic violence cases around the state that he said dont get headlines in the newspaper. Kasser said Friday she was not aware the name was being dropped. Kasser said she refers to it as Jennifers Law to honor the women weve lost Jennifer Magnano, Jennifer Dulos and hundreds of others as well as the thousands of (domestic violence) survivors in Connecticut. Kasser called domestic violence a public health epidemic. She said she is determined to change the laws and culture so survivors are heard, believed and protected. So many brave survivors told their stories and testified in support of Jennifers Law, Kasser said. I honor them and will do everything I can to pass this legislation. Stafstrom said Connecticut has seen an uptick in domestic violence during the pandemic. During a public hearing in March, many domestic violence survivors including actress Evan Rachel Wood testified in support of passing the bill. Kasser praised them, saying they testified at their own risk risking further harm and retaliation. Kasser worked on the bill with state Sen. Mae Flexer. This bill continues our more than decade-long effort to improve our states response to domestic violence, Flexer said. Over the past years, our neighbors facing domestic violence have dealt with unprecedented obstacles to escape abusive situations. The bill includes non-physical forms of abuse, known as coercive control, including gas-lighting, isolation, blackmail, financial abuse and threats to take away children. It would also require courts to prioritize the safety of children in any case involving domestic violence accusations. SB-1091 also would allow survivors to apply for restraining orders electronically and would require notification to victims that they can testify in family court proceedings remotely when they have a restraining or protective order. Steven Eppler-Epstein, interim CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the bill is critical to provide comprehensive protection for domestic violence survivors statewide. We hear firsthand the struggles they face accessing vital protections that can increase their safety, Eppler-Epstein said. Because Connecticuts domestic violence laws have always relied heavily on physical violence or threats of physical violence, there were few options to protect them from this type of abuse. Senate Bill 1091 fixes that while also strengthening other key safety provisions for survivors. The bill was originally named after two Connecticut women who police have said were killed in domestic violence situations. The bill was named in part after Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who disappeared on May 24, 2019, after dropping off her kids at school in New Canaan. Her body was never recovered, but police said she has been presumed dead based on blood and other evidence found in her garage. Police said they believe she was the victim of a violent assault in the garage of her home, where her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, was accused of lying in wait when she returned from dropping off their children, according to arrest warrants in the case. The two were embroiled in lengthy divorce proceedings at the time of the disappearance. Fotis Dulos died in a suicide in January 2020 while facing murder, kidnapping and other charges in the case. The bill was also inspired by Magnano, who police said was killed in a murder-suicide by her ex-husband in 2007 following a prolonged divorce. Two of Magnanos children, Emily Thibeault and David Magnano, told the nonprofit Connecticut Protective Moms that they support the bill and hope it will help others. Having experienced coercive control both as a child and as an adult, I did not know I was being abused because it didnt fit the description I had learned, Thibeault said. If these behaviors had been defined as abuse under the law, I would have known what was happening to me was wrong. David Magnano said hes hopeful the bill could bring real change and retraining for those who help survivors. To me, the most important outcome would be for judges, lawyers, police and anyone who deals with domestic violence victims, to be retrained to understand all the variety of tactics abusers use to destroy their victims, not just the physical violence, he said. Instead of exercising pressure on my country which is committed to the promotion of peace and security in the region the international community should urge Armenia to fulfill all its obligations, writes Azerbaijans ambassador to the UK. As Emerging Europe writes, the dichotomy between achieving peace and promoting justice is as old as conflict itself, and letting peace take precedence even when there are motives and resources to fight till the end is a difficult decision taken only by those with a constructive and benevolent vision. When Azerbaijan signed the trilateral statement on November 10, 2020, ending 44 days of military operations with Armenia, it had all the reasons and military circumstances in its favour to continue fighting. Yet, in spite of strong emotions still fresh from the consistent injustice it has faced over the last three decades in the form of violation of its territorial integrity, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide against its population, destruction and desecration of hundreds of historical, religious and cultural monuments, ecological terror against its natural resources, Azerbaijan chose to pursue peace for the well-being of the two nations, as well as for the prosperous future of the region as a whole. In doing so, Azerbaijans government has shown considerable goodwill both in implementing the provisions of the trilateral statement, returning all prisoners of war to Armenia and in repeatedly declaring that it is ready to move on to a new phase of of inter-state relations between the two countries. The agreements reached within the framework of the trilateral statements, dated November 10, 2020 and January 11, 2021, also envisage the opening of communications which would benefit the entire region and open up new prospects for regional cooperation. Historical context ignored While the magnanimity shown by Azerbaijan should see nothing but appreciation, vast pressure is being exerted on the country. This pressure disregards what Armenia has actually been doing in the territories of Azerbaijan it has subjected to military occupation for three decades, all without a single word of condemnation from the outside world. The problem is that historical context is hardly given consideration by foreign media and actors while analysing todays events. First, it should be clear that for Azerbaijan liberating its territories affected by the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has never been part of a revanchist or nationalistic agenda or hatred towards another nation. For us, it has always been an issue of restoration of Azerbaijans territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. If some international actor raises a concern about the future of cultural heritage in liberated territories which my country vows to protect, it should first and foremost hold Armenia accountable for the massive destruction of Azerbaijans cultural heritage during its occupation of Azerbaijans territories. Likewise, if certain international organisations or individuals are concerned about presumed humanitarian law violations by the Azerbaijani side during military operations, they should first speak out about Azerbaijani grievances about the genocide committed in Khojaly by Armenian armed forces during the First Karabakh War and the killing by Armenia of more than 100 civilians in the cities of Ganja, Tartar and Barda using cluster munitions during the Second Karabakh War. Biased statements taken out of historical context however only add insult to injury. So far, Armenias actions only undermine perspectives for sustainable peace Regretfully, what we observe today is a negative relationship between the scale of Azerbaijans goodwill and Armenias destabilising actions in the region. That is, the more constructive steps Azerbaijan takes towards regional peace, the more destructive actions are taken by Armenia to only drift further away from the momentum gained through the signing of the trilateral statement. Two weeks after the signing of statement, Armenia illegally transferred a sabotage group of 62 members to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan to conduct terrorist attacks as a result of which military servicemen and civilians were killed and wounded. Now that these persons are detained by the Azerbaijani authorities and are subject to further investigation, Armenia and its supporters have been trying to present these Armenian nationals as prisoners of war (POWs). However, since the members of the group were sent to Azerbaijan with the aim of engaging in sabotage and terrorist activities in the period after the cessation of hostilities, they are not considered as POWs in accordance with international humanitarian law and are liable under the criminal law of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Towards the end of February members of the armed forces of Armenia, wearing civilian outfits, were transferred to the territory of Azerbaijan through the Lachin Corridor in civilian trucks, under disguise, in an attempt to escape the control procedures of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. While the trilateral statement envisages the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenias continued sending of its armed personnel to the internationally recognised territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a flagrant violation of international law. Minefields Armenias refusal to release the maps of minefields planted in territories of Azerbaijan subjected to its military occupation is of particular concern and accounts for yet another severe breach of international humanitarian law. Landmines are used by Armenia as part of a deliberate strategy of revenge to deny return of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis ethnically cleansed by Armenia to their homelands and inflict as much unnecessary human suffering as possible. Since the signing of the trilateral statement more than 20 citizens of Azerbaijan, including 14 civilians have been killed and more than 85 citizens, including 16 civilians have been seriously injured as a result of mine explosions. Armenias conduct continues to impede realisation of the vision of peace, security, and cooperation in the region. Thus, instead of exercising pressure on my country which is committed to the promotion of peace and security in the region the international community should urge Armenia to fulfill all its obligations arising from international law, as well as the joint statements signed on November 10, 2020 and January 11, 2021. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 20:48:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese cultural performances adorned the Race Relations Day Multicultural Festival in Auckland on Saturday night. The 5th-edition festival was hosted by the Federation of the Chinese Association of New Zealand, which is constantly promoting a multicultural New Zealand. Steven Wong, director of the Federation of the Chinese Association of New Zealand, said in the opening speech that New Zealand is a multicultural society with New Zealand Chinese being part of it. "We celebrate the Race Relations Day to promote friendship between New Zealand Chinese community and the mainstream society, as well as to strengthen ties between China and New Zealand," he said. Ruan Ping, Chinese consul general in Auckland, said, "The cultural activities held on Race Relations Day provide opportunities for peoples from all ethnic groups to come together, share, celebrate and enjoy the richness of different cultural experiences." "It further reminds us of learning from and sharing with each other by contributing each one's individual strength," said Ruan. Guests of the day included members of parliament from the governing Labor Party, opposition National Party, Auckland and Hamilton city councilors, local board members and community leaders. New Zealand Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni led the Labor Party MPs by addressing the importance of inclusiveness and social cohesion. "Two years ago on March 15, the Christchurch terrorist attack made us to reflect on the importance of continuing to value each other and to respect multiculturalism and each other's culture," she said. A terrorist attacked two Muslim mosques and killed 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, 2019. The minister also mentioned the importance of Chinese culture in New Zealand as the Chinese community constitutes 5 percent of the New Zealand population. Opposition National Party leader Judith Collins talked about the contributions the New Zealand Chinese have made to the multicultural New Zealand. Auckland Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore also paid tribute to the New Zealand Chinese community's hard working and resilience especially shown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Performers from Chinese, Indian, Korean, Romanian and African background showcased their ethnic dances, music and instrument at the festival. The Race Relations Day is celebrated in New Zealand annually on March 21, which also marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Due to the COVID-19 community cases and subsequent lockdowns, many community celebrations were postponed until April. Enditem GREENE COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) -- Local counties are working hard to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, including Greene County. So far the health department has vaccinated 8% of Greene County residents and now they're looking to do more. Health officials said they are able to administer more vaccines thanks to the Indiana State Department of Health. The state gave the Greene County Health Department 1,500 doses of the Moderna Vaccine. So, the Greene County Health Department is partnering with nursing students at Ivy Tech to hold a mass vaccination clinic this weekend. Anyone can now come to the Greene County Fairgrounds to receive their first dose. Health officials told News 10 there's no excuse to not get vaccinated with options like this clinic. Health officials said, "Those doses are definitely available to the public. So, all Greene County residents who want to get vaccinated can get vaccinated in Greene County, and that's our strongest response to covid right now." The Greene County Fairgrounds was chosen by the Greene County health department to put on their mass vaccination clinic. Carrie Ramey is the public health nurse at the Greene County Health Department. She told News 10 putting on a mass vaccination clinic was no easy task, but it was something the health department couldn't pass up doing. Ramey said, "So to me it was we're doing this. We're going to get this done. It doesn't matter if it's one week out, we're going to work together, we're going to get it done, and we're going to get people vaccinated here." From 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., anyone over the age of 18 can get the Moderna Vaccine at the Greene County Fairgrounds. Ramey said you don't have to be a resident of Greene County, and you don't need an appointment to get your vaccine here. She told News 10 the clinic is taking anyone from Indiana, including people who didn't register. Ramey said, "There's no excuse now. You can't say 'well I had trouble registering' or 'I don't have a computer.' you literally just have to pull up, come in, and we will take it from there and get it scheduled, get you a shot." Ramey said this clinic is offering more than just the vaccine, it's also offering hope. She said, "For all of us, we've got to work together. And if we get vaccinated, and people can stay socially distanced, and wear a mask when you're around people you're not normally around, we can get back to life the way it was before 2020." Looking ahead to the future, health officials said they'll be back here at the Greene County Fairgrounds on May 14 and 15 to deliver the second dose of the Moderna Vaccine. The area on Hon Ro Mountain in Nha Trang Town is seen from above. Photo by VnExpress/Vinh Thanh. A resort developer in central coast Nha Trang has employed explosives for purposes of site clearance, drawing wide-spread disapproval from stressed out locals. In the 45-square-meter mountainside home of Dang Quang Huy, 34, growing cracks spread across the walls and subsiding floor of the bedroom, living room and kitchen. "I don't remember how many times I've repaired my house in the past year since a nearby resort project started triggering quakes and rock falls," he said. Around 400 meters from Huy's house, the luxury resort project covering 24 hectares, funded by Ho Chi Minh City-based Green World Corporation, was granted an investment license in 2012. Subsequent construction on the Haborizon resort and villa project on Hon Ro Mountain began a year ago. The wall of Dang Quang Huy's house suffers many cracks after the investor of the resort project explodes mines for site clearance, April 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Ngoc. Huy said the use of explosives twice a day caused soil and rocks to rain down onto neighborhood roofs, covering everything in a permanent layer of dust. According to him, no resident had been informed about the commencing blasts. When an explosion would occur, Huy and his wife would rush their two sons outside. "We have to run from these explosions like during wartime," he complained. Huy's home was built seven years ago for nearly VND300 million. It collapsed twice due to Typhoon Damrey in 2017 and landslides in 2018. The self-employed family had to then borrow nearly VND100 million to restore the damage. After informing local authorities and the project investor, and despite an inspection of the impacts on his home, neither solution nor compensation has been suggested. Huy's family is one of 70 households suffering the effects of resort construction. In the Thanh Phat Village home of Nguyen Van Ngoc, 41, both living room and bedroom walls feature three-centimeter-wide cracks. With the foundation also subsiding, Ngoc has turned to iron and cement for reinforcement. Boulders dislodged by blasting have accumulated around his house. He and his wife had settled in the area more than 10 years ago, enjoying a humble existence until resort construction disrupted their lives. "My family has been on tenterhooks thanks to the ongoing explosions," Ngoc stressed, adding the environmental pollution and noise was unbearable. Trucks carrying soil and rock from the construction site typically pass through the residential area, leaving behind a blanket of dirt. In addition, a ditch was dug to divert wastewater from the construction site down to neighborhoods at the foot of the mountain where many trees have been chopped down, causing a risk of flooding during the onset of torrential rains. "Many deadly landslides have occurred in Nha Trang. Therefore, during the stormy season, we are extremely worried," Ngoc said. Pham Van Phi, head of the project management board, said provincial authorities had licensed the unit to employ 64.5 tons of explosives and 20,000 detonators of all kinds to destroy part of the mountain and facilitate construction. Blasting typically occurs three to four times a week. To date, about 500 kilograms of explosives have been detonated, reduced to 296 kilograms as requested by provincial leaders, Phi said. The company would work with local authorities to compensate affected families, he said. Inspecting the site on April 7, Nguyen Tan Tuan, chairman of Khanh Hoa, said, "The investor has ensured safety to minimize the impact on nearby families." However, he asked the investor to check and repair all homes damaged due to construction activities. Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province along the central coast has emerged as a famous beach destination in Vietnam in recent years, resulting in a large wave of property and resort developers flocking to initiate luxury tourism projects. However, the town is vulnerable to natural disasters like landslides and flooding. At least 17 had been killed in Nha Trang due to landslides triggered by heavy rain caused by the Toraji typhoon in 2018 while 44 died when the Damrey storm, one of the deadliest typhoons in Vietnam, hit the province in 2017. Yellow Dog Productions / Getty Image A federal jury on Friday convicted a Santa Cruz man of a hate crime for trying to stab a Black man with a nine-inch knife last year. Ole Hougen, 44, was convicted of willfully attempting to cause bodily injury by using a dangerous weapon because of a persons actual or perceived race and color, the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Jose said Friday. State Senate candidate Marty Flynn filed an amended financial interest statement Friday during a break in a hearing meant to determine if a previous statement he filed should mean hes taken off the May 18 election ballot. Flynn, a Democratic state representative, also promised to file another amended statement after a lawyer for two Scranton Republicans challenging his ballot status got him to admit the new financial interest statement didnt include rental income from the other apartment in the Oram Street duplex where he lives. Now that I know that I have to, yes, Flynn testified when his lawyer, attorney Adam C. Bonin, asked if he would amend the statement yet again. Flynn testified during a hearing before state Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon on a petition by Charlie Spano and Joe Albert to remove Flynn from the ballot. They contend Flynn never personally filed a valid financial interest statement by the March 29 deadline but had his campaign manager do it. Flynn, who represents the 113th House District, wants to fill the 22nd Senate District seat left vacant March 8 when Democratic Sen. John Blake resigned. Flynn faces Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak, a Republican, and Marlene Sebastianelli, a Green Party candidate, in the special election on primary election day. Financial interest statements are meant to disclose the sources of income, debts and affiliations with companies or other organizations of an elected or public official or a candidate. That helps voters judge if officials or candidates act appropriately. The Republicans say Flynn had to file the financial interest statement himself, not leave that up to Luke Borwegen, his campaign manager. The electronic version of the statement filed March 17 shows Borwegen filed it. Borwegen and Flynn testified they sat next to each other in person and filed the statement through Borwegens laptop with Flynn instructing his campaign manager on the statements contents. Both testified Borwegens name may have ended up listed as the filer because the laptop may have filled in his name automatically. Bonin argued that was a minor flaw anyway, the kind the state Supreme Court ruled wasnt enough to remove someone from the ballot after years of gotcha litigation. Attorney Thomas W. King III, the lawyer for Spano and Albert, saw Borwegens filing as the latest in a series of Flynn errors on financial interest statements over the years, one that showed bad faith. The Supreme Court ruling, he said, only allowed for unintentional, good faith errors. Under questioning by his lawyer about the amended statement he filed Friday, Flynn said he didnt previously list two car loans, one from the PSECU Credit Union. One loan was for a 2014 Lincoln, the other a 2006 Chevy Corvette, he said. Those are car loans that I was not aware had to be issued on ethics form (financial interest statement), he testified. Under cross-examination, King pointed to Flynns 2016 and 2017 financial interest statements. The 2016 form lists a $30,000 loan from PSECU for the Corvette, the 2017 form also lists PSECU debt, which Flynn said may have been for the Lincoln. Flynns 2018 and 2019 statements dont list the loans. Neither does the 2020 statement filed in Borwegens name. Why didnt you list the car loans in 2019, when you filled out that form? King asked. Because I didnt remember that I had to, Flynn replied. Evidence King presented also showed Flynn failed to list a mortgage as a debt on a rental property at Rear 1633 Dorothy St. on any of his financial statements before Friday. Then, King turned to Flynns home at 1520 Oram St., a duplex with one apartment rented to someone else. Neither its mortgage nor its rental income show up on Flynns financial interest statements, King noted. Bonin objected, saying mortgages on a residence need not be reported. It does if the other part of your house is a rental unit, King shot back. Flynn said he would amend his financial interest statement to reflect the mortgage. Bonin told the judge none of the contents of the current and past financial interest statements matter because King never challenged their contents in Spano and Alberts initial objection. He repeatedly objected to any reference to them, though the judge allowed their inclusion. He said the only question is if Flynn validly filed the electronic financial interest statement. This is sandbagging and this attempt to amend the objection should be denied, Bonin said. The judge set a Monday deadline for filing written legal arguments, but did not indicate when she would rule. GRAND RAPIDS, MI As students and their families prepare to return from spring break, the Kent Intermediate School District (ISD) is hoping to get ahead of a potential uptick in cases with a three-day testing campaign. Hosted at four locations April 9-11, Kent ISD offered free, rapid COVID-19 tests to the public both to school families and community members alike. Kent ISD spokesperson Joy Walczak said We definitely wanted to make sure our families felt safe returning from a time when often many are traveling or even visiting new people in our community, Walczak said. So we wanted to set up the testing sites to help mitigate the spread. After the campaigns first wave of testing Friday, Walczak said over 700 tests were performed. As of Saturday mornings testing at Kent ISDs main campus, 1,100 community members had pre-registered for testing over the weekend. Sundays offerings will include additional testing at Kent ISDs main campus in Grand Rapids from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Grandville High School in Grandville from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sparta High School in Sparta from 12-7 p.m. Walczak said the district has been working with the Kent County Health Department and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services throughout the pandemic, and worked with Honu Management Group on the spring break campaign. Robert Griffin of Honu Management Group, said the company has chartered 30 spring break testing events around the country, with 25 more on the horizon. In Michigan, their efforts are even more important. COVID has been on the rise in the state of Michigan, and its been going on for over a year, so people are pretty tired of COVID, Griffin said. We just had spring break, so people are with family, friends and traveling, so what were trying to do here is identify people that traveled and maybe spent time with family and maybe contracted the virus. We want to get them tested and identify those people so we can get them quarantined and stop the spread. Many of those waiting for their rapid drive-thru test were parents and their children. Missy Brinkman, a mother whose daughter attends school at Comstock Park Public Schools, said after spending time in Florida for spring break, they didnt initially plan to get tested. However, with her daughter showing symptoms that could be allergies or COVID-19, Brinkman said she wanted to err on the side of caution. Seeing the strong turnout of cars waiting for their tests was reassuring, she said, noting she appreciated the effort to get people tested. Its also kind of shocking because my daughter just said, Do you realize a lot of these people that are here right now potentially think that they all could have COVID? she said. So yes, but it is reassuring that people are being responsible. Andie Doezema, who attended with her son, wanted to get him tested so he could continue attending classes in person for the remainder of the semester. While she is fully vaccinated and her son isnt showing symptoms following a trip to Chicago, she said the tests are part of a larger effort to keep in-person learning a reality. Its important, she said. I want him in school. Im glad to see [everyone here] Despite wait times between 45 minutes and two hours, Walczak encourages members of the community to take advantage of the free opportunity at any of the three upcoming locations. From those shes talked to so far, she has heard nothing but appreciation. I am so happy to say that weve had a lot of gratitude expressed, Walczak said. A lot of people have said thank you for providing this service. I think everyone is on the same page where they want the safety of our students, our staff and our community to be our number one priority. Information on Sunday testing and links to pre-register can be found on Kent ISDs website. Federal prosecutors considering sedition charges for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol are likely studying a 2010 case against Michigan residents who discussed starting a war with the government. Nine members of the Hutaree militia, a Christian anti-government group, were the last Americans to face federal sedition charges. Prosecutors alleged the group planned to kill police officers and overthrow the federal government but the charges didnt stick; U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts acquitted all members of sedition in 2012. Roberts determined prosecutors failed to show the Hutaree militia had concrete plans to carry out an attack. Nearly a decade later, legal experts say federal prosecutors have better odds of proving rioters planned to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Federal law defines sedition as a conspiracy to overthrow the government, delay the execution of the law, or use force to seize U.S. property. Sedition is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Matthew Schneider, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said prosecutors dont need to prove rioters attempted a coup. Anyone who tried to stop the legal process of finalizing the presidential election could face sedition charges. People think of sedition as overthrowing the government, but thats not actually what the law says, Schneider said in an interview. At the end of the day, the sedition charge does fit. Mike Rataj is a Detroit defense attorney who represented the Hutaree militia. Rataj, who has decades of experience in federal cases, said a key difference is the Hutaree had big talk about attacking police, but the Capitol rioters took action. Rataj said theres a clear opportunity to charge people who were trying to prevent the Electoral College vote from being certified. These idiots who stormed the Capitol, spurred on by Trump and his sycophants, were actually encouraging people to attack the Capitol, and stop the steal; stop the Electoral College count, Rataj said in an interview. Michel McDaniel, director of the Homeland Law program at Western Michigans Cooley Law School, said politicians and protesters spent weeks promoting a rally on Jan. 6 to stop the steal. Supporters of former President Donald Trump traveled to Washington, D.C. and marched toward the Capitol after he urged them to fight against the election result. A violent mob broke through police barriers and occupied the building for several hours, delaying the certification of President Joe Bidens victory. Five people were killed, including a Capitol Police officer. Absolutely, this is enough for sedition, McDaniel said. Is that overthrowing the government? No, maybe not, but it really would have caused a lot of harm to our belief in that government and it would have caused a lot of damage if it had been more successful. The government opened more than 400 criminal cases in the months after Jan. 6. Most were charged with assaulting police, destroying property or trespassing on restricted grounds. Seven men from Michigan were arrested as of April 8. So far, prosecutors have not charged anyone with sedition. However, a federal prosecutor who was leading the criminal investigation said he believes theres evidence to support sedition charges during an interview with 60 Minutes. Twenty-eight people face conspiracy charges. Prosecutors allege they plotted to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote and obstruct police tasked with protecting the Capitol. Federal court documents shows how prosecutors described the conspiracy allegedly planned by members of the Proud Boys. (Screenshot | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) Federal prosecutors are trying to make the case that paramilitary groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys planned to breach the Capitol. Federal court records allege members donned camouflaged combat uniforms and used military-style tactics to communicate during the riot. People who arent members of paramilitary groups could also face sedition charges, Schneider said. A conspiracy is just two people or more who agree to commit a crime and take a step in that direction, he said. They dont have to be associated in any way. They dont all have to be members of the Proud Boys or some group. They can be completely separated. At the same time, Schnieder said there may be people who stormed the Capitol but didnt plan to disrupt the Electoral College vote. It could be harder to prosecute people who argue they were caught up in the chaos. You cant blend these two groups; if theres one group of people who conspire to trespass and theres another group who conspires to disrupt the vote, you cant convict the people who just want to trespass of obstructing the vote, Schneider said. Its almost like two separate conspiracies. Some of the Michiganders who were arrested talked about storming the Capitol in the weeks before Jan. 6, according to federal documents. Karl Dresch, a Calumet resident facing five charges, posted on Facebook that he was preparing to go to Washington, D.C. and urged others to join him. NO EXCUSES! NO RETREAT! NO SURRENDER! TAKE THE STREETS! TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY! Dresch wrote on Facebook. Macomb County residents Daniel Herendeen and Robert Schornak, who face five charges, allegedly discussed their dedication to attending Trumps Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally. Both men dressed in tactical gear. An informant who tipped off the FBI reported Herendeen showed off equipment he intended to take to the Capitol. Anthony Williams, a Southgate resident facing three charges, posted several messages on Facebook about his plan to storm the swamp. In one message, Williams said yep, we pissed and we coming to Congress. He also encouraged others to fight back. Michigan residents face a variety of charges that could result in lengthy jail sentences for disorderly conduct, violent entry of Capitol grounds and trespassing. Michael Foy, a Wixom resident charged with assaulting a police officer, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Its unclear if any of that behavior clears the bar for sedition. McDaniel said the government is taking a conservative approach to pursuing charges so far. Thats because the stakes are high. Sedition charges are rarely used and carry significant symbolic weight. Success would send a strong signal to extremists, McDaniel said, but failure could embolden anti-government groups that feel unfairly persecuted by the government. For it to truly to be a deterrent, you have to focus on what the activity really was and what the intent was, McDaniel said. Its not as great a deterrent to others if they see the government is unable to bring those charges, or if theyre unsuccessful. It could encourage them. McDaniel said prosecutors would be wise to study the failures of the 2010 Michigan sedition case. The conspiracy case against Hutaree militia was primarily based on conversations involving David Stone Sr., the groups founder. Rataj, the defense attorney, said the government failed to provide hard evidence. Stone, who did not respond to a request for comment, allegedly made statements about killing police officers and the need to go to war in preparation for battle with the Antichrist. Stone is now the supervisor of Wheatland Township in Hillsdale County. Hutaree militia members actively trained with military-style exercises and collected guns, ammunition and anti-government literature, according to federal court documents. The first step of their alleged plan was to commit a violent act to draw the attention of police, then retreat to rally points where they would carry out other attacks against local and federal law enforcement officials. Federal prosecutors alleged the militia hoped to inspire a widespread uprising against the government. Roberts, the federal judge, determined there was no specific agreement to carry out any attack. Roberts, in a written order to acquit the militia members, determined a conspiracy to kill police officers is not the same as forcibly opposing the U.S. government. Talking about killing cops is protected by the First Amendment, the judge wrote. All nine members, including six Michigan residents, two Ohio residents and an Indiana resident, were acquitted of the sedition charges. Three of the members, including Stone, pleaded guilty to weapons-related charges. A couple of white guys running around the woods with guns is pretty much the definition of deer season, and is not really illegal behavior by itself, McDaniel said. I say it that way to illustrate it was a difficult case ... If the Hutaree case tells us anything, its that guys walking around the woods with guns, and big talk is not enough for sedition. Rataj said the Hutaree case has had an impact on how the government has approached potential seditious conspiracies since then. I just think that the government learned his lesson, Rataj said. Theyre gonna be more circumspect when they bring a conspiracy charge. I think that theyre smart in the way that they brought these (Jan. 6) indictments in federal court. READ MORE ON MLIVE: How a fake lawyer and conservative outrage made Marlenas Bistro a national symbol of pandemic freedom Armed boogaloo protesters get chilly reception at events in Lansing, Ann Arbor Ryan Kelley pushed to arrest lawmakers, then stormed the Capitol. Now he wants to be Michigans governor. We need help. Michigan Attorney General says feds need to step up fight against domestic terrorism A critical examination of the official data on farmer suicides reveals a poor understanding of the issue. Yet, it also reveals that farmers suicides, on average, account for 14% of the total suicides in the country. It peaked at 16% in 2004, consequently falling to 9% in 2013. It is a region-specific issue and those states with high farmer suicides have persistently remained so. The underlying causes of farmer suicides and non-farmer suicides may be similar across states on account of a high correlation between their corresponding numbers, suggesting that the causes of suicides may include factors other than economic and livelihood issues. Public concern regarding farmer suicides in India gained traction in the 1990s, after journalist P Sainath (2005) famously flagged the problem of rising agrarian distress in the country. According to the 2011 Census, farmers (main and marginal cultivators) account for around 25% of all workers in the country, while farmworkers (agricultural labourers) account for 30%. Farmer suicides have always been a sensitive issue in the public sphere, evoking more sentimentality than fact-based responses as the number of farmer suicides rose steadily between 1995 and 2004 from 10,720 to 18,241. In those states, where farmer suicides were higher than the average, it was argued that there could be crop- and region-specific factors responsible for it. The data on farmer suicides, published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), has been used to validate polar opposite positionsfrom the neo-liberal policy reforms of 1991 (Aerthayil 2008) to the degrading moral fibre of the Indian society (Peebles 2013). The farmer suicide issue is mostly seen as emblematic of the agrarian distress caused by neo-liberal reforms, which reduced the ambit of formal bank credit and left farmers at the mercy of market forces. K C Suri (2006) and C R Chandrasekhar (2017) trace the roots of national agrarian distress, which they explain as the primary or obvious cause of rising farmer suicides. This suggested link between agrarian distress and farmer suicides, in fact, has been deeply ingrained in the prevalent literature, despite suicides being a neurological and psychosocial phenomenon. It seems to be a particularly intriguing phenomenon for economists to study, because farmer suicides, linked so closely with agrarian distress, are looked at as deaths that are driven actually by economic hardships, rather than the more complex issues of mental health. A minor change in Boeing's 737 MAX manufacturing process that was insufficiently vetted caused an electrical system problem that on Friday temporarily grounded more than 60 of the aircraft out of almost 200 MAXs that have returned to service since December. While this latest manufacturing flaw is unrelated to the flight-control system implicated in two fatal crashes that grounded the MAX for nearly two years, it slows the positive momentum that had begun to build as more MAXs took to the air and new orders came in from United, Alaska and Southwest. The problem, according to two people with knowledge of the modified manufacturing process, arose when a backup electrical power control unit was secured to a rack on the flight deck with fasteners in place of the rivets previously used. This change was executed in such a way that it did not provide a complete electrical grounding path to the unit. The lack of secure electrical grounding could potentially cause malfunctions in a variety of electrical systems, such as the engine anti-ice system and the auxiliary power unit (APU) in the plane's tail. Boeing said it discovered the issue "on a production airplane during normal build activity" and that inspections are needed to verify "that a sufficient ground path exists" for this control unit. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Boeing notified it late Thursday that it was recommending certain MAX airplanes be temporarily removed from service. After Boeing informed airlines late Thursday evening, Southwest grounded 30 of its MAXs. American grounded 17, and United 16. Boeing said 16 customers worldwide are affected. FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor said Boeing's manufacturing switch from rivets to fasteners was "a minor design change" that did not require approval by either the federal safety agency or the internal Boeing organization that represents the FAA and assures compliance with regulations. Another 737 Stabilizer Problem This latest problem adds to the long litany of missteps currently afflicting Boeing. Manufacturing flaws have grounded more than 80 of the widebody 787 Dreamliners for months; design flaws mean the vision system on the Air Force's KC-46 military aerial refueling tanker must be completely revamped; and quality issues have delayed the Starliner spacecraft program. And in a previously unreported problem, Boeing recently found a potential defect in a batch of 20 to 40 motors that move the horizontal stabilizer on all 737s, including the MAX and earlier models. This motor manufactured by Eaton, a supplier headquartered in Ireland is part of the system that pitches the airplane nose up or nose down. Boeing said seven of the aircraft with a stabilizer motor from the defective batch are MAXs. Boeing spokesperson Jessica Kowal said the defect potentially affects the reliability of the component. The motor "has been replaced in five of the MAXs already and the remaining two airplanes will have the parts replaced before they fly again," she said. Kowal said Boeing is continuing "to evaluate any potential impact to the 737 NG fleet." American Airlines spokesperson Sarah Jantz said two MAXs in its fleet had their stabilizer motors replaced as a result of Boeing's directive, although neither had experienced any issues. (Both those fixed MAXs are now grounded by the new electrical power control unit problem.) The failure of a stabilizer motor is a rare inflight issue. Dealing with it requires pilots to use the manual wheel in the cockpit to trim the aircraft's pitch. Coincidentally, an inflight stabilizer problem that required manual trim to get a 737 MAX home safely happened just last week but with a different root cause. On March 29, an American Airlines 737 MAX, flying from Miami to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with 135 passengers and 6 crew aboard was forced to turn back when the horizontal stabilizer system failed. The pilots ran the stabilizer checklist, manually trimmed the aircraft as they returned to Miami, and landed safely. This incident was not related to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) flight control software implicated in the two MAX crashes. Nor was it the recently identified stabilizer motor problem. Jantz of American Airlines said the fault this time was in an electrical relay switch controlling the stabilizer motor. American afterward replaced the relay switch. When FAA Administrator Steve Dickson signed the order that cleared the way for the MAX to return to service, he noted that routine in-flight problems would likely cause excessive concern if on a MAX. "It is inevitable that at some time in the future, a Boeing 737 MAX will turn back to its originating airport, divert, or land at its destination with an actual or suspected in-flight problem," Dickson said then. "While these events can be inconvenient and unsettling to passengers, they occur virtually every day." U.S. Airlines Deal with the Latest Problem Nevertheless, the sheer accumulation of manufacturing, design and quality problems at Boeing over the past two years has badly damaged its reputation for technical excellence. The production change that produced the latest electrical system problem for the MAX was made after the original grounding of the jet in March 2019, so only planes built after that are affected. Southwest has 28 MAXs without this issue, United has 14 and American 24 all still flying. On Friday, Chris Hurrell, American's 737 fleet captain, said in a message to the airline's pilots that its "MAX fleet has not experienced any abnormalities" as a result of the manufacturing process change. Nevertheless, David Seymour, chief operating officer at American, told staff in a memo that "at Boeing's direction, we have temporarily removed these 17 aircraft from service." Seymour said the grounding of 17 MAXs will bring "operational challenges rerouting crew members, customers and aircraft, schedule changes and supporting our customers." United said it is "working to swap out aircraft to minimize the impact to our customers" and is working with Boeing and the FAA "to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards." Southwest spokesperson Brandy King said that airline, too, "has not experienced any known operational challenges related to the issue." And because Southwest is currently operating a limited MAX schedule of 44 daily flights, with no more than 15 aircraft scheduled to fly each day, it expects "minimal operational disruption as we have spare aircraft in our system." No timeline is yet available for the grounded MAXs to return to service. "It is too soon to estimate timing," said King. "We are awaiting further guidance and the corrective fix from Boeing." This article is written by Dominic Gates from Seattle Times and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. Market Scenario Global Turbomolecular Pumps Market is expected to reach US$ 1.77 Billion by 2026 from US$ 1 Billion in 2017 at CAGR of 6.55%. Global Turbomolecular Pumps Market Turbomolecular pumps market is segmented by product, application, and region. Based on product, turbomolecular pumps market is divided by oil lubricated type, magnetically suspended type, and hybrid. Hybrid is estimated to hold the largest share of a market in forecast period due to a high speed of pumping, highest compression ratios, and low residual vibrations. Request for Report Sample: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11385 On the basis of application, turbomolecular pumps market is classified into nanotechnology instruments, analytical instrumentation, industrial vacuum processing, and others. Analytical instrumentation is estimated to hold the largest share of the market during the forecast period due to increasing demand for water processing and chemical processing among globe. Major driving factors for turbomolecular pumps market are rising demand for a pump, operational proficiency, enhanced productivity, high efficiency, and reliability boom the market during forecast period among globe, high vacuum, and increasing demand for pumps in analytical instrumentation. Increasing technological advancement and innovation are opportunities for the players and at the same time, high manufacturing cost acts as restrain to the market. In terms of region, turbomolecular pumps market is segmented by North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America is estimated to hold the largest share of a market in forecast period due to rising demand for the flat panel displays and semiconductors in this region. Key players studies, analyzed, profiled and benchmarked in turbomolecular pumps market are Agilent Turbomolecular, Atlas Copco, Busch, Ebara Technologies, Inc., KYKY Technology Co. Ltd., Osaka Vacuum, Ltd., Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH, Shimadzu Corporation, Ulvac, Welch, Edwards, KYKY Vacuum, and Leybold. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11385/Single Scope of the Report Turbomolecular Pumps Market are Global Turbomolecular Pumps Market, by Product Oil Lubricated Type Magnetically Suspended Type Hybrid Global Turbomolecular Pumps Market, by Application Nanotechnology Instruments Analytical Instrumentation Industrial Vacuum Processing Others Global Turbomolecular Pumps Market, by Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin America Key Players, Global Turbomolecular Pumps Market are Agilent Turbomolecular Atlas Copco Busch Ebara Technologies, Inc. KYKY Technology Co. Ltd. Osaka Vacuum, Ltd. Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH Shimadzu Corporation Ulvac Welch Edwards KYKY Vacuum Leybold New Delhi, April 10 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the state government is not planning a lockdown in the national capital. However, he indicated that the government is likely to put some more restrictions in the coming days. "Lockdown is not an option. However, we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. The Delhi government will issue some new restrictions in the coming few days," Kejriwal said after a review meeting with senior doctors at LNJP Hospital on Saturday. The chief minister further stated there has been a sharp increase in new Covid-19 cases across the nation, including Delhi. "We need to simultaneously spearhead an aggressive vaccination campaign and also put in place measures that can effectively contain the spread of the virus along with making hospital management equally effective," Kejriwal added. He further said that the national capital is facing the fourth wave of Coronavirus. The last wave was in November after which the cases had gone down in Delhi and the health agencies began to go lax. "It is imperative that they regain their momentum and begin to function in the same efficient manner that they did, which helped contain the spread of the virus," Kejriwal said. Ankit Gupta, a senior doctor at LNJP who is also in-charge of administration, told IANS that out of 2000 beds in the hospital, 1500 have been reserved for Covid-19 infected patients while 500 are non-Covid beds. "We have not suspended non-Covid services here so far but if the situation demands, a further decision may be taken in the coming days," he added. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Advertisement The first special unit of tank robots is to be established 'soon' in the Russian army amid new strains of a war with neighbour Ukraine. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected his unmanned firepower this week at the 766th Production and Technological Enterprise in Nakhabino near Moscow. 'The first unit with strike robots will be set up in the Russian Armed Forces to operate five Uran-9 robotic systems or 20 combat vehicles,' announced the defence ministry. Russia has been showing off its Uran-9 unmanned combat ground vehicle The system is controlled by an operator inside an armoured vehicle away from the front line Footage of the exercise was broadcast on Russian media this week as the Kremlin increases the number of troops and equipment on the Ukrainian border Troops will undergo training 'to operate Uran-9 robotic vehicles in special military units', it was announced. A video shows the unmanned tank in action. It is armed with a 30mm automatic gun, Ataka anti-tank missiles and Shmel flamethrowers. The Russian army currently possesses mine clearance robots called Uran-6, firefighting Uran-14s, as well as assault Uran-9s. Underwater and spy robots are also in development. Shoigu ordered the robot designers to improve the technical capacity of his unmanned army to overcome the impact of 'strong electromagnetic radiation as well as radioactive pollution'. 'We expect to continue expanding the range of robots, which, of course, are already in demand in the military today,' he said. 'These will be heavy robots (for mine clearance) and everything related to the further development of scouts, radiation and chemical reconnaissance robots. 'This applies to surface and underwater robots.' The strike and mining clearance robots have been battle tested in Syria, ahead of the formation of the first unit. The remote operator is able to move the Uran-9 and operate its weapon systems from a safe location Russian president Vladimir Putin has increased spending on his military in recent years 'Shortcomings were identified during the tests in Syria. In particular, the issues of control, reduced mobility, and unsatisfactory military intelligence and surveillance functions had been considered by engineers and were rectified,' said Vladimir Dmitriev, head of the Kalashnikov Concern. It is unclear if Russia is deploying its new-age robot tanks with the massing of firepower now underway on Ukraine's borders. It is armed with a 30mm automatic gun, Ataka anti-tank missiles and Shmel flamethrowers Two migrant boys at the Freeman Coliseum turned 18 this week. They celebrated their birthdays and release from the temporary shelter Thursday with pizza. No longer considered unaccompanied minors, theyll be united with relatives to pursue their asylum cases. As hard as theyll try, they might ultimately lose. One from El Salvador and the other from Guatemala, the young men were placed under the temporary supervision of Catholic Charities, the Archdiocese of San Antonios charitable arm that covered their airline tickets and hotel rooms. They hadnt spoken to their families in about 20 days, so Catholic Charities President and CEO J. Antonio Fernandez handed them his phone. One spoke in the Mayan Kiche language of Guatemala. I dont know what he was saying, but he was crying, Fernandez said. If everything goes well, the young men will board flights this weekend, one to New York, the other to Iowa. Their release came a day after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appeared in front of cameras and the coliseum to make explosive allegations of sexual assault in the San Antonio facility. The accusations blindsided local officials. Abbott dishonestly portrayed the allegations. He said nothing to clarify that the complaints stemmed from teen boys acting out sexually and bullying boys who may be gay. The governor left wide open more serious interpretations involving potential adult predators. Still, Abbott on Friday continued to demand the shelter be closed and the boys moved to another federal child migrant center. The governors words raised eyebrows among longtime advocates of migrants seeking asylum. Theyve long known that the governor never spoke out about sexual abuse allegations in migrant shelters under the Trump administration. Other critics know Abbott hasnt been especially concerned about child sexual abuse or assault allegations among state foster children or in juvenile detention centers. The Texas Tribune reported such cases went without the governors immediate intervention. Abbotts allegations were made without providing evidence, specifics or sources. On Friday, more information was released about the complaints. They alleged boys were sexually acting out during showers and that some bullied gay boys. Every charge must be investigated. To add some perspective, migrant shelters of these kind are required to report every case potentially involving sexual abuse or harassment, even when migrant children make lewd remarks or gestures to one another, according to a source familiar with the industry. Before Abbott went inside the coliseum, he also charged that the facility was understaffed, that the boys arent being adequately fed, and that those with COVID-19 arent being housed separately. Local officials quickly rejected those claims, as did Fernandez, though he agreed the facility has been understaffed. Fernandez said contractors have tried recruiting workers among the nonprofit agencys volunteers, now at about 900. Local officials, whove been in and out of the coliseum, defended it as safe and secure, saying children are getting rest, recreation and meals thrice daily plus two snacks. About 1,900 boys, ages 13 to 17, are living in the facility. Fernandez also said migrant boys are supervised around the clock, and that volunteers undergo initial background checks and get COVID-19 screenings every three days, as do the boys. Those with COVID-19 are housed separately in a medically equipped area in the coliseum, he said. The governors words were at the very least hasty and more reflective of the ongoing acrimony between Abbott and the White House. When the governor lifted the states mask mandate and let businesses open up more, as did the governor of Mississippi, President Biden called it Neanderthal thinking. Earlier this year, the governor said migrants coming across the border were exposing South Texans to COVID-19, but offered no evidence. Then he said migrants were being released with COVID, which the White House denied. News reports said Abbott stalled, then rejected federal funds for that purpose. In early 2020, the governor wanted Texas excluded from the federal refugee resettlement program. As is often the case, the migrants showed such grace and gratefulness in spite of the political rhetoric against them. The governor reportedly didnt interact with any of the migrant boys when he toured the facility after his comments Wednesday. They, on the other hand, gave him a standing ovation. eayala@express-news.net Maryland's Democratic-controlled legislature on Saturday voted to override Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's vetoes of police accountability legislation. Why it matters: Maryland is the first state to repeal its Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, the Washington Post notes. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Catch up quick: Hogan on Friday vetoed three of the five bills in the police accountability package, claiming the legislation would "result in great damage to police recruitment and retention, posing significant risks to public safety throughout the state." By Saturday evening, the state legislature had voted to override all three vetoes. Details: The legislation outlines a new procedure for disciplining officers accused of wrongdoing that would replace the powerful police bill of rights, according to the Post. Civilians would play a role in the process. The measures also include changes to the state's use-of-force guidelines, a mandate for the use of body cameras statewide and limits on the use of no-knock search warrants, among other reforms. The state legislature also voted to override Hogan's veto of a bill that allows individuals sentenced to life in prison as juveniles to become eligible for parole. What they're saying: State Delegate Gabriel Acevero (D) on Saturday called Hogan a "coward" for vetoing the measures. Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary (D) said Friday night, "this is not anti-police legislation; this is equality and fairness legislation," per the Post. Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police President Clyde Boatwright earlier Saturday thanked Hogan for the vetoes the measures, saying the legislation, if enacted, would "further erode morale, community relationships, and public confidence." The big picture: Following last year's racial justice protests after the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people, Maryland Democrats prioritized passing the comprehensive police accountability legislation, per the Post. One of the bills was named "Anton's Law," in honor of Anton Black, who died in 2018 after police in a rural town on Maryland's Eastern Shore pinned the 19-year-old down for several minutes. More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free A longtime anti-war activist from New Haven was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison Friday for his part in vandalizing property at the Kings Bay submarine base three years ago in Georgia. Mark Colville was the last of seven defendants who admitted to illegally entering the naval installation by cutting the padlock and damaging property, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia. "Mark Colville's sentence brings closure to a prosecution that represents the triumph of the rule of law over misguided principles," Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes for the Southern District of Georgia said in a statement. Given the 15 months he already has served in federal prison and time off for good behavior, Colville estimates he will go back to prison for about 125 days to complete the sentence. Colville said they used hammers and containers of their own blood to mark several areas of the base, which is home to six Trident nuclear submarines, before surrendering to naval personnel. He has been participating in civil disobedience actions against nuclear weapons since 1997 as part of the U.S. Plowshares movement, which takes its direction from the Biblical quote in Isaiah 2:3-4. "... Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ... and he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Colville, 59, was found guilty after a four-day jury trial in October 2019 on charges of conspiracy, destruction of property on a Naval installation, depredation of government property, and trespass. On Friday he was ordered to pay $33,503.51 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence. Colville said he would not make such a payment and pledged not to cooperate with the probation office. He said he expects to go before the court again on these issues. On probation, Colville said, "I will not allow them in anyway to supervise my conscience. What I did was responsible. I was being a responsible citizen in the face of a government that has obviously thrown its lot in with criminality." "You are going to supervise my conscience and you have no conscience?" Colville said. He said he did not request special consideration, but when Judge Lisa Godbey Woods asked, Colville said he would prefer to serve out his sentence at Danbury federal prison to be close to his family. Colville said ultimately it is up to the Bureau of Prisons. He said he will report in 60 days on June 8. Estes issued a statement after the sentencing. "Colville and his attention-seeking cohorts attempted to make a grand statement by breaking into and vandalizing a secure government facility, but in the end succeeded only in adding felony convictions to their criminal records," Estes wrote. Colville and the six other members of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 had cut through fences at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary's, Ga., and symbolically disarmed the nuclear weapons by beating on storage bunkers and monuments to the Trident sub with hammers made from firearms and pouring their own blood on the property. "We went as far as we could nonviolently to get to the weapons and where we were stopped is where we did the action," Colville said in 2019 when he was freed from detention in Brunswick, Ga. "Marines descended on us with their guns drawn and we knelt down and prayed." It was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the seven carried a banner with a quote from King: "The ultimate logic of racism is genocide." Colville has long protested the presence of nuclear weapons. The federal court said he has eight previous convictions related to trespassing and damaging federal property. Colville also is a longtime activist in the city to protect the rights of people experiencing homelessness. Colville founded Amistad Catholic Worker House with his wife, Luz Catarineau-Colville. In a statement before the sentencing, Colville thanked all those who have followed the case and who sent letters of support to the court. "I'm asking her (the judge) to consider them as expressions of the conscience of the community regarding the criminal enterprise of nuclearism, as it continues to scourge humanity and creation beyond reason or accountability," Colville wrote. "My family, my neighborhood and I have a right to live without a nuclear gun on hair-trigger alert held perpetually to our heads, and this court's failure to recognize that right has made it an accessory to crimes against humanity. This is the reality that I plan to confront as clearly and simply as possible on Friday ... and the rest, as an old friend used to remind me, is God's problem," Colville wrote. The sentencing was held virtually, Colville said, given dangers of gathering in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contacted at home, he did not have a reaction to the sentencing itself as he and his family were prepared for the consequences of the activist path he has taken. Colville said it will take other families, like his own, to assume a similar stand against nuclear weapons. "It is obvious that governments are not going to disarm on their own," he said. He said the goal is for people "to free themselves and the institutions that govern us, and in so many ways confine us, and start thinking about the future of life on the planet." Colville in the beginning refused bail, but eventually did get pretrial release a few weeks before the October court session to take care of a cancerous growth. He was later allowed to attend his daughter's wedding and he has been out since then. His 15 months in detention were spent at the Glynn County Detention Center l in Brunswick, Ga., which he said was mainly occupied by individuals who could not afford bail as they awaited trial because of probation violations. He said some were incarcerated longer than he was. The statement from the U.S. attorney's office said the seven trespassers, once through the security fence, "split into two groups and then damaged and vandalized property inside the facility before being taken into custody by naval security personnel." The six other defendants, previously sentenced in the case, include: Stephen Michael Kelly, 72, of Massachusetts; Patrick O'Neill, 65, of Garner, N.C.; Elizabeth McAlister, 81, of New London, Conn.; Clare Therese Grady, 62, of Ithaca, N.Y.; Martha Hennessy, 65, of Perkinsville, Vt.; and Carmen Trotta, 58, of New York, N.Y. This article is written by Mary E. O'Leary from New Haven Register, Conn. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation is a group of young working professionals who have come together to pool resources together aimed at alleviating the plight of the poor, the needy and the less privileged in society. They do these by mobilizing resources both internally from members and externally from benevolent organizations and individuals. They all believe that The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Ghandi. The foundation has successfully undertaken 10 major projects since its inception; 5 orphanage projects and 5 other projects. The five orphanage projects include donations to: 1. The Eye of the Lord Orphanage at Nsawam on March 31, 2018 - Eastern Region 2. City of Refuge Orphanage at Shai Hills on December 22, 2018 - Eastern Region 3. Porters Village Orphanage at Dodowa on April 19, 2019 - Eastern Region 4. Royal Seed Orphanage at Bawjiase - Central Region on December 21, 2019 5. Nector Foundation at Lower Manyo Krobo on May 1, 2020 - Eastern Region - Eastern Region The five other projects include 1. Free Health screening at Junction Mall in 2019 2. Covid-19 donation at Gallery Slum Area, Accra on April 12, 2020 - a partnership with Axis Pension Trust 3. Face mask distribution at Chorkor and Jamestown on August 8, 2020 - a partnership with Give Me Hope Foundation 4. Feeding of street kids from 37 hospitals to Shiashi on September 11, 2020 - a partnership with Reggie Rockstone (Rockswaakye) 5. Love Feast Project at Takyikrom on December 19, 2020 - Eastern Region In line with their 3rd Anniversary, they chose to move to Osamkrom to support the prisoners. Their motivation was based on Biblical inference on the following scripture. a. Hebrews 13:3a "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were there with them in prison". b. Isaiah 61:1 "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings onto the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" The theme of the project was Behind Bars but not Bound. Shedding more light on the theme, the President and Founder of Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation, Mr. Nicholas Cofie expressed his sentiments on the fact that; There is a misconception that, everyone in prison is guilty of a particular crime. The truth is that some prisoners are innocent. Even if they are guilty of a crime, there is the need to show them the love of God and bring them the saving knowledge of Christ. Crime knows no age and most of the cases in prison are because of lack of anger management. Anyone could find himself there. PROFILE OF OSAMKROM PRISON CAMP Osamkrom Camp prison, located in the Central Region of Ghana in a town called Osamkrom, started as an open camp and a farming station in the early 90s. It is situated on the main road off Agona-Swedru and Winneba Junction in the Gomoa East District; about 10 kilometers drive from Winneba Junction. It accommodates only male inmates with less sentences below six years. At Osamkrom Camp prison, inmates receive more counselling to be reoriented back into their communities. The prison engages inmates in farming activities, tailoring, and basketry. These inmates were about 250 in number and between the ages of 18years to 56years manned by about 165 officers who run on 3 shifts in a day. Despite their small number with regards to the population of other prisons in Ghana, Osamkrom Prison had challenges ranging from logistics in the areas of infrastructure, Agriculture and Health. The facility lacks a properly resourced infirmary to take care of the inmates. In an interview with ADP Justice Essumang, he revealed that there have been instances where inmates had to be transported to Cape Coast or Korle-bu in Accra to receive medical attention. The Only pumping machine that helped to pump water to server the prison was broken down and they had to go days without taking their bath anytime supply from GWL is interrupted. He also revealed that the facility lacked a tractor to support their Agriculture projects, yet for the year 2020, they supplied maize to the maximum-security prison at Ankaful, winneba local prison and one other station in Accra. ACTIVITIES AND DONATION At the facility, Members of Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation were welcomed by Sergeant Samuel Ofori spelling out the rules of the place. Members were met by a musical interlude by the Osamkrom Prison Choir. Formal introduction of prison officers was done by DSP. Delali, Mentioning ADP Justice Essumang (Agyenkwa) as the Director in Charge of Osamkrom prison, DSP Comfort Asuma Head of Religious Affairs and ASP Kumah Head of Tailoring. Minister Jamin Benjamin Debrah and Madam Berlinda Asante led the inmates and delegation in a time of praise and Adoration. Prophet Joseph Gabriel Obeng had the opportunity to give an exposition on the theme HOPE using Romans 15:12 and John 3:16. He used the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the occasion of the commemoration of Easter together with his own personal life testimonies to encourage the inmates. An altar call led about 27 inmates to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Reggie Rockstone (CEO of Rockzwaakye) and his wife, Zilla Limann ( Limann Foundation) , Mr. Ray Yorke Dadzie, Minister Benjamin Debrah and Abena Asante Asare of the myhelp-YourHelp Foundation encouraged the inmates. 4 big boxes of Bibles, a Book by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills (How to be born again and avoid hell) and Gospel tracts were distributed to the inmates. The dedication of the new Corn Mill presented by Myhelp-Yourhelp Foundation was done by Prophet Joseph Gabriel Obeng and the Project Coordinator, Mr Jeff Kwashie and received by ADP Justice Essumang. Items presented in all include: 1. Corn Mill 2. 4 boxes of assorted drugs 3. 4 bags of gari 4. 2 bags of beans 5. 5 bags of Royal Aroma Rice 6. 400 pieces of branded face mask 7. 5 fully furnished hand washing facilities (5 Veronica buckets, 5 paper towels, 5 bottles of liquid soap, 5 basins for wastewater, 5 trash baskets) 8. 1 bag of sugar (50 kg) 9. 4 cartons of milk 10. 5 boxes of Indomie 11. 25 litres of oil (2 big gallons ) 12. 60 cartons of water 13. Soft drinks for everyone- 1500 cedis 14. Food for Prisoners- 300 packs (provided by Rockzwaakye) 15. 11 packs of Toilet Rolls 16. 2 big sacks of Madar Washing Powder 17. 200 pieces of toothbrushes 18. 1 box of toothbrush 19. 3 boxes of Pepsodent toothpaste 20. 3 cartons of Dettol 21. 7 boxes of Savon medical soap 22. 30 wellington boots 23. 30 hoes 24. 20 cutlasses 25. 4 Boxes of YAZZ Toothbrush 26. 10 gallons of Liquid soap (large size) 27. HOW TO BE BORN AGAIN (Book by Bishop Dag Heward Mills) - 270pcs 28. Gospel tracks - 2 Boxes 29. 4 Boxes of Bibles 30. 3 boxes of Disposable masks The inmates expressed their joy at the items presented and prayed that anyone linked with this gesture may neither find themselves nor their generation incarcerated. Founder of Rockzwaakye who is also a hip life legend Mr. Reginald Yaw Asante Osei popular known as Reggie Rockstone together with his wife; Dr. Zilla Limann who supported the gesture by providing packs of waakye to feed the inmates, in an interview, promised to do more anytime opportunity beckons. In a short meeting between the ADP and his vice, together with some executives of Myhelp-Yourhelp foundation, ASP Delali revealed that they were greatly astonished by the gesture of the Foundation. According to him, it is very rare for NGOs to reach out to prisons. Most support they get usually come from Religious settings. Mr Nicholas Cofie in his closing remarks narrated how a member of the foundation, Mr Ray Yorke Dadzie, had spotted the prison in the bush on his way to Akim Oda a few years back and recommended a visit to the foundation. It had hence been in the plan but was halted by the restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic. He further beckoned Government, public-spirited individuals, philanthropists and benevolent organizations as well as other international and local NGOs and the general public to lend a further helping hand to inmates of Osamkrom prisons who have plans to expand their kitchen, infirmary, common room and also fix their water pump and acquire a tractor for farming projects. Organizations may also support plans of building an ICT centre in future to train inmates. He said the Foundation was unable to do many such projects since it relies mostly on the contributions of its members to undertake its projects. But he believed that, as stated by Hudson Taylor, "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply". He further applauded the following Sponsors; Cocoa clinic, Jodi Construction, Rockzwaakye, Richman Identity, Asante Farms, Delma Foods, D&D Catering, Cake Haven Gh, Randa Cakes and More, Mr Opare of Labianca, Bishop Dag Heward Mills and all others who supported this mission in cash or kind. 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 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 Teachers already know Regarding Glitches disrupt STAAR testing, (A1, April 7): Shame on the Texas Education Agency for failing to properly prepare to administer this assessment that is increasingly a waste of time and an even bigger waste of money. On Feb. 15, millions of Texans woke up to find that the state power grid was down. On April 6, thousands of Texas students woke up and went to school (some for the first time all year) to take the STAAR test. At my school, students had to wait nearly three hours before they could begin the test. Instead of dealing with chaos and stress, students could have practiced concepts and skills, and teachers could have differentiated instruction based on student needs. It seems TEA is increasingly out of touch with the reality Texas teachers and students find themselves in these days. In February, Commissioner Mike Morath asked, If we dont know where (students) are, how do we know how to support them? Mr. Morath, take it from a teacher: We teachers do know where students are, because we work with them each and every day. Only we didnt get to work with them on April 6, because we spent hours administering a million-dollar test that will tell us things we already know. Aric Barnes, Houston A vote is a voice Regarding Demand expansion, (A12, April 9): We pray for the well-being of our nation and its elected leaders. Current efforts to limit access to the ballot box are an affront to everything we hold dear as Americans. A vote is a voice and each persons voice must be heard. To ignore or mute Americans voices can only compromise our great democracy. Do not cast aside the free-will offering of such souls because they threaten some unproven fears and outcomes. Rather embrace their participation in the exercise of democracy, and trust in shared faith that the good of our nation is found in the hands and hearts of every American. Our nations democracy, though imperfect in certain ways, has enabled We the People to be represented by those who serve in elected office. They serve there by virtue of our individual votes at the ballot box. Every American, no matter their status, race, gender or religion, should be enabled and empowered to cast their ballot on every election day. Their participation is a hallmark of our nations strength and an example to the nations of the world. It begins at the ballot box, an equalizer in our nation. Let every vote be counted for the sake of a strong and prosperous future for all. Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, the Rev. William Lawson and Rabbi David Lyon, Houston Vietnam confirms nine more imported Covid-19 patients on Saturday Nine more Vietnamese people who recently returned to Vietnam from abroad have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,692, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday evening. Illustrative photo According to the ministry's report, the new patients include one woman and eight men aged between 23-29 who returned to Vietnam through the Ha Tien International Border Gate in the southern province of Kien Giang on April 8. They were sent to a local quarantine facility upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on April 9. The patients are now being treated at the Ha Tien City Healthcare Centre. With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,692, including 910 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28. As of 6 pm on April 10, a total of 2,429 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases. At present, nearly 38,000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to make up his mind on whether to extend or lift the strictest enhanced community quarantine status imposed on Metro Manila and four nearby provinces. The National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have been under ECQ since March 29. Duterte earlier extended the tight restrictions for at least one more week, or until April 11. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has said the Greater Manila area, also known as NCR Plus, could transition to a more relaxed modified ECQ if the government's Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate strategy worked on curbing the spread of the coronavirus. As of Saturday night, Duterte is still "weighing the pros and cons before making his final decision regarding the quarantine classification of the National Capital Region Plus Area," Roque said in a statement. He added that Duterte wanted to review data, including the healthcare utilization rate in these areas. "We shall provide the necessary notice once everything has been made final," Roque added. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the policy-making body in the government's pandemic response, met to discuss its recommendations on Saturday. Roque, who is also spokesperson of the IATF, did not disclose if the task force has already submitted its suggestions to the President. Roque himself has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 again, but he said he can continue to work while in isolation. Earlier on Saturday, the Palace said he would announce the new quarantine classifications later in the day, something he had done so for the past two weeks, usually at past 6:00 in the evening. The Philippines recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic on Friday as the government announced 401 people died due to COVID-19. Another 225 fatalities were recorded on Saturday, raising the death toll to 14,744. The country also logged 12,674 new infections on Saturday, pushing the number of active cases or those currently battling the coronavirus to 190,245, another record high. Malacanang and the Presidential Security Group cited the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases for the weeklong postponement of Duterte's "Talk to the People" address. It's usually a pre-recorded footage of Duterte's meeting with government officials on the pandemic response. He last presided over such meeting on March 29, raising concerns about his health. But administration officials maintained the 76-year-old President is working in Malacanang and not experiencing any flu-like symptoms. READ: Duterte to address public on April 12, Palace says Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington on July 15, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) The Importance of the Commission on Unalienable Rights Commentary On March 30, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken unveiled the annual State Department report on human rights abuses. While doing so, he formally announced the disbanding of the Commission on Unalienable Rights. This was unfortunate as the Commission had become an important tool for advancing and defending human rights through U.S. foreign policy. Established by former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019, and chaired by former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See and Harvard Law School professor Mary Ann Glendon, the Commission was created as an advisory group for the Secretary. The Commissions Charter stated that its task was not to discover new principles, but to furnish advice to the Secretary for the promotion of individual liberty, human equality, and democracy through U.S. foreign policy. The Charter also specified the Commissions advice must be grounded in our nations founding principles and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the Commission was recently disbanded amidst liberal criticism for being a mechanism to promote evangelical Christian beliefs and conservative politics, and for establishing a hierarchy of rights. But these criticisms misunderstand the purpose and importance of the Commission on Unalienable Rights. Essential universal rights are under siege by regimes around the world. For example, the United States has issued a declaration of genocide against the Chinese Communist Party for the forced labor, arbitrary imprisonment, ideological indoctrination, and population control that targets Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. In Iran, the Shia Islamic regime has suppressed free speech, denied its citizens due process, and carried out arbitrary killings and forced disappearances. In Nigeria, attacks by Boko Haram and the Islamic State are responsible for the internal displacement of more than 2 million people. And, in Venezuela, a United Nations investigation reported that citizens are subject to extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, and torture carried out at the highest levels of government. Amidst these ongoing crises, Secretary Pompeo recognized that U.S. and international commitment to champion human rights had veered from its original mission. Following the end of the Cold War, human rights advocates created new categories of rights that removed the important differentiation between rights granted by governments and unalienable rights from God. Consequently, according to Pompeo in a July 7, 2019 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Human-rights advocacy has lost its bearings and become more of an industry than a moral compass. The Commission was tasked by Secretary Pompeo to address important questions such as: What are our fundamental freedoms? Why do we have them? And who or what grants these rights? To answer these questions, the Commission closely reviewed Americas founding documents and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Further, Secretary Pompeo enlisted the Commissioncomprised of legal experts, scholars, and activiststo recenter the human rights discussion on the fundamental principles of individual liberty, democracy, and human equality. According to the Commissions 2020 report, The power of the universal human rights idea is strongest when grounded in principles so widely accepted as to be beyond legitimate debate. The tendency to fight political battles with the vocabulary of human rights risks stifling the kind of robust discussion on which a vibrant democracy depends. As new challenges to human rights emerge and oppressive regimes around the world continue to threaten the freedom and rights of their citizens, it is essential that nations courageously respond. The United States has long been the leading supporter and defender of universal human rights. It is critical that U.S. foreign policy continues to protect the unalienable, God-given rights of all human beings in cooperation with our partners and allies. If the Biden Administration and Secretary of State Blinken are truly committed to the protection of individual freedom and liberty, they should re-establish the Commission on Unalienable Rights. From Gingrich360.com. Callista Louise Gingrich is a businesswoman, author, documentary film producer, and diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2017 to 2021. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge told manager Aaron Boone he was ready to play. That was enough for Boone to put Judge back in the lineup vs. the Rays on Saturday at Tropicana Field. Introducing Yankees Insider: Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text message directly with beat writers Judge had missed the last two games dealing with side soreness, according to Boone. Judge hasnt been made available to speak to reporters. Boone added that Judge hasnt undergone medical tests to diagnose exactly what was wrong with him. I dont think there was anything he did specific or one thing, Boone told reporters before Saturdays game. I think it was a gradual kind of workload, probably swinging a lot, doing a lot of cage work that led to some soreness that developed over time. But I dont think any one thing. Buy Yankees tickets: StubHub, TicketSmarter The Yankees have played seven games this season. Boone said that the Yankees are intent on not letting Judges issue turn into something worse. Its just always good to write his name in there right, the manager said. Just trying to be cautious with him early. Not wanting this to become something that is an issue. Hopefully were able to get past that and through that in these days ahead. Judge appeared to take light batting practice Saturday. He last played Tuesday, when he went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a home run. The Yankees were off Thursday. Through five games, Judge was hitting .364 with two home runs, five RBI and a 1.028 OPS. Boone said the Yankees will be careful with how much Judge works out. Those are things that hes actually done over the last couple of years and has been a little more judicious about the amounts of swings and amounts of reps, Boone said. Get Yankees text messages: Cut through the clutter of social media and text during games with beat writers and columnists. Plus, exclusive news and analysis every day. Sign up now. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Mumbai, April 10 : American actors Jamie Dornan, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo have opened about parenting during lockdown on "The Drew Barrymore Show". Hollywood actress and host Drew Barrymore kickstarted the discussion, asking: "By the way, how are each and all of your children? Kristen, you have your two beautiful babies, how has it been, babies in quarantine, which is semi good timing but also very difficult." Kristen replied: "Yeah, it's a weird time because they can't see human beings at all and when they do they are just like, they don't, it's like 'The Truman Show'. I feel like they are just going to come out in the world and be like, 'There's more'. But they are really good. I mean they are the best." Barrymore then asked Mumolo about how her family is during the quarantine time? Mumolo replied that she is yelling a lot. "Oh boy, I have a 14 and a 10-year-old and I'm yelling a lot at them and they are taking it all in stride. It's so hard when they are this age because they are just more aware of everything of what was before and what's now and the isolation, it's very difficult and I just think these kids are really champions right now. All these kids, we've got to root for them because it's tough," she said. Dornan, too, opened up about his his three children. "Yeah, it's just a madhouse and I feel like the last 11 months I've had some of the best moments I've ever had as a parent and some of the worst I think like most parents feel like that," he said on the show, which airs on Zee Cafe in India. Barrymore concluded the show in a funny manner: "Oh my God! I'm really glad I asked you guys that because between 'The Truman Show' and the keeping it real and the highest and lowest, it just is perfectly poetic and aft." In this Feb. 25, 2021, file photo, a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the COVAX global initiative arrives in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. As many as 60 countries, including some of the poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their coronavirus vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the program intended to help them are being blocked until as late as June. (AP Photo/Diomande Ble Blonde, File) As many as 60 countries, including some of the world's poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their coronavirus vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the global program intended to help them are blocked until as late as June. COVAX, the global initiative to provide vaccines to countries lacking the clout to negotiate for scarce supplies on their own, has in the past week shipped more than 25,000 doses to low-income countries only twice on any given day. Deliveries have all but halted since Monday. During the past two weeks, according to data compiled daily by UNICEF, fewer than 2 million COVAX doses in total were cleared for shipment to 92 countries in the developing worldthe same amount injected in Britain alone. On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization slammed the "shocking imbalance" in global COVID-19 vaccination. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said that while one in four people in rich countries had received a vaccine, only one in 500 people in poorer countries had gotten a dose. The vaccine shortage stems mostly from India's decision to stop exporting vaccines from its Serum Institute factory, which produces the overwhelming majority of the AstraZeneca doses that COVAX counted on to supply around a third of the global population at a time coronavirus is spiking worldwide. In this March 5, 2021, file photo, a hospital security guard receives one of Kenya's first AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations provided through the global COVAX initiative, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. While COVAX is providing vaccines to poorer countries lacking the clout to negotiate for them on their own, it has only cleared 2 million doses in the past two weeks because nearly all deliveries through the global program are blocked until as late as June. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) COVAX will only ship vaccines cleared by WHO, and countries are increasingly impatient. Supplies are dwindling in some of the first countries to receive COVAX shipments, and the expected delivery of second doses in the 12-week window currently recommended is now in doubt. In a statement, the vaccine alliance known as GAVI told The Associated Press that 60 countries are affected by the delays. In vaccination tents set up at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, many of those who arrived for their first jabs were uneasy about when the second would arrive. "My fear if I don't get the second dose, my immune system is going to be weak, hence I might die," said Oscar Odinga, a civil servant. Internal WHO documents obtained by the AP show the uncertainty about deliveries "is causing some countries to lose faith in the COVAX (effort)." That is prompting WHO to consider speeding up its endorsement of vaccines from China and Russia, which have not been authorized by any regulators in Europe or North America. In this April 8, 2021, file photo, a woman at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, receives a dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative. COVAX is providing vaccines to countries lacking the clout to negotiate on their own for scarce supplies, but in the past two weeks only 2 million doses have been cleared for shipment to 92 countries. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File) The WHO documents show the U.N. agency is facing questions from COVAX participants about allotments in addition to "uncertainty about whether all those who were vaccinated in round 1 are guaranteed a second dose." WHO declined to respond specifically to the issues raised in the internal materials but has previously said countries are "very keen" to get vaccines as soon as possible and insisted it hasn't heard any complaints about the process. Concern over the link between the AstraZeneca shot and rare blood clots has also "created nervousness both around its safety and efficacy," WHO noted. Among its proposed solutions is a decision to "expedite review of additional products" from China and Russia. WHO said last month it might be possible to greenlight the Chinese vaccines by the end of April. In this March 9, 2021, file photo, nurse Joseph Kenga prepares to administer an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative, to a health worker at the Coast General Teaching & Referral Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya. As many as 60 countries, including some of the poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the global program intended to help them are being delayed. (AP Photo/Gideon Maundu, File) Some experts have noted that Sinopharm and Sinovac, two Chinese-made vaccines, lack published data, and there are reports of people needing a third dose to be protected. "If there is something that we miss from not having thoroughly evaluated the risks of serious adverse events from these vaccines, that would undermine the confidence in all the good products that we're using that we know are safe," said Dora Curry, director of health equity and rights at CARE International. Other experts worried that delays could erode faith in governments that were particularly efficient in their vaccination programs and were counting on second doses soon. "In the absence of high vaccination coverage globally, we risk dragging out the pandemic for several more years," said Lavanya Vasudevan, an assistant professor at Duke University's Global Health Institute. "Every day that the virus is in circulation is an opportunity for it to mutate into a more deadly variant." In this March 1, 2021, file photo, Youssouf Kouyate, National Police General Director, receives a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The COVAX global initiative is providing vaccines to poorer countries lacking the clout to negotiate for them on their own, but on March 25, COVAX announced a major setback in its vaccine rollout because a surge in infections in India had caused the Serum Institute of India to cater to domestic demand, resulting in a delay in global shipments of up to 90 million doses. (AP Photo/Diomande Ble Blonde, File) Earlier this month, the WHO appealed to rich countries to urgently share 10 million doses to meet the U.N. target of starting COVID-19 vaccinations in every country within the first 100 days of the year. So far, countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to COVAX. But there are simply no doses to buy, and no country has agreed to immediately share what it has. Bilateral donations of doses tend to go along political lines, rather than to countries with the most infections, and they aren't nearly enough to compensate for the goals that COVAX has set out. Think Global Health, a data site managed by the Council on Foreign Relations, identified 19 countries that have donated a total of 27.5 million doses to 102 nations as of Thursday. "You can make a strong argument that we're better off making donations in crisis and getting the pandemic under control than vaccinating low-risk groups at home," said Thomas Bollyky, director of the Global Health Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. Bollyky said COVAX was both a great disappointment and the only available option for most the world. In this March 15, 2021, file photo, boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the COVAX global initiative arrive at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia. COVAX is providing vaccines to poorer countries lacking the clout to negotiate for them on their own, but it has only cleared 2 million doses in the past two weeks because nearly all deliveries through the program are blocked until as late as June. On March 25, COVAX announced a major setback in its vaccine rollout because a surge in infections in India had caused the Serum Institute of India to cater to domestic demand, resulting in a delay in global shipments of up to 90 million doses. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File) According to the International Rescue Committee, COVID-19 cases and deaths last month surged in numerous crisis-hit countries: by 322% in Kenya, 379% in Yemen and 529% in northeast Syria. On Thursday, the agencies behind COVAXWHO, vaccines alliance GAVI and CEPI, a coalition for epidemic preparednesscelebrated their delivery of 38 million lifesaving vaccines to more than 100 countries. Brook Baker, a vaccines expert at Northeastern University, said the laudatory message was misplaced. "Celebrating doses sufficient for only 19 million people, or 0.25% of global population, is tone deaf," he said, adding it was time for WHO and partners to be more honest with countries. "WHO and GAVI have repeatedly overpromised and underdelivered, so why should we believe that they will suddenly be able to ramp up production and deliveries in a couple of months?" he said. In this Jan. 21, 2021, file photo, Nepalese airport ground staffs pulls boxes of AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured under license by Serum Institute of India, arrive at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. The COVAX global initiative is providing vaccines to poorer countries lacking the clout to negotiate for them on their own, but it has only cleared 2 million doses in the past two weeks because nearly all deliveries through the program are blocked until as late as June. On March 25, COVAX announced a major setback in its vaccine rollout because a surge in infections in India had caused the Serum Institute of India to cater to domestic demand, resulting in a delay in global shipments of up to 90 million doses. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File) In this Feb. 7, 2021, file photo, boxes of the first shipment of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine made by Serum Institute of India, donated by the Indian government, await distribution at the customs area of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan. A vaccine shortage stems mostly from India's decision to stop exporting the vaccines from its Serum Institute factory, which produces the overwhelming majority of the AstraZeneca doses that the COVAX global initiative was counting on to supply to about a third of the world's population. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File) In this March 3, 2021, file photo, the first arrival of COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya is offloaded from a Qatar Airways flight at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The COVAX global initiative is providing vaccines to poorer countries lacking the clout to negotiate for them on their own, but on March 25, COVAX announced a major setback in its vaccine rollout because a surge in infections in India had caused the Serum Institute of India to cater to domestic demand, resulting in a delay in global shipments of up to 90 million doses. (AP Photo/File) In this March 3, 2021, file photo, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines are received by airport workers at the airport in Kigali, Rwanda. The COVAX global initiative is providing vaccines to poorer countries lacking the clout to negotiate for them on their own, but on March 25, COVAX announced a major setback in its vaccine rollout because a surge in infections in India had caused the Serum Institute of India to cater to domestic demand, resulting in a delay in global shipments of up to 90 million doses. (AP Photo/Muhizi Olivier, File) Outside the vaccination tents in Nairobi on Thursday, Dr. Duncan Nyukuri, an infectious disease physician, tried to reassure people getting their first dose. "If you receive the first dose and you fail to receive the second dose, this does not mean that your body will be any weaker or you will be at an increased risk of getting any infection," he said. "What it means is your body will have developed some immunity against the coronavirus infection. But this immunity is not as good as somebody who has received both doses." 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 Nokia 4.2 introduced back in May 2019 with Android 9 Pie picked up the Android 10 update last April, and now it's receiving the latest version of Android. #Nokia4dot2, meet Android 11 Thats right, were so happy to announce that the device is now ready to be part of an enhanced experience. Upgrade today to get the latest pure Android technology with all the up-to-date features Learn more: https://t.co/Rrzz7n4Rc9 pic.twitter.com/wzBhhHFhhZ Nokia Mobile (@NokiaMobile) April 9, 2021 The Android 11 update comes with version number 3.150 and requires a download of 1.5GB. It bumps up the Android security patch level on the Nokia 4.2 to March 2021 and brings new features to the smartphone, such as chat bubbles and one-time app permissions. The update is rolling out globally except in the countries and channels listed below: Armenia Belarus Bulgaria Chile (Entel Chile, Movistar Chile, Claro Chile, WOM) Colombia (Claro Colombia, Movistar Colombia) Czech Republic (O2 CZ) Israel Kazakhstan Mongolia Poland (Plus, Orange PL, PLAY) Romania (Orange RO) Russia USA (T-Mobile) Uzbekistan Nokia says 100% rollout will commence by April 12, so if you don't get an update prompt on your smartphone by Monday, try checking for the update manually by heading to your phone's Settings menu. Source 1, Source 2 If you advertise your truck for sale on Kijiji an exporter will contact you. My guess is that if your truck is a full load Platinum diesel you should ask between $75 and $80k CAD. If you want to sell it to someone in the US directly yourself it is much easier if the US buyer comes up to Canada, buys the truck and drives it across the border himself. He has to send a bill of sale to his border crossing several days ahead of his crossing as well as a recall clearance letter. The truck cant be modified ie lift kit, tinted windows or deleted emission equipment. You would also need to look into GST. If you need to charge GST the US buyer can apply to get the GST back so long as he is buying the truck through a company and uses the truck for company business while in Canada..... this could be something as simple as driving the truck to a store to pick up some office supplies. As non-fungible tokens (NFT), a blockchain technology, appalls the art world after helping artists sell their digital pieces for millions of U.S. dollars, Vietnamese hopefuls are also expecting a radical shakedown from the launch of the countrys first ever NFT-based art marketplace Cong Troi. From the very onset of its existence, the modern Vietnamese art scene has always been considered one step behind from the global status quo. During the 1970s and 1980s, international art dealers arrived in Vietnam, an uncharted territory of the art world, to snatch the countrys invaluable artworks back home at nominal prices. Fast forward to the 2010s, artworks from the iconic graduates of the erstwhile Fine Arts College of Indochina, namely To Ngoc Van, Tran Van Can and Nguyen Gia Tri, whose influences are still seen in Vietnamese art till this day, have just started gaining exposure at the international auction houses, despite having been revered by art lovers worldwide for years. Now, as the emergence of NFT bode winds of change, Vietnams art enthusiasts are seeing a chance to rise to the occasion. Making digital art unique Seeing its first mainstream media coverage in 2017, NFT has gradually gained traction and eventually became the talk of the town after its involvement in groundbreaking auction of Everydays: The First 5000 Days, a collage consisting of 5,000 artworks of the digital artist Beeple, which sold for US$69.3 million in March. NFTs can be described as a blockchain-powered digital signature that, once plastered onto digital assets, allowing anyone to verify the ownership and authenticity of items. In other words, NFT makes each piece of digital content unique and, henceforth, appealing to collectors. Various digital assets, including, drawings, music, and even internet memes, can be sold using NFTs, but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital artworks. Realising such opportunities in digitized art, a group of Vietnamese art enthusiasts led by founder Phan Toan Thang has created Cong Troi (Stargate), an NFT crafting and trading platform dedicated to Vietnamese art. Through Cong Troi, collectors have the ability to seek NFT ownerships of a digitized artwork, such as a video clip, 3D paintings, digitized autograph, or a portion from ones favorite song from a body of work curated by moguls in the local art community. The idea is for a collector to receive a sense of personal intimacy with the artwork, which is a sentimental value that is invaluable when you are a die-hard fan, the Cong Troi website explained. According to Pham Toan Thang, the project was initiated in October 2020, when NFT has just picked up in popularity. He also recruited the help from Vietnams homegrown blockchain system KardiaChain, which provides NFT solutions for the platform. In the first place, Thang was inspired to create Cong Troi after his meeting with famed artist Pham Cong Thanh, who said he had intention to sell his artworks as his family wishes to keep them. However, Thang found out that Thangs works, once digitized, can be sold to the public via NFT means, while the originals still belong to the artists. NFT can also introduce works of art that have never been seen in public to a new generation of audiences, which have significant cultural impacts as witnessed from the recent publication of artworks from famous painters Bui Xuan Phai and Thanh Chuong. Digitization holds undoubted benefits to an artists oeuvre, as it immortalizes artworks against the test of time. Coupled with the prospects of blockchain trading, NFT marketplace is proving itself arts next big thing with impacts that can change the discipline forever. Looming risk Ever since the Beeple bombshell, NFT has consistently made headlines, which draws hordes of hopeful investors into the digitized art trading platforms. However, experts are also showing skepticism of a new Tulip mania in the making, with risk of market crash looms above each purchase. As Thang sees it, the current NFT hype is not worth paying attention to. Instead of giving heed to NFT investing, I think more about the potential of this technology. Imagine a few hundred years later, when we re still able to keep the authentic artworks, even when the originals have given in to time!, Thang pointed out. We would not be able to preserve all the artworks in the world, but technology can. Cultural legacy should not necessarily be kept in physical forms, as their immutable values require a compatibly immutable means of preservation. For his brainchild, Thang is considering the fusion between a trading platform and a virtual gallery, where collectors can showcase arts that they have gathered to the public. On Cong Trois website, a piece by artist Luong Luu Bien currently holds the crown as the highest priced artwork, being listed at nearly $1,000. It is revealed that the trading platform takes a 10-percent commission for each transaction successfully made on the website. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! America is at war. This time the enemy isnt on some distant battlefield or hiding in a barren cave thousands of miles away. Instead, the enemy is not only here, but its ruling over us. Thats the powerful message of David Horowitzs latest book, The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian Movement is Destroying America. This isnt just a warning, its the reality around us. Americans are more divided today than at any time since the Civil War, Horowitz writes. In the course of the anti-Trump wars, we have become two nations with little shared ground on the core issues that previously defined us. And its the Left that brought us to this state, not just in the last five years, but going all the way back to the fundamental strategy of its divisive politics. In The Enemy Within, Horowitz exposes the Communist roots of identity politics that have been used to turn Americans against each other and reduce them to hostile warring tribes, rather than citizens of a common nation invested in its welfare, success, and prosperity. Identity politics is the delegitimization of America and Americans. Its a hate campaign that justifies any extremity, and any attack on the country and her people. It is this regressive attack on Americas fundamental principles by the Left that is the source of the irreconcilable conflicts and ugly passions that are currently tearing the nations fabric apart, Horowitz writes. Class warfare, racial warfare, gender warfare, and the countless other forms of identity politics injected into schools, workplaces, government offices, and every area of life are aimed at forcing Americans to identify radically and tribally, rather than nationally. Divide and conquer. David Horowitz, a veteran of the radical politics of the Left, has the knowledge, the experience, and the training to expose not just what the movement he was once a part of is doing, but the ideological origins of its tactics, and how they feed it into its dreadful vision for America. America is delegitimized through revisionist history smears, like the 1619 Project, that rewrite the powerful force for equality and freedom that is the true history of the United States into the big lie of systemic racism, while Americans are accused of various forms of oppressive privilege so that, just by existing, they oppress everyone who does not fit into the same artificial category. In The Enemy Within, Horowitz tackles the radical and racist roots of these ideas, from Karl Marx to Derrick Bell, a supporter of Farrakhan, and how they exploded into violence and tyranny in the streets of our cities and the halls of power as Black Lives Matter mobs used lies to unleash racist violence and Democrat officials used racist myths to build a one-party state. But its not just BLM. In chapters such as A Public Hanging, David Horowitz takes on sexism politics, the Womens March, and the Kavanaugh lynchings which, like the accusations of racism, are typical of the character assassinations, witch hunts, deplatforming, and violence that constitute identity politics. Identity politics is not driven by the need to elevate a downtrodden group, but, in classic leftist fashion, to identify and destroy political enemies using double standards, lies, and hate. And then to declare a crisis and emergency that will allow the Left to rule a one-party state. The smears dispensed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), by the 1619 Project, by the Kavanaugh lynchers, and by every leftist group all come down to the same big goal of eliminating political opponents from public life, and using the false claims of pervasive racism, sexism, and other isms to justify the creation of political backlists backed by political terror. Horowitz documents the ugly history of efforts by the SPLC and other leftist groups to smear him and the Freedom Center that he founded (and for which I work) with the willing participation of major corporations. As he notes, The imprimatur of the SPLC guttersnipes were sufficient to erase who I was and replace me with the political caricature, extremist, white supremacist, sexist, dangerous hatemonger. Similarly, any American can be erased, canceled, and categorized as a bigot at any time with no due process, and no evidence but the social media hashtags of a politically correct lynch mob. The Enemy Within lays out the last two decades of leftist treason and tyranny, alternating between abusive power and equally abusive subversion, rotting out our institutions, destroying our political culture, and waging a ruthless war against the nation in order to tear it apart. The diversity networks in America do not operate in the name of a party, but of a radical ideology that is the antithesis of Americas constitutional framework. Yet they have the backing of Americas major corporate and educational institutions, which gives them the power to infiltrate every nook and cranny, Horowitz warns. Their ultimate goal is to make every institution, governmental, business, and non-profit subservient to the Left. This is the emerging one-party state that The Enemy Within is warning us against in which diversity experts, like the political commissars of the Soviet Union, act as the voice of the party. An extremist ideology has been inserted into the cultures of the existing institutions of American society, and a political minority has been put in a position to reshape the whole of American society, he points out, unveiling the final agenda of the identity politics war on America. Fascism and Communism have come to America wrapped in the stolen legacy of the civil rights movement, in the looted and tarnished garb of the heroic campaign to end slavery, and in the guise of protecting women, while actually enslaving and threatening all Americans. The goal of the Left is not rights. Its never rights; instead its absolute power. Identity politics, like class warfare, is just a means of dividing us into quarreling tribes, inciting violence, and building the emotional sense of crisis to enable a tyrannical one-party state. The America of Washington and Jefferson, of the Founding Fathers of our nation, whose principles and ideas David Horowitz repeatedly invokes in The Enemy Within, would never tolerate tyrannical rule, speech police, and people looking over their shoulder before speaking. The only way to take away the freedom of our nation was to divide and conquer, turning Americans against each other, convincing them that their principles and values stood in the way of a utopian society and of a totalitarian regime with the absolute power to achieve it. That is the one-party state. Its this threat of The Enemy Within that David Horowitz, a longtime warrior against the Left, takes on in his latest battle against the nations most dangerous enemy ruling over us. The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian Movement is Destroying America is an important read for anyone who wants to understand the agenda and the threat to our nation and to ourselves. Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. A tearful Countess of Wessex yesterday described the queen as amazing as she and her husband Prince Edward comforted Her Majesty at Windsor Castle. The couple had been the first to visit the grieving Monarch, and as they left the castle Sophie was visibly upset. She is one of four loyal, discreet and utterly trustworthy women of the Queens inner circle who are offering crucial support as she faces life without her beloved Philip. Also in this core group of confidantes are Princess Anne, the Queens childhood friend Lady Pamela Hicks and Royal dresser Angela Kelly. The Countess of Wessex Leaves Windsor Castle with her window wound down to show her appreciation to well wishers who have gathered at Windsor Castle Princess Anne, 70, is similar to her father in character. She gets on with it she never complains, one biographer wrote. Pictured, Angela Kelly, Personal Assistant and Dress Maker to Queen Elizabeth II, who is said to be in inner circle Speaking about the gang of four women closest to the Queen, the Royal source said: What they all share is utter devotion to Her Majesty, but also the ability to be honest with her something which is rare in Royal households' (Pictured, Lady Pamela Hicks) Sophie is like another daughter to the Queen, they are that close, said a Royal source. She is trusted and relied on like few others. The pair are said to speak at least once a day and enjoy regular Saturday movie afternoons when they watch old films together. But it was an altogether different mood yesterday. As the Wessexes drove out of the castle, with the windows of their Range Rover Discovery wound down, a red-eyed Sophie told wellwishers: The Queen has been amazing. One onlooker said: She looked visibly upset and had obviously been crying. Someone shouted out How is the Queen doing? as Edward and Sophie drove past. Sophie was very nice and her response brought home the fact that this is a family grieving deeply for someone they loved very much, as well as an institution mourning the loss of a key figure. Speaking about the gang of four women closest to the Queen, the Royal source said: What they all share is utter devotion to Her Majesty, but also the ability to be honest with her something which is rare in Royal households. The group is eclectic, to say the least. Three-times-divorced Ms Kelly, 62, is the daughter of a fork-lift-truck driver and was raised in a Liverpool council house. But now she is so close to the Monarch that she has written two books with the Queens approval (and is working on a third) and lives in a grace- and-favour home in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Queen has been spotted nipping in for tea. Ms Kelly breaks in Her Majestys shoes by wearing them and she is nicknamed AK-47 a play on her initials and the firepower of the Soviet-era assault rifle. She says simply: I love the Queen and everything about her. She has allowed me to become closer to her over the years. We talk about clothes, make-up and jewellery. We are two typical women. The Queen is in mourning after the tragic death of Prince Philip who was rushed to hospital earlier this year Lady Pamela, 91, daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, has known Lillibet since her teens when a young Elizabeth fell in love with Pamelas cousin Philip. She was a bridesmaid at the couples 1947 wedding, later serving as a lady-in-waiting. She was with the couple in Kenya in 1952 when King George VI died as the Royal party slept in the Treetops Hotel. She climbed up that ladder as a Princess and then, in the morning, she came down the ladder as Queen, Lady Pamela famously recalled. Sophie Wessex, 56, ran her own PR company before marrying Prince Edward and earned the Queens trust by throwing herself into Royal life. One friend said: Sophie set herself a series of tasks. She learned how to ride properly and now rides with the Queen at least once a week. She took up carriage-driving to be close to Philip. She had her own series of scandals before her marriage when she was accused of cashing in on her Royal connections, but she calmly put all that behind her and has been an exemplary daughter-in-law. One former aide has described the Queens relationship with Sophie who lost her own mother, Mary, in 2005 as like mother and daughter, adding: There is a great deal of love and mutual respect between them. Princess Anne, 70, is similar to her father in character. She gets on with it she never complains, one biographer wrote. Strong and opinionated, she has a waspish wit and is a staunch believer in The Firm, once saying: I dont think this younger generation understands what we were doing in the past. Nowadays theyre much more looking for Oh, lets do it a new way and Im already at the stage of, Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. Of her mother, Anne says simply: She is remarkable. Prince Andrew, who lives close to Windsor Castle, was also seen visiting his mother yesterday. Tearful Countess of Wessex praises 'amazing' Queen as Princes Edward and Andrew rally round their mother at Windsor: Officials continue to remove floral tributes due to Covid A tearful Countess of Wessex today paid tribute to the 'amazing' Queen as the monarch began her life without Prince Philip, her 'strength and stay' throughout their 73-year marriage and 68-year reign. Sophie, 56, and her husband Prince Edward, 57, left Windsor Castle with their windows down as they showed their appreciation to mourners who had gathered to lay flowers after Philip's death yesterday aged 99. The scenes have been repeated at other royal residences including Buckingham Palace, where well-wishers - some dabbing their eyes - waited patiently to lay flowers - which were then removed by officials enforcing government directives to stay at home. The Wessexes and Prince Andrew have been supporting their mother the Queen, 94, at Windsor today as she grieves for her 'rock'. Sky News correspondent Rhiannon Mills spoke to Sophie as she left Windsor, and reported the royal 'had tears in her eyes' as she said through her car window 'the Queen has been amazing' when asked how Her Majesty was coping. The bouquets, flowers, cards, Union Flags and balloons left by mourners are being moved away by staff almost as soon as they are left - but royal aides insist they will all be saved and looked at by the Royal Family inside the grounds of Windsor and Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace today announced that Philip's ceremonial royal funeral will take place on April 17 in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and a national minute's silence will be observed as it begins at 3pm. The duke's coffin will be transported from the castle to the chapel in a specially modified Land Rover he helped to design, and followed by the Prince of Wales and senior royals on foot, a senior Palace official said. The Queen has approved the Prime Minister's recommendation of national mourning, which began on April 9 and runs until and including the day of the funeral. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship at their Berkshire home before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel later today, where he will rest during seven days of national mourning ahead of his hugely scaled-back funeral next Saturday. And as artillery in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Gibraltar join Royal Navy warships in firing 41 rounds in 41 minutes to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, it also emerged: Prince Philip spent his final days at Windsor, enjoying the fresh air and spring sunshine, before becoming gravely ill on Thursday night. Her Majesty was with him when he died on Friday morning; Royals are facing a dilemma over who to invite to the funeral due to Covid rules restricting numbers to 30; Prince Harry has spoken to his father the Prince of Wales and cousins Beatrice and Eugenie after Philip's death and plans return to Britain - but pregnant Meghan Markle is expected to stay in California; Philip's funeral could be Harry's chance to repair 'deep damage' caused by Oprah interview, royal experts say; The Duke of Cambridge has withdrawn from this weekend's Bafta awards ceremony as he mourns his grandfather; Stars of football, cricket and rugby wear black armbands and hold two-minute silences in memory of sports mad Duke of Edinburgh; The Countess of Wessex today left Windsor Castle with her window wound down to show her appreciation to well wishers who have gathered at Windsor Castle follow the death of the Duke of Edinburgh The Countess of Wessex was visibly emotional as she and her husband Edward thanked crowds for their best wishes Reporters said Sophie 'has tears in her eyes' as she said through the car window (pictured) 'the Queen has been amazing' Edward and Sophie (pictured speaking to the crowds) visited the Queen from their home in Surrey along with Edward's older brother Andrew, who lives in the grounds of Windsor Castle A large white marquee has now been erected by Frogmore House in the grounds of Windsor Castle to house all the flowers that have been left by well wishers Newlyweds pose for a picture outside Windsor Castle on their big day after lockdown was eased in the UK, as people walk past them to pay their respects to Philip A young girl lays flowers as tribute to Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh who died at age 99 outside Buckingham Palace this afternoon, as bouquets pile up again despite calls for people not to attend A woman looks emotional as she speaks to journalists at the palace as a little girl laid two bouquets of roses in Philip's memory A woman in a mask breaks down outside Buckingham Palace this afternoon as people continue to gather to remember the Duke of Edinburgh Two young women take a selfie outside the palace this afternoon as a woman walks past them wiping away tears A tearful well-wisher waits in line to lay flowers in memory of Prince Philip outside Buckingham Palace this morning where a young child said a prayer before laying a tribute People stop to look at flowers left outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire following Philip's death. Britons have defied public health advice to stay at home and continued to lay flowers Children joining their parents to pay tribute to Philip outside Windsor Castle, where socially distanced crowds gathered today Rosa Wlodarczyk views a photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh displayed alongside the nave at Westminster Abbey today People gather outside the gates of Buckingham Palace in central London today, where the flag flew at half mast Two children carrying a Union Flag walk towards the front gate of Buckingham Palace today to lay flowers in Philip's memory The public stand in silence as a Death Gun Salute is fired at midday to commemorate the Duke of Edinburgh's death Britain continues to mourn the Duke of Edinburgh and the public are still arriving at Windsor to lay bouquets, which are being cleared away by officials because of the pandemic 'He has been my strength and stay all these years': Queen's touching words about Prince Philip from her 1997 golden wedding anniversary speech The Queen has shared a touching tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh - a day after her husband of 73 years died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. A portrait, which shows Her Majesty, 94, sitting next to Prince Philip, was posted on the Royal Familys social media along with a moving quote from the monarch about her husband from a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997. She said: He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know. The Queen has shared a touching photo tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh (pictured in 2016 in a portrait by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz to mark the monarch's 90th birthday) - a day after her husband of 73 years died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. The portrait, which shows Her Majesty, 94, sitting next to Prince Philip, was posted on the Royal Familys social media along with a moving quote from the monarch about her husband from a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997 The Queen was speaking in November 1997 during a lunch at Banqueting House in London, in which she looked back on a remarkable fifty years. Her Majesty announced her husband's death at midday on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace. The touching portrait and quote were shared to Instagram today, alongside the caption: 'At The Queens Coronation in 1953, The Duke of Edinburgh swore to be Her Majestys "liege man of life and limb." 'The Duke was a devoted consort (companion to the Sovereign) for almost 70 years, from Her Majestys Accession in 1952 until his death.' The image of the royal couple was first released as part of a series of photo portraits in 2016 to mark the Queen's 90th birthday, and was released the day before Philip's 95th birthday. Taken at Windsor Castle after Easter that year, it was the sixth and final picture in a series of portraits taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz to mark the Queen's birthday. Advertisement Are these the 30 people who will attend Prince Philip's funeral? Royals face dilemma over who to invite because of Covid rules The Royal Family faces a dilemma over who to invite to Prince Philip's funeral due to the coronavirus restrictions in place across England. The Queen will only be able to invite 30 people to the ceremony at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle. This is despite 800 mourners from across the Duke of Edinburgh's military units and charities as well as friends and associates from across the Commonwealth originally planned to come. The final list, which is expected in the next few days, will likely be made up of senior members of the Royal Family as well as the Prime Minister. Prince Philip said he wanted a funeral with minimal fuss, but the passing of Britain's longest serving consort was always going to be a big affair. His hope for a 'royal ceremonial funeral' - similar to the Queen Mother's - rather than a full state funeral, had already been granted. But the pandemic and restrictions means this is being hastily redrawn, with Her Majesty said to have been in talks with officials even from last night. They are tweaking Operation Forth Bridge and are having to drastically scale back the number of people invited to the ceremony, expected next Saturday. The expected invitees are: The Queen; Prince Charles; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Princess Anne; Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; Prince Andrew; Sarah Ferguson; Edward, Earl of Wessex; Sophie, Countess of Wessex; Prince William; Kate, Duchess of Cambridge; Prince George; Princess Charlotte; Prince Louis; Prince Harry; Peter Phillips; Zara Tindall; Mike Tindall; Princess Beatrice; Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi; Princess Eugenie; Jack Brooksbank; Lady Louise Windsor; James, Viscount Severn; Edward, Duke of Kent; Katherine, Duchess of Kent; Princess Alexandra; Prince Michael of Kent; Boris Johnson; Admiral Tony Radakin. Advertisement The Queen's youngest child Prince Edward was the first to arrive to support his mother again today, having made the short trip from his Surrey home. Prince Andrew, who lives in Windsor Castle's grounds, was also seen arriving after 10am. Prince Charles stayed with the Queen until late last night. Palace security have even put up signs urging people not to congregate, but waves of mourners are still arriving to pay their respects to Her Majesty's devoted husband, who dedicated his life to public service and supporting her. Well-wishers, all respecting social distancing and wearing masks, laid their tributes and briefly stood to pay their respects, with some wiping away tears or quietly singing hymns before returning home. Philip is expected to be laid to rest in the Royal Vault during his private family funeral at St George's Chapel next Saturday, stripped back due to Britain's ongoing lockdown, with only 30 relatives able to attend. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus. His grandson Prince Harry is expected to return to the UK and be among the small number of mourners at the funeral, but it is unlikely his pregnant wife Meghan will accompany him, weeks after the couple accused the Royal Family of racism in their bombshell Oprah interview while Philip lay in hospital. Details about Prince Philip's 'peaceful' death have emerged, with his wife of 73-years understood to have been at his bedside when he slipped away yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill late on Thursday, according to the Daily Telegraph. Gun salutes marking the death of the Duke of Edinburgh are to take place across the UK, in Gibraltar and at sea at Midday. There will also be cannons firing across the Commonwealth, including in Australia, where a salute rang out in capital Canberra overnight. Saluting batteries will fire 41 rounds at one round every minute in cities including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well as Gibraltar and from Royal Navy warships, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. Gun salutes have been fired to mark significant national events since as early as at least the 18th century. They were used to mark the deaths of Queen Victoria in 1901 and Winston Churchill in 1965. The public is being encouraged to observe the gun salutes, which will be broadcast online and on television, from home. Windsor resident Craig Truter and his children were among those who left tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh at Cambridge Gate. His sons Ranger, 6, and Bale, 4, laid hand-made paper crowns with the initials HRHPP (His Royal Highness Prince Philip). A couple embrace each other as they watch mourners laying tributes, which were quickly removed by officials Crowds of onlookers watch the scene at Buckingham Palace today during the first full day of mourning for the prince Well-wishers watch as members of the Household Cavalry mark the passing of Prince Philip outside Buckingham Palace today A security official stands alongside a sign requesting the public not to leave floral and other tributes to Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh outside Buckingham Palace, after his death yesterday A truck delivers scaffolding to the Henry VIII Gate at Windsor Castle, where Philip's funeral is expected to take place next Saturday The Duke has repeatedly voiced his wish for a small-scale ceremony rather than a state occasion, although this would be unlikely anyway due to Covid restrictions But despite the warnings, still the mourners come, with these children sent by their parents to lay a bouquet together at the palace Soldiers from a mounted regiment salute as they pass Windsor Castle, where Philip will rest until his funeral in a week's time Mourners came to Buckingham Palace through the night and as dawn broke to lay flowers for Prince Philip, who died yesterday aged 99 Elaine and Maya Jamieson from Berkshire, leave flowers outside Windsor Castle this morning, where the Duke's coffin is resting in his wife's private chapel Flowers continue to be laid at the gates at the top of Windsor's famous Long Walk despite warnings to stay away due to Covid restrictions A mother and her two daughters lay flowers outside Windsor Castle on Saturday afternoon following the news that Philip had died the day before Buckingham Palace has staff who are moving tributes into the palace as they arrive, and are sweeping away squashed or dead blooms this morning People outside Buckingham Palace today holding a painting of the Duke of Edinburgh as others who have come to pay their respects walk in the background Philip's funeral could be Harry's chance to repair 'deep damage' caused by Oprah interview, royal experts say - as Duke of Sussex 'speaks to Charles, Beatrice and Eugenie ' Prince Philip's funeral could be Harry's chance to repair the 'deep damage' caused by his and Meghan's bombshell Oprah interview, royal experts said today - as the Duke of Sussex spoke to senior members of the Royal Family ahead of his expected return to Britain. The Duke of Sussex is said to be making arrangements for his first trip home since the pair quit royal life and moved out to California, while Meghan is expected to skip the journey and stay in their California home as she is pregnant with the couples second child. Penny Junor told MailOnline: 'My hope is that if something good can come out of the Dukes death it will be that it brings the family together. But clearly there is a lot of hurt there on all sides, and I imagine they will all be feeling apprehensive about seeing one another again. 'With luck, their desire to support the Queen and pull together for her sake, which I am sure is what the Duke would have wanted, will win the day.' Meanwhile, Richard Fitzwilliams, said a 'show of unity' was vital for repairing relations after the 'very damaging' Oprah revelations, as he pointed to the strong relationship between Harry and his grandfather. 'Harry will undoubtedly want to be there and this might start a process which helped to heal the current royal rift,' he said. 'His grandfather would undoubtedly welcome it if the monarchy, the institution he spent his life supporting, was strengthened as a result of the start of a reconciliation which began after his death.' It came as sources said that Harry has already spoken to family members including Prince Charles, Beatrice and Eugenie. The source told The Mirror: 'He said he wants to be with everyone and was already making arrangements to come home.' Yesterday, the couple paid a short tribute to Prince Philip following news of the Duke of Edinburgh's death. In a post on their Archwell website, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid tribute to his grandfather with the two line message: 'Thank you for your services... You will be greatly missed.' Advertisement Mr Truter said his children had made the crowns 'as a sign of respect' for the duke, and they saw members of the royal family 'quite frequently'. He added that his family had been 'lucky enough' to have been among the members of the public invited inside the castle grounds during the wedding of Princess Eugenie in 2018. At the Queen's central London home, guards in red could be seen marching in the courtyard as a slow but steady stream of people arrived to lay bouquets at the front gates. Nikoletta Peto visited the palace shortly after 9am. Ms Peto, 39, who is originally from Hungary said: 'I have lived here for 15 years and I felt like it's important to give a flower to someone who is so respected and who has done so much for this country. 'So definitely I wanted to come, even though because of Covid I was shielding for over a year.' She added: 'I felt like I have to do it because I think it is how it should be.' Rebecca Connoll laid some flowers with her five-year-old son Harvey. She said: 'My husband's in the Army, he's in the Household Cavalry, so he does a lot of big events with the royal family. 'So we just thought we'd come and pay our respects.' She added: 'We watched it on the news yesterday and we watch a lot of the royal things, we come down and watch the parades, he knows quite a lot about the royal family.' The Queen is thought to have been at the bedside of her 'beloved husband' of 73 years Prince Philip when he passed away 'peacefully' at Windsor Castle yesterday. The Duke of Edinburgh, the nation's longest-serving consort, died in his private apartment just two months and a day before what would have been his 100th birthday. Though palace officials declined to 'go into any specifics' about the nature of his passing, it is understood his frail condition worsened overnight on Thursday and that insiders had warned he was 'gravely ill'. However, any talk of whisking the elderly duke to hospital was reportedly quickly dismissed by the Queen. Philip, who recently spent a month being treated for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition, is thought to have died suddenly and unexpectedly, but peacefully in the company of his dear 'Lilibet'. The Telegraph reported that the duke had wanted to pass away 'in his own bed' and 'on his own terms'. One well-placed source told the paper: 'He spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home. 'They operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind. But he didn't really care about that.' They added: 'There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital.' Crowds of people arrive at Buckingham Palace in London on Saturday afternoon to pay their respects to Prince Philip People holding flowers and cards for Philip queue outside Buckingham Palace to leave their tributes to the duke A mourner in a beret and mask arrived after 7am to pay her respects despite advice not to travel due to Covid restrictions A woman gestures as she sings next to tributes left in honor of Britain's Prince Philip in front of Buckingham Palace A worker clears away the tributes, which are being taken inside the royal palaces where Philip's family and aides will look at them Windsor Castle staff stood silently at the entrance today as Britain mourns Prince Philip for a second day Carriagemen pause and pay their respects to Prince Philip, a man who was an accomplished horseman, polo player and carriage racer The flag at half mast at Buckingham Palace at dawn today, as Britain continues a period of eight days of mourning The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrive at Windsor Castle to join the Queen today. Prince Edward was the first to arrive Prince Andrew arrives at Windsor Castle to visit his mother the Queen, as she mourns her husband Prince Philip today The Duke of York drove himself (pictured) to support Her Majesty minutes, arriving shortly after his brother Edward The Mail understands that Philip's coffin was last night at the castle, where the Queen is in residence, most probably resting in her private chapel of worship. But over the weekend it is likely be moved to the Albert Memorial Chapel, which was built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum. Philip's coffin is likely to lie there with little ceremony resting on two simple wooden platforms called catafalques Gun salute for Prince Philip: Artillery in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Gibraltar join Royal Navy warships in firing 41 rounds in 41 minutes A gun salute rang out around the world today in honour of Prince Philip who died yesterday aged 99, with Royal Navy warships firing 41 shots over 40 minutes from midday in unison with batteries across the UK, Gibraltar and in his beloved Commonwealth. Crowds gathered on Tower Bridge to watch members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire their cannons from the Tower of London as shots also echoed around the capital from the historic barracks seven miles away at Woolwich, finishing at 12.40pm precisely. HMS Diamond, a 8,000-tonne destroyer dubbed 'the jewel in the naval crown, set sail from Portsmouth on Friday with her flag at half mast and in the Channel held its gun salute in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, a celebrated sailor and war hero. She is the modern successor to the destroyers Philip served on during the Second World War as part of his 14-year naval career. HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, fired her 4.5 inch main gun in the Gulf, where she is based. On land 'Solemn' 41-shot salutes took place from the wharf at the Tower of London, in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh as well as from Naval bases in Portsmouth, Plymouth and the Rock of Gibraltar. The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired on the Parade Ground at the historic Woolwich Barracks using the same guns also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. An artillery salute has already taken place at Parliament House in Adelaide this morning, with similar commemorations repeated across the Commonwealth. Advertisement In a short but poignant statement at noon, Buckingham Palace said: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.' As tributes poured in from around the world, the Palace's focus was on the royal family's aching personal bereavement. 'They are a family in mourning,' one official said last night. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was seen leaving Windsor Castle hours after the news of his father's passing. The Prince of Wales, 72, drove from his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire to the 94-year-old monarch's Berkshire residence ahead of the public announcement of the duke's passing. Sitting in the front passenger seat of a silver Tesla, the prince looked on as he pulled away. It is not known whether Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had accompanied him on what is their 16th wedding anniversary. A source close to Charles said he was 'comforted' by the fact he and his father had been in touch more regularly than ever in recent weeks and months - and that they 'had said all the things that needed to be said'. The source said: 'It is some small comfort today that the prince was in much more regular contact with his father in recent weeks and months than he otherwise might have been. 'He was the only family member who was able to visit him in hospital and he was at Windsor as recently as the week before last. They spoke a great deal.' Friends were at pains to point out that the relationship between father and son was also warmer than it had ever been. One said: 'The idea that their relationship was strained, certainly in recent years, couldn't have been further from the truth. And that's an important thing to remember in all that is being written. 'There was genuine love, affection and understanding there. Which is all anyone holds dear at the end.' There was no immediate personal reaction from the wider Royal Family, such was their grief. But in a previously recorded tribute to his father, Philip's youngest son Prince Edward told ITV: 'My parents have been such a fantastic support to each other during all those years and all those events and all those tours and events overseas. To have someone that you confide in and smile about things that you perhaps could not in public. 'To be able to share that is immensely important.' Recalling his humour 'which always came through and the twinkle in his eye', Edward added that he would remember his father 'for what he has done in his public life for all the organisations he has supported and influenced'. Philip's daughter Princess Anne told the broadcaster: 'Without him life will be completely different.' Members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire during a 41-round gun salute for Prince Philip from the wharf at the Tower of London held at Midday today The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery also fired to mark the passing of Philip, at their historic Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks. The same guns were also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953 The Death Gun Salute was fired by the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery to mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Cardiff Castle Members of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired their 41-round gun salute from Edinburgh Castle, high above the Scottish capital On the dockside in Gibratar, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment fired their Death Gun Salute to celebrate the life of the Duke of Edinburgh Queen 'was at Philip's bedside when he died': Charles leaves Windsor, hours after father's death The Queen is thought to have been at the bedside of her 'beloved husband' of 73 years Prince Philip when he passed away 'peacefully' at Windsor Castle yesterday. The Duke of Edinburgh, the nation's longest-serving consort, died in his private apartment just two months and a day before what would have been his 100th birthday. Though palace officials declined to 'go into any specifics' about the nature of his passing, it is understood his frail condition worsened overnight on Thursday and that insiders had warned he was 'gravely ill'. However, any talk of whisking the elderly duke to hospital was reportedly quickly dismissed by the Queen. Philip, who recently spent a month being treated for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition, is thought to have died suddenly and unexpectedly, but peacefully in the company of his dear 'Lilibet'. The Telegraph reported that the duke had wanted to pass away 'in his own bed' and 'on his own terms'. One well-placed source told the paper: 'He spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home. They operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind. But he didn't really care about that.' They added: 'There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital.' In a short but poignant statement at noon, Buckingham Palace said: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.' As tributes poured in from around the world, the Palace's focus was on the royal family's aching personal bereavement. 'They are a family in mourning,' one official said last night. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was seen leaving Windsor Castle hours after the news of his father's passing. The Prince of Wales, 72, drove from his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire to the 94-year-old monarch's Berkshire residence ahead of the public announcement of the duke's passing. Sitting in the front passenger seat of a silver Tesla, the prince looked on as he pulled away. It is not known whether Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had accompanied him on what is their 16th wedding anniversary. A source close to Charles said he was 'comforted' by the fact he and his father had been in touch more regularly than ever in recent weeks and months - and that they 'had said all the things that needed to be said'. Advertisement Harry and Meghan posted a message on their website thanking the duke for his service. 'You will be greatly missed,' it read. The prince was last night said to be 'likely' to fly from his home in the US, although it is unclear whether his heavily pregnant wife will join him. At around 10.40am there was a flurry of police activity at the castle before Prince Andrew, who lives closest at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, arrived at a back entrance to the Queen's private apartments five minutes later. Then at 11.15am another family member, believed to be Prince Edward, arrived to console their devastated mother. News of Philip's death, after being confirmed by the on-call royal doctor and disseminated to members of the Royal Family, was relayed to the Prime Minister and relevant arms of government - via a simple message: 'Forth Bridge is down', the official codeword for the Duke of Edinburgh's death. Around the country, Union flags began to be flown at half-mast and will remain so until after the funeral next Saturday. Crowds of mourners left flowers in tribute to Prince Philip outside royal residences last night despite pleas by officials to stay away because of covid restrictions. Thousands of members of the public arrived at Windsor Castle - where the Duke of Edinburgh passed away - over the course of the afternoon. Hundreds stood in quiet reflection to look at floral tributes lined up outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. At Sandringham, where the Duke spent much of his time after retiring from public life in 2017 until the onset of the pandemic, flowers, cards and poems were also left outside the main entrance to Sandringham House. Mourners were seen in tears outside both the Palace and the castle - where bouquets began piling up in early afternoon despite the Cabinet Office and Royal Household requests not to lay flowers in view of the pandemic restrictions on non-essential travel and large gatherings. With England gradually easing itself out of a national lockdown amid the Covid-19 crisis, officials are desperate to avoid crowds from forming on the scale of those seen when Diana, Princess of Wales died in 1997. Then, tens of thousands of bouquets were left at both Buckingham Palace and her former home, Kensington Palace. A royal official stationed outside Windsor Castle urged mourners not to come with flowers, but said the floral tributes which had already been left would be moved inside the castle grounds, where the Royal Family could look at them. Thousands of tributes were posted online with heartfelt words for Her Majesty - who was described by one well-wisher as having 'lost the brightest jewel in her crown'. Flags were flown at half-mast across the country while thousands flocked to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to leave flowers and mourn. But Palace officials and No10 encouraged the public not to congregate in large groups amid coronavirus restrictions, as mounted police asked people to obey socially distancing measures. Gun salutes marking the death of the Duke of Edinburgh are to take place across the UK, in Gibraltar and at sea. Saluting batteries will fire 41 rounds at one round every minute from midday in cities including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well as Gibraltar and from Royal Navy warships, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. Gun salutes have been fired to mark significant national events since as early as at least the 18th century. They were used to mark the deaths of Queen Victoria in 1901 and Winston Churchill in 1965. Families gather at the gates of Windsor Castle at the top of the Long Lane, with one woman bowing her head in tribute A child leaves flowers at Windsor with a drift of spring daffodils behind her this morning Are these the 30 people who will attend Prince Philip's funeral? Royals face dilemma over who to invite because of Covid rules with Boris Johnson likely to join senior members of family for service - as equipment is seen arriving in Windsor Who could be invited to Prince Philip's funeral? The Queen Prince of Wales Duchess of Cornwall Princess Royal Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence Duke of York Earl of Wessex Countess of Wessex Peter Phillips Zara Tindall Duke of Cambridge Duke of Sussex Princess Beatrice Princess Eugenie Lady Louise Windsor Viscount Severn Duchess of Cambridge Mike Tindall Jack Brooksbank Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Princess Alexandra Duke of Gloucester Duchess of Gloucester Duke of Kent Duchess of Kent Prince Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent Earl of Snowdon Lady Sarah Chatto Boris Johnson/Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Tony Radakin Advertisement The Royal Family faces a dilemma over who to invite to Prince Philip's funeral due to the coronavirus restrictions in place across England. The Queen will only be able to invite 30 people to the ceremony - plus the clergy - at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Originally there were going to be 800 mourners from across the Duke of Edinburgh's military units, charities and associates from across the Commonwealth. The final list, which is expected in the next few days, will likely be made up of senior members of the Royal Family as well as the Prime Minister. Prince Philip said he wanted a funeral with minimal fuss, but the passing of Britain's longest serving consort was always going to be a big affair - and lorries were today seen hauling scaffolding into Windsor Castle for the preparations. His hope for a 'royal ceremonial funeral' - similar to the Queen Mother's - rather than a full state funeral, had already been granted. But the pandemic and restrictions means this is being hastily redrawn, with Her Majesty said to have been in talks with officials last night. They are tweaking Operation Forth Bridge and are having to drastically scale back the number of people invited to the ceremony, expected next Saturday. The names of those invited have not been released, but it is expected to be mostly made up of senior members of the Royal Family. The first names on the list will likely be Her Majesty, Prince Charles and Prince William - those directly in line to the throne. Prince Philip's other children are also expected to be there: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Next could be the partners of the senior royals, who are present at most official events. These are Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Royal's husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence and Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Prince Harry is expected to jet across from his new home in California, before quarantining ahead of the burial. His wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who is heavily pregnant with their second children, is not believed to be coming and neither is their son Archie. The Queen is pictured with the Duke of Edinburgh in 2007 walking at Broadlands, Hampshire A lorry carrying scaffolding and stage building equipment arrives at the Henry VIII gate at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, on Saturday afternoon as preparations are made for Philip's funeral A lorry carrying scaffolding for the funeral preparations arrives at Windsor Castle on Saturday Rosa Wlodarczyk adjusts a photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh displayed alongside the nave at Westminster Abbey in London, which has been dressed in black to mark his death The Queen will only be able to invite 30 people to the ceremony at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Pictured: Philip with William and Harry at the rugby world cup final in 2015 Prince Charles was seen leaving Windsor Castle yesterday evening, hours after the news of his father's death broke. The Prince of Wales drove from his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire to the monarch's Berkshire residence Friday morning Funeral could help Royals heal 'tension', says Cardinal Coming together for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral could help heal any tensions between the royal family and the Duke of Sussex, a religious leader has said. Harry laid bare his rift with members of his family during an interview in the United States with Oprah Winfrey last month. He is likely to fly in from his California home to attend his grandfather's funeral, but it is not known if he will be joined by the Duchess of Sussex as she is pregnant. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said gathering for Philip's funeral could allow the family to have 'a comparative bit of privacy' together. He told Times Radio: 'I think there might be a bit of consolation in it for the royal family actually because it just gives them a chance to be close and to have a comparative bit of privacy. Obviously the whole ceremony will be watched by everybody but you think of the complexities of the dynamics in that family and we have to think of Harry, so far away. I'm sure he'll come but not being, the whole time, in the public eye might just help. 'Many a family gather and get over tension and broken relationships at the time of a funeral. Something very profound unites them all again. And that would be true for this family, I'm sure.' Advertisement The rest of those to be invited is less certain but the remaining could heavily feature more distant members of the Royal Family. Princess Anne's children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall could be there, with Zara's husband and former England rugby star Mike also present. Princess Beatrice could be joined by Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who she married last year. Her younger sister Princess Eugenie may well also be invited, along with her husband of three years Jack Brooksbank. Sophie, Countess of Wessex's children may also make the cut - Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. It is also likely the Queen will invite her cousins and their spouses: Princess Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, who have offered loyal support and service over the years. And the Queen is close to the children of her late sister Princess Margaret - her nephew the Earl of Snowdon and niece Lady Sarah Chatto - and is likely to want them to be present as a source of comfort. The Queen and Philip's 10 great-grandchildren - Savannah and Isla Phillips; Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis of Cambridge; Mia, Lena and Lucas Tindall; Archie Mountbatten-Windsor; and August Brooksbank - are likely to be considered too young to attend the televised proceedings as all are aged 10 and under. If Meghan does not attend, and Mr Tindall, Mr Brooksbank and Mr Mapelli Mozzi do, then the guest list would total 29, leaving just one place left. This could be filled by a trusted member of the Queen or Prince Philip's household, or perhaps Boris Johnson if the Queen decides to widen the invitation outside royal circles, or First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Tony Radakin in honour of Philip's military service. Kate, Duchess of Cambridge (pictured with William in 2019), the Princess Royal's husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence and Sophie, Countess of Wessex could be at the funeral Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will likely be at the funeral. Yesterday was the anniversary of her wedding to Prince Charles (pictured, June 2020) The Queen's son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex (pictured in November on Armistice Day) will likely be at the ceremony The Queen's second son, sported a blue jacket, slacks, a helmet and gloves as he enjoyed a ride near his home last week. He will likely be at his father's funeral Prince Harry (pictured at the Commonwealth Day Service in London last March) is jetting off from California to attend the funeral, but Meghan Markle is not coming How Prince Philip's funeral will be held There will be no lying in state and no state funeral for Philip, in accordance with his wishes. His ceremonial royal funeral and burial are expected to take place in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace will confirm the arrangements for the duke's funeral in the next day or so. Philip helped draw up the details himself and was determined there should be a minimum of fuss. Members of the public usually leave flowers at the gates of Buckingham Palace, but stay at home advice means people are forbidden from going out unless necessary. At some point, there will be gun salutes in the duke's honour - if the military are able to facilitate this. Union flags on royal buildings where the monarch is not in residence will fly at half-mast. The Queen has to decide whether the royal family enters Court Mourning - dressing in black and using black-edged writing paper - or the alternative, shorter Family Mourning - dressing in black - and how long this will last. Some official engagements may continue, but social engagements - all on hold anyway because of the pandemic - are usually cancelled after the death of a senior member of the royal family unless in aid of charity. The Government decides on the length of any National Mourning. A nationwide two-minute silence could take place, as it did for the Queen Mother on the day of her funeral. Parliament is likely to honour the duke, with politicians gathering for special sessions in both the Commons and the Lords. But arrangements will depend on what the Government is advising in terms of MPs socially distancing in Parliament. The Queen may record a televised speech in tribute to her husband, just as she did for the Queen Mother in 2002, but it will depend on how she is feeling. The rest of Philip's family are likely to release their own statements about the royal patriarch. Traditionally, the duke's coffin would have been moved to the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace to remain at rest for several days, but this is unlikely to be necessary if there is no longer a London element to the plans. The monarch and the royal family will pay their respects in private, as will household staff. Philip's children are likely to hold a private vigil at some stage around the coffin if restrictions permit. A military involvement is expected to take place within the grounds of Windsor Castle. The duke's coffin will not lie in state and the funeral will not be a state one; instead it is set to be a ceremonial royal funeral. The duke's funeral is expected to take place at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel eight days after his death. Advertisement Under the previous plans for his funeral known in the royal household as 'Forth Bridge' his body would have been embalmed immediately and taken to the Albert Memorial Chapel by St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Mail understands Philip's coffin was last night at the castle, where the Queen is in residence, most probably resting in her private chapel of worship. But over the weekend it is likely to be moved to the Albert Memorial Chapel, which was built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum. Philip's coffin is likely to lie there with little ceremony resting on two simple wooden platforms called catafalques. Under pre-Covid plans, it would have been brought to London today by road and taken to St James's Palace to reside temporarily in the intimate Chapel Royal. The College of Arms said yesterday there will be no lying-in-state and Philip's coffin would lie at rest at Windsor Castle ahead of his funeral in St George' Chapel, most likely next Saturday. It is likely to have been draped with his personal standard which bears references to his Danish and Greek royal heritage, his Mountbatten roots and Edinburgh title and a floral wreath from his family. A vigil by his children Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward is likely to take place at Windsor. On the day of his funeral, Philip's coffin is expected to be carried by bearers from the Queen's Company, First Battalion Grenadier Guards. The duke will be placed on a gun carriage belonging to the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, drawn by a Royal Navy gun crew. The carriage a personal request by Philip is the one that carried Queen Victoria at her funeral in 1901. A planned cortege through Windsor is now unlikely to take place. But inside Windsor Castle, events are likely to be largely the same, but with fewer mourners. The coffin will be met by a guard of honour from The Rifles and a band in Horseshoe Cloister, surrounded by houses built in the 15th century for the chapel's 'singing men'. Twelve singers known as lay clerks still live there, and they will perform during the service, with a bell tolling throughout. On the grass south of the West Gate will be Royal Navy pipers. A bearer party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin into St George's Chapel via the West Steps, lined by the Household Cavalry, where the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury will wait. The coffin will be taken into the Quire the resting place of most of the monarchs buried at the chapel. Inside or under the Quire are Edward VII, Henry VI, Edward IV, George III, George IV and William IV, Henry VIII and Charles I. Philip's catafalque will be placed on a black marble slab, which is the entrance to the Royal Vault. The hymns requested by the prince are believed to include his favourite seafarer's anthem, For Those In Peril On The Sea. At the end of the service a Psalm and the 'ashes to ashes' text will be read as a piper plays a lament. The coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault and will remain there until the Queen dies and they are buried together in the memorial chapel. Zara Tindall and her husband and former England rugby player Mike could be at the funeral. They are pictured at Cheltenham last year Princess Beatrice (spotted enjoying a wintery afternoon stroll with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in London in January) could be there with her husband Her younger sister Princess Eugenie may well also be invited, along with her husband of three years Jack Brooksbank (pictured with their baby) Lady Louise Windsor (pictured), 17, paid a touching tribute to her grandfather Prince Philip today as she was spotted out carriage driving in the grounds of Windsor Castle on the morning of his death. She may attend his funeral Her brother James, Viscount Severn is pictured in Hunter wellies in 2019. He could be invited to the funeral of the late Prince Gun salute for Prince Philip: Artillery in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Gibraltar join Royal Navy warships in firing 41 rounds in 41 minutes to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh A gun salute rang out around the world today in honour of Prince Philip who died yesterday aged 99, with Royal Navy warships firing 41 shots over 40 minutes from midday in unison with batteries across the UK, Gibraltar and in his beloved Commonwealth. Crowds gathered on Tower Bridge to watch members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire their cannons from the Tower of London as shots also echoed around the capital from the historic barracks seven miles away at Woolwich, finishing at 12.40pm precisely. HMS Diamond, a 8,000-tonne destroyer dubbed 'the jewel in the naval crown, set sail from Portsmouth on Friday with her flag at half mast and in the Channel held its gun salute in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, a celebrated sailor and war hero. She is the modern successor to the destroyers Philip served on during the Second World War as part of his 14-year naval career. HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, fired her 4.5 inch main gun in the Gulf, where she is based. On land 'Solemn' 41-shot salutes took place from the wharf at the Tower of London, in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh as well as from Naval bases in Portsmouth, Plymouth and the Rock of Gibraltar. The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired on the Parade Ground at the historic Woolwich Barracks using the same guns also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. An artillery salute has already taken place at Parliament House in Adelaide this morning, with similar commemorations repeated across the Commonwealth. Advertisement The day after the funeral, flags will be brought back to full mast, although the Court will remain in mourning for three more weeks. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: 'During the coronavirus pandemic, and in light of current government advice and social distancing guidelines, modified funeral and ceremonial arrangements for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh are being considered by Her Majesty The Queen. Details will be confirmed in due course.' The Queen has entered an eight-day period of mourning following the death of her husband today aged 99 - as arrangements for his funeral, codenamed Operation Forth Bridge, have begun. Royal fans have been told not to attend any part of the events that make up the funeral due to Covid restrictions. They have also been asked not to lay flowers that could encourage crowds which may spread the coronavirus. The number of people wanting to pay tribute to the Duke could present difficulties for police forces due to England's ban on gatherings of more than six people or two households. Buckingham Palace instead invited well-wishers to sign a book of condolences - but only online, to avoid crowds and queues. Police officers on horses stopped crowds forming in front of a sign announcing his death on the railings of the palace today. During the eight days of mourning The Queen will not carry out any duties even in private under Covid restrictions, laws will not be given the Royal Assent and affairs of state will also be paused. Following these eight days, a further period of official Royal Mourning is expected to continue for 30 days. Scores of people will be involved in the days ahead, from military guards and the clergy, to staff at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, who will be making sure the household continues to run smoothly during this traumatic time for the Queen. The Queen and her children and grandchildren will enter a period of mourning for their patriarch, which could last several weeks. Official engagements, most of which are presently online, can continue during this time, although most are postponed or cancelled, but it depends on the wishes of the monarch. In non-pandemic times, social engagements would usually be cancelled, except those for charitable causes. There are various types of mourning, but Royal - also known as Court - Mourning, includes the royal family, royal households and the Queen's representatives in the UK and abroad wearing black and also using black-edged writing paper. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (centre, is welcomed in front of the New City Hall by Michael Kretschmer, left, Prime Minister of Saxony, and Dirk Hilbert, right, Lord Mayor of the State Capital Dresden, Germany, last year). He may be at the wedding The Earl of Hopetoun, Prince Michael of Kent, The Countess of Hopetoun and Princess Michael of Kent attend Royal Ascot Day Four on June 18, 2010 in Ascot. Prince Michael may make the list of those invited Admiral Tony Radakin, head of the Royal Navy, may also go. He is pictured on the right last month Boris Johnson spoke outside Downing Street to remember Philip, the love and support he had shown for the Queen and the impact he had on people all over the world. He will be at the funeral Officials remove tributes as soon as they are laid at Buckingham Palace and Windsor as nation faces seven days of eerie socially distanced mourning before a quiet, almost private family funeral The British public defied public health advice to stay at home and continued to lay flowers for Prince Philip during socially distanced vigils at royal palaces today as the country marks his death at the age of 99 during seven days of national mourning ahead of his scaled-back funeral. The bouquets, flowers, cards, Union Flags and balloons are being moved away by staff almost as soon as they are left - but royal aides insist they will all be saved and looked at by the Royal Family inside the grounds of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. Palace security have even put up signs urging people not to congregate, but waves of mourners are still arriving to pay their respects to Her Majesty's devoted husband, who dedicated his life to public service and supporting her through their 73-year marriage. Well-wishers, all respecting social distancing and wearing masks, laid their tributes and briefly stood to pay their respects, with some wiping away tears or quietly singing hymns before returning home. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is at Windsor, where the Queen is in residence, in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship, before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel today, where he will rest over the weekend. Their youngest child Prince Edward is there supporting his mother again today, having made the short trip from his Surrey home. Philip is expected to be in the Royal Vault during his private family funeral at St George's Chapel next Saturday, and will remain there until the Queen dies and they are buried together in the memorial chapel in a hugely scaled back event due to Britain's ongoing lockdown, with only 30 relatives able to attend. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus. Advertisement Most of Britain's monarchs are buried in Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel, but both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are in a mausoleum in Frogmore Gardens. After her husband's death, Victoria lived largely in isolation at Balmoral until she died on January 22, 1901. Her 40 years of mourning severely damaged the monarchy. Following the Duke's death, Union flags will fly at half-mast around Britain, but Philip will not lie in state and there will be no state funeral. The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the royal household, will be in charge of arrangements. The Queen is also expected to broadcast a televised message to the nation at some stage over the next few days, although this is dependent on how she feels. In normal times, there would be early morning rehearsals over the next week for a gun carriage and procession through the streets of London, and another in Windsor. The day before his funeral, the coffin would be moved across the road from Chapel Royal to the Queen's Chapel to allow an easier transfer to the gun carriage. The funeral itself would be held in Windsor, while a military procession would take place from St James's Palace, down Marlborough Road and up The Mall. The gun carriage holding the coffin would then pass around the Queen Victoria Memorial, Buckingham Palace and up Constitution Hill to Wellington Arch. Members of the military would lead the procession, with the royal family and household walking behind - but the Queen would be expected to go straight to Windsor. At Wellington Arch, there would be a royal salute before a ceremonial transfer sees with the coffin moved to a Land Rover hearse or car and taken to Windsor. On arrival in Windsor, there would be a slow procession driven up the Long Walk with drummers, military and members of the royal family following behind. It would move up the Long Walk, through Cambridge Gate and then onto Park Street, High Street, past the Guildhall and Castle Hill and in through the Henry VIII gate. The arrangements are codenamed Forth Bridge, after the Scottish landmark and Unesco World Heritage Site. The railway bridge, crossing the Forth Estuary in Scotland, which opened in 1890, remains one of the greatest cantilever trussed bridges Plans for the aftermath of the duke's death have been in place for many years, and were updated and reviewed regularly by Buckingham Palace staff in consultation with the Queen and Philip. Complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, Forth Bridge has been adjusted to take account of the crisis. Buckingham Palace announced the death of Prince Philip at just after midday yesterday - and described the Queen's 'deep sorrow' Philip has served Britain since his youth and the world is mourning his death at Windsor Castle yesterday, with the Royal Family releasing this photo and tribute shortly after his death In a post on their Archwell website yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: 'Thank you for your services... you will be greatly missed' The sun breaks through the spring clouds above Buckingham Palace yesterday afternoon as people stood to remember the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away this morning People stood in masks, two metres apart to hug and remember the Queen's husband, who dedicated his life to the country A woman in a mask wipes away tears outside Windsor Castle yesterday afternoon while a mourner cried outside Buckingham Palace as the news of Philip's death sunk in How Philip was visited by emotional Charles in hospital before being returned to the comfort of Windsor where Prince enjoyed an Easter walk with the Queen Prince Philip's final weeks saw him visited by an emotional Prince Charles in hospital before being returned to the comfort of Windsor where his son enjoyed an Easter walk with the Queen - as the stoic monarch carried on with her public duties throughout. The Queen, 94, today announced with 'deep sorrow' the death of her husband at the age of 99, calling him her 'strength and guide' throughout their 73-year marriage and her 69-year reign. The Duke of Edinburgh spent his final days at Windsor Castle with his wife after a 28-night stay in hospital having been admitted in mid-February for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. Philip's eldest son Prince Charles, 72, paid him a half-hour visit during the first week of his treatment, making a 100-mile journey from Highgrove in Gloucestershire to the capital. Charles appeared emotional when he left. The Queen spent the Easter Weekend at Windsor, and was seen on a socially-distanced walk with Charles on March 23, in an image released on Good Friday. It is unclear if the Prince of Wales saw his father on the day and whether he has seen him since. Despite all the personal turmoil, which included Meghan and Harry's bombshell Oprah interview while Philip was still in hospital, the Queen has continued carrying out her duties, mainly over video call due to Covid restrictions. She last appeared in public March 31 to mark the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force, and she has also held several meetings over video call. Advertisement The duke's funeral was due to have a strong military presence in recognition of his naval career and his links with the armed forces. But the prospect of creating a spectacle that could potentially attract hundreds of thousands of people means there is no longer expected to be a military procession in London or any processions through Windsor. A military involvement is expected to take place within the grounds of Windsor Castle. Those servicemen and women taking part will rapidly begin their preparations, from practising routines to polishing helmets and swords. Royal dressers will be fastidiously choosing and preparing black mourning ensembles. Thames Valley Police will be tasked with dealing with the security needed in the days ahead, and preventing mass gatherings. The Royal Households have a long history of making detailed plans for royal funerals. Arrangements for the Queen Mother's - codenamed Tay Bridge - were 22 years old by the time she died at the age of 101. London Bridge is the codename for the Queen's funeral plans. In 2004, thieves broke into a car which belonged to a palace press officer at a motorway service station and made off with a briefcase which contained the secret plans regarding the Queen . But the case and its confidential contents were found and returned by a member of the public. It was once said that Philip, who was known for his acerbic wit, was amused by the fact that many of those involved in the planning of his funeral had themselves died before him. Not all royal death arrangements have been so meticulously ordered. Queen Victoria died at the age of 81 in 1901 after a period of ill health, but the Earl Marshal, who was responsible for the funeral, had no plans in place. The complex arrangements, including transporting Victoria's body across the Solent from the Isle of Wight and facilitating a two-hour military procession through London involving thousands of people, had to be organised from scratch in 10 days. In contrast, her son, Edward VII, insisted his own funeral was planned well in advance. Gun salute for Prince Philip: Artillery in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Gibraltar join Royal Navy warships in firing 41 rounds in 41 minutes to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh A gun salute rang out around the world today in honour of Prince Philip who died yesterday aged 99, with Royal Navy warships firing 41 shots over 40 minutes from midday in unison with batteries across the UK and Gibraltar after similar events in his beloved Commonwealth. Crowds gathered on Tower Bridge to watch members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire their cannons from the Tower of London as shots also echoed around the capital from the historic barracks seven miles away at Woolwich, finishing at 12.40pm precisely. HMS Diamond, a 8,000-tonne destroyer dubbed 'the jewel in the naval crown, set sail from Portsmouth on Friday with her flag at half mast and held its gun salute in the Channel in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, a celebrated sailor and war hero. Members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire during a 41-round gun salute for Prince Philip from the wharf at the Tower of London held at Midday today The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery also fired to mark the passing of Philip, at their historic Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks. The same guns were also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953 Crew members of the HMS Montrose firing a 41-round gun salute to to mark the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, in Duqm, Oman The Death Gun Salute was fired by the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery to mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Cardiff Castle Members of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired their 41-round gun salute from Edinburgh Castle, high above the Scottish capital On the dockside in Gibratar, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment fired their Death Gun Salute to celebrate the life of the Duke of Edinburgh She is the modern successor to the destroyers Philip served on during the Second World War as part of his 14-year naval career. HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, fired her 4.5 inch main gun from Oman in the Gulf, where she is based. On land 'Solemn' 41-shot salutes took place from the wharf at the Tower of London, in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh as well as from Naval bases in Portsmouth, Plymouth and the Rock of Gibraltar. The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired on the Parade Ground at the historic Woolwich Barracks using the same guns also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. An artillery salute has already taken place at Parliament House in Adelaide this morning, with similar commemorations repeated across the Commonwealth. And as tributes to the Queen's husband poured in from around the globe, it also emerged: Officials told the public to observe the gun salutes, which will be broadcast online and on television, from home. It comes after floral tributes laid by members of the public outside palaces were quickly removed last night as the nation faced an eery seven days of eerie socially distanced mourning. In London, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode out from their base at Napier Lines, Woolwich Barracks, onto the Parade Ground. There were 71 horses, 36 of them pulling six 13-pounder field guns dating from the First World War. The same guns were also fired for Philip's wedding to the Queen in 1947 and at her Coronation six years later in 1953. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: 'His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh was a constant supporter and ambassador of the armed forces. 'We celebrate his life of service and offer our condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family.' Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter said: 'His Royal Highness has been a great friend, inspiration and role model for the armed forces and he will be sorely missed. 'The Duke of Edinburgh served among us during the Second World War, and he remained devoted to the Royal Navy and the armed forces as a whole. 'A life well lived, His Royal Highness leaves us with a legacy of indomitable spirit, steadfastness and an unshakeable sense of duty. From all of us who serve today and who have served, thank you.' The Honourable Artillery Company fired a salute at the Tower of London, the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery will fire from Cardiff Castle, and the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery will fire at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast and Edinburgh Castle. It comes as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the most senior officer in the Royal Navy, added to the tributes to Philip. In a statement released on Saturday morning, he said: 'His genuine empathy, affection and engagement with the Royal Navy resonated with us all. 'His generous spirit, his delight in all aspects of the Naval Service, and his deep understanding of our values, standards and ethos made him such a close friend to the Service for over eight decades.' Philip joined the Royal Navy after leaving school, beginning at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in May 1939, and was singled out as best cadet. A woman wipes away tears as she queues to lay flowers at Buckingham Palace as the guns fire in the Duke's memory Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Clark salutes as members of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute at Edinburgh Castle while in London a family hugs as they reflect on the Duke's death outside his London home as the shots rang out Used shells shrouded in smoke lie on the ground at the Tower as Britain's Armed Forces saluted war hero the Duke of Edinburgh Spectators watch the volley of gunfire from Tower Bridge as the shells exploded in the London skyline after Midday The Honourable Artillery Company, the City of London's Reserve Army Regiment wear ceremonial attire and drive in their liveried Pinzgauer vehicles at The Tower of London She is the modern successor to the destroyers the Duke of Edinburgh served on during World War Two as part of his 14-year naval career. Pictured is Philip (right) with the Queen and Captain John Edwin Home McBeath on HMS Chequers, which the prince served on During the Second World War, he served on several ships - firstly on HMS Ramillies - and saw active service against German, Italian and Japanese forces. In March 1941, he was a searchlight control officer on the battleship HMS Valiant and was mentioned in despatches for his part in the battle of Matapan against the Italian fleet. Shortly afterwards, he was awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour. He rose rapidly through the ranks, earning promotion after promotion, with some believing he could have become First Sea Lord - the professional head of the Royal Navy. But the Duke stepped down from his active role in the forces to fulfil his duty as the Queen's consort. In recognition of his long-standing connection with the Royal Navy, the Queen conferred the title of Lord High Admiral on the Duke to mark his 90th birthday in June 2011. Princes Andrew and Edward are supporting their mother the Queen at Windsor Castle today as she grieves the death of Prince Philip and begins life without her 'strength and stay' throughout their 73-year marriage and her 68-year reign. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship at their Berkshire home before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel later today, where he will rest during seven days of national mourning ahead of his hugely scaled-back funeral next Saturday. Their youngest child Prince Edward was the first to arrive to support his mother again today, having made the short trip from his Surrey home. Prince Andrew, who lives in Windsor Castle's grounds, was also seen arriving after 10am. Prince Charles stayed with the Queen until late last night. Meanwhile Britons have defied public health advice to stay at home and continued to lay flowers for Prince Philip during socially distanced vigils at royal palaces today as the country marks his death at the age of 99. The bouquets, flowers, cards, Union Flags and balloons are being moved away by staff almost as soon as they are left - but royal aides insist they will all be saved and looked at by the Royal Family inside the grounds of Windsor and Buckingham Palace. Palace security have even put up signs urging people not to congregate, but waves of mourners are still arriving to pay their respects to Her Majesty's devoted husband, who dedicated his life to public service and supporting her through their 73-year marriage. Well-wishers, all respecting social distancing and wearing masks, laid their tributes and briefly stood to pay their respects, with some wiping away tears or quietly singing hymns before returning home. Philip is expected to be laid to rest in the Royal Vault during his private family funeral at St George's Chapel next Saturday, stripped back due to Britain's ongoing lockdown, with only 30 relatives able to attend. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus. His grandson Prince Harry is expected to return to the UK and be among the small number of mourners at the funeral, but it is unlikely his pregnant wife Meghan will accompany him, weeks after the couple accused the Royal Family of racism in their bombshell Oprah interview while Philip lay in hospital. Details about Prince Philip's 'peaceful' death have emerged, with his wife of 73-years understood to have been at his bedside when he slipped away yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill late on Thursday, according to the Daily Telegraph. Soldiers stand straight as guns fire at the Tower of London today as the salute could be heard all over the city Stoic members of the Honourable Artillery Company and Beefeaters watch on fire a gun salute at The Tower of London Tourists and well-wishers stood and watched in silence, many filming with their mobile phones, during the firing at the Tower of London The giant and historic Woolwich Barracks in south-east London echoed with the sound of 41 shots in 40 minutes Members of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute at Woolwich Barracks in London In Scotland the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery fired in unison at Edinburgh Castle Guns fired for 40 minutes at the parade ground at Woolwich barracks this afternoon in memory of Philip, the longest-serving Queen's consort in British history Members of the Honourable Artillery Company moved their cannons to the wharf at the Tower of London ahead of the salute The public stand in silence as a Death Gun Salute is fired at midday to commemorate the passing of Britain's Prince Philip The sparkling guns were wheeled into position in the minutes before Midday at the Tower of London's wharf Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery carry boxes of blank shells in advance of today's gun salute Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery place empty shells into boxes in advance of a gun salute to commemorate the death of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks A box of blank shells prepared for the gun salute to commemorate the death of Philip The sun on his face and a rug on his lap: RICHARD KAY reveals Prince Philip's final days at Windsor Castle with his 'Lilibet' - the Queen - as he neared 100 For the Queen there was one saving grace: that she and Prince Philip were together at the end. After more than seven decades of their lives entwined in both love and duty, this may be the smallest of consolations. His austerely decorated bedroom overlooking the East Terrace at Windsor Castle was still linked by the dressing room that gives on to his wife's more comfortably furnished suite. But it was his physical presence so reassuring in the aftermath of so much family drama from which in recent weeks she has drawn strength. No longer the decisive man of action who had devoted a lifetime to supporting her, she was now able to repay him. Domestic timetables such as mealtimes were torn up to accommodate him when he felt he was strong enough to join her. Even with failing health signalling that his life was drawing to a close, the two were still able to enjoy time with each other as they always had. In recent weeks he would often sleep for much of the day, but there were moments of great lucidity and joyful togetherness. For the Queen there was one saving grace: that she and Prince Philip (pictured in March 2021) were together at the end. After more than seven decades of their lives entwined in both love and duty, this may be the smallest of consolations Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is pictured leaving King Edward VII's Hospital in central London on March 16, 2021 Even with failing health signalling that his life was drawing to a close, the Queen and Prince Philip (pictured in 2020) were still able to enjoy time with each other as they always had Prince Philip is pictured with (far left to right) Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Mrs C.J. Latta and American opera singer Dorothy Kirsten Prince Philip, in his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines, attended a Parade to mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge in 2017. It was his final solo appearance at the official engagement One such moment came when he dropped his reading glasses. A footman in attendance leapt forward to pick them up. 'Never mind,' the duke said, raising his arm. 'I'll do it.' And so he did, bending down to the floor. On another occasion the Queen was overheard reflecting that her husband of 73 years was refusing to use his hearing aid. 'It means we have to shout,' she said. Some are bound to focus on that looming centenary of Philip's 100th birthday in June, which will no longer be the celebration once envisaged. But the duke was not a sentimental man. For him it was far more important to die at home in his own bed, the date immaterial. That it should have been at Windsor Castle where his mother Princess Alice, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was born was of infinitely more significance. In recent days he had been often confined to his room, but in the weeks since his release from hospital last month he spent 28 days in the King Edward VII's and St Bartholomew's hospitals he has been calmer and quieter. Food would be sent up on a tray but he often had little appetite. Routines inevitably had to change. He cancelled his 7.30am calling tray of morning tea that a valet or page would bring to his room where, among the few personal possessions he always kept on display, there were two framed photographs one of his wife and the other of his mother. Intriguingly, among the family photographs of children and grandchildren he always kept on his office desk at Windsor, was one of Prince Charles and Princess Diana taken on their wedding day. The Queen and Philip welcomed a new great-grandchild - their eighth - with the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Pictured left to right in June: Prince Philip, Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth, Doria Ragland, and Meghan The Queen and Philip, pictured at Broadlands in 2007, shared an irreplaceable bond - united at key moments of history, witnessed from the unique viewpoint of a monarch and her consort On those days when he felt strong enough to venture out of his room, he dressed in a shirt and jumper, pressed trousers and polished shoes. There was a valet to draw a bath but according to insiders at least until very recently Philip was still dressing himself. On warm days he asked for a chair to be taken outside and he would sit in the sunshine with a rug over his legs. Often he would nod off. Walking was difficult and around his apartment he used a stick. Occasionally he would allow himself to be pushed in a wheelchair but staff were wary of suggesting it. 'When it first appeared in the private rooms he shouted: 'Get that bloody thing out of my sight!', recalls an aide. This unwillingness to betray any sign of frailty was characteristic. Princess Elizabeth photographed in Clarence House in July 1951, with the Duke of Edinburgh Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the Imperial State Crown, and Prince Philip, in uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, wave from Buckingham Palace in London after the Coronation in June 1953 Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after her coronation, on June 2, 1953. With her are (left to right): Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother The Queen holds the Orb and Sceptre at her Coronation in June 1953, which took place at Westminster Abbey in London The Queen at a polo match with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1955 The then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke with their two young children, Princess Anne and Prince Charles, outside Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire on September 19, 1952 A man speaks and gestures as he brings flowers to Buckingham Palace after Prince Philip died at the age of 99 But for the pandemic, things might have been so very different. At Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate Philip had adjusted to a new kind of life, sometimes with the Queen but often alone or entertaining friends such as Countess Mountbatten, the former Lady Penny Romsey, to whom he taught the sport of carriage driving. When lockdown commenced last March Philip was whisked to Windsor to join the Queen. He did return to his beloved Wood Farm thanks once again to the Queen. After cutting their stay at Balmoral last summer to just six weeks, they then spent three weeks at the Norfolk bolthole. With its simple furnishings and modest size, it was the closest the couple came to leading an ordinary non-palace life. On one occasion at a picnic a domestic servant, unfamiliar with royal tradition, mixed a salad dressing only for the Queen to exclaim when she arrived a little after her husband: 'I can't believe the Duke of Edinburgh has made the vinaigrette, he knows I like to do it.' Philip himself loved the solitude of north Norfolk. When he was there alone he had just a valet and a cook to take care of him. But after his illness and with the country in a third lockdown the prospect of him returning to Wood Farm was impossible. Instead, he had only one ambition: he was determined not to end his days in hospital. 'When he came back to Windsor he said he was not going back to any hospital,' an insider said. The Queen wearing a tartan skirt with corgis beside her and Prince Philip wearing a kilt in Balmoral in 1994 The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh laugh as they bid farewell to Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina at Windsor Castle after their state visit in April 2014 Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, on honeymoon, photographed in the grounds of Broadlands looking at their wedding photographs, on November 23, 1947 Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne at Balmoral in September 1952 The infant Prince Charles is pictured in the lap of his mother, the then Princess Elizabeth, with his father Prince Philip in 1948 Instructions were issued that he should be made as comfortable as possible and if that meant changing timetables for meals so be it. 'His entire life had been conducted to strict routines and since retiring he didn't have to follow them and it was agreed that it should continue like that for him,' says an insider. 'No fuss was the constant refrain,' says the insider. Even so he was well enough to still speak to family and close friends on the telephone unlike the Queen, Philip was not a fan of Zoom calls. The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne at Balmoral in August 1972 The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne preparing a barbecue on the Estate at Balmoral Castle in August 1972 Prince Philip and Prince Charles share a joke at a Guards Polo Club tea party in 1999 Princess Elizabeth, Britain's future queen, and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten shown at Buckingham Palace following their engagement, in November 1947. On her engagement finger, Elizabeth wears a three-diamond ring which she wears to this day The Queen toasts Prince Philip at the opening of the Millennium Dome in London on New Year's Eve 1999 But he was frustrated by Covid restrictions which didn't just limit visits by the family but also meant difficulties in the nursing care he needed. There was no dramatic decline in his health but it was gradual. Earlier this week, staff said Philip was 'on good form'. He was still reading and writing letters. Remember, this was a man who prided himself on his fitness and who rarely complained. Even so he was not pain free. And rehearsals for his death were already under way. Late at night, a team of footmen at Buckingham Palace had been practising the placing of the official typed statement about the duke's death. Yesterday the task was conducted by two of the Palace's foot-women. Philip, who did so much to modernise Buckingham Palace, would surely have approved. Sports stars continue to pay their respects to Prince Philip... with black armbands, minute-long silences and flags at half mast in the Premier League, Challenge Cup rugby matches and County Championship cricket Tributes have continued to pour in for Prince Philip from across the world of sport on Saturday, the day after his death was announced. The Duke of Edinburgh - husband of the Queen - passed away at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on Friday after suffering from ill health. On Friday there were immediate tributes from the Grand National at Aintree, Wembley Stadium and County Championship cricket matches. The Premier League match between Manchester City and Leeds held a two minute silence The players and staff observed the silence impeccably inside an Etihad Stadium empty of fans The Leicester v Newcastle Challenge Cup match showed a picture of the Duke during a silence A Premier League U18 youth match between Manchester United and Stoke also held a silence The Championship fixture between Watford and Reading at Vicarage Road showed this image And more sporting events paid tribute to the Duke, with the early afternoon Premier League match between Manchester City and Leeds holding a two-minute silence, as all matches played this weekend will. The players and staff completed an impeccably observed two minutes in an empty Etihad Stadium, with players sporting black armbands. Manchester City and Leeds had both tweeted out statements offering condolences on Friday ahead of their match. City said: 'Manchester City extends its sincere condolences to the Royal Family following the sad news that His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the age of 99.' Leeds added: 'The thoughts of everyone at #LUFC are with Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family following the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.' Silence was also observed at an U18 fixture between Manchester United and Stoke, with players standing around the centre circle to pay their respects. The Challenge Cup quarter-final between Leicester Tigers and Newcastle at Welford Road displayed a picture of Prince Philip with a black background as they too honoured the Prince's life. On Friday it was confirmed the Grand National at Aintree in Liverpool would go ahead despite Philip's death, with the Union Jack flown at half mast and jockeys and fans also joining in a two minute silence. The England football team stadium Wembley in North London displayed a prominent tribute, while County Championship matches including Yorkshire against Glamorgan featuring England captain Joe Root, held silences and players wore black armbands. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket board announced it was 'deeply saddened' by his passing and highlighted his contributions to the sport through various cricket organisations, including trophy presentations and charitable work. Aintree paid tribute to the Duke with his picture on screens and the Union Jack at half mast Racegoers and riders joined in a socially distanced silence at the Grand National in Liverpool England football team's ground Wembley Stadium also displayed a prominent tribute (above) County cricket matches held a two-minute silence while players (above) wore black armbands The FA announced their intention to honour his life by flying flags at Wembley and St George's Park at half mast. 'We have sent our deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and our president, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, following the passing of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh,' it said on Twitter. 'As a mark of our respect, all flags at @WembleyStadium and St. George's Park will fly at half-mast. And the Premier League wrote: 'We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Our thoughts and condolences are with Her Majesty The Queen, The Royal Family and all those around the world mourning the loss of His Royal Highness. 'As a mark of respect, players will wear black armbands and there will be a minute's silence before kick-off at all Premier League matches played tonight and across the weekend.' Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has urged the Centre to formulate criteria for allotment of COVID-19 vaccines by taking into consideration factors like population and number of active cases of a particular state. He alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses. Talking to reporters, Tope said that out of thelatest dispatch of 3.5 crore doses by the Centre, Maharashtra received 7 lakh and the Centre added another 10 lakh "after much persuasion". "The criteria should be decided in terms of the size of the population and the number of active cases," he said, adding that many smaller states with less population and number of active cases had got more doses than Maharashtra. He said that Maharashtra, with a population of over 12 crore, accounts for 60 per cent of the total number of active cases in the country. The number is more because testing has been increased substantially, he said. Tope said the state had mobilised its capacity to administer six lakh doses on daily basis. "We have scaled up the daily vaccination up to 6 lakh people. Weekly we are able to vaccinate 40 lakh people and monthly around 1.60 crore...We need vaccine accordingly. Where there are more cases, it is necessary that we develop immunity and vaccine is the only answer,he said. "Today we have 8 lakh doses available and we have been told we will get four lakh doses in a day. If the supply of doses is on a daily basis, how will the vaccines be transported to other parts of the state on time?" he asked. Stating that 70 vaccine centres in Mumbai have closed and places like Sangli, Satara, Panvel are also facing shortage, due to which all the centres there have been affected. People visiting the centres are being turned away. All this is very embarrassing, he said and reiterated that the state's vaccine wastage percentage is just three per cent. "The Centre is not addressing these issues seriously," Tope alleged. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that all political parties should set aside their differences and unite to save lives from "An MLA from Nanded has died, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been hospitalised. The virus is attacking VIPs and common people alike. We need to unite to tackle the pandemic. The opposition should cooperate and give suggestions if the state government is falling short," he said. To a question on the 'Tika Utsav' (vaccine festival) as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raut said the aim of the programme is to create awareness about vaccination. "Without creating controversies, the Centre should give Maharashtra the number of doses it requires," he said. Dagestani investigators suspected 13 employees of the regional Rostransnadzor were systematically receiving bribes. Thus, they ensured the unhindered passage of trucks without weight control, the press service of the Investigative Committee of Russia reported today. "They are suspected of committing a crime under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (taking a bribe by an official for illegal actions carried by an organized group on an especially large scale)," the report reads, Interfax reports. Cuba on Saturday published a new animal-welfare law, the country's first, providing fines in cases of abuse but not banning cockfights or animal sacrifices during religious rites. The legislation is considered a victory for Cuba's civil society, one of the first times its demands have become law in the Communist country. On April 7, 2019, some 500 people marched in Havana to demand an animal-protection law, in what was the first independent, nonpolitical mass demonstration ever authorized by the Cuban government. In February, a few dozen animal-rights activists assembled again in front of the Agriculture Ministry. The new decree, published by the Council of State, says in part that the establishment of rules guaranteeing "animal welfare and raising awareness in our population on the care and respect of animals is a demand of our society." The objective, it adds, is to achieve "a harmonious relationship between human beings and other species, as an indispensable condition for the existence of all." In its Article 9, the decree forbids anyone "to provoke a confrontation between animals of any species, unless an exception is approved by the relevant authority." Fights between dogs are thus banned, but cockfights -- a longtime tradition in Cuba, seen even on the family property of Fidel Castro -- remain legal so long as they are sponsored by specific state-supervised clubs. Similarly, animal sacrifices by the Santeria, the syncretic religion that originated in Nigeria before being brought to Cuba by enslaved people, are still authorized. The decree does stipulate, however, that "animal sacrifices must be carried out rapidly and compassionately, to avoid pain and stress." Animals receiving protection include "all mammals, birds, bees, reptiles, fish, mollusks, crustaceans and amphibians," and animal welfare is defined as "the adequate state, from both physical and mental viewpoint, of an animal in conditions of life and of death." Story continues Animals must be "cared for and protected by man," the decree states. Violators will face fines of 500 to 4,000 pesos ($21 to $167). Grettel Montes de Oca, founder of the Cubans in Defense of Animals rights group, called the new law a positive "first step." "The road will be very long," the activist told AFP, adding that she heard about it while searching for food for her 60 animals, with shortages of basics frequently a problem in Cuba. "But it is surely positive that now there is a law," even if "there are many things (in the text) that are not good," she said. cb/bbk/acb/mdl The 3 Counties Energy Agency (3cea) has welcomed Governments decision to approve a revised Climate Action Bill which includes specific targets on reducing carbon emissions over the next 30 years. The Climate Action Bill commits to a carbon neutral status for Ireland by end 2050 and halving the amount of greenhouse gas emissions within the next 10 years. 3cea says its an opportunity to build on progress it has made in the region since it was established in 2002. The one-stop-shop is committed to driving social and behavioural change in the South-East towards a low carbon economy. The non-profit agency drives sustainable energy projects offering commercial and business grants and supports, the Greener HGV Programme, National Home Retrofit Scheme, community and public sector projects working across homes, commercial properties, community, transport and agriculture and advice in Kilkenny. The Callan Community Energy Company (CCE) is set to re-energise Callan, with an ambitious plan for the town to transition to producing all of its own carbon-neutral energy by 2030. CCE signed up to the National Energy Communities programme with SEAI in 2016 and work is ongoing on its energy masterplan to measure how much energy Callan uses, its potential to generate energy from renewables as well as exploring opportunities for saving energy reducing emissions. Economic Benefits With 3ceas assistance, the Callan Community will benefit from the potential of grant aid for energy upgrades, lower energy bills, lower carbon emissions and envisions creating direct and indirect jobs and economic benefits as a result of the activities of the company. Other activities include workshops and energy training courses for all community stakeholders and a point of contact for all energy related ideas and energy-related enquiries locally. CEO of 3cea Paddy Phelan says it is the responsibility of each individual, business owner and community to come together to achieve Governments ambitious targets and 3cea will be there to help. Whilst the Kilkenny local authorities will be closely examining its strategic plan to facilitate and steer climate action in the area, everyone in the county has a role to play in achieving the ambition of the new Bil, he said. In Kilkenny, we are in excellent position to develop an all-inclusive decarbonising plan in line with the requirements set out in the Climate Action Bill. There are some outstanding examples within local communities and industry, for example the Danone Plant has achieved zero carbon emission in its manufacturing. Likewise the Callan Community Energy Company illustrates how each home, local business and individual can help contribute towards a carbon neutral Ireland. Currently accepting applications for a number of home and business grants to find outmore visit https://3cea.ie Any community not part of a SEC at the moment or looking to set one up, can contact the county mentor in Kilkenny Therese Curran, Kilkenny SEC Mentor therese.curran@cklp.ie or the South East Regional Coordinator Grainne Kennedy contact@3cea.ie. The Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) programme is funded by SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland). Washington, Apr 10 (UNI) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Brussels next week to discuss Russia's alleged military buildup near it's border with Ukraine, a local media outlet reported on Saturday. The Bloomberg news agency reported, citing three people familiar with the situation that the detailed consultations in Brussels will take place for the majority of the week as the United States is increasingly concerned over alleged military maneuvers of Russian troops near Ukraine. Coinciding with Blinken's visit US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also be in Brussels to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas has been tense over the past weeks. On Wednesday, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said the situation at the contact line was deteriorating. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described the situation on the border as "frightening." He said Russia was taking steps to bolster the security of its western frontier in response to increased NATO presence. The United States and Ukraine, in turn, accuse Moscow of a troop buildup at the border. UNI XC RKM The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 10, 2021 Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh It is always good to find an opportunity to solve a problem, especially a societal one. This is what is being done in this Commentary. The Spirit of Easter is about Falling Down and Getting Up or Making Mistakes and Correcting Mistakes. As Liberia falls down but does not get up and the same mistakes are being made to make the poor poorer and the rich richer, it is of highest importance that the Spirit of Easter be drawn upon to Raise Liberia and Prevent the Making of the Same Mistakes. Easter falls on this coming Sunday and it is celebrated as a Christian Event but the Spirit of Easter is for everybody in all Religions of the world. Some persons and organized social groups advised the State decision-makers over many years that Liberia would continue to fall down by making the same mistakes. But these decision-makers continue to consider the individuals and social groups as "enemies of the State". Such consideration is wrong and most unfortunate because it leads to violence and even civil war, as in the case of Liberia. The national decision-makers in Liberia continue to give away to foreigners what our one and only Creator, God/Allah, has given us. The decision-makers consider Liberia's greatest asset to be money or natural resource rather than reason or human resource. Much public money is managed by persons who love themselves rather than love Liberia and so corruption prevails as the decision-makers use the people's money to improve themselves and their foreign friends. These decision-makers have access to at least USD 1,000 a day and their foreign friends have access to at least USD2 million a day while over 80 percent of the people of Liberia have access to at most less than USD2 a day. Profit-oriented international partners continue to dictate to the decision-makers, who continue to follow the dictation because they want to continue to get money from the partners. Although the same mistakes are being made through the poverty generating production of raw materials for export, the partners provide loans and grants with praises of the decision-makers for their fiscal discipline. And the beat goes on because the partners and their national decision-makers are interested in the revenue from the production of raw materials for export. The value subtraction mistake rather than the value addition correction goes on and on. While the same mistakes are repeated, what becomes most worrisome is the tendency for violence, even civil war, to take place. In this most dangerous situation, the frustration generated through poverty generation becomes the pretext for more greedy persons to emerge and take center stage to lead protests and get elected unconstitutionally to install themselves into State power, making the societal environment worse. Through increasing awareness about the evil that bad persons do to Liberia, the voters have lifted themselves up from the ground by voting out of offices most of the Legislators from the 52nd and 53rd Legislatures who were running to be re-elected. But the beat of corruption and bad State governance still goes on because the electoral system remains bad, resulting in the "election" of bad persons to hold public offices. Such an "election" has to stop now and it can only be stopped now when masses of people engage in non-violent actions to change the electoral system from bad to good. The electoral system is changed from bad to good when Liberians with good records over the years are appointed as Commissioners of the National Elections Commission (NEC). Let us recall the Tipoteh versus Korkoya Case in the Supreme Court of Liberia when Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh took Mr. Jerome Korkpya, then Chairperson of NEC, to the Supreme court on grounds that he was not a citizen of Liberia and working in violation of the Constitution of Liberia. Dr. Tipoteh, ably represented by Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe, made such a relevant Case that the Supreme Court gave up and indicated its unpreparedness to give a Ruling on the Case. Up to now, spanning over two years, the Supreme Court has not given a Ruling on the Case. None of the national leaders, including the political party leaders, gave support to the eviction of Mr. Korkoya. When Mr. Korkoya tenure ended, the "new" NEC repeated the same mistakes made by the Korkoya NEC: non-Liberians serving as NEC Commissioners, reliance on un-cleaned voter registration rolls, illegal transportation of voters from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and from Counties of residence in Liberia to other Counties, use of flawed voter registration machines and the illegal differences of decisions by NEC Registrars, NEC Voting Center Representatives and the NEC Commissioners. But the voters continue to vote for bad persons, thereby giving support to the unconstitutional electoral process that promotes the "election" of bad persons. No wonder the Youth of Grand Cape Mount County made a public appeal to understand why they voted for some persons who pursued their personal agenda upon their "election" instead of the agenda of the voters. The Youth were told that they voted for persons whose public records they did not know when I served as Guest Speaker at a Community Program in Madina, Grand Cape Mount County. With me at the Program were Mrs. Elitha Manning, Founding President General of the Liberian Labor Congress, Mr. Dempster Mananga, Secretary-General of the Bong County Council of Chiefs and Elders, Sheikh David Kiazolu. Vice Chairperson, National Muslim Council of Liberia, Mrs. Abigail Kofa, Women Leader, Borough of Kru Town, and Sheikh Mamamudu Pusahl Susukuu Coordinator of Western Liberia, all of whom participated in the awareness raising that took place in Madina two years ago. With more awareness about the public records of Legislators, most of the Legislators from the 52nd and 53rd Legislatures were not "re-elected"!! Therefore, the Way Forward for the Better is the use of knowledge to raise awareness in ways that motivate voters to take non-violent actions to change the electoral system from bad to good so that good persons can get elected to change State governance from bad to good and move Liberia away from poverty generation to bring in poverty alleviation. Apr. 09. 2021 Marubeni Corporation Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, Marubeni) signed a Power Purchase Agreement with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (hereinafter, SPPC) through a Special Purpose Company (hereinafter, SPC) established with Al Jomaih Energy & Water Company Limited (hereinafter, Al Jomaih) in January 2021. In March 2021, a loan agreement for limited-recourse project financing for the Rabigh Solar PV IPP Project was signed, and EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) work on the project proceeded the following month. The SPC will develop, construct, operate, and maintain the 300MW capacity solar PV plant, which will be located in the Rabigh Industrial City of Makkah Province, on land leased by The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, commonly known as MODON. SPPC will purchase the produced power for 25 years following the Commercial Operation Date. This project will be Marubenis first solar PV project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This loan agreement took the form of co-financing between Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Mizuho Bank Ltd., and Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation. Marubeni owns stakes in power projects across 19 countries (including Japan) for a total net capacity of about 12GW. This project will be Marubenis fourth large-scale solar PV project in the MENA region, following the successful commercial operation of the Sweihan Solar PV IPP Project (1,177MW) in the UAE (*1) and the Amin Solar PV IPP Project (105MW) in Oman (*2), as well as the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement for the Al Kharsaah Solar PV IPP Project (800MW) in Qatar (*3). The generation capacity of the four projects totals nearly 2GW. By utilizing the experience gained through these projects, Marubeni will develop the Rabigh Solar PV IPP Project and provide a stable, renewable energy source in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This project was selected in 2020 for the Financing Programme for Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) Model Projects (*4) by the Japanese Ministry of Environment and is implemented through cooperation between the Governments of Saudi Arabia and Japan. The MENA region has procured numerous large-scale solar PV projects over the last several years, and this trend is projected to continue. As evidenced by the Notification Regarding Business Policies Pertaining to Sustainability in Relation to Coal-Fired Power Generation Business and Renewable Energy Generation Business (*4) issued in September of 2018, Marubeni is committed to being involved in renewable energy projects in MENA and around the world. (*1) March 1, 2017 Marubeni Corporation enters into Power Purchase Agreement for Sweihan Photovoltaic Independent Power Project in United Arab Emirates https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2017/release/20170301English.pdf (*2) February 5, 2019 Marubeni Signs a Power Purchase Agreement for the Amin Solar PV IPP Project in Oman https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2019/release/00010.html (*3) January 20, 2020 Marubeni Signs a Power Purchase Agreement for Al Kharsaah Solar PV IPP Project in Qatar https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2020/release/20200120E.pdf (*4) About JCM Model Projects Ministry of the Environment, Japan, has been implementing the JCM Model Projects, which provides financial supports covering up to half of the initial investment costs. The purpose of this model projects is to financially support the implementation of projects which reduce GHG emissions by utilizing leading decarbonizing technologies in developing countries, and in return, to acquire JCM credits for achievement of Japans GHG emission reduction and the partner countries emission reduction target. (*5) September 18, 2018 Notification Regarding Business Policies Pertaining to Sustainability (In Relation to Coal-Fired Power Generation Business and Renewable Energy Generation Business) https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2018/release/00028.html Japan presents medical equipment to Hue Central Hospital The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on April 9 presented a number of medical equipment to the Hue Central Hospital to support the facility to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The equipment have combined value of 50 million JPY (over 456,000 USD) (Photo: VNA) Christians in at least one province of China are being held in secretive, mobile brainwashing camps to pressure them to renounce their faith which appears to be part of a planned clampdown on illegal social organizations, including house churches, according to reports. A Christian in the southwestern province of Sichuan, who was held captive for 10 months in some basement somewhere in a windowless camp run by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, shared his experience. It was a mobile facility that could just set up in some basement somewhere, the Christian, indemnified with a pseudonym, Li Yuese, told Radio Free Asia. He continued, It was staffed by people from several different government departments. It had its own (CCP) political and legal affairs committee working group, and they mainly target Christians who are members of house churches. Source:The Christian Post PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities have discovered the remains of 16 coal miners missing since 2011 in a tribal area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, which was once a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban militants. Officials have confirmed to RFE/RL that the remains of the victims were handed over to relatives on April 9. The miners went missing in late 2011 from a coal mine in the Kala Khel tribal area to the south of Peshawar. They were discovered in a mass grave in the Gulo Tangi area of the Kohat district about 50 kilometers southwest of Peshawar. An official from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's emergency rescue service said an anonymous telephone caller tipped off authorities about the location of human remains in the area. A team from the rescue services excavated the mass grave on April 9 to recover the remains of all 16 missing miners. Locals residents say Pakistani militants in the area used to kidnap people for ransom. But some local tribesmen believe Pakistani security forces at the time of the miners' disappearance were also carrying out abductions and killings as part of anti-terrorist military operations. Pakistani and international rights groups have also accused Pakistani security forces of carrying out enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Pakistani security forces denie any involvement in such cases. On April 9, relatives of the miners who were slain briefly blocked traffic on the Kohat-Peshawar road to call attention to their allegations of involvement by security forces. The road was reopened a few hours later after the officials assured them the killings would be investigated and the government would pay compensation to relatives. Firefighters on Friday rescued people who were stuck on a roller coaster at the American Dream megamall in Bergen County, N.J., according to authorities. State troopers received a report of people stuck on the ride at the Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park around 7:30 p.m., according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. First Class Lawrence Peele. Fire department personnel arrived on scene to assist with safely removing passengers from the ride, Peele said in an email. There were no injuries reported. State police patrol the American Dream complex. More information was not yet available late Friday. Representatives for American Dream did not immediately return messages seeking more details. Fire officials could not be reached. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. More: McDonalds will close hundreds of its Walmart restaurants, report says Giant climbing snake seen in Pittsburgh is common species across Pennsylvania Syracuse, N.Y. -- Western New York is the region with the highest positive rate of Covid-19 cases, on average, over the past week, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomos office. In the past seven days, 4.82% of test results in the region -- which includes Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties -- came back positive, according to Cuomos office. Thats a higher rate than New York City and Long Island, according to the data. Western New Yorks rate is about 3 times the positive rate compared with test results from Central New York, which includes Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties. Here, just 1.51% of those tested during the past week came back positive, on average. These percentages show the rate that coronavirus tests came back positive, on average, during the past seven days. This data was updated on Saturday, April 10, 2021.Source: New York state In Erie County alone, 534 people tested positive for the virus in the past day. Overall, 7,283 people tested positive statewide. Thats based on 260,700 test results, or a positive rate of 2.79%. Those new cases come as 4.8 million in New York are fully vaccinated, according to Cuomo. Thats more than 1 in 5 in the state. Hospitalizations across New York are down 110, to 4241. Of those, 882 people are in intensive care. Another 57 people died from the virus in New York. Since the pandemic began, 41,086 people have died, according to state data. Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share with a Syracuse-area reporter? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274. Dhahran, April 10 : Aramco has signed a deal with a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG), one of the world's leading energy infrastructure investors, to optimise its assets through a lease-and-lease-back agreement involving its stabilised crude oil pipeline network. Upon closing, Aramco will receive upfront proceeds of around $12.4 billion, further strengthening its balance sheet through one of the largest energy infrastructure deals globally. The transaction represents a continuation of Aramco's strategy to unlock the potential of its asset base and maximize value for its shareholders. It also reinforces Aramco's role as a catalyst for attracting significant foreign investment into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The long-term investment by EIG and other institutional investors underscores the compelling investment opportunity represented by Aramco's globally-significant pipeline assets, the Company's long-term outlook and the attractiveness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a desirable investment destination for international investors. The transaction is expected to close as soon as practicable, subject to customary closing conditions, including any required merger control and related approvals. This is one of the world's largest energy infrastructure deals. Newly-formed entity, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company, to lease usage rights of Aramco's stabilised crude oil pipeline network over 25-year period. Transaction reflects ongoing progress in Aramco's portfolio optimization program, which aims to unlock value and maximize shareholder returns. Significant injection of foreign capital reinforces Aramco's leading position in the international energy arena and Saudi Arabia's appeal to prominent institutional investors globally, a statement said. As part of the transaction, a newly-formed Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company, will lease usage rights in Aramco's stabilised crude oil pipelines network for a 25-year period. In return, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company will receive a tariff payable by Aramco for the stabilized crude oil that flows through the network, backed by minimum volume commitments. Aramco will hold a 51 per cent majority stake in the new company and the EIG-led consortium will hold a 49 per cent stake. Aramco will continue to retain full ownership and operational control of its stabilised crude oil pipeline network. The transaction will not impose any restrictions on Aramco's actual crude oil production volumes that are subject to production decisions issued by the Kingdom. Aramco President & CEO, Amin H. Nasser, said: "This landmark transaction defines the way forward for our portfolio optimisation programme. We are capitalising on new opportunities that also align strategically with the Kingdom's recently-launched Shareek programme. Aramco's strong capital structure will be further enhanced with this transaction, which in turn will help maximize returns for our shareholders. Additionally, our long-term partners in this venture will benefit from investment in one of the world's most robust energy infrastructures. Moving forward, we will continue to explore opportunities that underpin our strategy of long-term value creation." Abdulaziz M. Al Gudaimi, Aramco Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, said: "In addition to strengthening our balance sheet, this deal sets a new benchmark for infrastructure transactions both regionally and internationally. It is a vote of confidence in our long-term outlook by EIG and other heavyweights in the investment world and reflects the significant progress we are making in our portfolio optimisation programme. This transaction unlocks value from our assets and strengthen Aramco's resilience, agility and ability to respond to changing market dynamics." R. Blair Thomas, EIG's Chairman & CEO, said: "We are honoured to partner with Aramco, an undisputed industry leader, on this landmark transaction. Aramco's oil pipeline network is a marquee global infrastructure asset. We look forward to investing in this infrastructure which is critical to the global economy, and to driving value for our institutional investors worldwide." Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has sent a telegram on the Popes behalf to Colombia's bishops expressing concern over the dramatic situation in the southern part of the country. Vatican News Pope Francis condemns the "episodes of violence and expresses his closeness to the people who live in the midst of so much suffering" in the southwestern Pacific region of Colombia. This is what the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, wrote in a telegram addressed to the president of the Colombian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Oscar Urbina Ortega of Villavicencio. The message also recalls "the commitment of bishops, priests, religious and laity in the incessant search to build bonds of peace in the entire region". Colombia is currently experiencing the worst violence the country has seen since the 2016 peace accord between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group ended a half-century of civil war. According to a report to the United Nations Security Council in March, more than 13,000 civilians in Colombia, including more than 5,000 children, have experienced displacement or restrictions on their movement due to the activities of armed groups nationwide in January and February. Some guerrilla fighters have refused to join the peace process, and continue their struggle, while also mixing with drug traffickers in lawless areas of Colombia. Dissident FARC rebels, leftist guerrillas, drug-trafficking groups and right-wing paramilitaries are all battling for control of the lucrative cocaine and illegal mining markets. Recently, the southern part of the country has also seen a flare-up in violence. On March 26, dozens of people were injured in Corinto, in the southwestern Colombian department of Cauca, when a car bomb exploded in front of the town hall, in one of the symbolic places of the indigenous community in Colombia. In the area, which in recent decades had been a stronghold of the FARC, armed groups and gangs linked to drug trafficking cartels are operating. Corinto, like the neighbouring municipality, Toribio, has been historically led by the indigenous people. In Toribio, Father Alvaro Ulque, the first indigenous priest in Colombia, was killed in 1984. The missionaries of the Consolata continued his work. A recent report by the Ecumenical Peace Table and other organizations of Colombia documents the violence suffered for decades by the ecclesial organizations that fought alongside the poorest groups. New York, April 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Europe Thermoplastic Vulcanizate Market Forecast to 2027 COVID-19 Impact and Europe Analysis By End-Use, and Country" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06027805/?utm_source=GNW Thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) is a mixture of rubber particles distributed in a thermoplastic matrix.Therefore, TPV has mixed properties, including the characteristics of the vulcanized rubber elastomer as well as the handling properties of the thermoplastic material. Typical TPV contains approximately two-thirds of ethylene propylene diene monomer and one-third of impact polypropylene.This mixture of raw materials can also differ, such as polypropylene with natural rubber, polypropylene and ethylene-octene copolymers, and others. These materials have a wide range of hardness, excellent flex fatigue, high impact resistance, and superior resistance to acids, bases, and aqueous media.Due to its manufacturing versatility and ease of processing, TPV is used in applications requiring durability and lightweight characteristics, such as in vehicles, construction, and others. The increasing demand for lightweight and high-performance materials in the automotive industry is expected to fuel demand for thermoplastic vulcanizations (TPVs) during the forecast period. Based on end-use industry, the Europe thermoplastic vulcanizate market is segmented into automotive, building & construction, consumer goods, healthcare, and others. In 2019, the automotive segment dominated the Europe thermoplastic vulcanizate market. Geographically, the Europe thermoplastic vulcanizate market is segmented into the Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Russia, and Rest of Europe.Germany contributed to the largest share of the Europe thermoplastic vulcanizate market. The evolving automotive industry in Germany fuels the demand for thermoplastic vulcanizate in the country.An upsurge in the application of thermoplastic vulcanizate as a rubber replacement in the healthcare industry acts as a major opportunity for the market to grow. An upsurge in the need for lightweight materials with superlative properties from various industries such as consumer goods, healthcare, and electronics is positively impacting the market growth. Various initiatives undertaken by the manufacturers to provide innovative thermoplastic vulcanizate with enhanced properties is expected to support the growth of the thermoplastic vulcanizate market in the region. Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.; Celanese Corporation; Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation; Kumho Polychem; Trinseo; Teknor Apex; ExxonMobil; Zeon Chemicals L.P.; Alphagary; and Ravago are among the major players present in the Europe thermoplastic vulcanizate market. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Thermoplastic Vulcanizate Market As per the recent data, Russia has recorded the highest number of COVID cases in Europe.Additionally, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Germany have also been hit hard and are expected to suffer an economic hit due to a lack of revenue from various industries. Other member states have implemented drastic measures and travel restrictions, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This is anticipated to negatively impact the market growth in Europe. Overall size of the Europe thermoplastic vulcanizate market has been derived in accordance to primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic. The participants who take part in such a process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specializing in the thermoplastic vulcanizate market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06027805/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Representative image Tokyo [Japan] April 10 (ANI): India and Japan are planning to hold a '2+2' format meeting of foreign and defence ministers in Tokyo later this month, Japanese media reported. According to NHK, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Defence Minister Kishi Nobuo are due to attend the meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. This will the second such meeting between the two countries as the inaugural meeting of the India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was held on November 30, 2019, in New Delhi. According to Asia Nikkei, this comes as China ramps up its activities in the disputed East and South China Seas. Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is also making arrangements to visit India. The ministers are expected to discuss ways to cooperate more closely on defence. Japan and India signed an agreement last year to allow the Self-Defence Forces and the Indian military to provide each other with food and fuel. The NHK, in a report, said that the Japanese government is increasingly looking to India as an ally that shares basic values and can help work toward a free and open Indo-Pacific as China continues to assert itself across the region. Both India and Japan time and again have asserted that they are committed to efforts to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. Last month, the leaders of the Quad alliance -- India, the US, Japan and Australia had underscored the importance of a "free and open" Indo-Pacific region during the group's first-ever leaders' summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that Quad has now come of age and will serve as an important pillar in ensuring the stability of the Indo-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region features several territorial disputes in the South China and East China seas which involve Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Beijing claims most of the region. Story continues Other issues to be discussed by the Japanese and Indian ministers will likely include joint efforts toward strengthening supply chains in the Asian region, Japan Times reported quoting a Japanese government source. In October last year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited Tokyo to take part in the second India-Australia-Japan-USA Ministerial Meeting. The grouping of India Australia, Japan and the US is also known as 'Quad'. Last year in September, the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force jointly held the fourth edition of India-Japan maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX in the North Arabian Sea. JIMEX series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation. (ANI) The 9-foot-tall bronze Columbus statue at Arrigo Park was created for and displayed in the Italian Pavilion at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Following that Worlds Fair, the statue was placed in a niche above the entrance to the Columbus Memorial building at State and Washington streets. Thats where it stood until the structure was demolished in 1959. Two sheriffs deputies at the Canyon County jail in Caldwell were exposed to suspected fentanyl on Friday afternoon while booking an inmate, according to a news release. The two deputies were searching the incoming inmate at the Dale Haile Detention Center when they discovered the drug. Fentanyl, a powerful opioid used to treat pain, is highly addictive and can be deadly if abused. After seizing the substance, the two deputies began experiencing symptoms related to suspected fentanyl exposure, according to the release Saturday from the Canyon County Sheriffs Office. Both were transported to a local hospital for treatment and have since been released. A hazmat team from the Caldwell Fire Department worked late on Friday night to decontaminate the jail, authorities said. It is the responsibility of our leaders in Washington, D.C., and our state and local leaders to address this horrific overabundance of dangerous illegal drugs that is plaguing our society, said Sheriff Kieran Donahue in the release. The DEA and CDC both reference illegally made synthetic opioids, such as Fentanyl, significantly contribute to the high number of overdose deaths in the United States. Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, can be obtained legally with a doctors prescription, but many cases of overdose and death related to the drug are linked to illegally made fentanyl, according to the CDC. A senior executive at Sony Music Australia has been fired after an investigation found he had bullied and harassed multiple staff members. Tony Glover, who was the vice-president of commercial music at the Australian arm of the global music company, was fired on Thursday following a weeks-long investigation that ended his three-decade career with Sony. Former Sony Music Australia executive Tony Glover has been sacked after an investigation found he had bullied and harassed staff. Credit:Facebook His termination comes during a wider reckoning against inappropriate behaviour in the music industry with multiple allegations made about artists and employees at some of the countrys biggest record labels and management companies. Mr Glover, 59, began his career in a record store before joining BMG Music, which then merged with Sony in 2004. He held various positions with the company including heading up its talent management division before being promoted to vice president of the commercial music arm reporting directly to Sonys CEO Denis Handlin. Gun salutes in all capitals of the United Kingdom as well as aboard some Royal Navy ships on Saturday honoured Prince Philip, the husband of and the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away aged 99 at Windsor Castle on Friday. The 41 rounds fired in London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh at a rate of one shot per minute from midday local time on Saturday mark the start of an eight-day national mourning period. "The tradition of Gun Salutes being fired throughout the country to mark significant national events dates back to at least the 18th century, and there are historical records of salutes taking place as early as the 14th century when guns and ammunition began to be adopted more widely, a statement on the royal website read. "Similar gun salutes were fired to mark the death of Queen Victoria in 1901," it notes. They also honour the Duke's strong military links, having served with the Royal Navy in World War II. "His Royal Highness has been a great friend, inspiration and role model for the armed forces and he will be sorely missed, said General Sir Nick Carter, the UK's Chief of the Defence Staff. The Duke of Edinburgh served among us during the Second World War, and he remained devoted to the Royal Navy and the armed forces as a whole. A life well lived, His Royal Highness leaves us with a legacy of indomitable spirit, steadfastness and an unshakeable sense of duty. From all of us who serve today and who have served, thank you," he said. People are being asked to watch the gun salutes from a distance as they are broadcast both online and on TV. In line with the coronavirus pandemic concerns, Buckingham Palace has asked the public to not gather in large numbers at the royal residences and consider making a donation to a charity instead of leaving flowers in memory of the Duke. An online Book of Condolence has also been launched on the official palace website. Announcing the Duke's death on Friday, Buckingham Palace said: "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty the Queen announces the death of her beloved husband. "The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss." The Duke's eldest son, Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, described his father's life as an "astonishing achievement". I think he'll probably want to be remembered as an individual in his own right, said Charles, who is to inherit his father's title of Duke of Edinburgh. He didn't suffer fools gladly so if you said anything that was in any way ambiguous, he'd go make up your mind', so perhaps it made you choose your words carefully. He was very good at showing you how to do things and instructing you how to do things, he said. It is reported that Charles, the heir to the British throne, travelled to Windsor Castle to visit his mother, the Queen, on Friday afternoon. His sister, Princess Anne, said of her late father that he "treated everyone as an individual, and gave them the respect he felt they were due as individuals". During the national mourning period, Union flags will be flown at half mast, TV presenters will wear black and Parliament will pass no new laws. As per tradition, the Queen will not carry out any duties either in public or in private, and any new laws requiring Royal Assent will not be sent to her for approval. Westminster Abbey in London tolled its tenor bell once every 60 seconds for 99 times from 18:00 on Friday, to honour each year of the Duke's life. His funeral will take place at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, south-east England, but the arrangements have been amended in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Further details of the royal ceremonial funeral, as opposed to a state funeral in keeping with the royal's wishes, will become clear over the coming days. Political parties have suspended their campaigning for local elections on May 6 and Parliament is set to honour the Duke with a special House of Commons session on Monday. (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.) Rove McManus has shown his support for Neighbours actor Meyne Wyatt, after allegations the set of the long-running soap is rife with racism. On Friday, Wyatt, 31, posted to Instagram, expressing his frustration that little had changed in the industry despite an outcry from Indigenous actors. Former TV host Rove, 47, replied to to Wyatt's post in the comments, writing: 'You don't need me to say it but for what little it is worth, this is so Incredibly well put. And just so it's is on record, I did nothing but laugh my a**e off when we first met.' Support: Rove McManus has shown his support for Neighbours actor Meyne Wyatt (pictured), after allegations the set of the long-running soap is rife with racism Aboriginal actor Wyatt, who was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016 playing Nate Kinski and Mason Turner, posted to Instagram multiple times in the past week to claim he 'experienced racism on set'. 'It involved the c-word and I called that sh*t out and it didn't happen around me again,' Wyatt claimed. 'I did walk in on this incident in particular, so I have no doubt things were being said behind my back. I have too much experience to believe otherwise. And it is disappointing, but not at all surprising, to hear that five years later racism continues to be present in that workplace. But what can you say, we are in Australia.' Support: On Friday, Wyatt, 31, posted to Instagram, expressing his frustration that little had changed in the industry despite an outcry from Indigenous actors. The former TV host, 47, replied to to Wyatt's post in the comments. Rove is pictured Rove wrote: 'You don't need me to say it but for what little it is worth, this is so Incredibly well put. And just so it's is on record, I did nothing but laugh my a**e off when we first met' On Friday, the actor added a lengthy new post, writing in part: 'I'm sick of spoon feeding people. And I don't get to switch off, you aren't allowing me to. I gotta be on all the time because of f**king laziness. 'And I've been working in this industry for ten years and I am still not seeing a concerted effort across the board. There's still this pressure to be a 'good one'. Shut the f**k up and be happy with the bread crumbs. 'I am not a slave. I am not living in the house. I am not in the field. I'm free. I work my a**e off. But I feel like I'm not just doing my job, I'm doing yours too. 'No amount of money or fucking job opportunities take away from the mental and physical fucking labor that has to be put in for you to get it right... Is it Racist tax time yet? Because I got the biggest box receipts here waiting to burst out.' Claims: Aboriginal actor Wyatt, who was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016 playing Nate Kinski and Mason Turner, posted to Instagram multiple times in the past week to claim he 'experienced racism on set' It comes after Shareena Clanton came forward to make racism claims about her time on the hit soap. Clanton, 30, alleged producers fostered a toxic workplace environment and claimed the show was a 'culturally unsafe space' in a bombshell Instagram post on Tuesday. Among several complaints, Clanton accused a staff member of making crude remarks and claimed she heard the N-word used on set twice, prompting production company Fremantle to bring in an Indigenous consultancy firm to carry out a review. In a statement, Fremantle's Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor said 'all complaints are taken seriously and we are investigating all allegations fairly'. On Friday, the actor added a lengthy new post, writing in part: 'Is it Racist tax time yet? Because I got the biggest box receipts here waiting to burst out' 'Fremantle is committed to providing an environment where employees and others in the workplace are treated fairly and with respect, and are free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and bullying,' Mr Oliver-Taylor said. 'We do not tolerate behaviour that does not align to our Anti-Discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Harassment and Bullying Policy and take all complaints very seriously, investigating all allegations fairly and thoroughly.' Fremantle has asked Campfire X, creative leaders in Indigenous Cultural Protocols, to 'conduct an independent review of Neighbours and the production process'. Speaking: It comes after Shareena Clanton (pictured) came forward to make racism claims about her time on the hit soap Clanton, who has also starred on Wentworth, vowed to never work on Neighbours again after claiming her stint on Ramsay Street was marred by 'multiple racist traumas' which have required ongoing counselling. 'I'm struggling to post anything positive about the months I endured on Neighbours after multiple racist traumas and navigating ongoing counselling from this highly problematic show,' she wrote on Instagram. 'It's been lonely, triggering and traumatising to work in such a culturally unsafe space.' While she didn't name specific staff members, Clanton listed several 'racist' and problematic incidents she apparently witnessed during filming. She claimed: 'A (staff member) thought it funny and appropriate to openly laugh at the word 'c*m sl*t' by a cast member who loudly spoke about 'c*m', 'c*m', 'c*m' in front of other cast and crew. Anger: Clanton, who has also starred on Wentworth, vowed to never work on Neighbours again after claiming her stint on Ramsay Street was marred by 'multiple racist traumas' which have required ongoing counselling 'Due to my insistence of engaging a Wurundjeri Elder to be included for ongoing cultural safety reasons like cultural protocols followed and debriefing, I was told 'this is not a film production, Shareena' and that 'we simply don't have the budget'. 'The humble few hundred dollars a week Aunty and I proposed was in contrast to the thousands of dollars actors were receiving each pay. I paid Aunty directly out of my own income to make up for this lack of budget.' She continued: 'A senior staff member openly laughed whilst using the term 'slave driver' in reference to him 'working hard'. My management at the time didn't help as they endorsed/encouraged this 'office banter'. I fired the agent. 'Overt and covert levels of racism were rife, often disguised as 'jokes', like a white actress openly calling another actress of colour a 'lil' monkey'.' Clains: Fremantle Media has launched an independent review of Neighbours after the actress accused the show of racism in a lengthy Instagram post 'Twice I endured the N-word openly being used on-set and in the green room. I was even told to 'go somewhere else' by staff when confronting the actor directly because I was making others 'uncomfortable'. 'A white actress openly laughed at the racist N-word to only lie about laughing about it when questioned by HR. She said that I 'misconstrued' what she was 'laughing at' and that she was laughing at 'something else'. That is a blatant lie. 'The retaliation for calling out this misconduct and racism often left me ostracised and further marginalised. What was meant to (be an) HR follow-up (to) discuss this led to them saying they were unsure of 'what else they could do'.' On Saturday, Former Neighbours star Sharon Johal added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram Stories post revealing her mental health has been affected by the backlash. Speaking: Clanton (pictured) alleged that producers fostered a toxic workplace environment and that the show was a 'culturally unsafe space' She wrote: 'I can't pretend everything is 'normal' and keep going about my life like nothing has happened. This week has been purely and utterly mentally and emotionally exhausting. 'Whilst I'm supporting both publicly and privately, and even though there's much you don't know about my own personal trauma, I can't even imagine what they are going through. 'My own mental health is in the bin. I'm having to handle it. To preserve it I've also had to take a break from social media/online after seeing the vile vitriol and backlash out there much of which these brave souls have had to experience. 'Yet it's inescapable. It's everywhere. Indigenous Australians and people of colour/ diverse background don't 'get to' escape racism. We don't have that privilege'. Remarks: Among several complaints, Clanton (pictured) accused a staff member of making crude remarks and claimed she heard the N-word used on set twice Johal played Dipi Rebecchi on the soap between 2017 and 2021. Meanwhile, Clanton's guest appearance on Neighbours is set to air next week. A Freemantle spokesperson told TV Blackbox: 'Neighbours strives to be a platform for diversity and inclusion on-screen and off-screen. 'Our quest is always to continue to grow and develop in this area and we acknowledge that this is an evolving process. 'Shareena's involvement in the creative process and on set was invaluable and hugely educational and will benefit the series moving forward. Comment: On Saturday, Former Neighbours star Sharon Johal (pictured) added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram Stories post revealing her mental health has been affected by the backlash 'There have been significant and lengthy discussions with Shareena during her time on Neighbours and we will continue to work with all cast and crew to ensure Neighbours continues to be a fully inclusive environment.' Channel 10 recently held a traditional 'welcome to country' ceremony near the Neighbours set at Ten's Nunawading Studios, it was revealed on Saturday. Hosted by an Aboriginal Elder, the ceremony took place five weeks ago. 'We all stood together and everybody got involved. An elder made a speech, they lit the gum leaves, we all took part in having the smoke waft across us. We all took turns, then went back to work,' a source told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday. She wrote: 'It's inescapable. It's everywhere. Indigenous Australians and people of colour/ diverse background don't 'get to' escape racism. We don't have that privilege' 'We were told it was out of respect for the original landowners. It was a welcome to country ceremony like they do at the footy,' they continued. 'We all stopped work, and it went for half an hour. It was really good to learn about the history of the area,' the source added. A Welcome to and Acknowledgement of Country ceremony is held to show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional owners of the country. A 10 spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that the ceremony took place. [April 10, 2021] Valneva Announces Publication of 2020 Universal Registration Document and Provides Business Updates Saint-Herblain (France), April 10, 2021 Valneva SE (Valneva or the "Company), a specialty vaccine company focused on the development and commercialization of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need, announces today the publication of its 2020 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Financial Markets Authority on April 9, 2021 under the filing number D.21-0286. Valnevas 2020 Universal Registration Document notably includes the Companys 2020 Annual Financial Report, Management Board Report, the Supervisory Boards report on Corporate Governance including information on the conditions of preparation and organization of the Supervisory Boards work and on the internal control and risk management procedures, information on the amount of fees paid to the Statutory Auditors (as included in the Consolidated Financial Statements), as well as the Groups Corporate Social Responsibility Report. This 2020 Universal Registration Document also provides a presentation of the Companys preclinical programs and an enhanced description of the Companys material agreements. This document is available on the Companys corporate website ( https://valneva.com/investors/financial-reports/ ) and on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org). A hard copy of the document may be obtained from the Company, free of charge, upon request at the following address: 6 rue Alain Bombard, 44800 Saint-Herblain, France. Valneva also announces that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed the use of a surrogate marker to demonstrate the efficacy of its chikungunya vaccine candidate VLA1553 in the Companys ongoing Phase 3 trial, VLA1553-301. Surrogate endpoints are generally allowed for serious diseases or conditions where there is a significant unmet need. Enrollment for this Phase 3 trial is close to cmpletion. Valneva has publicly filed a form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States. This document refers to a potential public offering of shares in the United States, subject to the further approval of the SEC, and discloses what would be the potential use of proceeds in the event of the completion of such offering. The proceeds of the potential public offering would be used to fund further development of Valnevas vaccine candidates (VLA15 against Lyme disease, VLA1533 against chikungunya and VLA2001 against COVID-19) as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes. About Valneva SE Valneva is a specialty vaccine company focused on the development and commercialization of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need. Valneva has leveraged its expertise and capabilities both to successfully commercialize two vaccines and to rapidly advance a broad range of vaccine candidates into and through the clinic, including candidates against Lyme disease, the chikungunya virus and COVID-19. Valneva Investor and Media Contacts Laetitia Bachelot-Fontaine Global Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications M +33 (0)6 4516 7099 investors@valneva.com Dan Sharp Government & Public Affairs Manager T +44-(0)7436-244309 communications@valneva.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Valneva, including with respect to the progress, timing, results and completion of research, development and clinical trials for product candidates, the ability to manufacture, market, commercialize and achieve market acceptance for product candidates, the ability to protect intellectual property and operate the business without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others, estimates for future performance and estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing. In addition, even if the actual results or development of Valneva are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments of Valneva may not be sustained in the future. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "could," "should," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "aims," "targets," or similar words. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the current expectations of Valneva as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In particular, the expectations of Valneva could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in the development and manufacture of vaccines, unexpected clinical trial results, unexpected regulatory actions or delays, competition in general, currency fluctuations, the impact of the global and European credit crisis, and the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made during this presentation will in fact be realized. Valneva is providing the information in these materials as of this press release, and disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Attachment 2021_04_10_VLA_URD_Publication__Company_Updates_PR_EN_Final [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Advertisement Migrant parents have said they have no idea where their children have gone after crossing the border into America, as some are about to be housed as far away as Michigan due to the overwhelming number of arrivals. Moms and dads already settled in the US are being forced to deal with the agonizing weeks-long wait to hear any news of their children's whereabouts or wellbeing as the federal government struggles to cope with the influx of migrants crossing the border from Mexico into the US in recent months. Last month, almost 19,000 children made the journey alone, marking the highest monthly total in all of American history. Seven hotels in Texas and Arizona have already been contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to act as overflow facilities to help house children and families and the federal government is now also turning to facilities in Michigan and California for help. Migrant parents have said they have no idea where their children have gone after crossing the border into America. Pictured a mom with her children making the journey across the Rio Grande river from Mexico into the US Friday Hundreds of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador arrive into Roma, Texas, after crossing the Rio Grande river from Mexico Friday A raft carrying migrants across the Rio Grande Friday. Some unaccompanied children are about to be housed as far away as Michigan due to the overwhelming number of arrivals A border agent looks over the Rio Grande river as hundreds of migrants make the journey across the river into the US Several parents told the New York Times their unaccompanied children had gone for weeks without being able to contact their parents or family members since entering US custody. One concerned mother, Maria Ana Mendez, told how she moved from Honduras to upstate New York a decade ago, with her daughter Cindy set to join her now she is settled with a job and a home. Mendez said she had paid a guide $8,000 to bring Cindy into America as she herself is still undocumented, meaning she was unable to sponsor her daughter. Cindy contacted her three weeks later, telling her she had crossed the Rio Grande on a raft and was being held in the temporary migrant facility in Donna, Texas, her mom said. She told the Times her daughter said she was feeling unwell after being forced to sleep on the ground and not being able to shower for days. Mendez said she then grew increasingly concerned for her daughter's welfare as she heard no word from her for several weeks. The concerned mom repeatedly called a US government hotline to try to find out information about her daughter before sending a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement with the help of an immigration lawyer. 'I have no idea where my daughter is. No one is telling me anything at all,' she told the Times on March 26. Mendez finally received a phone call from Cindy on April 3, saying she had contracted COVID-19 and moved to a hospital in San Diego. 'How could they leave her alone in the hospital and not advise me?' Mendez said. Mendez flew out to San Diego and the mother and daughter were reunited soon after. Moms and dads already settled in the US are being forced to deal with the agonizing weeks-long wait to hear any news of their children's whereabouts or wellbeing. Pictured migrants clinging onto a raft as they cross the Rio Grande Young children and their parents stand on rocks as they make the crossing from Mexico into the US Friday A child is carried ashore in Roma, Texas Friday. The federal government is struggling to cope with the influx of migrants crossing the border from Mexico into the US in recent months A family reaches Roma after traveling across the Rio Grande by raft. Last month, almost 19,000 children made the journey alone, marking the highest monthly total in all of American history Another mother told the Times she was also anxiously waiting to hear news of her two young children, aged 6 and 9, after they were separated from an adult family member at the border in March. And, in Iowa City, a woman said was 'very worried' about her 16-year-old sister who crossed the border back on March 4. Juana Cuyuch Brito said she had completed paperwork to reunite with her sibling but recently found out the teen had been moved to Pennsylvania. 'I am very worried about her. I don't know why they transferred her or what is going on,' she told the outlet. Around half the unaccompanied children crossing the border into the US are said to be coming to reunite with parents or family members already living in the US. They have often been raised by other relatives in their home countries while their parents found work and set up new lives in America. But the sheer volume of children and families crossing in the months since Joe Biden took office has led to a bottleneck at custody centers with migrants penned in to facilities that are operating at up to 1,700 percent of their legal capacity. A Michigan nonprofit announced Friday that it will take in up to 240 unaccompanied migrant children after it received an urgent request from the federal government. A young child in Roma, Texas, after he was carried across the US-Mexico border. A Michigan nonprofit announced Friday that it will take in up to 240 unaccompanied children after it received an urgent request from the federal government A raft travels across the Rio Grande Friday night where thousands of migrants have made the journey into the US in recent months Hundreds of migrants wait to register their names with border agents upon their arrival into Roma, Texas Data released Thursday showed apprehensions of undocumented migrants on the US border with Mexico soared 70 percent in March to 172,331 - the highest level in 15 years Migrants wear masks as they wait to be taken to border patrol centers by US officials for processing Friday night Border agents reported that the number of unaccompanied children detained doubled in March from February to 18,890 Starr Commonwealth, a nonprofit specializing in residential programs and child behavioral health programs, said it is opening its Albion campus for children aged 12 and under. The children will stay in the facility's 17 cottages until they can be reunited with family members. The site is equipped with a gym, cafeteria and school buildings and will be cared for by bilingual caregivers with child welfare experience. Starr President and CEO Elizabeth Carey said in a statement that it was offering a 'refuge' for the children. 'For more than a century, our campus has served as a safe haven for children in need,' said Carey. 'We have again been called to open our hearts and our campus as a refuge this time to children arriving without parents or guardians at our southern border. Emergency shelters have also been set up in convention centers in San Diego with another California site in Long Beach expected to start taking in children soon. This week it emerged the ICE had reached deals with seven hotels in Texas and Arizona to house migrant families. ICE said it had the $86.9 million contract with Endeavors Inc. will provide about 1,200 hotel beds for families to stay up to around 72 hours while being processed. Around 600 migrants headed to four properties from Friday, with another 600 slated to move into three additional properties starting April 30. After taking office, Biden lifted the Remain in Mexico policy, which kept migrants south of the border while waiting for their hearings, effectively allowing migrants who have applied for asylum to cross into the US and begin legal proceedings. Data released Thursday shows the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is vastly higher in 2021 compared to 2020, which saw a decrease in crossings. Crossing have reached an all-time high under Biden He also narrowed the ICE's criteria for arrests and deportations and stopped the building of Trump's border wall. These moves have led to thousands of migrants entering America leaving the border's children's centers so full that kids are being forced to spend several days in cramped detention centers meant for adults and sparking a backlog and logistical nightmare in processing the new entrants. The Biden administration has been slammed for its handling of the issue as officials for weeks refused to admit it had reached crisis levels and repeatedly denied the media access to facilities. Biden has now put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the crisis but she has faced increasing criticism for not yet visiting the border 17 days into her being assigned responsibility. Biden is also yet to visit the border. Data released Thursday showed apprehensions of undocumented migrants on the US border with Mexico soared 70 percent in March to 172,331 - the highest level in 15 years. Border agents reported that the number of unaccompanied children detained doubled in March from February to 18,890. Around 16,500 are being housed in Department of Health and Human Services facilities while the other roughly 4,000 are stuck in CBP centers. The number of migrants showing up as part of families with small children jumped from under 20,000 in February to more than 53,000 in March. Migrants disembark a raft in Roma, Texas, after making the journey across the Rio Grande river to enter the US Friday The Biden administration has been slammed for its handling of the migrant crisis as officials for weeks refused to admit it had reached crisis levels and repeatedly denied the media access to detention facilities Biden has now put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the crisis but she has faced increasing criticism for not yet visiting the border 17 days into her being assigned responsibility The number of migrants showing up as part of families with small children jumped from under 20,000 in February to more than 53,000 in March NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that no lockdown will be imposed in the national capital despite a sudden surge in the COVID-19 cases. He, however, said that some more restrictions will be announced soon. The AAP chief said that there is a need to remove age criteria and scale up the Covid-19 vaccination process to curb the COVID surge. "If we have enough doses and the age bar is removed, we can vaccinate people within 2-3 months in Delhi. Currently, we have the vaccine for 7-10 days. We need to remove age criteria and scale-up vaccination. There will be no lockdown. New restrictions will be imposed soon," CM Kejriwal said. If we have enough doses & age bar is removed, we can vaccinate people within 2-3 months in Delhi. Currently, we've vaccine for 7-10 days. We need to remove age criteria & scale up vaccination. There'll be no lockdown. New restrictions will be imposed soon:Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/v8YfK1SUks ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2021 Amid the massive spike in Covid-19 cases, the Delhi government had on Friday ordered all government and private schools in the capital to shut till further orders. "Due to rising Covid-19 cases, all government and private schools and all classes will remain shut till further notice," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. The national capital reported 8,521 new Covid infections - the second-highest daily-spike since the onset of the pandemic -- and 39 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Delhi government`s health bulletin on Friday. The city had witnessed the highest single-day spike of 8,593 on November 11 last year. The daily positivity rate was reported at 7.79 per cent, while the cumulative positivity rate was registered at 4.6 per cent. At present, the active cases stand at 26,631, out of which 13,188 are in home isolation. On a positive note, 5,032 coronavirus infected people recovered, taking the total so far to 6,68,699. With 39 more deaths on Friday, the Covid-19 related death toll rose to 11,196. As many as 109,398 samples were tested -- 70,403 by RT-PCR and 38,995 through the Rapid Antigen Test. In a matter of concern, at least 20 doctors and six MBBS students at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) here have also tested positive for coronavirus, sources said. Several states and Union territories including Delhi have announced new restrictions such as night curfews amid a new wave of Covid-19 that has pushed infection numbers to record highs. In order to further curb the spread of the pandemic, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on April 6 imposed a night curfew in Delhi between 10 pm and 5 am till April 30. Live TV imposed a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) on Group Holding Ltd. after an anti-monopoly probe found that it had abused its dominant market position. The penalty is triple the previous high of almost $1 billion that Qualcomm Inc. had to pay in 2015. The fine is equivalent to 4% of Alibabas domestic sales in 2019, Chinas State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Saturday. will likely have to change some of its practices, like merchant exclusivity, that critics say helped it become Chinas largest e-commerce operation. The company founded by billionaire used its platform rules and technical methods like data and algorithms to maintain and strengthen its own market power and obtain improper competitive advantage, the investigation concluded. Alibabas practice of imposing a pick one from two choice on merchants shuts out and restricts competition in the domestic online retail market, according to the statement. The Hangzhou-based company will be required to implement comprehensive rectifications, including strengthening internal controls, upholding fair competition, and protecting businesses on its platform and consumers rights, the regulator said. It will be required to submit reports on self-regulation to the authority for three consecutive years. Chinas record fine on may lift the regulatory overhang that has weighed on the company since the start of an anti-monopoly probe in late December, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Vey-Sern Ling and Tiffany Tam said, describing the fine as a small price to pay to do away with that uncertainty. The company said it will host a conference call to discuss the penalty on Monday morning in Hong Kong. Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination. To serve its responsibility to society, Alibaba will operate in accordance with the law with utmost diligence, continue to strengthen its compliance systems and build on growth through innovation, the company said in a statement on Saturday. Alibaba has been under mounting pressure from Chinese authorities since Ma spoke out against Chinas regulatory approach to the finance sector in October. Those comments set in motion an unprecedented regulatory offensive, including scuttling plans for Mas Ant Group Co.s $35 billion initial public offering. Evangelist Franklin Graham expressed his appreciation towards Donald Trump on Friday, thanking the former president for his "sacrifice and service" to America. Graham praised former President Trump for declining to take a salary whilst in the White House, unlike other politicians who become significantly richer after a stint as a politician, particularly as U.S. President. "President Trump also dropped about $1 billion in wealth during those four years while he served," Graham wrote in a Facebook post, sharing a report. "Donald Trump became president not to make money or to put his hand in the till, but to do his best to preserve the great things about this nation for future generations. He put America first, not his own interests. I've never seen anyone work harder." Graham, who serves as the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization, linked to a report by USA Today that revealed how former President Trump's sacrifices and services to America caused him to jump down 300 spots on Forbes' billionaire rankings during his presidency. President Trump did not even take a salary when he was serving as presidenthe gave it all back. So many politicians... Posted by Franklin Graham on Friday, April 9, 2021 According to the report, former President Trump's wealth had decreased from $3.5 billion to $2.4 billion during the four years at the White House, from 2016 to 2020. The former President's sacrifices and services to America have pushed him down from the 1,001st place in Forbes magazine's new billionaire list down to 1,299th place today. According to Forbes, the ex-president had "refused to divest his assets upon taking office" and missed out on reinvesting in the market by selling out in 2017. If he had, he would have earned up to $1.6 billion more. Nonetheless, Trump still owns major real estate assets such as 6 East 57th Street and 40 Wall Street in New York, 555 California St. in San Francisco, Trump National Doral in Miami, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and Hotel Management & Licensing. Franklin Graham isn't the only one celebrating former President Trump's sacrifices and services to America, as many Republicans are flocking to Florida this weekend to entice donors for a 2024 election bid. According to Bloomberg, Republican contenders for the 2024 Presidential Elections are converging at the Republican National Committee donor retreat in Palm Beach hoping to gain future support. Former President Trump, who is looking to get re-elected in 2024, is also expected to speak on Saturday night at the RNC's annual spring donor retreat. On Thursday, he gave a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort, which was the venue for a fundraising meeting of the Conservative Partnership Institute, Senator Jim DeMint's nonprofit think tank that also employs former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Among the Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential elections are former Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, all of which will have a long way to go to prove themselves after former President Trump's sacrifices and services to America have majorly impacted the country. Tuolumne County Courthouse View Photos Sonora, CA With a new Tuolumne County Courthouse opening this summer, the board of supervisors must decide what to do with the existing court facilities in downtown Sonora. It will be discussed during a special meeting this coming Tuesday. CAO Tracie Riggs is recommending that the historic courthouse facility on Yaney Avenue be the new home for the Board of Supervisors, County Administration and the County Counsel. The IT department, which currently resides in a rented space that costs $150,000 annually, would then move over to the County Administration Building. The plan also calls for the District Attorneys office to move into the soon-to-be-vacated Washington Street courthouse facility. The existing DA building, located across from Sonora High, could then be sold to offset some remodeling costs associated with the move. The special meeting to discuss the proposal will be held at 9am on Tuesday. We reported earlier that the new courthouse is scheduled to open on June 28. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will attend a service at St Andrews Cathedral on Sunday as avowed Australian republicans and committed monarchists alike paid tribute to Prince Philip as a man of charm and candour whose long life was devoted to duty and service. The Duke of Edinburgh was also remembered by notable Australians as a man devoted to his wife, the Queen. Married for more than 70 years: the Queen and Prince Philip in 1977. Credit:PA Mr Morrison led tributes and offered the deepest sympathies of Australia to the royal family. Memories of him will of course tell stories of his candour, and a unique and forceful and authentic personality, he said. But above all, he was a man who was steadfast, who could be relied upon, always standing by his Queen. New York, NY, April 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (GTII:OTCQB) Global Tech Industries Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GTII) (GTII or the Company), www.gtii-us.com , a Nevada corporation announced on April 9, 2021, that the Company had engaged Alt5 Sigma, Inc. to provide the platform for creating NFTs for its upcoming art assets, as well as future assets requiring tokenization. During their discussions, both companies recognized that a unique synergy may exist between the two companies that warranted further exploration. Both sides believe that a corporate structure combining GTII and Alt5 Sigma could be extremely and mutually beneficial to both companies shareholders. As such, the parties have entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent to explore the options for such a business combination, and attempt to arrive at an agreement that is beneficial to both companies and their shareholders. David Reichman, CEO of GTII, commented We are moving quickly, but with purpose and intent, as we realize that the potential this kind of partnership represents is unique for GTII, utilizing Alt 5s platform and Ron Cavaliers expertise in the NFT world of digital art to further GTIIs business plan of introducing innovative technologies as well as realize value for our many long-term and loyal shareholders. Andre Beauchesne, Chairman of Alt5, said In our discussions with GTII regarding their NFT initiative and other long term strategic plans, it became clear to us that a unique synergy existed, and we agreed that some type of business combination between two companies could create opportunities for management and shareholders of both companies to benefit and accelerate the development of both companies long range goals. We look forward to working with GTIIs management to execute an agreement that will be mutually rewarding and continue to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. About Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.: GTII, 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. Words such as estimate, project, predict, will, would, should, could, may, might, anticipate, plan, intend, believe, expect, aim, goal, target, objective, likely or similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of this press release. Unless legally required, we undertake no obligation to update, modify or withdraw any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise. Highlights Google denied the rumours and in return announced that the Pixel 5a 5G will be launched this year. The anticipated Google Pixel smartphone will be launched in US and Japan. Apart from the Pixel 5a, Google is also expected to launch Pixel 6, Google Pixel 5a 5G is not cancelled, it is pretty much on its way for a release. A lot of Google Pixel fans were left heartbroken when a bevvy of reports claimed that Google has cancelled Pixel 5a 5G due to chip shortage. However, Google denied the rumours and in return announced that the Pixel 5a 5G will be launched this year. The anticipated Google Pixel smartphone will be launched in US and Japan. Reacting to the rumours, a Google spokesperson said, "Pixel 5a 5G is not cancelled. It will be available later this year in the U.S. and Japan and announced in line with when last year's a-series phone was introduced." Until now, Google had not made any official announcement about the Pixel 5a 5G. It was only after the rumours ran wild, Google grabbed the opportunity to announce its upcoming phone. Earlier, popular tech analyst Jon Prosser posted a series of tweets on Twitter claiming that the Pixel 5A had been cancelled due to chip shortages. The chip shortages that Prosser talked about is not entirely untrue because Google has limited the release to the U.S. and Japanese market initially, it may launch to other small areas but it has indeed been cancelled in the majority of countries. The smartphone may not arrive in India, but the company is yet to make an official announcement about its global launches. To refresh your memory, Google only released the Pixel 4a LTE in India but did not launch Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 due to various reasons. Similarly, Google might launch some other variant or a watered-down version of the Pixel 5a 5g in India but nothing has been confirmed as of now. Coming back to the highly-anticipated Pixel 5a 5G, Google in its statement said that the smartphone will be launched at the same time when last year's a-series phone was introduced. This could mean that Google is planning to launch the Pixel 5a somewhere between July and August, following the past trend. But the speculations are rife that the smartphone would be announced at this year's online-only Google I/O developer conference alongside the Pixel Buds A. Apart from the Pixel 5a, Google is also rumored to be working on Pixel 6, which it reportedly plans to launch this year. With Pixel 6, Google is expected to introduce its own processor which has been codenamed "Whitechapel". An alleged robber has challenged a Police Prosecutor over Attorney Generals advice in a case in which he and two others had robbed and raped their victims at gunpoint. Ismael Akyene aka Israel Nana Damascus told the Kaneshie District Court that he did not understand why he was arraigned at a Circuit Court in Accra and now moved the case before the District Court. According to Akyene, the Attorney General had given its advice on his case docket and challenged the Prosecution for forwarding the docket again to the AG for advice. Police Prosecutor Chief Inspector Simon Apiorsornu informed the District Court that accused persons were before it pending the committal proceedings and that the Police had also forwarded the case docket to the AGs office for advice. Chief Inspector Apiorsornu prayed the Court to read out the charges and facts because it was a committal case. According to him, the pleas of the accused be preserved. This did not go down well with Akyene and he raised questions about the AGs advice. My Lord, Please I was put before Circuit Court one and the Attorney General's advise was received. The District Court presided over by Ms. Ama Adomako Kwakye asked the accused what the advice was. Accused: The advice was that we are to be charged with robbery and rape. The District Court judge explained to the accused that because there were charges of rape, the Circuit Court did not have the jurisdiction to try the matter. According to the judge, the case ought to be put before the district court for committal, so they could stand trial at the High Court. Akyene is standing trial with Daniel Akpan aka Nseh and Asuquo Mbuotidem Edem aka Faith, on charges of conspiracy, thirteen counts of robbery and seven counts of rape. The matter has been adjourned to May 3. 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 UP govt orders probe into vaccine hotchpotch Shamli, Apr 9 (UNI) The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday ordered a probe into the administration of anti-rabies injection to three elderly women in place of COVID-19 vaccine jab. According to reports, the three women -- Saroj (70), a resident of Saravagyan area, Anarkali (72) and Satyavati (60), both residents of Railway Mandi area -- came for COVID-19 vaccination at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Kandhla town on Thursday, but Saroj started feeling dizziness after the vaccine shot. Her family members took her to a private doctor for check-up where it was found that she had been wrongly administered a Rabies vaccine. Later, the other two women also came to know through their OPD slips that they had been given anti-rabies jabs. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed Russia's aggravation of the security situation. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. During a phone call, Kuleba informed his French counterpart in detail about the latest actions of the Russian Federation aimed at destabilizing the security situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, the minister drew attention to the threatening build-up of Russias military presence along the Ukrainian border and the strengthening of Russian propaganda. The current escalation contains a threatening element that we have not seen before. We are talking about the numerous statements by Russian officials who almost every day openly threaten Ukraine with war and speak publicly about the destruction of our state. We regard them as recognition of aggressive intentions," Kuleba stressed. He assured that Ukraine does not want to be at war and remains committed to a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict. In turn, Le Drian noted that France is also watching with concern the build-up of Russian troops along the borders of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories. He assured of France's continued support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. At the same time, the French minister emphasized the balanced and wise actions of Ukraine in the current situation. In addition, Kuleba expressed his conviction that France is capable of revitalizing the Normandy format for a peaceful settlement. In this regard, Le Drian confirmed that the French side is interested in the Normandy format remaining effective and efficient. The interlocutors also discussed measures of bilateral political dialogue and promising economic projects between the two states. As Ukrinform reported, the Russian armed forces have recently been building up troops near the state border of Ukraine in the north, east and south, as well as in the occupied Crimea. In addition, the number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine by the armed formations of the Russian Federation has increased; there are losses among the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In parallel, the Russian Federation is conducting a propaganda campaign to justify possible aggression against Ukraine. On April 6, it also became known that, against the background of a buildup of troops to the Ukrainian border, Russia had begun a control check of the army's combat readiness. ish File photo If you're looking for a job, you might have a hit a home run because the San Antonio Missions hosting a job fair. The San Antonio Missions and their catering service, Diamond Creations, will host a job fair on Saturday, April 10 at Nelson Wolff Stadium. They will be accepting applications from from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for several hourly positions including concession stand attendants and cashiers, cooks, kitchen preparation staff, picnic area attendants, runners, plus suite and patio servers. Interested applicants must be at least 16 t0 18-years-old to serve alcohol. READ ALSO: California-based tech company bringing hundreds of jobs to San Antonio Those wishing to attend must bring two forms of ID, TABC certificate and Food Handlers Card ready when interviewing. Visit samissions.com to download an application and make sure you have it filled out before heading to the stadium. Australia-based Fortescue Metals Group, one of the worlds largest producers of iron ore, recently revised its emissions reduction goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 203010 years earlier than its previous target. Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortescue, will be a key enabler of this target through the development of green electricity, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects in Australia. We have joined the global battle to defeat climate change. We are trialing and demonstrating green hydrogen technologies in global-scale commercial environments, while also rapidly evolving into a green hydrogen and electricity producer of similar scale. Our aim is to provide the two missing links in the climate change battle, to create both the demand and the supply of green hydrogen. Due to its high energy performance and environmental neutrality, green hydrogen and direct green electricity has the potential to eliminate fossil fuels from supply chains. Once established, these advances will also substantially reduce Fortescues operating costs. Fortescues strong focus on green energy and our carbon neutrality targets will sit alongside our continuing excellence in, and commitment to, our iron ore business. While our green energy and industry initiatives may one day significantly outscale our iron ore business due to the global demand for renewable energy, our commitment to iron ore and resources globally remains indefeasible. Dr Andrew Forrest, Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue is seeking to move from being a major consumer of fossil fuel with a current trajectory of more than 1 billion liters a year of diesel being used across the operations if no remedial action is taken to a major clean and renewable energy exporter. FFI is advancing projects across Australia including Tasmania, to build large-scale renewable energy and green hydrogen production capacity. This will expedite the substitution of green hydrogen and green ammonia for carbon-based fuels. These projects will, with the support of Australias governments, contribute to a significant reduction in national carbon emissions. Fortescue is undertaking to deliver several key projects by the stretch target of 30 June 2021. These projects include: Developing a ship design powered by green ammonia and trialing that design in new ammonia engine technology, at scale; Testing large battery technology in haul trucks; Trialing hydrogen fuel cell power for drill rigs; Trialing technology on locomotives to run on green ammonia; and Conducting trials to use renewable energy in the Pilbara to convert iron ore to green iron at low temperatures, without coal. MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Mayor Anthony DiCicco has announced that Mayfield Heights is instituting a new diversity and inclusion initiative designed to promote the citys growing demographics. The initiative seeks to recognize demographic changes by enhancing awareness and collaboration between Mayfield Heights businesses, employees and residents with an expressed goal of creating opportunities for a growing number of individuals. The initiative will encourage diverse perspectives by recognizing, respecting and valuing differences within the workplace and community, according to a city release announcing the initiative. DiCicco said that there is an opportunity for all residents to capitalize in the growing city. I am happy to announce the city of Mayfield Heights created a new diversity and inclusion initiative to address and promote the growing, varied demographics of our community, DiCicco said. The initiative is meant to enhance awareness and increase collaborations between businesses, employees, and residents, by encouraging recognition, respect, and valuing of diverse perspectives in the workplace and community. This is a chance for area businesses to cater to new customers and to find new employees, DiCicco continued. And it provides an avenue of success for Mayfield Heights residents looking for work and partnerships. Its important for Mayfield Heights to celebrate and promote our growing diversity, and this initiative will go a long way to benefiting the community as a whole. According to US Census population estimates dated July 1, 2019, Mayfield Heights population is estimated at 79 percent white, 13.5 percent Black, and 4.5 percent of each Asian and Hispanic or Latino residents. It is estimated that 17.7 percent of Mayfield Heights approximately 18,500 residents are foreign born. Mayfield Heights Economic Operations Director Lorna Zeller has been chosen to lead the citys diversity initiative under the title of Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Zeller is the first Pacific Islander to hold a directors position in Mayfield Heights, and was the first female director to join the citys administration team when she was hired in 2010. Changing demographics and an emerging multigenerational workforce requires creativity and innovation towards the citys economic and operational efforts, stated Zeller, in the city release. We take pride in our partnerships to provide service excellence to our businesses and residents within Mayfield Heights. This initiative will strengthen our commitment to providing the most beneficial environment for our industries while increasing opportunities four our community. When asked for an example as to how the initiative could manifest itself, DiCicco said, in an email to cleveland.com, One of the first activations of this new initiative can be found in the (Mayfield Heights) Police Department during the month of April. The police department is proud to present an Autism Awareness Police Car. The purpose is to bring awareness to the cause, as well as foster a relationship with those with special needs who may be in a crisis. Many of our officers have recently completed crisis intervention training. MHPD Chief Fred Bittner issued a statement in which he noted that one in 54 children are diagnosed with autism, and that approximately one in five adolescents with autism will be stopped and questioned by a police officer before the age of 21. Further, individuals with disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), are five times more likely to be incarcerated, and civilian injuries and fatalities during police interactions are disproportionately common among this population. Encounters with police for those with autism can be made more difficult if an officer does not recognize the person with whom he is speaking is autistic. An officer can misinterpret an autistic persons failure to make eye contact or to appropriately answer questions or follow simple commands. Mayfield Heights police had a vehicle decorated for World Autism Month, observed each year in April. In an effort to promote inclusion, Bittner stated, we decided to implement an autism police car for the month of April (World Autism Month). We obtained sponsorships from Allstate Insurance and SpeedPro Imaging. Our sponsors covered the entire cost of the project. A specially decorated police vehicle can be seen this month patrolling the streets of Mayfield Heights. See more Sun Messenger news here. Yesterday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple and Epic Games have Filed "Findings of Fact & Conclusion of Law" Documents with the Court Prior to the May 3, 2021 Trial." Apple's 310 page document laid out their position. The Apple legal team and CEO Tim Cook are likely preparing for the trial where Cook is to be grilled for up to 2 hours and 10 minutes. The last thing that Apple and team want to do is attend a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on "competiton issues" related to their App Store prior to the trial in May. Negative grilling by the Senators would give Epic possible ammunition for the trial. The Senators should have known better than to put Apple in a tough position time wise prior to the trial with Epic Games. Apple apparently doesn't even want to respond to the letter, should something be misinterpreted in a bad light. With that context in mind, it's now being reported by Reuters that "Apple Inc is refusing to testify at an upcoming U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on competition issues related to mobile app stores, the bipartisan leaders of the panel said on Friday. They added that Google had agreed to testify at the subcommittee hearing, a spokeswoman for Klobuchar said. App makers long have accused Apples App Store for iPhones and iPads, along with Googles Play store for Android devices, of engaging in anticompetitive behavior by requiring certain revenue sharing payments and setting strict inclusion rules. A subcommittee hearing was being planned for late April but no date has been set yet. Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Mike Lee, a Republican, said they wrote to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Friday urging the company to reconsider. The letter said: "A little more than two weeks before the planned hearing, Apple abruptly declared that it would not provide any witness. Apples sudden change in course to refuse to provide a witness to testify...is unacceptable." For more on this, read the full Reuters report. High profile Senate hearings usually turn into a media circus with Senators on both sides of the aisle trying to score points to make headlines. The subcommittee should have understood the situation that Apple is in at present and try to work with them on a timeline after a verdict is rendered in the Epic Games v. Apple trial. If they're already playing up the drama, one could only imagine what would happen at the hearing. As many as 8,521 people were found to have contracted the disease (Covid-19) in on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 706,526, while the number of active cases stands at 26,630, the health bulletin said. This is the second highest single-day spike since the pandemic began. On November 11, had reported 8,593 cases, the highest till date for the city. Amidst the massive spike, the government on Friday ordered the closure of all schools till further orders. Due to rising covid-19 cases, all government and private schools and all the classes will remain shut till further notice," chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has taken several measures to tackle the Covid-19 situation in the national capital. Here's what is permitted and what's restricted in Delhi amid Covid surge Night curfew Night curfew has been imposed in Delhi from 10 pm to 5 am since April 6 and will be effective till April 30. No person will be allowed to board the Delhi metro or DTC after 10 pm. Only essential services are exempted from this. They too, have to carry valid identification papers to prove their credentials as essential service providers. Masks mandatory Everyone has to wear a mask in public places for their own safety, which includes wearing a mask while driving alone in a private vehicle. Interstate/intrastate movement There is no restriction on the interstate and intrastate movement/transportation of essential/non-essential goods. No special permission or e-pass required for the same. Travelling to Delhi? Those arriving in the national capital from Covid-hit states like Maharashtra, Karnataka might have to undergo random testing. Besides, the Kejriwal government has made the Aarogya Setu app mandatory. One can exit the airport immediately after sample collection, but they need to undergo mandatory 7-day home quarantine post arrival. In case their result comes positive, they can continue home quarantine or move to a hospital. Funerals, weddings In closed spaces, a maximum of 50 per cent of the hall capacity will be allowed, with a ceiling of 100 persons. In open spaces, numbers will be allowed keeping the size of the ground/ space in view with a ceiling of 200 persons subject to strict observance of wearing of face masks, maintaining social distancing, provision for thermal scanning and use of hand wash or sanitizer Earlier, the state government had set the maximum number of people allowed to attend a wedding ceremony in a closed space at 200 while there was no limit for open spaces wedding celebrations. No more than 50 people can gather at funeral-related events in the national capital. The new orders will remain in place till April 30. Bond Set for TN Ex-Firefighter Charged With Arson By West Kentucky Star Staff DRESDEN - Bond has been set for a former Dresden firefighter accused of setting fire to a Weakley County church on Easter Sunday.KYTN reported that bond was set at $50,000 for 25-year-old Codie Austin Clark, of Sharon, who is charged with one count of aggravated arson and three counts of arson.Clark was arrested Wednesday after TBI agents and the Weakley County Sheriffs Department determined he was the individual responsible for setting fire to the New Salem Presbyterian Church.The Dresden Fire Department had already been conducting an internal investigation involving Clark after a series of recent fires in the area.At Thursdays bond hearing, Weakley County General Sessions Judge Tommy Moore, who is also a Dresden firefighter, recused himself from the case.Hearing the case will be Gibson County General Sessions Judge Mark Agee, who set Clarks bond at $50,000 on the condition that he will undergo a mental health evaluation.A preliminary hearing is set for July 9th in the Weakley County Jail Courtroom. On the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, near the checkpoints Zhibek Zholy and Gisht Kuprik, the construction of the Central Asia International Center for Trade and Economic Cooperation began today. It was launched by the prime ministers of the two countries, Askar Mamin and Abdulla Aripov, - they took part in the ceremony of laying the capsule at the site of the future centre. The total area of the center will be 400 hectares, and its capacity will be 35 000 people and 5 000 trucks per day in both directions. It is expected that Central Asia ICTEC will become a large industrial, trade and logistics platform for the implementation of joint investment projects of the two republics. "The most promising areas of industrial cooperation are the processing sector, agro-industrial complex and light industry," the press service of the government of Kazakhstan noted, Sputnik Uzbekistan reports. It is expected that Central Asia ICTEC will become a large industrial, trade and logistics platform for the implementation of joint investment projects of the two republics. The governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are going to ensure that the level of trade between the countries reaches $ 10 bln, and the new project will help achieve this goal, Askar Mamin said at the ceremony. The Kazakh side also expressed interest in opening three wholesale distribution centres in the Surkhandarya and Fergana regions of Uzbekistan with a total investment of $ 22.5 mln and a transhipment capacity of 67 000 tons per year. They could form a single commodity distribution system between the republics. During the talks, the heads of government of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan discussed the implementation of joint projects in the automotive industry, processing of agricultural products, as well as the construction of a high-speed railway Turkestan-Shymkent-Tashkent. Following the talks, Mamin and Aripov signed an action plan for organizing the activities of Central Asia ICTPP, as well as a protocol on joint actions to develop railway transport. She split from her TOWIE co-star James Lock and relocated to Dubai in February. And Yazmin Oukhellou looked stunning as she flaunted her taut abs and eye-popping cleavage in a sizzling bikini snap on Saturday. The former reality star, 26, threw shade at her haters from the United Arab Emirates and told her followers: 'People who are intimidated by you talk bad about you in hopes that others wont find you so appealing' Beach babe: Yazmin Oukhellou looked stunning as she flaunted her taut abs in a sizzling bikini snap from Dubai on Saturday Yazmin wowed her followers as she showed off her incredible physique in a muted blue bikini. Glammed up for her trip to the pool, Yazmin looked flawless as she donned a full face of make-up, including fake eye lashes. She accessorized the swimwear with a pair of subtle gold bangles, diamond stud earrings and a chunky watch. And the recent expat swept her chestnut tresses up into a sleek ponytail, which she clutched the end of as she worked her angles for the camera. The post comes after the Essex native recently embarked on a new career in Dubai, following the breakdown of her relationship with James. Relocation relocation: Yazmin left her reality TV career behind two months ago to become a real estate mogul in Dubai Yazmin turned her back on the new series of The Only Way Is Essex because she 'wants to pursue a career in real estate in the United Arab Emirates'. A spokesperson for TOWIE told The Sun: 'Yaz has decided to stay in Dubai to pursue a career in real estate so she won't be starting this series of The Only Way is Essex. 'We support this decision and wish her well in this new venture. As with other cast, the door remains open should she return to Essex.' Yazmin has posted a number of Instagram posts of her new job, working for real estate brokers Property Hawk, in the office and out on viewings with clients. Fresh start: The Essex native recently embarked on a new career in Dubai, following the breakdown of her relationship with ex James Lock in February Dubai is on the UK's red list of countries, meaning if Yazmin had decided to return home to star in the next series, she would have to pay 1,750 for a mandatory, 10-day quarantine at a government-mandated hotel. Yaz made the fresh start after the beginning of her trip to Dubai was marred by the breakdown of her relationship with co-star James. The TOWIE couple mutually agreed to cut ties after their relationship turned toxic in February, with James flying home and Yazmin staying in the UAE. A source previously revealed to MailOnline: 'James and Yazmin haven't been in a good place for a while now and living together in Dubai only put further strain on their relationship. Syracuse, N. Y. Terry Riley has a sense of what will happen Wednesday when he opens his North Side bar/restaurant for the first time in 13 months. Its going to be horrible, he said. There will be crying, and hugging. People will say Weve missed you. More crying. More hugging. It will just be horrible. I dont think I can stand it. If youve ever met Terry Riley, you know thats his way of saying: All our friends are going to be back. Its gonna be great! Rileys, at 312 Park St. reopens Wednesday for the first time since it closed under the initial Covid-19 shutdown order on March 16, 2020. For now, it will be open for dinner only Wednesday through Saturday nights. Rileys occupies a spot not far from Schiller Park that has been a tavern/saloon/bar since at least 1898. Terry Riley bought it and named it for himself in 1979. Hes still sees it as a neighborhood bar with restaurant, rather than the other way around. Either way, there are decades worth of loyal customers eager to come back. I cant tell you how many people Ive heard from in the last 13 months, Riley said. Ever since March last year, when the (stuff) hit. Riley remembers that day well. For one thing, it was day before St. Patricks Day. Also, he was hanging out with his friends at Jake Hafners Tavern in North Syracuse. And were there and it comes down, he said. We have to shut down. And none of us knew what that meant. Nobody knew it would be this long. Riley's Restaurant, 312 Park St., Syracuse.Don Cazentre No mingling? No Rileys The initial shutdown in March 2020 closed dining rooms (and outdoor patios), allowing restaurants the option to do takeout/delivery only. Many owners did just that. Not Terry Riley. We are a place where people come to mingle, he said. No mingling? No Rileys. By early summer, the states guidelines began to allow for limited reopening, with mask and distancing, and limit of 50% capacity. Rileys stayed closed. The main reason? Unemployment, Riley said. At the time, laid off workers got $600 supplements to their unemployment checks. We like to take care of our employees, Riley said. At the time, they were doing well with the checks. And everyone could stay home and be safe. So we just let that be. Riley spent most of the summer at his camp in the Thousand Islands, returning about once a week to get the mail and pay the bills. Yes, some bills kept coming even when the place was shut down. He applied for an got a federal Payroll Protection Plan loan, and that helped. But it came with a little catch: Theres no need to repay the loan as long as the money went to pay employees. Since that wasnt happening at Rileys, he has to pay that back (though its only about 1% interest for five years). So we can live with that, he said. It all worked out. Fall came and more and more restaurants started to reopen. Rileys stayed shut. We always knew we were going to come back, he said. We just werent sure when. Then came what Riley calls the rollercoaster of the winter. He was glad he didnt get on. Places opened, then many were forced to deal with stricter requirements under the states color-coded zone system. The city of Syracuse was initially in a yellow zone, with a limit of four people to table, then in November went into the orange zone, which prohibited all indoor dining. The zones werent lifted until late January, and the pre-existing restrictions are still in place, including distancing and capacity limits. And then there was the statewide bar curfew 10 p.m. starting in November, and relaxed a bit, until 11 p.m., in February. Its still in place. So it was a lot of do this, dont do that, " Riley said. So we waited again. Streamlined and ready For much of the past year, a sign hanging outside Rileys has assured customers that the restaurant/bar would be back. Terry Riley initially thought it might be March. But he first wanted to make sure his staff was ready. And there was work to do. Riley and his kitchen manager, Spike Sienczak, have been working to clean, restore and restock the place. Beer and food delivery trucks have been unloading at the corner of Park Street and Whitwell Drive for the past few days. And there have been surprises: When they tried to restart the coolers, they discovered they needed to replace a compressor, at a cost of $2,400. Im glad I didnt have to do that more than once, Riley said. To meet Covid requirements, theyve also added large partitions to the booths in the dining room (so they can keep all six open), and have moveable plexiglass barriers that can be placed between parties at the bar. They will come close to the current 75% capacity limit. The menu, at least for now, will be more streamlined than in the past. There will be one featured soup and salad for each day, and a limited number of chicken, steak and seafood entrees (including the fish and chips). Gone are the the famed Irish fries. I was getting a little tired of those anyway. Riley said. Were going to make sure that we can handle what were putting on the menu. Like other bars and restaurants in Central New York, Rileys is discovering that its hard to find kitchen and dining room staff. It will probably open with about eight people. Now, Riley awaits the crowds. even if there will be crying and hugging. We always said we would reopen, he said. And now we are. Just like we said. Booths have been fitted with taller partitions at Riley's, 312 Park St.. It reopens April 14.Don Cazentre Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook. Members of the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute in the grounds of Cardiff Castle, to mark the death of Prince Philip, in Cardiff, on Apr. 10, 2021. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP) UKs Prince Philip Honored With 41-gun Salutes After Death LONDONMilitary teams across the U.K. and on ships at sea fired 41-gun salutes Saturday to mark the death of Prince Philip, honoring the former naval officer and husband of Queen Elizabeth II who they considered one of their own. Batteries in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfastthe capitals of the four nations that make up the United Kingdomas well as other cities around the UK and the Mediterranean outpost of Gibraltar fired the volleys at one-minute intervals beginning at mid-day. Ships including HMS Montrose, a frigate patrolling the Persian Gulf, offered their own salutes. Members of the Honourable Artillery Company fire a 41-round gun salute from the wharf at the Tower of London, to mark the death of Prince Philip, in London, on Apr. 10, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) Philip, who was also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died Friday at Windsor Castle, two months before his 100th birthday. The Duke of Edinburgh served among us during the Second World War, and he remained devoted to the Royal Navy and the Armed Forces as a whole, Gen. Nick Carter, chief of the defense staff, said in a statement. A life well-lived. His Royal Highness leaves us with a legacy of indomitable spirit, steadfastness and an unshakable sense of duty. Members of the Commonwealth, a group of 54 countries headed by the monarch, were also invited to honor Philip. The Australian Defense Force began its salute at 5 p.m. local time outside Parliament House in Canberra, and New Zealand planned to offer its own tribute on Sunday. Philip joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1939 and once had a promising military career. In 1941, he was honored for his service during the battle of Cape Matapan off the coast of Greece, when his control of searchlights aboard the HMS Valiant allowed the battleship to pinpoint enemy vessels in the dark. Philip rose to the rank of commander before he retired from active duty. Two years after the war ended, Philip married Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey when she was 21 and he was 26. Philips naval career came to an abrupt end when King George VI died in 1952 and his wife became queen. At the queens coronation in 1953, Philip swore to be his wifes liege man of life and limb and settled into a life supporting the monarch. The couple had four childrenCharles, the heir to the throne, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Before he retired from official duties in 2017, the prince carried out more than 22,000 solo public engagements and supported over 780 organizations, including the Duke of Edinburghs Award for young people. Members of the public continued to honor Philips life of service on Saturday, leaving flowers outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle despite appeals from authorities and the royal family to refrain from gathering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. By Danica Kirka Farmers and commission agents in Amritsar on Saturday went on strike against the Centre's direct benefit transfer scheme, alleging that if implemented it will destroy farmers. "We have staged a strike supporting farmers who have been protesting for the last few months. If the Centre's direct benefit transfer scheme is implemented, it will destroy farmers," General Secretary of the Majdoor Union, told ANI. Farmers' markets in the state wore a deserted look as commission agents and farmers staged the protest, despite the state government's announcement of the start of procurement of produce. Food and Supplies Minister, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, in Ludhiana, meanwhile, said, "Commission agents have called off their strike over direct benefit transfer to farmers. The procurement process will be started now at Rajpura mandi. The farmers will get payments in their accounts." Earlier this week, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had flayed the Central government for "encroaching upon the rights of the states in its bid to dominate them," while castigating it a one-sided decision to forcibly impose the farm laws and the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on the state's farming community. States never faced such problems earlier, the Chief Minister said, slamming the government for attempting to "destroy the existing relations and systems in the name of so-called reforms, which they were trying to impose without taking the stakeholders into confidence. (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.) And Still She Climbs Amanda Gorman has the #1 book in the country with The Hill We Climb, a bound edition of the poem she read at President Bidens January 20 inauguration; Oprah Winfrey contributed the foreword. Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, has two more books on the way, both slated for September: the collection The Hill We Climb and Other Poems and her debut picture book, Change Sings: A Childrens Anthem, illustrated by Otis creator Loren Long. Shes So Money Financial educator Tiffany Aliche, who goes by the moniker the Budgetnista (473K Instagram followers), debuts at #4 in hardcover nonfiction with Get Good with Money. Aliches can-do attitude makes this an excellent primer for anyone looking to improve their financial picture, PWs review said, praising her for offering practical, spirited advice while addressing the emotional side of money. Aliche, a former preschool teacher in Newark, N.J., cowrote a bill, later made law, that mandates financial education in all New Jersey middle schools. In Clubland GMA and BuzzFeed April book club pick Of Women and Salt, Gabriela Garcias dexterous debut (per PWs review) chronicling the travails of a Cuban immigrant family, lands at #19 on our hardcover fiction list. The jumps across time and place can occasionally dampen the various threads emotional impact, the review continued, but by the end they form an impressive, tightly braided whole. Garcias online tour schedule included an April 1 event with New York Citys Word Up Community Bookstore, in conversation with Roxane Gay; forthcoming appearances include the Junior League of Richmond (Va.)s 76th annual book and author event. NEW & NOTABLE EVERYBODY FIGHTS Kim and Penn Holderness #8 Hardcover Nonfiction The couple, who achieved fame when their 2013 Xmas Jammies holiday video went viral, make a reassuring debut, our review said, with a book of marital advice. The engaging tools and conversation-based exercises for couples will provide a great starting point for strengthening communication. THE BEAUTY OF LIVING TWICE Sharon Stone #12 Hardcover Nonfiction The actor revisits her small-town Pennsylvania youth, where strict kitchen-sink Irish parents and incidents of abuse failed to crush her spirit or her subsequent roles as ambitious student, celebrity, sex symbol, philanthropist, and adoptive single mother, our review said. The books mix of moxie and vulnerability conveys a life well lived, and well examined. What do you do during a pandemic when its a struggle to film Reality TV? Make a documentary about it, which is kind of ironic given most observers feel the genre emerged from Documentaries in the first place. In For Real: The Story of Reality TV presenter Andy Cohen casts his eye over American reality television but the results are closer to 20 to One clips with allied commentary, rather than considered critique. The timeline begins unexpectedly with an I Love Lucy episode in which Lucy gave birth to Little Ricky, an art-imitates-life event which mirrored Balls own birth to Desi Arnaz Jr. America was gripped by the synergy, which enables Cohen to segue into Celebrity Reality stars for Episode 1. MTV, long considered the pioneers of American reality with Road Rules (1995, its kept for Episode 2 here), features heavily with MTV Cribs (2000) a series in which rock stars gave camera access to their homes. Its success spawned The Osbournes (2002) and the crazy, unfiltered family of Ozzy, Sharon, Jack & Kelly. Producers recall having no blueprint to follow in capturing a rockstar at home, nor the dangers of contradicting his stage image -yet their authenticity led to a runaway hit. Others would follow: Surviving Nugent (2003), Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (2003) and Gene Simmons Family Jewels (2006). The Anna Nicole Show (2002) starred a frank ex-Playmate Anna Nicole Smith as Americas Guiltiest Pleasure, largely capturing her downfall. But Smith died in 2007 of an an accidental drug overdose. While Cohen asks Did reality TV accelerate her decline? theres far too little time addressing an important question. The Simple Life (2003), by the documentarys same producers Bunim-Murray, was another hit with friends Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie thrust into a faux-Green Acres premise, as rich girls on the farm. Hiltons sex tape, it turns out, hit the news but didnt hurt the show Other series featured in Episode 1 include The Girls Next Door (2005), with cameras at the Playboy mansion, and the arrival of Kendra Wilkinson, who proved so successful she landed her own shows. While Wilkinson bared her life warts and all, including her marriage failing, it is noted vulnerability is what people connect with. Danny Bonaduce turned it on for cameras in Breaking Bonaduce (2005), desperate to up the ante by suggesting he jump out of a moving car (do not attempt at home). But its Keeping up the Kardashians (2007), produced by Bunim-Murray with Ryan Seacrest productions, that perfected the Celebrity Reality show and built a business empire. Cohen gets a sit down interview to discuss their audition tape and how much editorial input they have. The family known as being famous for being famous insist their legacy will be family over everything. Given the balance of the episode favours E!s own Kardashians I think I can work out what this series is really for. a tease for their final season. Yet they have also signed a deal with Disney, so are not about to disappear anyway. Further episodes will explore The Real World, The Bachelor, American Idol, Survivor and more. Unless this manages to devote more time to the manipulation, morality and ramifications of the genre, youll probably learn more from an episode of UnREAL. For Real: The Story of Reality TV screens 8:30pm Thursdays on E! Related The conflict in Donbas must be settled by political and diplomatic means, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran said. "Ukraine is set on a civilized way to return its temporarily occupied territories. At the same time, there can be no compromises in defending Ukraine's interests," Taran said in a statement released on Saturday. The events of the past two weeks show that it is necessary to increase joint efforts of the military and diplomats both in Ukraine and on the international arena, the minister said. "First of all, it concerns the strengthening of the sanctions pressure against the Russian Federation, closer cooperation in the exchange of intelligence, in particular in the Black Sea region, as well as concerted actions of our diplomats on all international platforms," Taran said. The most efficient mechanism of informing Moscow about the international community's stance on Ukraine would be accelerating "the implementation of the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit decision on our way to membership in the Alliance," he said. The first priority of the Ukrainian political leadership is acquiring the NATO Membership Action Plan this year, Taran said. "Euro-Atlantic integration is the key to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both Ukraine and NATO will benefit from such a decision," he said. At the same time, Taran suggested that "the true goals of the Russian Federation's increase in the military presence near the border of Ukraine [..] might be to increase pressure on Ukraine to force concessions in the negotiation process." He said he believes that "the strategic goal of the Russian Federation remains the return of Ukraine under Russian control and disruption of our Euro-Atlantic development. " Police and medical experts delivered withering testimony against Derek Chauvin in the second week of trial for the white former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd by kneeling on the Black man's neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin listened impassively as the experts testified that he used inappropriate "deadly force" in subduing the handcuffed 46-year-old, in violation of police procedures. - Police chief Medaria Arradondo - The chief of Minneapolis police said Monday that his former subordinate had violated the department's training and its "values" in kneeling on a "prone, handcuffed individual." Kneeling on Floyd's neck could have been reasonable during the "first few seconds" of his May 25, 2020 arrest but it should have ended quickly, he said. "Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped," said Arradondo, 54, the first Black police chief in Minneapolis. "That in no way, shape or form is anything that is by policy," he said. "It is not part of our training and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values." - Jody Stiger, use-of-force specialist - A Los Angeles police officer who is a use-of-force specialist, Stiger said Wednesday that Chauvin's actions were "deadly force" because Floyd was prone, handcuffed and not resisting. "An officer is only allowed to use a level of force that is proportional to the seriousness of the crime, or the level of resistance," he said. Floyd had been accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill in a nearby store. Stiger acknowledged that Floyd was initially resisting arrest, but that once he was subdued on the ground "my opinion was no force should have been used once he was in that position." Police practice for the past 20 years has been to put handcuffed suspects on their side or in a seated position, he testified. Story continues - Martin Tobin, respiratory doctor - The pulmonologist detailed the final moments of Floyd's life on Thursday. Floyd died from "a low level of oxygen," Tobin told the nine-woman, five-man jury, providing commentary as a graphic video of what he said was the moment of Floyd's death was shown to the panel. "You can see his eyes, he's conscious, and then you see that he isn't," he said. "One second he's alive and one second he is no longer. "That's the moment the life goes out of his body." The low oxygen "caused damage to his brain," Tobin said, and arrhythmia -- an irregular heartbeat -- which "caused his heart to stop." Tobin dismissed defense claims that pre-existing medical conditions may have contributed to Floyd's death, along with the impact of illegal drugs methamphetamine and fentanyl. "A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died," he said. - Andrew Baker, medical examiner - Baker, the chief medical examiner for Minnesota's Hennepin County who conducted the autopsy on Floyd, told the jury that the cause of death was "restraint and neck compression" while being subdued by police. He noted that Floyd -- who had heart disease -- had scuffled with the officers arresting him before being handcuffed and placed face down on the ground. "Those events are going to cause stress hormones to pour out into your body, specifically things like adrenaline," he said. "And what that adrenaline is going to do is it's going to ask your heart to beat faster. "It's going to ask your body for more oxygen so that you can get through that altercation," he said. "And in my opinion, the law enforcement subdual, restraint and the neck compression was just more than Mr. Floyd could take by virtue of those heart conditions." He denied an assertion by Chauvin's lawyer that Floyd's heart disease and drug use should be blamed for his death. cyj/acb/gle The southern border is in chaos, governors in the region are pleading for help and Bidens Border Csar, Roberta Johnson, a three decade State Department employee, just bailed out. Thats because they have no answers and the activist media will tell us little. Moving migrant children in unmarked vans into buildings shrouded with black tarps and then not answering questions doesnt indicate transparency. It has all the indications of a covert operation. Were local officials notified of this? Shelby County school board members recently asked a lot of questions of a group planning to turn one of their unused schools into a shelter for migrant children and the group withdrew their request. So much for transparency there. Tennessee and each county have rigid rules for housing and care of children when there are no custodial parents. There are also health department regulations protecting the safety and welfare of the children as well as the rest of us. All of these rules are monitored by state and local officials. Remember the bluster by Democrats over the Trump team dealing with the surge of children? Right now we know almost nothing of what is happening in Highland Park. We do know without a conservative news service breaking the story we wouldnt know anything. We also know the feds are tossing around millions of dollars in grants for dealing with migrant children. Progressives never met a regulation they didnt like when it comes to us. When they are in control those regulations mean nothing without full transparency. Dont expect it from the Biden team or the national news. They will just resign and blame it all on Trump. Ralph Miller ISLE OF PALMS Years after Scouts BSA announced it would begin welcoming girls into the organization, a number of female Scout troops are shaping up in the Lowcountry. Isle of Palms, Mount Pleasant, Summerville and Daniel Island are home to troops that enable girls to learn outdoor skills in an organization that had for years been reserved for boys, according to local Scout leaders. "Im very excited about that," said Theola Oltmann, scoutmaster for Troop 502G. "I think its a great opportunity for any female youth." Formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, the nationwide organization that focuses on youth development and leadership training began allowing families to sign sons and daughters up for Cub Scouts (ages 5 to 10) in 2018. It came after years of receiving requests from families to allow girls into the organization. Troop 502G, which meets at First United Methodist Church on Isle of Palms, is a girls troop that formed in 2019 around the time when the national organization began admitting both genders into the program. Oltmann helped start the group, which is for youths ages 11 to 17. Oltmann had two sons in Boy Scouts at the time and wanted to help establish a girls unit that her daughter, and other girls in the Charleston area, could join. The most challenging part was spreading word about the new group, she said. But the longstanding reputation of Boys Scouts helped. "Everybody knows Boys Scouts," she said. "You tell them it's exactly the same program. It's just for the girls.'" The female group is a separate unit from the boys Troop 502, though the two are "link troops" that meet at the same location and share resources, Oltmann said. Today, the girls troop has 11 Scouts who go camping, canoeing, hiking and sailing. Activities at scenic sites have included a camping trip at Hunting Island in Beaufort County. They are also preparing to go sailing with Sea Base, a Florida-based Scouting program. Allison Thomson, 13, has been part of Troop 502 for a year. She was formerly a Girl Scout and said she joined BSA Scouts because it offered more opportunities to go camping. Like many young girls, Thomson watched as her brother often left home with their father for outdoor festivities in what used to be a boys-only group. Sign up for the Charleston Hot Sheet Get a weekly list of tips on pop-ups, last minute tickets and little-known experiences hand-selected by our newsroom in your inbox each Thursday. Email Sign Up! Thomson said the BSA made the right decision by admitting girls. "I feel like it was really good step toward gender inclusion," she said. She added the male Troop 502 group has been supportive. "The boys Ive met have been really welcoming," she said. Thomson said she has enjoyed shooting rifles and playing Frisbee. Pitching a tent, tying knots, and applying first aid are among the skills she's learned. She now feels the time has come for the Girl Scouts, an all-female youth entity, to alter its rules. Its kind of on the Girl Scouts to include the boys," she said. Oltmann said Scouts BSA provides something for all girls, including those more interested in academics or sports. One important factor, though, is it helps develop young leaders. "I really do feel that weve grown quite a bit in the last two years," she said. One main difference between Girl Scouts and former all-male group is the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in Scouts BSA. The mark is of such significance that adults highlight it on their resumes, said Tony Rennell, assistant scoutmaster for Troop 502G. Thirty-, 40- and 50-year-old men are putting on their resume they are an Eagle Scout," he said. "These girls now have an opportunity to do those things and achieve that goal. The group has seen large amount of community support that included a recent $2,000 donation from the Lowcountry chapter of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association. The funds will be used to purchase camping gear. Raising money for the group was challenging early on. But community support has enabled Troop 502G to continue providing opportunities for girls to hone their leadership skills, Oltmann said. Parnell Palme McGuinness rightly warns against zealotry that may put off the political middle ground when it comes to the advancement of women (Beware working with the zealots, April 4). On the other hand we need to maintain the rage if women are to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. The revelations of the past month are an opportunity for progress that must not be squandered by petty bickering. Andrew Macintosh, Cromer I agree with McGuinness that we should beware working with zealots if we want to effect political and social change. That is why we cannot afford to listen to climate denialists, or those who believe we can still afford to mine and export coal. The writing is on the wall. Anne OHara, Wanniassa (ACT) Lets remember its zealots like the suffragettes who won women the vote. The real problem for feminism now is that its been co-opted by neoliberalism with its focus on individual achievement for middle-class women and ensnaring working-class women in low-paying, casualised work. In the meantime, the gap between male and female wages has grown in Australia, sexual abuse and domestic violence have flourished, rapidly increasing numbers of elderly women are sinking into poverty, and girls have become caught up in an online culture that values selfies more than whats happening in their minds. Women in conservative politics have collaborated in creating this world; the sisterly Twitterhood is an expression of frustration and rage at the situation. As always, its the activists who will bring about change. Miranda Korzy, Clareville Amnesty International Ghana (AI Ghana) has urged the government to institute sufficient measures to protect the rights of women and children. The global human rights body said the inhuman treatment meted out to women in several instances leading to their deaths called for stringent measures to protect their rights. Mentioning the death of Madam Akua Denteh, the 90-year-old woman who was lynched to death last year and spousal abuse leading to the killing of some women in Ghana, it said, pointed to the need for government to strengthen institutions mandated to uphold the rights of women. Mr Samuel Agbotsey, Campaign and Fundraising Manager of Amnesty International Ghana, made the call in an interview with the GNA during a ceremony to launch the annual reports on human rights of Amnesty International for 2020/2021, at Oyoko in the New Juaben North municipality. Mr Frank Doyi, Acting Director of Amnesty International Ghana who presented a summary of the report noted that existing inequalities had left marginalized communities, refugees, older people and women disproportionately affected by the covid-19 pandemic with gender-based violence worsening the situation, especially in the Africa region. He said the report showed a marked increase in Gender-based and domestic violence with many women facing increased barriers to protection and support as a result of restrictions on freedom of movement due to the pandemic. According to the AI report, 21 women and children were killed by intimate partners in South Africa by mid-June, over 3,600 rape cases were recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria whiles in CAR 60 cases of conflict-related sexual violence including; rape, forced marriage and sexual slavery all between June and October 2020. The situation, he said raised a huge barrier to human rights and dignity of women everywhere and that Ghana was not an exception. The human rights report is an annual report documented by Amnesty International to raise awareness on infractions of human rights the world over. 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 KABUL, Afghanistan He attends international conferences, meets with diplomats, recently inaugurated a dam and delivers patriotic speeches vowing to defend his country against the Taliban. But how much control President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan has over his imperiled countrys future and his own has become a matter of debate among politicians, analysts and citizens. Or rather, the question has been largely resolved: not much. From most vantage points, Mr. Ghani well qualified for his job and deeply credentialed, with Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, Columbia, the World Bank and the United Nations in his background is thoroughly isolated. A serious author with a first-class intellect, he is dependent on the counsel of a handful, unwilling to even watch television news, those who know him say, and losing allies fast. That spells trouble for a country where a hard-line Islamist insurgency has the upper hand militarily, where nearly half the population faces hunger at crisis levels, according to the United Nations, where the overwhelming balance of government money comes from abroad and where weak governance and widespread corruption are endemic. by Vladimir Rozanskij Demonstrations in several cities after the kidnapping and killing of Aizada Kanatbekova, 26. The kidnapper, Zamirbek Tenizbaev, 36, wanted to marry her. He had already been convicted several times for violence. Some policemen are suspected of being involved in the kidnapping. The fight against marital abductions". Moscow (AsiaNews) - Demonstrations against violence against women took place in Bishkek and Osa on 8 April, following the kidnapping and killing of a young woman, with calls for the resignation of the interior minister. The announcement of the Bishkek procession states: The whole city is shocked by the story of the kidnapping and murder of the young woman Aizada Kanatbekova. The kidnapping took place early in the morning in the city center. The police had the surveillance video recorded, the license plate number and the car brand of the kidnappers, but they did nothing to save the girl. If you agree that all of this is unacceptable we invite you to come with us to demonstrate against violence ". Aizada, 26 (right in the photo), was kidnapped on April 5. She had just lost her father and lived alone with her mother, Nazgul Shakenova. She graduated from the Turkish-Kyrgyz University of Manas was a national volleyball player a human rights activist and she volunteered during the pandemic. She was much loved by those who knew her, she dreamed of buying a house for her mother, and had no desire to get married; her friends say that she loved her life, and she hurried to live it. Her attacker, the 36-year-old Zamirbek Tenizbaev (left in the photo), had already been convicted several times for violence. He had returned from Russia to Kyrgyzstan in 2017, and was a transporter, living on the street and sleeping in a car rented from a relative. At 7 am on April 5, Zamirbek attacked Aizada with the help of four people on her way to work. The kidnapper communicated with the relatives, saying that he could not live without Aizada, whom he had been bothering for weeks now. On 7 April a shepherd found a car with Aizadas body, she had been suffocated with a T-shirt, and that of Zamirbek, who committed suicide after suffering numerous knife wounds. The tragic affair had a particular resonance due to the inertia of the police, which further aggravated the scandal of the crime. It would seem that some policemen were involved in the kidnapping "for the purpose of marriage": some policemen would have warned Aizada's relatives to "prepare to meet her boyfriend, because Aizada must get married". At the police station, only the "theft of a car" was initially recorded, which was later backdated to kidnapping after the outbreak of the scandal. The demonstrations revealed popular the indignation at the medieval oppression of women with the people demanding the resignation of Minister Ulan Nijazbekov, accused of covering up the policemen involved in the affair. The crowd are calling for judicial sanctions against the practice of "matrimonial abduction" to be tightened, in Kyrgyz ala kachuu, and Prime Minister Ulubek Maripov, in office since the elections in February, has promised to review the laws in this regard. The population is also demanding the arrest of all the other participants in the kidnapping, condemning them for complicity in murder. Police arrested four suspects. Aizada Kanatbekova was buried in the hometown of Balykcy. She had a ticket in her pocket to Istanbul, where she was to start working to buy a house for her mother. Now her name has become the beginning of the redemption of Kyrgyz women from the arrogance of males. ADVERTISEMENT Mahmud Tukur, a former Minister of Commerce and Industry and the First Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano (BUK), who died in Abuja, on Friday, after a brief illness, has been buried in Yola, according to Islamic rites. The late Tukur, who was born in 1939 in Yola, Adamawa State, Northeastern Nigeria, obtained his First Degree in International Affairs and Political science from the University of Wales, a Masters in Public International Affairs from the university of Pittsburg, USA and a PhD in Public Management from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. During the course of his academic career, he was the Director of the Institute of Administration, A.B.U., Zaria, and later the first Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano (BUK). In his other career as a public servant, he served on the Adebo and Udoji National Wage Reviews and the Constitution Drafting Committee of 1976, member of the National Constitutional Conference 1994/1995 and of the Vision 2010 Committee 1997. In 1984, he was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry in the military regime of Muhammadu Buhari. Until his death, he was the Chairman, Fukarabe Industries Limited, Director of Cadbury, Nigeria plc, and the coordinator of Policy Analysis Limited. In his lifetime, he authored and co-authored many books and academic works, prominent among his books is: Leadership and governance in Nigeria : The Relevance of Values ( 1999). The late Tukur is survived by three wives, nine children and many grandchildren, as well as brothers and sisters. Prominent among his brothers is Bamanga Tukur, the former Governor of defunct Gongola State, one-time Minister of Industries, and former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). (NAN) On the other hand, in American retail, what real choice is there? In his excellent new book, Fulfillment, the journalist Alec MacGillis examines American inequality and economic desperation through the lens of Amazons growth and rapid domination. The company almost seems to personify economic imbalances. Its founder is the richest man alive; its workers are mainly refugees from an industrial economy decimated by globalization; and while its customer base has become quite broad, it is a favored shopping destination for the wealthy. Yet MacGilliss account also makes clear that the problem of Amazon is far bigger than Amazon. Amazons retail competitors are not much better guardians of American labor; a lot of them are obviously worse. Remember that Walmart was destroying local economies long before Amazon came along, and according to an analysis of data from 11 states, more of Walmarts workers in those states rely on public assistance to make ends meet. Dollar General, the discount chain that is one of Americas fastest-growing retailers, might have just as shameful a record on worker safety and comfort. Workers at Whole Foods, Amazons grocery subsidiary, seem to have fared pretty much the same during the pandemic as those at Kroger, Walmart and other food giants. The larger point is that Amazon is less the cause of American inequality than it is a consequence. Amazon is what you get when a country has systematically devalued workers and labor organizations to the benefit of billionaires. Amazon is what you get when a country has decided to import so many of its physical goods from abroad. And Amazon is what you get when states and cities compete with one another to lavish huge tax breaks upon corporations that pledge to create local jobs, without setting any requirements that they be good, safe, high-paying jobs. Consider, for instance, how Americas longtime negligence on worker safety opened the door to Amazons injurious warehouses. Workers say that the most punishing thing about working at Amazon is the repetitiveness and relentlessness of the work. The human body was not designed to do the same motion over and over and over again for hours, Tyler Hamilton, an Amazon warehouse employee in Shakopee, Minn., told me. Thats what robots do. Yet there is little in American law that prevents companies from treating workers like robots. Deborah Berkowitz, a former chief of staff of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that sets standards for worker safety, told me that injuries in Amazons warehouses are mostly ergonomic the results of forceful exertions, repetitive motions, twisting, bending and awkward postures, according to a 2019 report published by a coalition of labor advocates. But OSHA cant do much about ergonomics. In 2001, the agency was specifically prevented by Congress and President George W. Bush from setting standards on ergonomics. Bush argued the rule would have been too costly to employers. That wasnt the only time worker safety was brushed aside by the federal government. David Michaels, who ran OSHA during the Obama administration, told me that the agencys basic model doesnt work. OSHA, Michaels said, is disastrously underfunded and understaffed, leaving it unable to inspect and enforce standards across the economy. It is also very slow, putting it far behind workplaces that are changing as quickly as Amazons. For example, the agency began working on a rule about crystalline silica a dust produced in the manufacture of glass and other materials that can cause respiratory illnesses in 1997. The rule was not finalized until 2016. Why is it important for you to highlight the theme of Blackness and womanhood? A lot of what I do starts from me as a person, from my identity. Im thinking about looking at everything through the lens of healing. Im trying to address these very often traumatic subject matters in my work, but I want to think about healing and pain. My work is addressing that reciprocity of love in the Black community and especially with what Ive experienced with other Black women in my life who have really been so pivotal in forming my identity and the person that I am today. My work is like a love letter to all of those women and just creating space for us to be us. Walk us through your exhibition at the Claire Oliver Gallery. What will viewers be seeing? The pieces that I made for the exhibition are three different series. I have five from a series called Love Letter and these works are large, more silhouetted pieces with a lot of pattern and color. The Love Letter is expressing my love toward my friends and my family in my life and other Black women. Through the pandemic and also just throughout my life, Ive just felt an overwhelming amount of support from my family and my friends. I wanted to create this work to extend my gratitude and thanks to them. For me, Im thinking through my work as an idea of visiting. So the work itself mainly is not necessarily the pieces that Im making, but that act of thinking about how weve cultivated love and care between one another, and these pieces are a tribute to that. The next set of pieces are called Pretty Pretty. Thats also five larger pieces and those works for me are the highlight of personal style and thinking about personal style as a form of resistance. Some people feel so good when they put on an outfit, and I wanted to capture that moment of empowerment. I asked some of the women in my life to choose their favorite outfits to wear or something that makes them feel amazing, and to catalog and document that moment in time and then be able to have the energy be shared with the viewer. Finally, the last group of pieces are called New Growth thinking about and focusing on the idea of hair care in the Black community. Hair care as love and just celebrating the beauty and uniqueness of Black hair and the way that we have made it into art. Tech giant Google said it has blocked several terms associated with hate speech from being used as ad keywords on YouTube videos. According to The Verge, the move follows a report by The Markup, which found that advertisers could search for terms like "white lives matter" and "white power" when deciding where to place ads on YouTube. At the same time, the report found, Google was blocking advertisers from using terms such as "Black Lives Matter" to find videos and channels to run ads against. After The Markup reached out to YouTube parent company Google for comment, it said the company actually blocked more racial and social justice terms, including "Black excellence" and "civil rights." "We take the issue of hate and harassment very seriously and condemn it in the strongest terms possible," The Verge quoted a Google spokesperson as saying. "Though no ads ever ran against this content on YouTube, because our multi-layered enforcement strategy worked during this investigation, we fully acknowledge that the terms identified are offensive and harmful and should not have been searchable. Our teams have addressed the issue and blocked terms that violate our enforcement policies. We will continue to be vigilant in this regard," the spokesperson added. YouTube said it has several layers of protection in place to prevent offensive or harmful ads from running on its platform, and that it regularly removes videos containing hate speech. Last year, the company said it blocked or removed more than 867 million ads for trying to evade its detection systems and more than 3 billion bad ads in total. In 2019, it banned white supremacist content, and the company said it would restrict channels from monetizing videos that "repeatedly brush up against our hate speech policies," preventing them from running ads. PHILADELPHIA, April 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania State Senator Sharif Street (PA-3), Vice-Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, today announced the formation of his exploratory committee for the United States Senate. More than 100 leaders from across Pennsylvania joined him in person and virtually. The event was live streamed on Senator Street's Facebook page and can be seen here . "I will get votes in rural Pennsylvania and energize urban Pennsylvania," said Street. "We will engage Pennsylvanians in all counties and build out an agenda driven by communities. A movement by the people, for the people will move this Commonwealth forward." Current members on the exploratory committee represent over 100 leaders from 24 counties: Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Centre, Chester, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Greene, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Westmoreland, and York. A full list can be found at www.streetforpa.com/exploratory-committee . The exploratory committee members represent diverse communities across the Commonwealth who spoke to Senator Street's leadership. Street's approach will engage Pennsylvanians in their own communities across the Commonwealth to build a winning agenda. Exploratory committee leaders described Street's leadership on issues from investing in education and making healthcare more accessible to reforming our criminal justice system and creating jobs building infrastructure and clean energy. Congressman Evans described Street as "a citizen senator" who understands the need to focus on the things that uplift and unite Pennsylvanians. "The diversity of Pennsylvania will require a kind of leadership to bring people together, focus on the issues and make a difference. If anyone in this race has that ability in both the rural and urban communities, it is Sharif Street. He has demonstrated this as a state senator. He has been a uniter of communities and across the aisle. We need Senator Street in the United State Senate." PA Senate Democratic Majority Leader Jay Costa (PA-43) described Street's fight for civil and voting rights, "Sharif Street has led the fight to protect free and fair elections in Pennsylvania from the courts to the halls of Harrisburg. That record is why I appointed him to serve as Democratic Chair of both the Senate State Government Committee and the Special Committee on Election Integrity & Reform." "In Senator Street, Pennsylvania will find a citizen senator, an ambassador who will unite us around the issues," said Councilmember Maria Quinones-Sanchez. "He has traveled the Commonwealth to engage communities and have common conversations. We need to have a common conversation with the people of this Commonwealth, who need someone who will listen to them, unites us and moves us forward." Other Featured speakers included: Fmr. Congressman Bob Brady (PA-1), Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee (PA-1), Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Philadelphia Councilmember Cindy Bass, DNC Member and Philadelphia Ward Leader Lancaster Councilmember Janet Diaz LiUNA Local 57 President Estaban Vera, Jr. Former House Majority Leader Todd Eachus (HD-116) (HD-116) Peggy Grove , Philanthropist, Activist, and Business Owner , Philanthropist, Activist, and Business Owner Valeria Kean-Staab , Crawford County Democrats Chair , Democrats Chair Bobby Harris , Criminal Justice Advocate , Criminal Justice Advocate Rev. Maxcine Collier , Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity , Black Clergy of and Vicinity Rev. Robert Collier , President of Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity Media Contact: Gianni Hill 717-386-2256 [email protected] SOURCE Sharif Street for U.S. Senate Related Links http://www.streetforpa.com/exploratory-committee EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021 A Systemic Global Crisis Only Has a Systemic Global Solution: New Paradigm, or War? April 9 , 2021 (EIRNS)It is quite possible that the terrible complex of crises which now stare humanity squarely in the facethe dramatically escalating flashpoint of war in Ukraine, the race to vaccinate billions of people against COVID-19, the terrible famine threatening to kill millions of people in the immediate months, the growing risk of blowout of the financial systemwill mark the onset of a new, deep dark age. However, unless, like the finally deceased Prince Philip, you believe that we are mere animals, a completely different fate is equally possibleif we have the moral will to change course. While ideological troglodytes in the U.S. and Europe play a very risky and failed game in aiming for regime change in Russia and Chinaone which Helga Zepp-LaRouche stated is the stuff of world warsthose nations, along with most of the rest of the world, have made quite clear that the era of geopolitics and empire can no longer pretend to meet the needs of a growing humanityincluding those humans who reside in the United States. Russia and China, and India, in particular, are pushing back very publicly against the dangerous actions of NATO and Western actors, both on the stage of strategic conflict and economic warfare. At her press briefing on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called out the role of outside actors in stoking conflict in Ukraine, stating frankly, All this is happening at the prompting of Kievs Western sponsors, with overt public support. A widely covered article by the China Society for Human Rights denounces the hypocrisy of U.S. accusation against China of human rights abuses by documenting the humanitarian disasters caused by the U.S. in its aggressive wars, concluding The world needs human rights defenders, but the U.S. is not qualified to act as such. Indian officials have made quite clear that developed countries like the U.S. and European countries have no right to stop developing countries like India and African nations from building their nations to modern standard because of net-zero carbon targets. The World Food Programs director David Beasley similarly pointed to the moral bankruptcy of a system in which in 2020, a new billionaire was created every 17 hours. And all I need is $5 billion to help the 270 million people worldwide who are on the brink of starvation. In this spirit, the Schiller Institutes Committee for the Coincidence of Opposites has officially announced a pilot project which will deliver medical supplies, food aid and seeds to Mozambique, one of the poorest and youngest nations in Africa, to demonstrate that we can mitigate tragic circumstances, and inspire the large-scale response needed. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, in her weekly strategic webcast of April 7th, identified the root cause of these various crises: Not that there are no known solutions to the war, the famine, the pandemic, but that neither in the United States nor in Europe, [is] the political establishment willing to reflect on why their policies are failing. Rather than change the policy, they say: OK, lets go for an escalation of the confrontation against Russia and China, and that will lead to a potential disaster. She said, It comes back to the question that we need a paradigm shift, where we correct those neoliberal policies which have created the condition for the pandemic to arise in the first place, and ... it would require governments to change their policies ... and say, We go for industrialization of the Global South, because thats the only way we can eliminate the conditions which make pandemics possible. And its a moral question! ... It would be so easy to change this! ... We could start to build ports, to build railways, to build cities. It could be done! And it would be the motor for Europe and the United States to pull ourselves out of the present economic crisis on top of it. Changes in history dont happen; they are made by those with the moral courage, and will, to break from past thinking and choose a more truthful course. If you agree, then join our fight. Vietnam has for the first time released a list of sectors which foreign investors are restricted or banned from accessing. The list was issued along with Government Decree No 31/2021/ND-CP dated March 26, 2021. The list specifies 25 business lines prohibited for foreign investors, including trading in goods and services subject to State monopoly; press activities and information gathering in any form; fishing; judicial administration services; temporary import for re-export activities; and tourism services, except for inbound tourism services for international visitors. Meanwhile, there are 59 business lines where market access for foreign investors is conditional, for example the production and distribution of cultural products, including visual recordings; the production, distribution, and broadcasting of TV programmes and music, stage performances, and motion picture works; postal and telecoms services; educational services; the exploration, extraction, and processing of natural resources, minerals, and oil and gas; hydropower, offshore wind power, and nuclear energy; and gambling and the casino business, among others. The release of the list of restricted sector was a daunting effort, as it was quite complex and time-consuming to identify business lines restricted to foreign investors in accordance with Vietnams international commitments, according to Tran Thi Thanh Huyen, a lawyer from NHQuang and Associates. Investors can make a decision only if they know what they are allowed to do and under what conditions, she said. Foreign investors are treated as domestic investors in terms of market entry conditions when investing in business lines that do not fall within either of the two lists. The decree took effect on the date of issuance./. VNA The First Sea Lord has paid tribute to Royal Navy veteran Prince Philip, highlighting praise he received for his 'bravery and enterprise' during the Battle of Cape Matapan in the Second World War. The Duke of Edinburgh was a midshipman aboard HMS Valiant off the southern coast of Greece when he earned his honourable citation. A young naval officer, he was praised for his actions in the decisive Battle of Cape Matapan against the Italian fleet in March 1941. Philip had been in control of the searchlights as the ship battled an Italian cruiser when he spotted an unexpected second enemy vessel nearby. He survived unscathed amid his shattered lights as enemy cannon shell ripped into his position. His commanding officer said: 'Thanks to his alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8in gun Italian cruisers.' Shortly afterwards, he was awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour. Today, the Navy's most senior officer, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin added to the tributes to Philip. The Duke of Edinburgh, who has died at the age of 99, joined the Royal Navy in 1939 the year the Second World War broke out - when he was still a teenager. By 1942, he had risen to the rank of first lieutenant after bravely fighting in the Battle of Crete and the conflict at Cape Matapan. Left: Philip in 1946. Right: Philip in 1945, when he was serving on HMS Valiant Today, the Navy's most senior officer, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin added to the tributes to Philip The First Sea Lord's poignant tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, released in a statement today Philip's key role in the Battle of Cape Matapan The Battle of Cape Matapan was a naval conflict which took place between British Empire and Axis forces on the south-western coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece in March 1941. The Fleet's brilliant commander, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, boldly decided to engage the Italian fleet at night, a tactic with which he knew the Italians were unfamiliar. Philip's role was to operate Valiant's midship searchlight which, as he recorded later, 'picked out the enemy cruiser and lit her up as if it were broad daylight'. Before long, one target was blazing, and he trained the light on a second, focusing on its bridge at such close quarters 'that the light did not illuminate the whole ship'. Broadsides were fired and, 'when the enemy had completely vanished in clouds of smoke and steam, we ceased firing and switched the light off'. In the fierce engagement in the dark, three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers were sunk and its one battleship severely damaged. The Italian Navy's morale never fully recovered from this substantial defeat in the war. Admiral Cunningham, in mentioning Philip in despatches, praised his skill with the searchlight. Valiant's captain had reported that 'the successful and continuous illumination of the enemy greatly contributed to the devastating results achieved in the gun action', and 'thanks to his (Philip's) alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8in-gun Italian cruisers'. Philip is said to have later 'just shrugged' when congratulated by his mother, Alice, and told her: 'It was as near murder as anything could be in wartime. The cruisers just burst into tremendous sheets of flame.' The morning after the battle Philip counted 40 rafts containing survivors and noted 'there must have been a good many empty ones as well'. Advertisement In a statement released on Saturday morning, he said: 'His Royal Highness served the Royal Navy with distinction during wartime, mentioned in dispatches for 'bravery and enterprise' during the Battle of Cape Matapan. 'He met the then Princess Elizabeth for the first time during his training at Britannia Royal Naval College, and since her accession to the throne remained and enduring friend and supporter of the Royal Navy with a deep understanding of our ethos and values. 'Serving as Lord High Admiral of the Fleet and Captain General Royal Marines he involved himself in every aspect of the Royal Navy, through official visits, patronage and association with naval charities and clubs. 'His humour and generosity of spirit generated great affection amongst the countless sailors and marines he met each year. 'His genuine empathy, affinity and engagement with the Royal Navy resonated with us all. He will be deeply missed.' The battle in the Mediterranean, south-west of Greece, took part in March 1941, when Philip was just 20 years old. The Fleet's brilliant commander, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, boldly decided to engage the Italian fleet at night, a tactic with which he knew the Italians were unfamiliar. Philip's role was to operate Valiant's midship searchlight which, as he recorded later, 'picked out the enemy cruiser and lit her up as if it were broad daylight'. Before long, one target was blazing, and he trained the light on a second, focusing on its bridge at such close quarters 'that the light did not illuminate the whole ship'. Broadsides were fired and, 'when the enemy had completely vanished in clouds of smoke and steam, we ceased firing and switched the light off'. In the fierce engagement in the dark, three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers were sunk and its one battleship severely damaged. The Italian Navy's morale never fully recovered from this substantial defeat in the war. Admiral Cunningham, in mentioning Philip in despatches, praised his skill with the searchlight. Valiant's captain had reported that 'the successful and continuous illumination of the enemy greatly contributed to the devastating results achieved in the gun action', and 'thanks to his (Philip's) alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8in-gun Italian cruisers'. Philip is said to have later 'just shrugged' when congratulated by his mother, Alice, and told her: 'It was as near murder as anything could be in wartime. The cruisers just burst into tremendous sheets of flame.' The morning after the battle Philip counted 40 rafts containing survivors and noted 'there must have been a good many empty ones as well'. While serving on HMS Whelp, the future Queen's consort was even there in Tokyo Bay to witness the historic surrender of Japanese forces in September 1945. Pictured: Philip (front row, second from left) with his fellow officers on HMS Whelp It was after leaving Gordonstoun school that Philip joined the Royal Navy. His training began at Britannia Royal Naval College, in Dartmouth, in May 1939 three months before Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. Pictured: HMS Whelp, which Prince Philip served on The then Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, working at his desk after returning to his Royal Navy duties at the Petty Officers Training Centre in Corsham, Wiltshire, August 1st 1947 Philip (fifth from left, front row) at the Royal Navy Petty Officer's School in Corsham, Wiltshire, in 1947. Philip distinguished himself in his service in the Second World War While serving as First Lieutenant on HMS Whelp, Philip was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the surrender agreement with Allied forces. Speaking in 1995, Philip said: 'Being in Tokyo Bay with the surrender ceremony taking place on a battleship which was what? 200 yards away. You could see what was going on with a pair of binoculars' The duke later spoke of how he coped when his shipmates died or were wounded. 'It was part of the fortunes of war,' he said. 'We didn't have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun, you know asking 'Are you all right are you sure you don't have a ghastly problem?' You just got on with it.' At the age of 21, Philip was one of the youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be made First Lieutenant and second-in-command of a ship the destroyer escort HMS Wallace of the Rosyth Escort Force. In July 1943, Wallace was dispatched to the Mediterranean and provided cover for the Canadian beachhead of the Allied landings in Sicily. Philip also served as First Lieutenant on the destroyer HMS Whelp in the Pacific, where he helped to rescue two airmen in 1945. The men's Avenger bomber crashed into the ocean during the Allies' Operation Meridian II against the Japanese. The duke, who was 23 at the time, sent the battleship to the spot where the plane had gone down. The bomber had flooded and rough seas were preventing the men from getting into their dinghy. Philip, who first spoke publicly about the incident in 2006 for a BBC Radio 4 documentary, remarked in a typically matter-of-fact manner: 'It was routine. If you found somebody in the sea, you go and pick them up. End of story, so to speak.' He alerted the sick bay, arranged for hot food to be waiting for them and found new uniforms for the airmen. The men had no idea who their rescuer actually was until they were told he kept a picture of Princess Elizabeth in his cabin. The royal wedding took place just two years later. Meanwhile, a former naval chief revealed today how Philip once suggested raids on smuggling ships in the Caribbean would only raise the prices of drugs in London. Sir Mark Stanhope, who was First Sea Lord from 2009 to 2013, remembered the duke as an 'extremely talented sailor' who could have risen to the top of the Navy. Instead, Sir Mark said the duke was 'never shy' in telling first sea lords where he thought they were failing. 'I remember one particular conversation I had where I raised the success at the time of Royal Navy warships interdicting drugs smugglers in the Caribbean where the drugs captured were ultimately destined for the streets of London,' Sir Mark told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'His instant response to me then was really quite challenging. He countered the then policy of such interdiction saying it simply raised the price of drugs on the streets of London and had no long lasting effect. He had a point indeed. 'He remained pretty unconvinced I think from my arguments and with his usual wry smile said we better move on to better things. I was delighted to seek calmer seas. To this day I'm not sure whether he was winding me up or not.' Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and lift all sanctions against Tehran. "Iran proposes logical path to full JCPOA compliance: the US, which caused this crisis, should return to full compliance first," Zarif wrote in a tweet on Friday. The remarks by Zarif followed the meeting of diplomatic representatives of parties to the deal, including Iran, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany, in Vienna on Friday with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda, reports Xinhua news agency. "Iran will reciprocate following rapid verification" of the US compliance measures, Zarif said. The Iranian foreign minister also urged the removal of all US sanctions against Iran, which according to him were "anti-JCPOA". On Tuesday, the senior diplomats held the first round of their meetings to discuss the current stand-off in the JCPOA implementation in Vienna. Under the deal, Tehran agreed in 2015 to roll back parts of its nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. The US under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran. The US and Iran are at a stalemate over reviving the nuclear deal. US President Joe Biden's administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, Washington would do the same. But Iran insisted that its compliance would only take place once US sanctions are removed. --IANS ksk/ (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 summit of a Massachusetts mountain with a literary connection is being renamed, along with one of its trails, after outcry from Native American groups that call the area home. Indian Monument Trail is being renamed the Mohican Monument Trail, and Squaw Peak, a summit of Monument Mountain, is now Peeskawso Peak, according to a Friday announcement from the Trustees of Reservations, a conservation group that oversees the land. The conservation nonprofit said it made the changes after more than a year of collaboration with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans. Being able to rename these areas in our homelands is a great honor but also an opportunity to take back our history and to right a wrong, said Heather Bruegl, the director of cultural affairs for the Stockbridge Munsee Community. The trustees are also working to reframe the areas history to honor the Indigenous people who call it home. New signs are being installed this month to support that effort. In the past, the conservation group has focused on the mountains significance as a source of inspiration to 19th-century novelists and poets. The writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville met for the first time at a picnic hike up Monument Mountain, and their conversation is believed to have given Melville inspiration for his 1851 novel Moby-Dick. Brian Cruey, a regional director for the trustees, thanked the Stockbridge Munsee Community for helping us set the record straight. Making our properties more inclusive and accessible so all of our visitors feel welcome is at the heart of our mission, and we realize that entails listening, learning and making changes, he said. VIENNA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. promise on lifting unilateral sanctions must be put into action immediately, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Friday, after a meeting with other senior diplomats concerning the Iran nuclear deal. "Regarding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, China and the parties concerned clearly expressed their concerns at the meeting, and it must be lifted immediately," Wang told Xinhua after the talks on the resumption of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the United States and Iran. Wang said that "such sanctions problems were all caused by the previous U.S. government's illegal sanctions on entities and individuals that implemented the JCPOA." He stressed that the lifting of these sanctions is "not only a bilateral issue, but also an important aspect of safeguarding the JCPOA, which is the result of multilateralism." "We have noticed that the U.S. side recently released some positive messages about the lifting of such sanctions, and we call on the U.S. to take practical actions immediately to facilitate the complete and effective implementation of the JCPOA," Wang added. The Joint Commission of the JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again on Friday, following Tuesday's meeting. The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the U.S. withdrawal in 2018. Wang told Xinhua that Friday's meeting was "constructive in general, as all parties have actively implemented the consensus reached at the joint ministerial meeting last December, and that the parties were moving in the right direction." Intensive work has been carried out upon the two processes launched in the current meeting, namely, the nuclear implementation and sanction-lifting working groups' work, and the "proximity talks" with the United States, Wang said. "Through these four days of meetings, the differences between the parties concerned are narrowing, and we have seen the momentum towards gradually forming a consensus among parties concerned. And this has created a beneficial atmosphere for the next step towards a good prospect," he added. Wang said the parties will continue negotiations here next week. "We hope that the positive and constructive momentum of this week's meeting can be continued." "Vienna is the place where the negotiations on the JCPOA started and reached," Wang said. "China hopes that Vienna will also witness all parties reaching an arrangement for the United States and Iran to resume the implementation of the JCPOA." The international community has voiced protest against China's new moves in the East Sea, including its enforcement of a fishing ban that took effect on May 1 on the sea area covering part of the Gulf of Tonkin ROCHESTER, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Rochester is preparing to welcome students back to class after spring break and the university is taking precautions to not spread COVID-19. There have been concerns as college students across the country travel to spring break destinations to let loose and loosen COVID precautions as a result. UMR Chancellor Lori Carrell said, "Nationally there's been a tension on college students and their spring break behavioral choices and the potential for super spreader events and all of that. We're not anticipating that at UMR." The university says its student population has been closely following guidelines with the amound of positive cases in the single digits so far. As students return there are steps in place to ensure student and faculty safety. That includes having students living in university house almost exclusively living and learning at residence halls and needing to return to the hall by 10pm. No guests are allowed. There is also testing being offered to spring breakers as they return from their break. Carrell added, "This is only for the campus community because it's being provided through the university and it is the saliva testing. So, we timed the testing to coincide with those guidelines in public health as to when transmission may have happened if you travel." Students were offered the opportunity to test before spring break as well. The university postponed spring break by three weeks to allow more time for vaccinations and testing. Students return to class this coming Monday. You can find the full UMR Maroon and Gold Sunrise Plan 2.0 by clicking here. Firefighters were battling a vegetation fire near Interstate 580 in eastern Alameda County on Friday night, fire officials said. The fire, which was holding at 1 acre shortly before 10:20 p.m. Friday, was a quick wind driven fire, officials with Cal Fires Santa Clara Unit said on Twitter. Cal Fire officials said firefighters arriving at the scene were aggressively attacking the blaze near Grant Line Road and the freeway. Just after 10:30 p.m., officials reported that forward progress had stopped. Extraordinarily dry conditions in California this year have lowered moisture levels in vegetation and prompted fire experts to warn of the potential for more wildfires. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez On the FactCheck page, The Associated Press tracks down some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals that were shared widely on social media. The AP takes those untrue stories, checks them out and sets the records straight in this weekly series of news articles. ADVERTISEMENT President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has decried recent attacks on police formations and correctional facilities in Imo. A statement by Ola Awoniyi, Mr Lawans special assistant on media, said the official described those responsible for the attacks as enemies of the people and country. Mr Lawan stated this in Owerri on Friday while inaugurating a road project completed by Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo. He said that the aim of the attackers was probably to cause a distraction for the Imo government or even the Federal Government. The road which was named after a former Senate President, late Evan Enwerem, was one of the infrastructural projects inaugurated to mark Mr Uzodinmas one year in office. Mr Lawan advised the people to take ownership of the projects, utilise them well and protect them as their projects. We have been experiencing insecurity recently especially in Imo the jail break, burning of police headquarters and so on. READ ALSO: Gunmen attack third police station in Imo in less than 72 hours These may be attempts by enemies of the people to distract this administration or indeed the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. When a government programme or project is vandalised, when a government institution is vandalised and burnt, those doing so are enemies of the people. Our security agencies need more resources to ensure that we are all protected and life is secured as well as our property. We will continue to support our security agencies in partnership with the executive arm of government, Mr Lawan said. (NAN) The number of acceptance emails that the University of Kentucky accidentally sent out to high school seniors for a program that usually only accepts about 36 students per year. Some of the students who received the acceptance letter claimed to have never applied to, visited or went onto the website for the university. The university apologized for the mistake and said it was due to a technical issue. ( Associated Press April 8, 2021) To the editor: During President Bidens rollout of the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, he admitted he is a union guy, and wants to give unions a piece of the action. This is why his plan urges Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act a draconian rewrite of Americas labor and employment laws thats filled with troubling provisions that will harm Americas workers, small businesses and economic recovery. Just $1 trillion of Bidens plan funds infrastructure, and he wants those construction projects to be built union-only. The plan calls on Congress to tie federal infrastructure investment to government-mandated project labor agreements. Controversial PLA schemes steer publicly funded construction contracts to unionized contractors and create jobs exclusively for union members at the expense of hardworking taxpayers and nonunion construction workers who comprise nearly 80% of Michigans construction industry. Research shows PLA mandates increase construction costs by up to 20% and result in fewer infrastructure improvements and new jobs for construction workers in our state, who face a 17.8% unemployment rate. As Biden administration officials continue to sell this plan to the American public, listen for the familiar refrain that it will create union jobs. While such transparency may be refreshing to some, rewarding powerful special interests through anti-competitive policies rarely translates into positive outcomes for the American people. If the AJP truly includes everyone, why does the Biden administration fail to acknowledge the millions of American workers pursuing their career dreams through well-paying, nonunion jobs? Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 that represents more than 21,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 69 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. ABC Greater Michigan Chapter represents 280 members in Michigan. Visit us at www.abcgmc.org. ANGELA MADARANG ABC Greater Michigan president Slates homepage editors spend a lot of time looking for editorial photos to put on our site. Those searches sometimes yield unexpected results: random, perplexing, and mesmerizing photos that dont belong on the home page, but that are too good not to share. Every week, well publish the weirdest photo from the wires. I recently came across an utterly brilliant photo of Boris Johnson that is straight out of a childrens vocab book. This March snapshot of Johnson at a primary school in Stoke-on-Trent, England, should be universally distributed to kids as a lesson in political skepticism, artistic composition, and the importance of an independent press corps. Advertisement This discovery led me down a rabbit hole to see what else Johnson is up to. After conducting a thorough analysis of the Tory leaders activities, I reached a startling conclusion: The British prime minister appears to be living in a Richard Scarry book. I hesitate to tarnish the memory of early childhood classics like Best Word Book Ever and What Do People Do All Day? with this mans destructive buffoonery, but the people deserve to know that the leader of the United Kingdom is a resident of Busytown. Advertisement Advertisement Apparently, when youre not busy hammering out the details of breaking up with the European Union, the British prime ministership consists of a never-ending series of storybook photo-ops. Hes on a boat; hes on a train. Hes in a factory; hes in a school. Hes holding a kipper; hes holding a potted plant. Its all simplistic enough for a small child to understand, complete with plenty of props and uniform changes. Advertisement Lets take a look at Boris very busy day. Where is Boris? He needs to get goingtheres a lot to do as prime minister! Advertisement Boris drives an electric bus. Boris friend Donald gets to drive a fire truck. Sometimes life isnt fair. Advertisement Boris has lots of friends besides Donald. He likes to play with them. Not everyone is friends with Boris. Thats part of living in a society. Advertisement Advertisement Uh-oh, theres a pandemic going on, but Boris gives a thumbs-up to let you know things are A-OK. Advertisement How do the scientists make the vaccine? They use petri dishes and a microscope. Boris works in the laboratory, but there are some bumps in the road. How will Boris make this better? Boris likes to build, build, build. He uses his big drill to fix things, but sometimes he breaks them instead. Oops! Boris stays active. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose, but what matters is how you play the game. Boris draws a still life. He shows the class his work. Take a look at that man and his bananas! Advertisement After all that activity, its time to eat. What the heck is on the menu? What will Boris get up to next? Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 20:35:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A staff member works at a packaging plant of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine products in the Beijing Biological Products Institute Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Wearing masks and protective gear, technicians were moving back and forth on a vaccine production line inside a 24-hour manufacturing plant of Sinopharm in Beijing. The Chinese pharmaceutical giant said its daily output of COVID-19 vaccines had reached about 3 million doses and would be further expanded to meet the growing demand of China and other countries. Another Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech is also racing to pump out more doses, saying that the third production plant for its COVID-19 vaccine has started manufacturing procedures for vaccine ingredients, doubling the company's annual capacity to 2 billion doses. The remarkable progress made in vaccine production has accelerated China's COVID-19 vaccination efforts, with more than 149 million doses administered across the country as of Wednesday. Vaccination is the most effective means of preventing and controlling COVID-19, and it is currently China's top COVID-19 prevention and control strategy. A number of creative, considerate and non-coercive approaches have ensured that vaccination in the country is both easy and efficient. Photos of people lining up and getting vaccinated across Ruili City in southwest China's Yunnan Province soon made headlines. Dozens of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases have been reported in the border city since March 30. A Shenzhen hospital drew media coverage by providing people waiting to get shots with free tea, milk and bread. It also set up women-only vaccination sites and "green channels" for those with children to help them quickly complete vaccination. Beijing and Shanghai have deployed mobile vaccination vehicles in downtown areas. The bus-like facilities, equipped with vaccination stations, medical refrigerators and first-aid equipment, have been rolled out to save time and improve inoculation efficiency. Posters of catchy and amusing slogans about vaccination -- adapted from the lyrics of pop music or created based on internet buzzwords -- have appeared in city streets and are sweeping social media. Choices made by the public will be crucial in achieving herd immunity. According to the latest World Economic Forum-Ipsos survey on global vaccine confidence, vaccination intent is highest in China, where 80 percent of respondents agreed with the statement "if a vaccine for COVID-19 were available, I would get it." Du Qiusheng, a blind masseur who lives in Beijing, got his first jab last week at a vaccination site. "I serve many clients every day, which presents a high risk of being infected," he said, adding that the COVID-19 vaccine is necessary for him. The nationwide vaccination campaign also involves the popularization of vaccine science, as many do not feel an urgent need to get vaccinated or have misgivings over possible side effects. Health experts are sparing no efforts to provide clear information for those who remain skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccines. Wang Huaqing, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said women who are hoping to become pregnant in the near future can safely get the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines are also safe for those with allergies to substances such as pollen and antibiotics. "The current COVID-19 vaccines do not contain antibiotics and therefore this is not a contraindication," said An Zhijie, a Chinese CDC official. "The more people are vaccinated, the more people have immunity, and the spread of the virus in the population can be effectively controlled," Li Bin, deputy head of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference in March. Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese CDC, said during a recent interview with state media that China aims to vaccinate 70 percent to 80 percent of its population between the end of this year and the middle of next year. "China should take the lead in achieving herd immunity to contribute to the global battle against COVID-19," he said. Kolkata, April 10 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Bankura Superintendent of Police Koteswara Rao N on April 12 for questioning in connection with alleged illegal coal smuggling case, sources said on Saturday. A CBI source related to the probe told IANS, "We have summoned Rao for questioning in connection with the case on April 12. He has been asked to appear before the agency at our office in Salt Lake area in Kolkata." The CBI, earlier in the day, questioned Anup Majhi a.k.a. Lala, the alleged kingpin of the coal pilferage case, for the fifth time. Meanwhile, a CBI official said that Majhi has been asked to appear before the agency once again on April 13. The CBI had registered a case involving alleged illegal coal pilferage in November last year, naming Majhi, Eastern Coalfield Ltd General Managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL chief of security Tan Das, area security inspector Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai, and SSI and security in-charge Kajora area Debashish Mukherjee. It had also recorded the statement of Rujira Banerjee, wife of Trinamool Congress MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his sister-in-law Menka Gambhir in the last week of February. The agency has recently carried out searches at several locations in the state, including at the premises of Amit Agarwal, a close aide of Majhi, raising the heat in poll-bound West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool and the BJP are engaged in a pitched battle. Chinese, European firms to embrace more opportunities in manufacturing industry Xinhua) 13:28, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Enterprises from China and Europe in the advanced manufacturing industry will gain new development opportunities amid flourishing cooperation between the two parties stimulated by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), officials said at an online press conference. More cutting-edge equipment and manufacturing technologies are in high demand across China, as the country is strengthening efforts to modernize its manufacturing industry chain in line with its 14th Five-Year (2021-2025) Plan, said Mao Yufeng, a senior official with the China Machine Tool & Tool Builders' Association, at the press conference on the EMO MILANO 2021, an international trade fair for machine tools. The remarks were echoed by several European counterparts. "China is currently in the stage of its industrial structure upgrading," said Gianpaolo Bruno, director of the Italian Trade Agency in Beijing, adding that this will significantly drive the demand for high-performance machine tools. "China, being the world's largest producer and consumer of machine tools, is a top priority of Italy's machine tool builders' internationalization strategy," Bruno said. In 2019, China absorbed almost 20 billion euros (about 23.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of global machine tools, accounting for 27.2 percent of the global total, according to Bruno. Against the backdrop of the struggling global economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of Italian companies, attracted by the huge Chinese consumer market, have decided to attend the China International Machine Tool Show 2021 that will open on April 12, Mao said. While giving full play to practical cooperation via platforms including the BRI, Chinese and Italian companies in the machine tools field can both enhance their competitiveness in the global market, Mao said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) There will be no live concert in Slane Castle this year with the owner saying with the owner of the famous venue saying 2021 is 'dead' in terms of hosting a live show. However, Lord Henry Mountcharles has committed to bringing live music back with a bang with a double summer concert in 2022. He is also considering a live-streamed gig later this year to celebrate 40 years of rock at the famous Co Meath venue. But he has given up the ghost on 2021. This year is dead for a live show, I was holding out hope that something could happen, but it looks nigh on impossible. We are looking at a show - and very possibly two next year. I see it returning in the summer of 2022 and I want to come back with a big show, he said in a statement. Lord Henry, 69, was speaking ahead of a major auction in Kells, Co Meath, next week, which includes antique flags from his main residence Beauparc House, located just 10 minutes from the castle. The Slane peer, who has bounced back from a gruelling cancer battle and celebrates his 70th birthday next month, says he is eager to see a return to live music at his 80,000-capacity venue by the River Boyne. The last double gig at the castle in the same year saw Bon Jovi and Eminem headline two months apart in 2013. U2 brought their Elevation tour to the grounds twice in 2001 - two decades after supporting Thin Lizzy at the inaugural gig in 1981. US rockers Metallica were the last to play in 2019. We will come back next year with a big one and I am certainly looking at the possibility of two separate acts, said Lord Henry. Im always very selective and careful about Slane - not everyone gets to play here. There are world-class acts out there and a wealth of Irish talent too, which I am keeping my eye on. Later this year, he is considering a live-streamed, behind-closed-doors concert from the castle to mark the 40th anniversary of the first gig. It remains to see what all this means for other festivals like the Electric Picnic. The promoters have yet to commit to a 2021 even in Stradbally, Co Laois. Meanwhile, a little piece of Slane history is included in the Easter Interiors and Historical Sale next Tuesday and Wednesday, co-ordinated by antiques dealer Niall Mullen and streamed online by Cavan-based Victor Mee Auctions. The flags and banners, originally from Beauparc House and which sold at a previous auction in 1985, include a large, red Welcome Home banner, a Union flag and a Commodores flag from Royal St George Yacht Club in Dublins Dun Laoghaire, dating back to 1847. I dont think theyve been in Slane Castle in my lifetime, said Lord Henry. But the connection to the flags came from the second Marquess Conyngham, Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, who was Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dublin. The Commodores flag has a guide price of 1,000-2,000, with the banner and Union flag each expected to sell for 200-400. The auction will be streamed live at victormeeauctions.ie. The latest industry survey* from the Irish Hotels Federation shows early signs that hotels in certain parts of the country are beginning to see an uplift in bookings for July and August. This follows the Governments recent announcement that it will look at the reopening of hotels and guesthouses in June. With booking levels nationally averaging 23% for July and 21% for August - the key summer months Michael Yates, Chair of the Sligo/Leitrim/ Roscommon branch of the Irish Hotels Federation, is encouraging people to plan their holidays and breaks early while there is plenty of choice and availability around. Mr Yates says the positive developments around the vaccine roll-out coupled with the Taoiseachs announcement around the reopening of hotels have allowed hotels in Sligo, Leitrim and across the country to start planning towards reopening. However, as the latest IHF survey shows, there is still a long way to go before hotel occupancy reaches even last summers levels. Recovery will be a challenge for the hotel sector this year, requiring continued Government support through to 2022, when the tourism industry should start to recover in earnest. Staycations were a real positive last summer and we expect booking levels to continue to rise over the coming weeks. Not surprisingly, as indicated by our latest survey, we would expect to see stronger demand in coastal areas, popular tourism destinations and hotels offering packages and facilities for families. However, we would encourage people to explore all parts across the country, as they did last year. There is excellent value available. Guests should contact hotels directly to find out what special offers are available and shop around. While the extensive availability across the country may be good news for consumers, it highlights the ongoing challenges facing the hotel sector. Tourism supported some 4,900 livelihoods in Sligo and Leitrim before Covid-19 restrictions, contributing 178 million to the local economy. Hotels are focussed on restoring employment levels as quickly as possible. While employment and business supports to date have been very welcome, it is essential that the Government now provides greater clarity and certainty now around supports into 2022 and beyond. Specifically, we are seeking increases in payments under the Covid Restrictions Supports Scheme (CRSS), enhanced employment subsidies, extension of the local authority rates waiver until the end of March next year. We also ask the Government to intervene with the banks to ensure they have appropriate supports and engagement processes in place for hotels and their team members until Covid 19 has been suppressed. Mr Yates said hotels also require a clear commitment from the Government to retain the 9% tourism VAT rate to assist recovery and secure a viable and sustainable future for the industry. Wait and see is not a sustainable business strategy. Mr Yates added. DANBURY The mayors proposed education budget has sparked unease about how the schools will cover their needs next fiscal year and down the road, especially with the planned $99 million career academy on the horizon. Im really concerned right now about where this positions us for the future, Assistant Superintendent Kevin Walston told the school board as they discussed the mayors $146 million education plan, which uses mainly city funding and some federal grants. Administrators said the proposal wouldnt cover their needs next year and are asking for $9 million in additional city funding, instead of the $1.25 million proposed increase. The city and the schools agree on using federal COVID-19 relief grants to offset costs, but doing so over the next few years without additional city or state money could create a $31 million gap, according to one estimate in future budgets. Its not something that is a sustainable strategy, said Courtney LeBorious, director of business operations. Its not something we should count on. Under the mayors plan, the city would give $137 million to the schools. The schools would also use $5.1 million in federal grants and a $3.5 million district surplus from this fiscal year. The district had planned to use $3.87 million in federal grants toward operating costs. Combined school and city spending would be $267 million, giving Danbury taxpayers another flat tax rate. Thats key as residents and businesses struggle to make ends meet amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Joe Cavo said Friday. This is a very, very difficult time for most people, businesses included and we just have to be mindful of what we do and how we do it to not create more harm in our legislative actions, he said. Feedback from City Council leaders has been largely positive, but school board member Joe DaSilva lambasted the proposal. No matter how you structure this, this is an abdication by the mayor, he said at Wednesdays board meeting. This is an embarrassment of a budget. He is falling down on the job. The city of Danbury should be embarrassed that this budget was proposed. Board member Al Russo bristled at the criticism. City revenues are down, he said. People are struggling to pay rent and not everybody can pay their taxes. This comes as the schools face rising enrollment and are planning to build a career academy that is expected to add millions in operating costs to future budgets. Early projections for a new school associated with the high school are $3 million to $5 million, Walston said. Additional staff, including four to six new teachers, will be needed for the annex to Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School expected to open in fall 2022, he said. The district plans to use $36.6 million in federal grants through fiscal year 2024-25, with about $12 million of that offsetting some of its regular expenses. But that means the schools could face an estimated $31 million hole in 2025-26 when the federal funding is no longer available, LeBorious said. That estimate assumes the schools dont get a $9 million increase this year and then that the city gives the district its historical average spending increase of 1.72 percent annually. The estimate is based on a 2.5 percent yearly enrollment growth, although the district has surpassed that projection in the past. We seem to be digging a hole that were not able to get ourselves out of, said Kate Conetta, school board member. I don't want to see that happen to our schools because that is the lifeblood of our community. Cavo agreed Danbury must avoid that financial cliff. State grants should help, he said. The governor proposed keeping the state education grant flat for all schools, but once that funding increases as scheduled, there will be more dollars flowing into our school system, Cavo said. He expects the city to be fine when the federal grants run out and operational costs for the academy come online. Its not like were kicking the can down the road, but were aware the can is down there and we have to fill it when its down there, Cavo said. If not for COVID-19, the city likely would have seen a tax-rate increase in the proposal, Cavo said. There hasnt been one for three straight years. At some point, there's going to have to be a tax increase, he said. There is just no doubt. DMX, a rapper known as much for his troubles as his music, has died, his family announced in a statement. He was 50. "We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50-years-old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days," family's statement read in part. "Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end," the family continued. "He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him." The artist had been hospitalized since last week when he suffered a heart attack at his home in New York, according to his longtime attorney, Murray Richman. Artists, athletes and other celebrities paid tribute to him on social media Friday. "My childhood and love for music would not have been the same without this man," actor Chriss Redd tweeted. "DMX was easily my favorite artist growing up. I had every album, every ruff Ryder song, followed any artist he endorsed. Man....RIP the dog. There will never be another like him." DMX (Dark Man X) began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album, "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot," in 1998. With the deaths of fellow rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur before he burst on the scene, DMX became one of the reigning stars of hardcore hip hop and was the premier artist signed to the Ruffhouse Records label. His single, "Ruff Ryders Anthem," helped to seal his critical and commercial success. The rapper released several albums over the years, including one of his most commercially successful, "...And Then There Was X," that was released in 1999 and was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap album category. It was one of three Grammy nominations for the rapper. He sold millions of albums, boosted by hits like "Get At Me Dog" in 1998, "Party Up," in 1999 and "X Gon' Give It to Ya," in 2003. He parlayed his growing fame into an acting career, appearing in multiple films including, "Romeo Must Die" and "Cradle 2 The Grave." His professional achievements were often overshadowed by his issues with substance abuse and run-ins with the law. He pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2017 and was sentenced to one year in prison. In 2019, DMX canceled a planned concert tour to seek treatment for addiction, saying at the time that he was "putting family and sobriety first." That same year he talked to GQ about his struggles. "I just need to have a purpose," he said. "And I don't even know that purpose, because God has given me that purpose since before I was in the womb, so I'm going to fulfill that purpose ... whether I want to or not, whether I know it or not, because the story has already been written. If you appreciate the good, then you have to accept the bad." More recently, DMX thrilled fans last year when he appeared in a Verzuz battle with fellow artist Snoop Dogg. (Natural News) Are you ready for this weeks absurdity? Heres our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, risks to your prosperity and on occasion, inspiring poetic justice. (Article by Simon Black republished from SovereignMan.com) Prayer Book Urges help me to hate White people. A prayer book called A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal, is a number one bestseller on Amazon in the category meditation. One prayer, called Prayer of a Weary Black Woman, by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, a theology professor at Mercer University, starts: Dear God, Please help me to hate White people. Or at least to want to hate them I want to stop caring about their misguided, racist souls, to stop believing that they can be better, that they can stop being racist. The prayer then describes the type of White person they want to hate not the actual blatantly racist ones, but the wolves in sheeps clothing who dont see color, are friendly and accepting on the surface. Lord, if it be your will, harden my heart. Stop me from striving to see the best in people. Stop me from being hopeful that White people can do and be better. Let me imagine them instead as white-hooded robes standing in front of burning crosses. Let me see them as hopelessly unrepentant, reprobate bigots who have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and who need to be handed over to the evil one. Grant me a Get Out of Judgment Free Card if I make White people the exception to your commandment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is a sick, insane, religious cult of hateful people. But institutions like churches, schools, and corporations are pushing this blatant racism mainstream. The book is also available at Target a store which banned a book that gave voice to transgender people who regretted their decisions to transition. But hatred of white people is perfectly acceptable. Click here to see photos of the excerpts. Teachers Union President Says Jews are now part of the ownership class The head of one of the largest teachers union in the US took aim at Jews who criticize opening schools back up. When asked about the people who dont understand why some teachers dont want to return to in person teaching, Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers targeted her response at Jews: American Jews are now part of the ownership class. Jews were immigrants from somewhere else Both economic opportunity through the labor movement and an educational opportunity through public education were key for Jews to go from the working class to the ownership class. What I hear when I hear that question is that those who are in the ownership class now want to take that ladder of opportunity away from those who do not have it. So somehow Jews criticizing teachers for NOT wanting to teach, is a form of pulling the ladder away from vulnerable kids who need an educations? Okay But apparently Jews are now the oppressors, and therefore not entitled to have an opinion on the matter. Almost reminds me of a certain European country in the 1930s Click here to read the interview transcript. Race-based healthcare in Vermont As Vermont opens up vaccine eligibility to more groups, some categories make sense. For example younger people with health conditions and older people more susceptible to serious Covid-19 cases are eligible to receive the vaccine. But another group has nothing to do with Covid risk. Vermont has now opened up vaccinations to ethnic minorities. If you or anyone in your household identifies as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC), including anyone with Abenaki or other First Nations heritage, all household members who are 16 years or older can sign up to get a vaccine. Health Vermont does not explain why there is a racially segregated line for the Covid vaccine apparently its just the woke thing to do these days. Click here to read the guidelines. Read more at: SovereignMan.com A man who is accused of shooting into a carload of people in August, leaving an 11-year-old girl dead, has been indicted on a capital murder charge. The case against DMorea Keys was among more than 165 felony indictments returned last week by two Bexar County grand juries, the Bexar County District Attorneys Office said Friday. On ExpressNews.com: 'We just want justice and peace,' says father of 11-year-old girl killed by stray bullet Keys, 22, was arrested in connection with the shooting that occurred around 6 p.m. Aug. 15 in the 5400 block of Walzem Road on the Northeast Side, near Windcrest. The child, Donita Elizabeth Henry-Phillips, was in a vehicle with five others who were headed to H-E-B to pick up dinner, and Keys was trying to shoot at another car, according to an arrest affidavit. Donita was fatally shot when the car she was riding in passed between Keys and his target, the document states. Shantika Puente, 34, was injured. Keys also was charged in a separate indictment with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting in the direction of another person identified as Charlie Perkins, the District Attorneys Office said. On ExpressNews.com: Man arrested in connection with shooting that killed 11-year-old girl Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said Keys is one of the first people indicted in the county under Laurens Law, enacted in Texas in 2019. Named after a 13-year-old who was killed as she was walking home from school in Wichita Falls, the law automatically sentences someone convicted of capital murder of a child 10 or older but younger than 15 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The killing of a child 10 or younger is a capital offense that could result in the death penalty. Laurens Law added the killing of a child older than 10 but younger than 15 to the list of capital murder offenses, but it specifically states this crime is not eligible for the death penalty; instead, a conviction results in the automatic sentence of life without parole. The DAs Criminal Trial Division is prosecuting the case before state District Judge Michael Merys court. Also indicted last week was Jesus Mendoza, 42, charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Jake Selph, 21, on Sept. 11. On ExpressNews.com: Man accused in September slaying near Confluence Park According to reports, Mendoza went looking for a man who had been arrested alongside his brother for dumping tires in Atascosa County when he allegedly held Selph at gunpoint. Selph later was shot to death. If convicted, Mendoza faces up to life in prison. Mendozas case is in state District Judge Stephanie Boyds court. Jaime Riojas was indicted on a manslaughter charge. He was 19 when he was accused of recklessly causing the death of Izaiah Riojas, 22, on Aug. 15. On ExpressNews.com: Officials ID San Antonio man killed after several people were 'playing with a gun' inside vehicle The two were playing with a gun while riding in a car when the gun went off, according to reports. If convicted of the second-degree felony, Riojas, now 20, faces up to 20 years in prison. Jaime Riojas case is in the 226th District Court, Judge Velia Meza presiding. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 The effort to vaccinate eligible Kern high school students and anyone else in the community who wants a COVID-19 shot is in full swing. A man believed to have close ties with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was arrested at his home in Holyoke on Thursday by authorities for fentanyl trafficking. Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents found a large quantity of fentanyl, several firearms, such as large-caliber handguns, and an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a bullet-proof vest, packaging materials, cellphones, and a money counter at his residence in Holyoke at Boston, Massachusetts. The suspect has been identified as Josue Rivera Rodriguez, 44, also known as "Bori," the Mass Live reported. Rodriguez was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and two counts of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Court records showed that arresting agents were able to record a meeting where Rodriguez delivered $35,000 to a cooperating witness with a code designed to make sure that the money was forwarded to the Jalisco cartel. Subsequently, the Massachusetts man was recorded distributing over 750 grams of fentanyl to the cooperating witness on three occasions in 2020 and 2021, according to a WWLP report. Charges of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl could result in 10 years up to life in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The distribution of 40 grams of fentanyl could result in five to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl of Mendell's Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is in charge of prosecuting the case. READ MORE: Mexican Drug Cartels Use TikTok to Smuggle Migrants, Recruit Them for Crimes, Abbott Says Jalisco Cartel Members Meanwhile, the U.S. and Mexico recently imposed sanctions on Jalisco cartel members in relation to two high-profile murders. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against Carlos Rivera Varela and Francis Gudino Haro. Varela and Haro were believed to help orchestrate killings in the coastal region of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state. Authorities believed that the Jalisco cartel operates by a hierarchical structure, unlike other factions such as the Sinaloa cartel that tend to have a relatively horizontal structure. According to analysts, inside the Jalisco cartel, strategic decisions were believed to be made by top leadership and passed down the chain of command. "The CJNG structure is completely vertical. Nemesio Oseguera, alias 'El Mencho,' is the brain behind everything," David Saucedo, a Mexico-based journalist and security analyst, said in an InSight Crime report. Experts believe that the Jalisco cartel's violence has taken a toll on the state, adding that their rampant violence poses a threat to Mexico's government. Jalisco cartel's gunmen had introduced one of the most brazen assaults in decades after they attempt to assassinate Mexico City's security chief last June, The Guardian reported. Last month, the body of Carlos "El Cholo" Enrique Sanchez, a former high-ranking member of the Jalisco cartel, was dumped on a park bench in Tlaquepaque, which is a tourist town near Guadalajara. Authorities at the north and south of the U.S. border are now considering the group a national security threat, according to Eduarda Guerrero, a security specialist. Guerrero noted that the Jalisco cartel has huge amounts of money, weapons, military-style paramilitary groups, and vehicles. "They represent a very severe challenge to the (Mexican) government - above all in small and mid-sized cities where a detachment of 50 cartel operatives can obviously defeat any local police force," Guerrero said in the report. According to officials, the Jalisco cartel began in July 2010, when troops killed Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, the gangster known to have started Mexico's methamphetamine trade in Guadalajara. Earlier this month, clashes between the Jalisco cartel and Carteles Unidos in the municipality of Aguililla resulted in the deaths of 27 Carteles Unidos' members. Residents of the municipality said that law enforcement did not meddle at all when the shootout happened. READ MORE: Who Is Los Viagras' Cartel La Cholita? 'Busty Assassin' Flaunts How She Torments Victims on Social Media WATCH: Holyoke Man Allegedly With the CJNG Drug Cartel Was Arrested For Fentanyl Conspiracy - From WWLP-22News Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 16:03:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The U.S. promise on lifting unilateral sanctions must be put into action immediately, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Friday, after a meeting with other senior diplomats concerning the Iran nuclear deal. "Regarding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, China and the parties concerned clearly expressed their concerns at the meeting, and it must be lifted immediately," Wang told Xinhua after the talks on the resumption of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the United States and Iran. Wang said that "such sanctions problems were all caused by the previous U.S. government's illegal sanctions on entities and individuals that implemented the JCPOA." He stressed that the lifting of these sanctions is "not only a bilateral issue, but also an important aspect of safeguarding the JCPOA, which is the result of multilateralism." "We have noticed that the U.S. side recently released some positive messages about the lifting of such sanctions, and we call on the U.S. to take practical actions immediately to facilitate the complete and effective implementation of the JCPOA," Wang added. The Joint Commission of the JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again on Friday, following Tuesday's meeting. The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the U.S. withdrawal in 2018. Produced by Xinhua Global Service The General Assembly Judiciary Committees 3 oclock deadline came and went Friday afternoon without action on two pieces of coronavirus legislation that would have made it easier to sue hospitals and nursing homes for lapses in public health protocols, and harder to file lawsuits against other entities for similar shortcomings. Two months from the end of the legislative session on June 9, the committees inaction means that prospective plaintiffs will have to depend on so-called common law rights to pursue - and defend - lawsuits. Both bills are unlikely to be revived this session. Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said after the meeting that there seemed to be little need for either bill because 13 months after the states first COVID case, there is no noticeable number of liability cases emerging. There are a lot of well-meaning bills that just run out of time in the legislative process, Stafstrom said, noting that neither of the bills resulted in much public-hearing testimony. Some of them really didnt rise to the level of priority bill. There has really not been a wave of liability lawsuits filed in Connecticut, so there wasnt an urgency in passing these bills. One bill was aimed at making it easier to sue hospitals and nursing homes, which Gov. Ned Lamont protected from liability lawsuits under executive orders, which were lifted on March 1. The other bill, supported by Republicans including Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, ranking member of the committee, would have given liability protections to companies, non-profit agencies and other entities including condominium complexes that maintained good-faith efforts to protect people from COVID. There was not a lot of love for either of those bills, Fishbein said after the Judiciary Committee finished its legislative initiatives for the session. He said the Republican bill would have forced claimants to succeed in proving through expert testimony that someones COVID infection was directly related to exposure at a particular location. Fishbein said that while he could possibly revive the bill in the amendment process on the floor of the House, and force a parliamentary question on whether it was appropriate, he doesnt intend to pursue such action. Both bills could possibly create more confusion and could be seen as redundant of existing common-law protections, Stafstrom said. I dont know if they were necessary to take up this legislative session. While the committee finished its historic virtual public hearings and meetings on its own bills, more meetings are ahead, as other pieces of legislation that require scrutiny of the law-writing panel get referred to the panel. Earlier in the day, Lamont, speaking during an unrelated event in Barkhamsted, said he believes that current law has adequate protections for both plaintiffs and defendants. I think right now we have a pretty good balance there, is my instinct, Lamont said. For folks who pick up COVID and they want to sue the employer or (file for) workers comp(ensation), I think a lot of that may be figured out by vaccinations, Lamont said. I mean if I dont want to get vaccinated and I pick up an infection somewhere, whos responsible? I would like to think were going to make vaccinations widely available to everybody that wants it, and theyre accountable. Id like to think that our restaurants and our bars and our stores have done this very carefully. They knew what the rules of the road are when it comes to opening up your store safely. I think thats the key requirement we need to keep people safe. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT In this April 5 photo, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave from the Blue Room balcony as they participate in an Easter event at the White House in Washington. On Friday, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting Biden needed a special medical team at the White House and was taken to the hospital late Sunday. But Biden was not at the White House on Easter Sunday; he celebrated the holiday at Camp David. Biden returned to Washington via Marine One around noon on Monday, according to reporting by The Associated Press. By Ross Kerber (Reuters) -Berkshire Hathaway Inc reversed course on Friday and told an activist group it could present a shareholder proposal remotely for the company's May 1 annual meeting, in line with renewed guidance from the U.S. securities regulator. Warren Buffett's insurance and investment company traditionally draws thousands to its extravagant annual meeting in Omaha but, like many top U.S. corporations during the coronavirus pandemic, had asked investors to log in to the meeting remotely instead of attending in person. The shift to online has stymied many activist investor groups whose shareholder resolutions often animate the meetings, however. Some have been muted via the technology or told they could only present resolutions in person despite the health risks. That was the case at Berkshire for As You Sow of Berkeley, California, which filed a measure calling for the company's subsidiaries to report on diversity and inclusion efforts, and was told it would have to send a representative to Los Angeles where some directors and staff would gather for the livestreamed webcast. Asked about the situation on Friday, Berkshire Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg told Reuters via e-mail: "We would have preferred that As You Sow present their proposal at the location of the shareholders meeting in Los Angeles. However, we will provide As You Sow an opportunity to provide a recording to be played at the meeting as a means of presenting their shareholder proposal." As You Sow welcomed the decision. The organization is "unwilling to risk other peoples health, so we are relieved that the company changed course," President Danielle Fugere told Reuters. When Berkshire Hathaway contacted the group, it cited new instructions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, As You Sow said. As You Sow was among a group of activists and investors that on April 5 asked the SEC to extend last year's guidance to allow the virtual presentation of proposals, which a number of companies seemed to be prohibiting this year, in time for the 2021 springtime shareholder meeting season. Story continues "From the standpoint of pandemic safety, it is not yet time to require proponents to appear personally," the letter stated. In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the SEC said that in light of COVID concerns, corporations were encouraged to "provide shareholder proponents or their representatives with the ability to present their proposals through alternative means, such as by phone" during the 2021 season. The agency also said proponents who couldn't travel to meetings would have good cause to refile their proposals later. Hamburg did not respond to questions about how it would be handling other shareholder groups. (Reporting by Ross KerberEditing by Sonya Hepinstall) Lexington police released body-camera video Friday night that shows a teenager being hit by a police cruiser. Liam Long, 19, suffered a brain bleed, a fractured nose and shoulder and multiple lacerations that required stitches after being hit by the cruiser March 30 while experiencing a mental health crisis. His family said Long is autistic and that he remains hospitalized and cant walk without help since the collision. At an urban county council meeting Thursday, Longs family members pleaded with the city for the police department to release footage that would help them understand what happened that day. In a 13-minute video news release, police shared video footage of the collision and the foot pursuit leading up to it, as well as audio of a 911 call from a man requesting that officers check on Long because of threats to his case worker. They also released two lengthier body-camera videos on YouTube. Police said Officer Nicolas Gray, who has worked for the police department since 2015, was driving about 40 mph and had his emergency lights on when his cruiser hit Long in the Garden Springs area. Due to the actions of Long entering the roadway Officer Gray was unable to avoid a collision, police said in the news release. Officers immediately began rendering aid, called Emergency Care and continued care until their arrival. Police said they went to the 2100 block of Larkspur Drive at 5:22 p.m. March 30 because Longs case worker had contacted them, reporting that Long made vague threats that included harming one of his case workers. In the 911 call, the man can be heard telling dispatchers that he had a client who was having a mental health crisis or a psychotic break. Hes been telling people that hes part of the Mexican Cartel, the man states. The dispatcher told the caller that she would have an officer go check on him. Police said in the release that Officer Caleb Wade, who has worked for the police department since 2017, encountered Long in a parking lot on Larkspur. Story continues Police said that when Long saw Wade, he said, No, no, you are not going to do this, and walked away. Keeping a safe distance from Long, Officer Wade attempted to calm Long down stating he only wanted to talk, police said in the news release. Eventually, Long turned around pulling a knife from his waistband. While holding the blade up in threatening manner to Officer Wade, Long stated that Officer Wade would have to kill him first. Listen, were not gonna play with this whole knife thing, OK? Wade says in the body-cam video. I want you to put it down for me, OK? Buddy, we just want to talk to you, Liam, Wade says. A screen capture from Officer Caleb Wades body camera footage shows Wade talking to Liam Long before he was hit by a police cruiser March 30. As more officers arrived, Long turned and ran toward a fence, police said. In Wades body-cam footage, Long can be seen jumping the fence as Wade chases after him. Police said in the news release that Wade explained that due to Longs current mental state, verbal statements to the case worker, and making threats with the knife which was still in his hand, he felt Long was a danger to himself and others and needed emergency detention. As Wade pursued Long, he can be heard on the video saying, Liam, if you dont stop, Im going to Tase you, and then Liam, youre going to get hit as Long runs back into the street and the cruiser comes into view, striking him. In Grays extended body camera video released by the police department on YouTube, he can be heard telling other officers after the collision that he flipped on his lights when he saw Long running. I was going to pull kind of up in front of him and get out with him, he said. But, he said, Long just darted right out. I tried to, like, swerve, Gray said. Grays cruiser swerves to the left in the video. He can be heard calling for an ambulance after the crash, saying Start an EC. He ran in front of my car. Hes been hit. The officers ran to Long, as Wade said, Hes got a knife. Roll him over. Wade knelt on the pavement next to Long and can be heard telling him, Stay with us, man. Everythings gonna be alright. Keep breathing. He directed another officer to keep people in the area back and reported to the dispatcher that Long had a head injury. The footage shows Gray kneeling at Longs head at one point, saying He just ran right in front of my car. Its gonna be alright, Wade responded. He ran out in the street, ok. Just calm down. In background audio, bystanders can be heard saying, We watched the whole thing. He hit him on purpose. Its ok, just ignore them, Wade said. Police said that the day before the collision, they went to a business in the Gardenside area and took a terroristic threatening report involving Long. Police said the manager said an erratic customer, later identified as Long, assaulted another customer in the business who had left before an officer arrived and threatened to kill the manager upon Longs return. Police said that at 5:07 p.m. March 30, just before they responded to the call about Longs threats to the case worker, they were called back to the business because Long had returned, but when they arrived, Long had already left. Police said those officers found Long on Maywick Drive near Vicksburg Road where he acted erratically and hostile towards officers. Because of having previous contacts with Long, the officers recognized that he appeared to be having a mental health crisis. The officers reported Long was uncooperative and fled the area on foot after threatening to kill the officers. Knowing the home address of Long, officers did not pursue on foot and chose to go to that location to follow-up. As the officers from that incident arrived on Larkspur, Long began to run from Wade, police said. The Lexington Police Departments Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated the collision, and Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers has asked the Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Teams Collision Analysis Section to conduct a review. Longs mother, Kendra Long, attended a rally hosted by LPD Accountability downtown Saturday afternoon. She said she was humbled for everybody to show up today, especially in the rain, for Liam. I cant thank everybody enough. And she said she was excited to show this to Liam, when he understands enough. Liam Long Long did not comment on the body camera footage released by police. Chanting statements including mental illness is not a crime and autistic lives matter, the group marched from the downtown courthouses to police headquarters to try to obtain a blank copy of the form the Lexington Police Department uses for filing formal complaints. The Lexington Police Department has stonewalled making this complaint form available to the public, LPD Accountability organizer April Taylor told the group before they marched. The front doors to the police station were locked, and an officer who came outside to talk with the group said it would be necessary to return on a weekday. Citizens in the community deserve to have all forms and paperwork, Kendra Long said afterward. We should all have access to any form, and clearly we were denied. A push for students to learn more problem-solving skills will be a central focus of proposed changes to the Australian maths curriculum, with a major review expected to reignite wars over how best to turn around declining academic results. Leading maths and science groups briefed on the proposed changes have called for problem-solving to be central to how maths is taught ahead of the public release of the draft new national curriculum at the end of the month. A push by leading maths groups for more emphasis on problem-solving in the national curriculum is expected to reignite the maths wars when a draft new curriculum is released later this month. Credit:Louise Kennerley In a joint statement titled why maths must change, the groups said teaching maths content was no longer enough. It is not enough to have knowledge they must have the skills to take that knowledge and apply it to solve unknown problems, and do it quickly, the statement said. Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif is set to be re-elected as the president of Pakistans ruling PML-N on Tuesday as Parliament on Monday passed a controversial bill, paving the way for the ousted prime ministers return. Sharif, 67, had to step down as the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after he was disqualified as the prime minister by the Supreme Court on July 28 in the Panama Papers scandal. The Election Reforms Bill 2017, whose copies were torn by the protesting opposition parties in the National Assembly (NA) -- the lower house of the Parliamenthas a clause that allows politicians disqualified from holding public office to head a political party. The bill had already been passed by the NA and the Senate -- the upper house of the Parliamentbut was returned to the lower house for fresh votes on the Senates amendments. According to PML-N sources, the new bill would be signed by the President tomorrow after which it would become a law and enable Sharif to be elected as the party chief. Read | Sharif's indictment over corruption cases deferred to October 9 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insafs (PTI) senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the Clause 203 was against the spirit of the Constitution and was incorporated to accommodate Sharif. Sharif has been disqualified under the Article 62 of the Constitution and cannot hold any office, Qureshi said and announced to challenge it in the Supreme Court. Pakistan Peoples Party, Jamaat-i-Islami and Awami Muslim League also opposed the bill, which was introduced by Law Minister Zahid Hamid. The protest, however, could not stop the government from getting the bill passed in the National Assembly where the ruling PML-N party enjoys a majority. Earlier, the Central Working Committee of the PML-N passed a resolution reposing its confidence in the leadership of Sharif, Pakistani media reported. The leaders also agreed to amend the partys Constitution so that any person could assume the presidency even if that person did not hold public office, Dawn newspaper reported. Read | Know how it is possible for Nawaz Sharif to become PML-N chief again PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq presided over the CWC session, which was also attended by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and interim president Senator Sardar Yaqub Nasir. Earlier in the day, an informal advisory session was held after Nawaz returned to Punjab House after appearing before an accountability court. Nawaz had appeared before the Accountability Court today after being summoned in connection with three graft cases prepared by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against him and his family in the Panama Papers case. However, he was not formally charged with a crime as his lawyer argued that all of the accused in the case must be present in court before they could be indicted. The accused Nawaz; his children Hussain, Hassan, and Maryam; and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar are now expected to appear on October 9 to be formally indicted. The court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the men and a bailable warrant for Maryam, likely keeping in mind that she may need to stay with her ailing mother in London. The PML-N has also convened a meeting of its general council today and tomorrow to formally begin the process of re-electing Sharif as the partys president. Earlier, there had been reports that the ousted prime minister would fly to London on Thursday to be with his wife, Kulsoom, who has been undergoing treatment for throat cancer at a private hospital in London. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Kolkata, April 10 : 44 assembly constituencies of five districts in West Bengal will go for the fourth phase of the polls on Saturday. Considering the incidents of violence during the third phase of polling, the Election Commission has made an extensive arrangement to avoid any kind of untoward incidents. 373 candidates will contest in the fourth phase of the election. Out of 44 Assembly constituencies slated for the polls, 11 are in South 24 parganas district, nine in Cooch Behar, five in Alipurduar district, nine in Howrah district and 10 in Hooghly district. Polling is scheduled in six constituencies of Kolkata including Behala East and West, Kasba, Metiabruz, Jadavpur and Tollygunje. Though these constituencies are part of South 24 Parganas but they fall under Kolkata's administrative jurisdiction. Out of total 11,594,950 total voters including service voters, 5,882,514 are male while 5,698,218 are female. The total number of polling booths are 15,940 that includes 12,361 main and 3,579 auxiliary booths. The number of 80 plus voters are 2,03,927 while 50,523 are PWD (Persons with Disabilities) voters. The total number of service electors are 13,928, third gender voters are 290 while overseas voters are 34. Altogether 50 women candidates including some celebrities will contest in the fourth phase. Interestingly women voters will become the deciding factor in the West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district in this phase. Cumulatively the number of female voters in the district's 11 constituencies are more than their male counterparts. In six of them, Sonarpur Dakshin, Sonarpur Uttar, Jadavpur, Tollygunj, Behala Uttar, Behala Dakshin, women have an edge over their male counterparts. The total number of female voters in these 11 constituencies are 15,70,392, while the number of the male voters is 15,66,161. The Jadavpur constituency has the highest gender ratio, with 1,54,239 female voters against 1,44,420 males. To avoid any kind of violence, the Election Commission has made an extensive security arrangement. The ECI has decided to deploy 789 companies of Central forces -- the highest force concentration in this election so far. "Presently, there are around 800 companies of Central forces in the state, but the Commission has assured to send another 200 companies from Assam where elections have recently concluded. This will take the number of Central forces to 1,000 companies, which is the highest deployment in the state in any election so far. This additional 200 companies will be used for the elections in North Bengal as this it will be logistically easier," said a senior commission official in the state. According to officials, there will be a deployment of 187 companies of Central forces for the nine constituencies of Cooch Behar followed by South 24 parganas where the deployment will be 184 companies. In addition to that another 174 companies of central forces will be deployed in the 10 constituencies in Hooghly district, 140 companies for the nine constituencies in Howrah district and another 98 companies for Alipurduar district. The Commission has also deployed six companies for Jalipaiguri as it shares border with Alipurduar. The ECI has deployed 35 general observers, 10 expenditure observers and nine police observers for the fourth phase of polls. There will be webcasting facilities in 50 per cent of the booths. The Commission has appointed IPS officer Ajeet Singh Yadav, SP CIF of the state police to assist the Commissioner of Howrah Police C. Sudhakar during Saturday's election considering the sensitivity of the elections in the district. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 08:18:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People visit Sydney Royal Easter Show in Sydney, Australia, April 9, 2021. With a history of nearly 200 years, the Sydney Royal Easter Show is not only one of the most prestigious events for Australia's agricultural producers but also a great opportunity to experience traditional rural and cultural heritage with family fun. The show was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, which made this year's event more popular. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei) Victims of deceptive sales practices by unscrupulous financial advisers won two major court victories recently, one in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the second in a federal appellate court. Both cases clarify Pennsylvanias favorable legal framework to seek compensation for losses resulting from misleading advice about stocks, bonds, annuities, life insurance and other investment products. The first case focused on the required standard of proof under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Enacted in 1968, the law is designed to protect the public against deceptive business practices in the sale of everything we purchase, from automobiles to investment products. Prior to the courts February 2021 ruling, the law was unsettled as to whether duped consumers needed to prove that their financial adviser intentionally sought to mislead them. To be sure, evidence about a brokers state of mind is often difficult, if not impossible, to uncover or obtain. Now, thanks to the recent court ruling, consumers do not need to prove the specific intent of the financial adviser. Instead, it is sufficient merely to show that the advisers conduct had the potential or the likelihood of confusing the customer or leading to a misunderstanding. This recent case arose from a brokers sale of life insurance and retirement investment products to a Pennsylvania couple. The couple testified that, years after following this advice, they discovered that the adviser had misrepresented the products. In defense, the advisers company argued that the law requires customers to prove that the adviser intended to mislead them. Not so, the court explained, in rejecting this specific-intent defense. The broker can be held liable, even without evidence of a specific intent to mislead the customer, simply for failing to explain clearly and fully the costs and terms of the investment in a sales pitch that had the likelihood of causing confusion or deception. This lower evidentiary standard makes good sense, given the imbalance of information between financial advisers and customers. After all, advisers hold themselves out as having specialized skills, knowledge and training to recommend investment products. In turn, customers often lack commensurate expertise of investments and therefore understandably rely on the brokers advice only to later discover, painfully, that the investment did not perform as advertised. The second recent consumer protection court decision broadens the recovery of economic damages under Pennsylvania consumer protection law for a brokers wrongdoing. It sounds obvious if an adviser is proven negligent, financial losses should be recoverable but until this decision, many defendants successfully had argued that the so-called economic loss doctrine prevented customers from recovering economic losses (absent physical or property damage) due to a brokers negligence or violation of Pennsylvania consumer protection laws. Now, sensibly, financial losses by themselves are recoverable, without a physical or property injury requirement. In todays world of complex financial products, the expanded reach and remedies under Pennsylvania law will help victims seek recovery for misleading, costly financial advice. Develops energy-control software and builds microgrids Launching mVoult residential microgrid product Successfully expanded into bitcoin mining with data centers acquisition What CleanSpark does: ( ), based in Bountiful, Utah, has developed software to help companies and homes become more energy-efficient, and is also now big in bitcoin mining. The company designs and builds microgrids while providing engineering, consulting and turn-key implementation services. It also offers software for energy monitoring and system controls. CleanSpark's software - mPluse and mVSO (Microgrid Value Stream Optimizer) - enables a microgrid to be scaled to the user's specific needs and can be used by agricultural, commercial, industrial enterprises as well as the military and municipal governments, and residential users. Customers include not only energy consumers but independent power producers (renewable energy) and energy-storage vendors. The company, founded in 1987, runs on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) distribution model. CleanSparks mPulse software and control suite operates on-site in real-time, providing economic dispatch controls to maximize performance and resiliency operations to back-up critical energy loads in the event of a utility disruption. The company says its software is ideally suited for the rapidly expanding distributed energy resource (DER) market, which it has been targeting as a key revenue generator. The global energy infrastructure is ageing and unreliable due to increases in loads and lack of new large-scale generation facilities (nuclear and coal). Meanwhile, renewable energy resources like solar, batteries, fuel cells and clean-energy generators are connecting to the grid, sometimes intermittently, stressing it and making it more complex to manage. But, at the same time, consumers such as defense installations, industrial complexes and campuses across the world are turning to virtual power plants and microgrids to decrease their reliance on the grid to tap directly into renewable energy providers and to strengthen their own energy security against blackouts. In a sense, these consumers become their very own utilities. As a result, CleanSparks mPluse and mVSO software and control solutions are designed to provide consumers of all sizes with the mission-critical technologies that can help integrate and operate DERs as reliable energy generators on the grid. For those consumers who get energy off the main power grid, the companys technology helps them modernize their own distribution microgrids while replacing fossil fuel generation with clean-energy suppliers. CleanSparks microgrids monitor energy rates continuously in 15-minute cycles, tapping the least expensive source. How is it doing: CleanSpark has made a very busy start to 2021, as it predicted in an annual letter to shareholders on December 31, 2020. The company said then that it was aggressively seeking new acquisition opportunities for 2021 after realizing fiscal 2020 revenue of more than $10.0 million, the third-consecutive year of greater than 100% top-line growth. The company also noted that it plans to identify partnerships and product enhancements in 2021, which it expects will expedite its growth. CleanSpark pointed out that one of its significant wins for 2020 was its acquisition of ATL Data Centers in early December, which the firm said will allow it to increase Bitcoin production while lowering total energy costs, thereby maximizing its overall profitability. Since the acquisition, Bitcoin has traded at record highs and CleanSpark has continued to grow the business. Most recently, on March 26, CleanSpark announced that it had ordered 4,778 additional Bitmain S19 model Bitcoin mining rigs. The company expects to receive 1,298 of the units for deployment this summer and the remaining 3,480 units in twelve equal monthly shipments beginning in November 2021. It said the rigs are expected to deliver an estimated 740 PH/s (petahashes per second) of additional mining capacity. To house them, CleanSpark has purchased 48 custom mobile mining data centers. All told, CleanSpark currently operates Bitcoin mining rigs capable of processing approximately 315 PH/s within its Atlanta complex, and it intends to reach between 1 and 1.3 EH/s (exa hashes per second) by the end of the summer. CleanSpark also said it had updated current energy data on the carbon impact of its facility, progressing towards its stated goal of being the lowest energy cost, cleanest Bitcoin miner in the US. The company's local power supplier provided data this week on the current energy mix provided to its facilities. The power sources include nuclear, hydro-electric and solar, meaning 95% of the electricity utilized for mining qualifies as carbon-free, with only 5% provided by coal. Within the coming quarter, the company said it plans to reach 98% carbon-free energy by taking certain coal power sources offline and replacing them with carbon-free sources. Additionally, CleanSpark plans to install onsite renewable microgrids to further reduce its carbon footprint with the goal of offsetting the remaining coal sources to effectively mine Bitcoin carbon-free. Away from bitcoin mining, a few days earlier in March, CleanSpark revealed that it had executed more than 50 new contracts under its residential microgrid initiative in less than one month following the completion of its acquisition of Solar Watt Solutions. The company noted the additional contracts for residential microgrids and battery energy storage solutions executed since February 24 had a face value exceeding $1.7 million. Solar Watt, based in Carlsbad, California, provides solar and alternative energy solutions for homeowners and commercial businesses throughout Southern California. It has been focused on serving the fire-prone communities throughout California by utilizing the Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), which provides homeowners who have medical needs and reside in vulnerable zones with the opportunity to add energy storage to their homes at little or no cost. Based on the achievement of certain performance objectives, the total consideration for the Solar Watt Solutions acquisition will be up to 477,703 company shares and up to $3,850,000 in cash, the company said in February's completion announcement. CleanSpark said a substantial percentage of the new contracts announced in March were related to California's SGIP. As well, the company said it and Solar Watt are currently running co-branded marketing campaigns to educate homeowners on the availability of these incentives for home microgrids and battery backup systems. CleanSpark noted that it has experienced a 10-fold increase in residential microgrid inquiries and is planning additional marketing campaigns in support of both its residential initiative, as well as the launch of its planned mVoult software and controls solution, providing homeowners with a standalone energy management controller on February 17. Designed for home microgrids, mVoult is capable of directing the operations of both existing and new energy assets. It will be offered as a smart controller and mobile app specifically built for residential applications. The company also said it plans to launch a fully integrated mVoult battery energy storage and control solution which will enable users to select optional add-ons, including solar integration or back-up generators. CleanSpark said it expects an expansion of government incentive programs to come under the new administration of President Joe Biden. That, along with energy assets decreasing in costs, means a home microgrid has become an even more viable option for homeowners to consider, the company added. The company's corporate microgrid business has also been growing in 2021. Notably, in early February, CleanSpark said it had received a new purchase order from a Houston, Texas-based microgrid developer. The group said the end-use customer is the world's largest retail chain, operating more than 11,500 locations worldwide and said the purchase order is expected to result in more than $1,500,000 of additional revenue for the company. CleanSpark posted its fiscal first-quarter results on February 12, 2021, which saw its revenue more than double year-over-year, thanks to an expanded sales team and a newfound passion for bitcoin mining. The company reported revenue of nearly $2.3 million, well above the $920,000 it brought in during the same period a year earlier. Its adjusted loss narrowed to $591,975, $0.03 per share, year-over-year from more than $1.7 million, $0.37 per share. Breaking it down, $1.2 million or 54%, of CleanSparks revenue, came from the companys energy segment, its digital agency segment (p2klabs) contributed $300,000 or 13%, and its bitcoin mining operation (ATL Data Center) accounted for $730,000 (32%). Looking ahead, CleanSpark said it expects $30 million in revenue for its fiscal year ending September 30, 2021. The company. noted that its current backlog stands at $7.3 million, up from $800,000 at the end of the quarter, which it attributed to an expanded sales team. In terms of working capital, the company said it had $25.6 million as of December 31, 2020, an increase of $22.5 million quarter-over-quarter, and roughly even year-over-year. Adding to that on the financing front, on March 18, CleanSpark announced the closing of a previously announced underwritten public offering of 9,090,910 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $22.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $200 million. The company said it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including infrastructure expansion, the acquisition of additional cryptocurrency miners and further development of its mVoult product lines, as well as acquisitions or strategic investments in complimentary businesses, products, services or technologies. Inflection points: Continuing increase in Bitcoin mining activity News on mVoult residential microgrid progress Further corporate microgrid orders What the boss says: In the company's March 26 statement, CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford said: With capital provided by the funding completed last week, we've focused aggressively on securing additional locations, miners and facilities to rapidly expand our Bitcoin operations." He added: "The CleanSpark mining operations team is led by world-renowned operators, so identifying opportunities close enough geographically to leverage the knowledge base of our team has been a priority. "We are extremely proud to have CleanSpark achieve what we believe to be the only Bitcoin miner to achieve 95% carbon-free operations at scale in the United States. We have a goal of pushing it further to achieve full carbon neutrality in the coming years." Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com On Friday, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh has died. Early this week, it was reported that the 99-year-old was "on good form," even reading and writing letters. Richard Kay detailed Prince Philip's last days of being alive in a new article on the Daily Mail. How Prince Philip Spent His Last Days One of the important things that were changed to accommodate Prince Philip was the domestic timetables such as mealtimes. Sometimes, he would join his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, when he felt strong enough to join her. Despite his failing health, which was signaling his life is about to end, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II were able to enjoy time together, similar to how they have always had. Kay wrote that in the past few weeks, the dad-of-four would sleep for hours of the day, but being with his wife were moments of "great lucidity and joyful togetherness." Prince Philip is known to be a no-fuss man. Most of the time, he would still act as if he's not 99 years old. One of his key characters is the unwillingness to show any sign of frailty. One time, he dropped his reading glasses, and a footman immediately leaped forward to pick them up, but the Duke of Edinburgh raised his arm and said, "Never mind. I'll do it." So he did and bent down the floor. Walking was also difficult to and from his apartment, so he used a stick instead. He would allow himself to be pushed in a wheelchair in very rare times, but palace staff was wary of even mentioning it. A royal aide recalled and told Kay, "When the wheelchair first appeared in the private rooms, he shouted, 'Get that bloody thing out of my sight!'" He was well enough to still speak to British royal family members and even close friends on the telephone, as Prince Philip wasn't a fan of Zoom calls. In the past couple of days, Prince Philip had been often confined to his room. In the last weeks since he was released last month after 28 in the King Edward VII's and St. Bartholomew's hospitals, the Duke of Edinburgh has reportedly been calmer and quieter. Food would be sent up on a tray to his room, but he often had little to no appetite. He even canceled his 7:30 am tray of morning tea that his valet or page would bring to his room. On the days he felt strong enough to get out of his room, Prince Philip would get up, dress up in a shirt and jumper with pressed pants and polished shoes. There was a valet who would always prepare his bath, but as per Kay's insiders, until very recently, Queen Elizabeth II's husband was still dressing himself. He would ask for a chair to be placed outside on warm days and would just sit under the sunshine with a blanket on his legs. Often, the 99-year-old Duke would just doze off. One of his missions just before his death was not to end his last days in the hospital. An insider revealed to Kay, "When he came back to Windsor, he said he was not going back to any hospital." There was no dramatic decline in Prince Philip's health, but it was gradual. READ ALSO: Prince Philip Double Pain: Duke of Edinburgh Receives Devastating News While in Hospital The Day of Prince Philip's Death On the day Prince Philip died, the Daily Mail reported that Queen Elizabeth II was by his bedside. It is unknown what the cause of death is, but an insider reportedly told the outlet that, "He spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home. They operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind." "But he didn't really care about that. He just wanted to be back in his own bed. There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital." READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth II To Become More Visible After COVID-19 To Live By Motto See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles West Bengal Chief Minister on Saturday replied to Election Commission's notice to her against her remarks on Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and said she did not violate In her letter to EC, Banerjee states, "There has been no effort to incite/influence the electorate against CAPFs. It is clear I have not violated " The Election Commission issued a notice to West Bengal Chief Minister on Friday asking her to explain her stand by April 10 regarding her statements against Central Forces on March 28 and April 7. This is the second notice issued to her by the Election Commission. Banerjee had alleged that the Central Forces favoured the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the polling in the first and second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections. On Wednesday, EC had issued another notice to over her remarks on April 3, where she appealed to the Muslim voters to not let their vote get split among different political parties contesting in the ongoing Assembly elections. The Commission had asked the Chief Minister to explain her stand within 48 hours after receiving the notice, failing which it shall "take a decision without further reference to you". Voting is underway in 44 constituencies in five districts of West Bengal during the fourth phase of the state Assembly polls. Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar. (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.) Australia will soon begin sharing its vaccine stockpile with nations in the Pacific, despite the derailment of its own inoculation plan at a time when hotel quarantine systems are reporting an influx of Covid patients. At least 10,000 Australian-manufactured doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are to be distributed each week to help the country's neighbours inoculate their highest-risk populations at a time when the international supply is constrained. Supply will scale up as required, Health Minister Greg Hunt, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja said in a joint statement. 'Our region's health security and economic recovery is intertwined with our own,' the statement reads. Australia will soon begin sharing its vaccine stockpile with nations in the Pacific, despite the derailment of its own inoculation plan at a time when hotel quarantine systems are reporting an influx of Covid patients 'Doses will initially be made available to our friends in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste, which are facing significant Covid-19 outbreaks.' Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will also begin to receive doses in the coming weeks. The announcement comes as Australian health authorities are racing to rebuild their vaccine rollout timetable, after new health advice forced the government to bin its initial plan. Meanwhile, Covid-infected Australians continue to return to the country in high numbers. Some six new virus cased were reported in hotel quarantine on Saturday - four in NSW and one each in Queensland and Victoria. Prime Minister Scott Morrison originally set October as the rollout deadline but as most people were set to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, he now won't say when all Australians can expect to have their first jab. The country is now pinning its hopes on the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, with the AstraZeneca vaccine no longer recommended for people under 50 because of an extremely rare but serious blood clot side effect. That age group has been told to opt for the Pfizer vaccine, with the government hoping an extra 20 million doses arrive in the country by the end of the year. That would take Australia's total supply of Pfizer jabs to 40 million. Prime Minister Scott Morrison originally set October as the rollout deadline but as most people were set to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, he now won't say when all Australians can expect to have their first jab. The health advice has plunged the country's vaccine rollout into chaos. Western Australia cancelled appointments for people under the age of 50 who had been expecting to get the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. The rollout has been paused in Queensland's far north as authorities work through the implications of the rare blood clot advice. Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja (pictured together) announced the plan in a joint statement Vaccinations in the Torres Strait have been a priority for Queensland given its number of vulnerable communities and proximity to the outbreak in Papua New Guinea. Plans have also been derailed in the Northern Territory, because the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at much cooler temperatures than AstraZeneca. This makes it harder to transport to remote areas outside of Darwin and Alice Springs that do not have specialist medical refrigerators. NSW is still working on its plans to create mass vaccination hubs to inoculate tens of thousands of people each week, but it is reliant on supply. Labor is again urging the federal government to lock in deals for other vaccines, particularly the Moderna jab. More than one million Australians have now been vaccinated, with the government also promising more frequent data on how the rollout is progressing. China opposes addition of 7 companies to US export-control list: MOC Xinhua) 13:29, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China is opposed to the United States including seven Chinese supercomputing entities in its "entity list" for export controls, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Friday. Employing excuses such as "national security" or "military modernization efforts," the United States has repeatedly abused export-control measures and its state power to oppress companies and institutions in other countries, the spokesperson said. Such moves have caused severe damage to the international economic and trade order, and have posed a grave threat to the security of global industrial and supply chains, said the spokesperson, adding that they bring no benefit to China, the United States or the world at large. "China urges the United States to stop its wrongdoing immediately, and it will take any measures necessary to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," the spokesperson said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is now the only country that can sell its famous halloumi cheese in the European Union. Halloumi is a cheese made from goat, sheep and cows milk. It is salty, feels like rubber and is usually cooked: fried or grilled. Halloumi is very popular in Europe and around the world. Yearly cheese exports are worth at least $267 million. Farmers call the cheese white gold. Because of this popularity, foreign cheese makers have tried to sell their own cheese using the halloumi name. Cypriots argue that foreign producers halloumi is inauthentic. But later this month, the European Union is recognizing halloumi with its Protected Destination of Origin (PDO). This means only Cypriot producers will be able to market the cheese in Europe under the halloumi name. Cyprus is involved in 80 court cases against foreign producers who call their cheese halloumi. George Petrou oversees Petrou Bros. Dairy Products. The company makes about 25 percent of Cyprus halloumi exports. He says the cheese is a Cypriot invention that dates back to 1500. Unfortunately in recent years many countries tried to copy us, he said. Using the halloumi name for other kinds of cheese misleads consumers, he added. Starting in 2024, at least half of the cheese will need to be goat and sheeps milk. The rest can be cows milk. The EU registration permits the northern part of Cyprus to export its halloumi, or hellim in Turkish, to Europe. Northern Cyprus is ethnically Turkish and has had a separate government since 1974. Turkey is the only country in the world to recognize Northern Cyprus. Before the PDO, Northern Cypriot producers could only export hellim to Turkey. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades praised the agreement as historic. He said the agreement gives the country an economic boost that will help both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. He added, Its a strong message...that Im sending to Turkish Cypriots about all the benefits we can reap from the protections that the European Union can offer. Im Jonathan Evans. Menelaos Hadjicostis reported this story for the Associated Press and Michele Kambas reported this story for Reuters. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor. _______________________________________________________ Words in This Story inauthentic- adj. - not real, accurate, or sincere : not authentic origin- n. the point or place where something begins or is created mislead- n. to cause (someone) to believe something that is not true consumer- n. a person who buys goods and services boost v. to increase the force, power, or amount of (something) benefit- n. - a good or helpful result or effect reap- v. to get (something, such as a reward) as a result of something that you have done The Kremlin reported that Erdogan praised Russias efforts to further stabilize the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone and ensure the implementation of Russian-brokered agreements that stopped last years Armenian-Azerbaijani war. In a statement, it said Putin briefed Erdogan on his latest conversations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The Russian and Turkish leaders agreed on the need to step up work on restoring the transport infrastructure in the South Caucasus, added the statement. Putin met with Pashinian in Moscow on Wednesday and spoke with Aliyev by phone the following day. The Russian president reportedly discussed with them the implementation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by him on November 9. The agreement calls, among other things, for the restoration of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Putin, Pashinian and Aliyev decided to set up a trilateral task force for that purpose when they held a trilateral meeting in Moscow in January. Later in January, Russia and Turkey opened a joint center in Azerbaijan to monitor the Karabakh ceasefire. The center operates independently from around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers deployed in Karabakh. During the six-week war, Turkey supported the Azerbaijan with weapons and expert advice. It also reportedly recruited thousands of Syrian mercenaries and sent them to fight in Karabakh on the Azerbaijani side. YREKA, Calif. California Highway Patrol says that it arrested a man accused of kidnapping a 17-month-old child from Ashland on Friday morning. CHP learned about the kidnapping from Ashland Police just after 10 a.m. The suspect was believed to be headed south on I-5 in a silver 2005 Chrysler 300. According to the agency, 37-year-old Desmond Thomas Cloyd of Anderson, California, was heading to Yreka with the 17-month-old child in the vehicle. The child was not in a car seat. Officers tracked Cloyd down to the Hilt area behind a Caltrans building, taking him into custody without further incident. The 17-month-old was found unharmed inside Cloyd's vehicle, CHP said. The child's mother came to the scene and was reunited with her child. Cloyd was booked into the Siskiyou County Jail on multiple felony charges for kidnapping, child abduction, and disobeying a court order. Right now activists are sharing images of this small bulldozer clearing Westport land of a homeless protest site. Demonstrators argue that Mayor Lucas betrayed his promises to the group. In a publicly shared post, here is a portion of their statement: "KC Public Works and KCPD just arrived at Camp 6ixx to start the sweep of over 50 residents homes. Most residents have been temporarily relocated while a few remain. Almost all residents wanted to stay until they were threatened with arrests and displacement. Camp 6ixx is the people, not the location. We will rebuild this beautiful community and continue fighting for housing justice." Mayor Q responds and argues a bit with the group, here's the main takeaway . . . "When I was there yesterday everyone I spoke to wanted to go to a hotel for 90 days, so long as they knew the opportunity existed for the others in the community and it wasnt just a short-term offer, but instead provided a path to long term housing and services and jobswhich it does. I also have not heard of any threats of arrest. If there were, please share any video/audio of it since I know I have been recorded every time im there. I assume it would be the same with any law enforcement interaction. I would like to get to the bottom of it if there was. Thats exactly the opposite of everything I know Ive worked on this week." Via Twitter the mayor offered a cryptic update and a nice sentiment that doesn't offer much insight into today's outrage. What we can decipher so far . . . Homeless activists accuse city hall of betraying promises that assured against forced removal whilst the mayor defends his offer of free hotel shelter and help for denizens of the camps. Meanwhile . . . CRITICS OF HOMELESS COMPROMISE PREDICTED INEVITABLE CRITICISM AGAINST THE MAYOR FROM ACTIVISTS WHO DEMAND MORE RESOURCES!!! And so . . . The homeless are calling the move a "sweep" despite the Mayor's protestations. The only thing for certain is that Kansas City's homeless crisis persists and a recent free hotel room deal doesn't come close to solving the problem. Developing . . . Enterprises from China and Europe in the advanced manufacturing industry will gain new development opportunities amid flourishing cooperation between the two parties stimulated by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), officials said at an online press conference. More cutting-edge equipment and manufacturing technologies are in high demand across China, as the country is strengthening efforts to modernize its manufacturing industry chain in line with its 14th Five-Year (2021-2025) Plan, said Mao Yufeng, a senior official with the China Machine Tool & Tool Builders' Association, at the press conference on the EMO MILANO 2021, an international trade fair for machine tools. The remarks were echoed by several European counterparts. "China is currently in the stage of its industrial structure upgrading," said Gianpaolo Bruno, director of the Italian Trade Agency in Beijing, adding that this will significantly drive the demand for high-performance machine tools. "China, being the world's largest producer and consumer of machine tools, is a top priority of Italy's machine tool builders' internationalization strategy," Bruno said. In 2019, China absorbed almost 20 billion euros (about 23.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of global machine tools, accounting for 27.2 percent of the global total, according to Bruno. Against the backdrop of the struggling global economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of Italian companies, attracted by the huge Chinese consumer market, have decided to attend the China International Machine Tool Show 2021 that will open on April 12, Mao said. While giving full play to practical cooperation via platforms including the BRI, Chinese and Italian companies in the machine tools field can both enhance their competitiveness in the global market, Mao said. NEW DELHI: A police station in-charge of Kishanganj police station in Bihar, who had gone to conduct raids in adjoining West Bengal area to arrest an accused in a theft case, was killed by a mob early morning on Saturday (April 10). The accused was wanted in a theft case conducted in Pantapara village, near Goalpokhar police station area bordering Bihar's Kishanganj district. A police official told IANS that SHO Ashwini Kumar had arrived at a village near Dheksara to arrest the accused in the police investigation in a bike theft incident near the Sadar police station area. The locals told the news agency that the accused's home was at Pantapara village in West Bengal. The police team was surrounded by the locals as soon as they reached the village. People from nearby areas also gathered there, following which the police team tried to save themselves from the mob. The police station in-charge was killed on the spot in an attack by the mob. Confirming the incident, Purnia Inspector General of Police, Suresh Kumar Chaudhary, told IANS that the body has been taken by the police and sent for post-mortem. The deceased police official was a resident of Janakinagar in Purnia. district. Police rushed to the spot after the incident. Chaudhary said raids are being conducted to nab the accused. Live TV Ashwini Kumar, was killed on Saturday morning by a mob in West Bengal when a police team reached there to arrest the accused in a theft case in Employees of Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) say they have were blindsided with a 33 1/3 per cent pay cut in their salaries. While some workers were under the impression the cut was supposed to occur next fortnight, many were unprepared for managements move. One employee told the Express yesterday while talk was being bandied about a few days ago with regard to the pay cut, she thought more notice would have been given to staff since globally theres a pandemic. I am hurt and disappointed. Prince Harry is likely to return to England for Prince Philips funeral later this month but it is unlikely his wife Meghan Markle will do the same because of her pregnancy, royal commentators have said. The Duke of Edinburgh died on Friday morning just two months before his 100th birthday, with tributes quickly pouring in from across the world. World leaders including US president Joe Biden commended his service, charity work and dedication to the Queen. The dukes grandson, who now lives with his family in Montecito, California, is expected to fly back to the UK to attend his grandfathers funeral, which will be pared back due to the pandemic. Unless he is granted a diplomatic exemption, the prince will be required to self-isolate upon his arrival for a minimum of five days, after which he can leave quarantine if he tests negative for the virus. One source told The Daily Mirror that he had spoken to his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie, saying he wanted to be with his family. He said he wants to be with everyone and was already making arrangements to come home, they added. Similarly, another royal insider toldThe Daily Mailon Friday that Prince Harry will absolutely do his utmost to be with his family at this awful time. Angela Levin, a royal biographer, told PA: I wonder if Prince Harry will come over, I would imagine he would. I dont expect Meghan to, she added, implying she would be advised against travel because she is pregnant. The comments come a month on from the couples divisive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they opened up about the difficulties of their life in the UK, more than a year on from their decision to quit royal duties. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said he thinks the funeral could help the family get over its rift, as it would offer them a comparative bit of privacy. He told Times Radio: Many a family gather and get over tension and broken relationships at the time of a funeral. Something very profound unites them all again. And that would be true for this family, Im sure. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid tribute to Philip on Friday by adding these words to the website of their charitable foundation Archewell: In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh 1921-2021 Thank you for your service... You will be greatly missed. The Independent has reached out to a representative for the Sussexes for further comment. The Duke of Edinburghs funeral is likely to take place on Saturday 17 April, with details expected to confirmed this weekend. In ordinary times, there would have been a military procession in London to mark Prince Philips time in the Navy and a funeral attended by world leaders. However, things will be different because of the coronavirus, with funerals currently limited to a maximum of 30 people, who have to be socially distanced if they are not from the same household or bubble. Royal commentator Joe Little said he believed the Duke would have approved of this, as he didnt want all the pomp and pageantry. According to his wishes, Prince Philips coffin will not lie in state. Additional reporting from PA SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a release issued under the same headline on Thursday, April 8, 2021 by Ushur, please note that in the fifth paragraph of the release, the Series B raise should be $30M, not $30B as previously stated. The corrected release follows: Ushur , an early leader in AI-powered customer experience automation, today announced that enterprise sales leader Ron Gupta has joined as Senior Vice President of Sales. Ron will apply his 15+ years sales experience to lead Ushurs revenue generation with its ethos of valuing every customer as a partner. Ron joins from contract lifecycle management platform Conga. He led one of Congas largest revenue engines while simultaneously launching two additional global markets, contributing to a period of growth where Conga more than doubled its annual revenue to over $400M. At billion-dollar enterprise software company TIBCO, Ron led all functions of its government subsidiary and was instrumental in the acquisition of several of TIBCOs largest customers. Other leadership roles include Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales at Zephyr (acquired by SmartBear) and Sales Director at BPM company Pegasystems. "Ushur has all the ingredients for rapid growth: a stellar team backed by blue chip investors, a battle-tested technology platform and a massive market opportunity, said Ron Gupta. I am honored to be joining Ushur at this juncture as we build a foundation to transform the way enterprises interact with and serve customers." Ushur is on a trajectory of unprecedented growth due to the market demand for digital, self-service technology that we deliver through our AI-powered platform, said Simha Sadasiva, CEO of Ushur. I am thrilled to have a leader of Rons caliber and experience join us as we hit our stride to reshape the world of enterprise customer experience through true intelligent automation, purpose-built to transform every aspect of the customer engagement lifecycle. Gupta is Ushurs sixth senior executive hire in the past six months as the company continues its booming expansion on the back of its $30M Series B raise. Guptas appointment follows Kashif Mahbub as Senior Vice President of Marketing, John Lepore as Global Head of Solutions Engineering, Meredith Barnes-Cook as Head of Global Insurance, Janeen Blanton as Director of Customer Success and Kate Gingras as Vice President of Strategic Accounts. About Ushur Ushur enables enterprises to intelligently automate and digitally transform their end-to-end customerfacing workflows through its AI-powered, no-code and cloud-native automation platform. Backed by leading investors including Third Point Ventures, 8VC, Pentland Ventures, Aflac Ventures and Iron Pillar, Ushurs intelligent process automation solutions for customer engagement are currently in production at some of the leading insurance providers across the globe including Irish Life, Unum, Aetna, Cigna and Tower Insurance. Media Contact Theresa Carper ushur@firebrand.marketing 415 848 9175 One person died from COVID-19 complications in Nigeria on Friday: the first death in over one week. Before Fridays fatality was recorded, no death had been reported in the country in the previous seven consecutive days for the first time since Suleiman Achimugu became the first fatality on March 23, 2020. The Friday death took the fatality toll in the country to 2,059. This is according to an update published by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Friday night. Nigeria is the country with the least death toll among the top six countries affected by COVID-19 in Africa South Africa, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Morocco, and Egypt. Health experts, however, believe the death toll is likely underreported due to poor testing in the country. Infections Also on Friday, in continuation of a steady run of low figures, Nigeria reported 71 new infections in 10 states, according to the NCDC. The figure, which is slightly lower than the 83 cases found a day earlier, raised the total number of infections in the West African nation to 163,652. In the past one week, there has been a further decline in new cases as daily infections have fallen below 200. Daily infections averaged over 1,000 between December 2020 and February 2021, during the peak of the pandemic. Specifics The 71 new cases were reported from 10 states Lagos (24), Yobe (13), Rivers (9), Akwa Ibom (6), FCT (6), Kano (6), Osun (3), Delta (2), Jigawa (1) and Plateau (1). Again, Lagos led on Thursday with 24 new cases to extend its lead as the state most impacted by COVID-19 in the country. Nearly 58,000 infections have been recorded in Lagos, about one third of the countrys total. One-quarter of the total deaths from the disease were reported from the commercial city. Since the pandemic broke out in Nigeria in February last year, the country has carried out over 1.8 million tests. More than two-thirds of the over 163,000 people infected by COVID-19 in Nigeria have recovered after treatment. According to the NCDC, over 154,073 patients have recovered after treatment. Meanwhile, nearly 8,000 infections are still active in the country. Vaccination Nigeria commenced COVID-19 vaccination on March 5 having received 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines through COVAX, a UN-backed effort that promises access to free vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries population. About a month later, less than a million citizens have received a jab, indicating a slow start to the process. ADVERTISEMENT As of April 6, 964,387 Nigerians in 35 states and the FCT have received their first doses, according to the NPHCDA the agency responsible for the vaccination rollout. The government has also asked states to halt new vaccinations once they go beyond half of the vaccines they were given by the federal government. This is to ensure that all those who received their first dose of the vaccine get their second dose from the limited supply of the vaccine available in the country. Nigeria has received only about 4.3 million doses of vaccine. To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, Nigeria had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its population before the end of 2021, and 70 per cent by the end of 2022. Data support potential of DARPin CD3 T-cell engager candidate for improved safety window while limiting tumor escape New data show that the FAP x CD40 product candidate, MP0317, led to a localized macrophage repolarization and reversion of T-cell suppression. Clinical trials expected to initiate in the second half of 2021 Effector control technologies give new potential for enhancing current and future immunotherapies while reducing toxicities ZURICH-SCHLIEREN, SWITZERLAND / ACCESSWIRE / April 10, 2021 / Molecular Partners AG (SIX:MOLN), a clinical-stage biotech company that is developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics, today announced the presentation of four posters highlighting research across its immuno-oncology programs at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) virtual Annual Meeting. The preclinical data shared include results from the Company's acute myeloid leukemia (AML) CD3 T-cell engager program, new data from the MP0317 (FAP x CD40) tumor localized immune activator, and initial results from the Company's CD3 prodrug programs. "With our new technologies designed for localized immune activation, targeting of cell surface-displayed peptides derived from intracellular proteins, and T-cell engagement, we believe we have a solid strategy for our new immune-oncology product candidates, and novel design capabilities that have the potential to greatly benefit our own and partnered immuno-oncology programs," said Daniel Steiner, Ph.D., SVP Research of Molecular Partners. "Our first T-cell engager program is focused on AML, where statistically about half of people diagnosed relapse after treatment and die from the disease. Despite the existence of approved therapies, patients are often unable to benefit from these treatments due to intolerable toxicity. We believe we have made significant progress toward finding a way to avoid this trade-off and widen the therapeutic window for T-cell engagers in AML, aiming to deliver deeper and broader anti-tumor effect and reduce the impact on patients' healthy cells." In preclinical studies, the Company's AML candidates demonstrated substantial activity against different populations of AML cells in vitro, without significant damage to healthy cells. As shown in the poster titled Novel multi-specific DARPin T-cell engager with an improved therapeutic window to overcome dose limiting toxicities in AML therapies, Molecular Partners is building on the strength of the DARPin platform to create a single product designed to target three different cancer antigens simultaneously (CD70, CD33, and CD123). The multi-specific DARPin T-cell engager candidate is designed to deliver highly potent and specific activity on AML cells, with a reduced effect on healthy normal cells, and with the potential to counteract target escape mechanisms expected due to tumor heterogeneity. In an ex vivo assay using fresh blood from healthy donors, the candidate induced profoundly less inflammatory cytokine production and reduction in platelet counts, unlike simultaneously tested T-cell engager candidates in development by other parties. We believe these data support the designed capability of this candidate to kill a broader population of AML cells while decreasing risk of toxicity. The T-cell engager research presented today also displays the Company's prodrug DARPin technology for tumor-localized release of immune stimulation, through incorporation of a protease cleavable blocker DARPin molecule. As CD3-binding T-cell engagers are highly potent and can lead to systemic toxicities, Molecular Partners has developed a DARPin domain designed to mask the CD3 engager from interacting with T cells systemically/outside of the tumor. This technology is aimed at focusing the power of the effector function and reduce toxicities by controlling the location of activation to the tumor microenvironment. In a poster titled A solution to T-cell engager toxicity: An anti-CD3 Prodrug DARPin (CD3-PDD) shows no toxicity, but potent anti-tumor activity in a humanized mouse model, Molecular Partners presents an anti-CD3 Prodrug DARPin molecule, CD3-PDD, consisting of an EGFR-binder and a CD3-binder, linked via a protease-cleavable linker to a DARPin domain masking the CD3 effector function. This-anti EGFR x anti-CD3 - Blocker Prodrug is shown to be unable to bind and recruit T-cells in its non-cleaved state in circulation, and is designed to become activated in the tumor microenvironment upon cleavage of the linker by tumor-associated proteases. With respect to MP0317, a multi-specific DARPin product candidate targeting both FAP and CD40 to enable tumor-localized immune activation, new preclinical data demonstrated a localized activation of immune cells in vitro, as well as ex vivo in human tumor samples, dependent on the presence of the FAP protein, which is highly expressed in the stroma of a broad range of solid tumors. The data presented in the poster titled MP0317, a FAPxCD40 targeting multi-specific DARPin therapeutic, drives immune activation and leads to macrophage repolarization in vitro and ex vivo shows that MP0317 led to macrophage repolarization and reversion of T cell suppression: MP0317 led to upregulation of CD80, an M1 marker, and downregulation of CD163, an M2 marker, only in the presence of FAP, indicating macrophage repolarization towards an M1 phenotype. Furthermore, when these repolarized macrophages were co-cultured with T cells, T cell suppression was shown to revert and CD8 T-cell activation was observed, as shown by the increase of CD25. In both assays the killing effect was comparable to that achieved by an anti-CD40 antibody. We believe these data support MP0317's potential to deliver tumor-localized CD40-mediated immune cell activation while avoiding systemic toxicity seen in other agents. MP0317 is anticipated to begin clinical trials in the second half of 2021. Finally, with respect to the Company's peptide-MHC targeting program, the Company presents preclinical results from a proof of concept study targeting a peptide derived from the NY-ESO-1 protein displayed in the context of a HLA-A2 molecule (a human MHC protein). The poster, Application of the DARPin technology for specific targeting of tumor-associated MHC class I: peptide complexes, highlights results demonstrating rapid and reliable generation of DARPin proteins against pMHC which were then formatted into bispecific T-cell engagers, and engineered to enable potent and specific activation of T cells. Further, the results show that the pMHC-targeting DARPin candidate was able to achieve systemic half-life extension with limited impact on potency. The posters presented at AACR are available to view in the Scientific Presentations section of Molecular Partners' corporate website. About Molecular Partners' Immuno-oncology Product Candidates Molecular Partners is developing several candidates designed to activate the immune system to fight cancer while reducing damage to healthy cells. These candidates use multiple novel DARPin technologies potentially applicable against a wide range of tumor types, including DARPin candidates with the ability to restrict immune activation to the tumor microenvironment, the ability to target intracellular disease-associated proteins, and multiple novel control mechanisms for immune activation designed to direct immune attack to the right cells, at the right place, and at the right time. These capabilities can be combined during candidate design through the inherent modularity of the DARPin platform, to provide precise control over immune activation and potentially enable more effective cancer immunotherapies. About Molecular Partners AG Molecular Partners AG is a clinical-stage biotech company developing DARPin therapeutics, a new class of custom-built protein drugs designed to address challenges current modalities cannot. The Company has formed partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies to advance DARPin therapeutics in the areas of ophthalmology, oncology and infectious disease, and has compounds in various stages of clinical and preclinical development across multiple therapeutic areas. For more information see www.molecularpartners.com and follow the Company on Twitter at @MolecularPrtnrs. For further details, please contact: Investors: Seth Lewis seth.lewis@molecularpartners.com Tel: +1 781 420 2361 Media: Shai Biran, Ph.D. shai.biran@molecularpartners.com Tel: +1 978 254 6286 Thomas Schneckenburger, European IR & Media thomas.schneckenburger@molecularpartners.com Tel: +41 79 407 9952 Forward-looking statements This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the company and its business. Although the company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, all statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release about future events are subject to (i) change without notice and (ii) factors beyond the company's control. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by, or including words such as "target," "believe," "expect," "aim," "intend," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "project," "will," "can have," "likely," "should," "would," "could", and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. SOURCE: Molecular Partners AG View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639829/Molecular-Partners-Shares-New-Preclinical-Data-from-its-AML-Focused-CD3-T-Cell-Engager-Program-CD40-Product-Candidate-MP0317-and-Other-Novel-Immuno-oncology-Approaches-at-AACR Public streets should not be blocked, observed the Supreme Court on Friday while hearing a plea of a Noida-based woman alleging difficulties in commuting to Delhi for work due to road blockades by protesting farmers. A bench comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta took note of the reply of Delhi Police Commissioner on the plea and said for proper adjudication, the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also needed to be made parties. Without referring to the ongoing farmers protest against the three agri laws, the bench said, We are not concerned with how you resolve this issue, whether politically, administratively or judicially. But, we have said this before that roads should not be blocked. This is a single mother who has to face many issues because of blocked roads. In the hearing conducted through video conferencing, the bench said, public streets should not be blocked and this has been held repeatedly in previous orders of the top court. Earlier, a bench headed by Justice Kaul, in its judgement on pleas against blockade of road at Shaheen Bagh here during the anti-CAA protest, had said that occupying public places for protests is not acceptable and such a space cannot be occupied indefinitely. The bench on Friday was hearing a plea of Monicca Agarwaal who had alleged that her commute from Noida to Delhi was taking her two hours instead of the usual 20 minutes due to blockade. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi government, said besides Delhi Police, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana be made parties and the counsel for these States would be appearing in the hearing. The court, which made Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as parties, has now fixed the matter for further hearing on April 19. Earlier, the bench had issued notice to the Delhi Police on the plea in which the woman had said that she stays in Noida and has to travel to Delhi because she was doing the job of marketing. It is her say that she is a single parent and also has some medical issues and it has become a nightmare to travel to Delhi where it is taking two hours instead of normal 20 minutes. She contends that despite the various directions passed by this Court to keep the to and fro passage clear (the roads), the same still does not happen, the bench had noted. We consider it appropriate to issue notice to the respondents to ensure that the road area is kept clear so that the passage from one place to other is not affected. A copy of the order to accompany the notice, it had said. Free Burma Rangers director David "Dave" Eubank is calling upon everyone around the world who can receive his message, to send prayers and support to the Burmese people who have fallen victim to the military junta in Myanmar. In an email update, Eubank shared how the ethnic people who were chased into the mountains "refuse to give up and continue loving and helping each other" and how their teams are among these ethnic people now providing medical and food support. Free Burma Rangers is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement that targets the politically oppressed in Myanmar, which was formerly named Burma, Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan. They work to deliver emergency medical assistance and supplies to internally displaced people. It is now led by Eubank whose parents were Christian missionaries. He was born in Texas and previously served in the U.S. Army. Today, he is committed to helping those who are in need, especially victims of the Myanmar army that continues its attacks on citizens. According to Voice Of America, up to 19 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for the murder of an associate of an army captain. The report revealed that this is the first time such sentences were announced in public since the military coup began on February 1. The army captain's associate was killed on March 27 in the North Okkalapa district of Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, which was declared to be under martial law. According to Faithwire, Eubank announced that there are several ways in which people can send in their support for the victims of the Myanmar army that continues its attacks on its citizens. He highlighted the importance of prayer, asking for "prayers, love and support." "The Burma military is more powerful than anyone here but we believe God is more powerful and is giving us ways to help," Eubank said. Eubank added that there are three specific ways people can help victims of the Myanmar army and their three-pronged approach to delivering aid. The first is "relief for the displaced," in which Free Burma Rangers deliver food, medical, and shelter relief to ethnic people who are under attack and are seeking refuge in the mountains. Eubank shared that there are about 20,000 people in hiding in the northern Karen State alone and support will require $100 per family for rice, a tarp to shelter them, and medicine. They aim to raise $730,000 to provide three months worth of supplies to these people. Secondly, people can provide support for those who have fled the city and want to be trained to return and help. Free Burma Rangers offers food, shelter and medical and communication training to enable the Burmese people to "go back and help their people stand for freedom and survive." Part of this is telling them "the most important thing we have learned is to love God, love each other and not give up." This will require $10,000 to train 50 people and $5,000 to provide them with supplies and equipment. They will also need four-wheel drive trucks worth $30,000 and motorcycles worth $1,500. Lastly, people can also provide support for escape, which entails arranging "all the various transport and communications costs between $300- $1,000 per escape." Eubank said they were in need of 20 satellite phones valued at $1,500 each. To send in financial support for the Free Burma Rangers to help aid the victims of the Myanmar army, visit freeburmarangers.org/donations. Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Thirty-seven new cases linked to the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic were reported Thursday in DR Congo, an official source told PANA here Friday CLEVELAND, Ohio Mayor Frank Jacksons administration on Friday unveiled a plan to combat climate change by transitioning Cleveland to 100% clean and renewable energy sources by 2050. The plan, Cleveland Clean and Equitable Energy Future Report, is to serve as a roadmap the city can follow to reduce its carbon footprint and achieve 100% clean energy transition. If successful, Cleveland would reap several benefits, including improved health as a result of the improved environment, said Jason Wood, the mayors chief of sustainability. But it also could bring economic gains of an estimated $1.5 billion over time, Wood said. New jobs up to 5,000 by 2050 -- could be created as the city as a whole works toward the goal, installing clean energy technology, the report estimates. Want the inside scoop? Sign up for text messages from City Hall reporter Robert Higgs. For about 13 cents a day you can get behind-the-scenes insights. The plan is an extension of Jacksons green city initiative launched in 2013 and updated in 2018. That initiative included a goal that city-owned Cleveland Public Power obtain 25% of its electricity from renewable sources. It is 13% now. But this effort goes further, seeking to get the population as a whole to participate. The unveiling also comes during what could be Jacksons last eight-plus months in office. He has yet to say whether he will seek a fifth term. For the report, with support from several of Clevelands foundations and non-profits, the city hired Greenlink Analytics a national leader on carbon footprint accounting, utility resource planning, and environmental/social impact assessment to study current and future energy use by both the city and community. As a City, we have a long commitment to sustainability which includes focusing on reducing emissions, Jackson said in a statement. This report builds on our utility-level efforts, and includes things that residents, businesses, and the city can do to generate more clean electricity locally and to increase energy efficiency. Achieving the goal will require Cleveland to make greater use of clean energy, such as wind turbines and solar installations on rooftops and the ground. But it also will require a change of culture in Cleveland, Wood said. That will start with extensive outreach efforts to show people how they can be more efficient with energy use in their homes, which will in turn cut their costs and help their wallets, Woods said. There is a lot of work for everybody to do, he said. More from Cleveland City Hall Six Cleveland City Council members back creating a time for public speaking at meetings Cleveland City Council subpoenas for dark-money documents in anti-CPP effort go unanswered Buckeye Institute sues Cleveland for collecting income taxes from commuters during coronavirus pandemic How should Cleveland spend $541M in coronavirus aid? City Council ideas focus on lasting change Flood of Cleveland City Council candidates already circulating petitions to get on the 2021 ballot Will Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson run again? Past practices might offer clues The Horana Plantation Company (HPC) in Sri Lanka, which runs the Alton estate, has sacked 38 workers, alleging they were involved in a physical assault on the estates manager and assistant manager. This is a blatant attack on the democratic rights of the Alton workers, and more broadly a warning to the entire working class. On March 22, HPC management issued letters to the 38 workers informing them of the punishment being imposed. A Tamil-language version of the letter said they were suspended from their jobs. Union bureaucrats also told the victimised workers that they had been suspended. WSWS reporters obtained the Tamil- and English-language versions of the letters. The English-language letter was headed The letter of dismissal and signed by the Deputy General Manager (DGM) of corporate affairs, Pusphika Samarakoon. Alton estate (Source: Facebook) After listing various allegations, the letter stated: Under the above circumstances, a decision has been taken by the Employer/Company to summarily terminate services with immediate effect. It added: You are also informed that the factory, office and fields are out of bounds for you from now on. A lawyer from the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), which is defending the victimised workers, telephoned DGM Samarakoon on Wednesday to find out why there was a discrepancy between the Tamil and English wordings of the companys arbitrary punishment. Samarakoon said: It is summary termination. [The Tamil] translation is unsigned. We have signed the original [in English]. It is very clear. Asked whether there had been any kind of inquiry before this termination? he said, No and declared that in cases directly involving workers and their superiors: We dont generally have a domestic inquiry [I]ts a severe offence, therefore on a summary termination, we dont hold an inquiry. The HPC management letters allege that on February 17 workers physically assaulted the estate manager Sathyamoorthy Subash Narayanan and assistant manager Anushan Thiruchelvam who were injured and had to be hospitalised. The letters claim that the 38 sacked workers were part of a mob and accountable for the aforesaid acts of misconduct in addition to breaking the law and order on the estate, whilst creating breach of peace as well and therefore guilty of Collective Misconduct. The sacked workers have categorically denied that they were involved in any physical assault of the manager and assistant manager. Samarakoons arrogant rejection of any inquiry and his justification of the summary sackings are a blatant violation of basic legal requirements and a denial of the fundamental democratic right of workers to defend themselves from false claims by employers. HPC, which is controlled by the Hayleys Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in Sri Lanka, has simply decided to charge the workers, hold its own so-called preliminary inquiry without even issuing a formal charge sheet or allowing workers to defend themselves, declared them guilty and imposed its punishment. The entirely anti-democratic procedure is reminiscent of the brutal treatment of workers by British companies during colonial rule. Even after Sri Lankas formal independence in 1948, these companies continued their dictatorial methods. That year, the Sri Lanka government abolished the citizenship rights of Indian-origin workers, unleashing ethnic discrimination and ensuring the ongoing oppression of estate workers. Plantation workers continued to be treated in the same ruthless manner, even after Colombo nationalised the estates in 1972 and then privatised them in 1990. Estate workers have a long history of opposition and have engaged in major struggles against this oppression. HPC management claims that about 80 people, workers and non-workers, were involved in the alleged assault and are demanding information from estate workers about the other participants. On February 2, about 500 workers went on strike to demand a 1,000-rupee daily basic wage and blocked managements attempt to transport processed tea leaves. The manager assaulted workers, injuring one female workers hand who had to be hospitalised. Alton workers joined a one-day national strike, called by the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) on February 5, over the same demand but remained on strike in protest against management threats. On February 15, management sought to sabotage the strike by trying to move tea leaves to another factory. Workers foiled this attempt and held a protest outside the managers residence. Claiming that workers had used violence against managers, the company initiated its witch hunt involving the police and with the full backing of the CWC, which drew up a list of workers and told them to surrender to the police. On February 18, police arrested eight workers and on March 1 two youth were taken into custody. They were remanded in Kandy prison by a magistrate. The CWC later surrendered 12 more workers to the police. All those arrested were released on March 10 but on harsh bail conditions. The HPC named 18 other workers, four of whom were summoned to Maskeliya police station on March 29 and their statements recorded. They were told to appear in court on April 28, along with all the other arrested workers. While CWC is directly responsible for the witch hunt and sacking of the Alton estate workers, the National Union of Workers (NUW) and Up-County Peoples Front (UPF) have remained silent, tacitly supporting this attack on democratic rights. On March 23, all employees on an instruction from the union, reported back to work, only to discover that 38 had been denied work. They immediately walked out, demanding the reinstatement of all victimised workers. CWC leader Jeevan Thondaman, who is the estate infrastructure minister in the Rajapakse government, persuaded strikers to resume work on Friday, assuring them that he would investigate the victimisations. The sacking of the Alton estate workers followed a provocative protest in Hatton on March 3 organised by the Planters Society and backed by all regional plantation companies. The planters demanded weapons and training to deal with alleged violence in the estates. Early last month Sri Lankas National Security Council discussed so-called security issues in the plantations. The ruthless crackdown at Alton is a warning that big business with government and union backing, is determined to drive up productivity, cut costs and impose the economic burdens worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic onto the working class. This week the Alton estate action committee, formed with the assistance of the SEP, met and decided to wage a campaign for reinstatement of all sacked workers and the withdrawal of the frame-up charges. If the arrested workers are found guilty, they could be jailed for up to seven years for grievous hurt of the managers and six months for unlawful assembly. The SEPs fight against the witch hunt and arrest the Alton estate workers is an integral part of the struggle to defend the basic democratic rights of all Sri Lankan workers now under attack by the government and big business. Please send statements of support to this address wswscmb@sltnet.lk . President Bidens border czar is stepping down less than 100 days on the job as a humanitarian crisis among surging migrants deepens and criticism of the administrations stewardship grow. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced Friday afternoon Roberta Jacksons planned departure at the end of April as the Coordinator for the Southwest Border at the National Security Council. Jackson had previously served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. And while Sullivan praised her "invaluable contribution," the sudden departure was a stark signal the administration recognizes it needs to pivot after weeks of a growing migrant crisis that has sullied Bidens efforts to project competence and confidence in the early days of his presidency. "Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the Administrations first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as Coordinator at the end of this month," Sullivan said in a statement issued from the White House. "She will do so having shaped our relationship with Mexico as an equal partner, having launched our renewed efforts with the Northern Triangle nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and having underscored this Administrations commitment to reenergizing the U.S. immigration system." Jacksons departure came less than two weeks after the president named Vice President Kamala Harris to take point on the border crisis, and Sullivan said "the Vice President is overseeing a whole-of-government approach supported by outstanding public servants." Stop-motion stars have teamed up with showbiz celebs and Humane Society International to make Save Ralph, a slickly produced short film designed to raise awareness about animal testing for cosmetics. Through its hard-hitting story about Ralph the rabbit, the four-minute short calls out the harm done to animals in the industry. Written and directed by Spencer Susser (Hesher), the film features the voices of Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais, and Zac Efron. The sets and puppets were made by Andy Gent, head of the puppet department on Wes Andersons Isle of Dogs; the lead animator is Tobias Fouracre and the cinematography is by Tristan Oliver, respectively animation supervisor and director of photography on Andersons feature. Watch Save Ralph below: Save Ralph was shot mid-lockdown at Arch Model Studio, which Andy Gent recently opened next to his workshop in East London. He decided to launch the studio after being asked to make the sets for Ari Folmans forthcoming feature Where Is Anne Frank?. The new space enabled Gent and his colleagues to keep working throughout the pandemic with relative ease. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Open conversations on race are a launchpad for addressing public health disparities in Kent County, community groups said in a virtual forum Saturday. The Urban Core Collective, NAACP Grand Rapids and Linc Up invited residents to discuss racism as a health threat in an April 10 gathering via Zoom. Over the past two years, numerous cities, counties and even some states have declared racism as a public health crisis. Kent County has yet to do so, said Onesimus Pewee, a member of the NAACP fellowship program. Michigan communities like Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County and Kalamazoo County have made declarations on the issue, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed racism a public health crisis in the state last August. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control also issued a statement this week saying racism is a serious threat to the public health. Related: Racism declared a public health crisis in new Whitmer executive directive Pewee said these acknowledgements are important, but communities need to implement policy changes to improve outcomes for residents. Thats why were here today, he told the group. What do we want to see in Kent County to address racism? More than 40 people joined the community conversation. Breakout groups talked about racisms impact on health, economic sustainability, public safety and environmentconditions the CDC considers social determinants on health. Its environmental factors, its social factors, it is a component of health. I think of looking at it more broadly because everyone, systems-wise, has a responsibility to maintain and uphold our residents health and well-being in a fair and equitable manner, said participant Cassie Kobler. Proposed steps will be crafted from the conversation to explore what resources or changes can be made to address systemic racism. The three community groups that hosted the event plan to use the input to present recommendations to Kent County leaders. The only way we will really construct real solutions is if we really discuss whats happening, said Lyonel LaGrone. A recent health needs survey found that the Kent County communitys top health concerns are discrimination and racial inequity, economic security, mental health and access to health care. More on MLive: Many of Michigans Thumb residents are done with COVID-19 pandemic, even as virus rages like wildfire Ford Field was supposed to serve Black Detroiters. Instead, the rest of Michigan took advantage. Local Eats: Ole General Store and Cafe didnt turn around and go back during the COVID-19 pandemic (REUTERS) A volcano has erupted on the Caribbean island of St Vincent, shooting ash thousands of feet into the air and grounding flights. The La Soufriere volcano on the islands northernmost tip blew on Friday morning, a day after locals were ordered to leave the area by the government. Around 16,000 people were forced to flee after scientists warned of magma movements close to the earths surface. The eruption shot ash more than 33,000 feet into the sky as lightning crackled through the cloud of smoke. Further eruptions could continue for days, or even weeks, experts have warned. Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies, said that the first bang is not necessarily the biggest bang this volcano will give. La Soufriere had an effusive eruption in December, after which experts discovered the formation of a new volcanic dome and changes to its crater lake. It has previously erupted in 1979 and in 1902, when some 1,600 people were killed. No deaths or injuries have been reported as a result of Fridays eruption. Speaking to NBC Radio, a local news station, prime minister Ralph Gonsalves said: Agriculture will be badly affected, and we may have some loss of animals, and we will have to do repairs to houses, but if we have life, and we have strength, we will build it back better, stronger, together. He added that depending on the damage caused, it could take up to four months for life to return to normal on St Vincent, part of an island chain that includes the Grenadines and which is home to more than 100,000 people. Currently, 2,000 people are staying in 62 government shelters while four empty cruise ships stand by ready to evacuate them from the island. People staying in the shelters have been tested for Covid-19, with those testing positive being taken to an isolation centre. Emergency supplies, including, cots, tents and respirator masks, have reached other evacuees after nations from Antigua to Guyana offered help. Story continues They also agreed to temporarily open their borders to evacuees, but limited visibility from falling ash has complicated leaving the island for some. Surrounding islands, including Barbados, St Lucia and Grenada, could see ashfall too, although the majority is expected to blow into the Atlantic Ocean. St Vincent is now braced for possible further explosions as the 4,000 foot volcano continues to rumble. Read More Riot police arrive on scene in Belfast as riots erupt for sixth night Chadian president seeks 6th term after 30 years in power Djibouti says longtime president on way to winning 5th term After only 100 days on the job, Roberta Jacobson, a top official overseeing southern border issues, is stepping down at the end of the month, the White House confirmed on Friday. Roberta Jacobson, a career diplomat and a highly regarded former U.S. ambassador to Mexico that President Joe Biden chose as his "border czar," has been grappling with large increases of migrants attempting to cross into the U.S. According to Los Angeles Times, she said that she knows that she can leave once the Biden administration has built up teams working on the immigration issue. Jacobson added that she had always intended to serve as the National Security Council's coordinator for the U.S. southern border. But once the Biden administration has designated teams to work on the immigration issue, she believed that she could already leave her post. The President recently appointed vice President Kamala Harris to oversee diplomacy with countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Even the U.S. Agency for International Development is setting up a special task force for Central America, people familiar with the matter said. Roberta Jacobson told The Los Angeles Times on Friday that she never intended to return to the government after she retired in May 2018 due to some conflicts with former President Donald Trump. However, she mentioned that she received a call that she cannot refuse. Roberta Jacobson also shared that she agreed to be the "border czar" shortly after Biden was inaugurated. Noting that her official departure would be at the end of April, she said, "it was always going to be 100 days." Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said that Roberta Jacobson would step down after helping the country to introduce a more safe and secure approach to the southern border. Sullivan noted that Harris would pick up some of Roberta Jacobson's portfolio. One specialist in the region, who is also close to the Biden administration, noted that the border czar appointment was always going to be temporary, but the announcement's timing sends a bad message. Roberta Jacobson's resignation follows the surge of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. It gives political ammunition to Republicans and other Biden critics to blame the President for what they consider a crisis. READ NEXT: Mexican Foreign Minister Arranges U.S. Visit for Additional Vaccine Supply Security Border Crisis The steady increase in the migrant population at the border started last year, but it escalated during Biden's first months in office. Biden has vowed to overturn some of Trump's immigration policies. And it seems that his administration is having a hard time striking a balance between the President's promises and the country's security, ABC News reported that the number of migrants reaching the border surges to the highest in 20 years. More than 172,000 migrants tried to cross the southwest border in March, with record numbers of unaccompanied minors among them. Officials at the southern border recorded close to 19,000 unaccompanied minors last month. The said number is the largest monthly number ever recorded by U.S. officials. It was nearly 50 percent higher than the previous record-high of more than 11,000 in May 2019, Fox News reported. READ MORE: Texas Gov. Says Migrant Children Are Being Sexually Assaulted At San Antonio Facility WATCH: Biden's Border Wall Coordinator QUITS Leaving Behind Complete Destruction! - From Golden State Times Amazon has soundly defeated a landmark union drive that would have established the company's first US union, but labor advocates are hopeful that the high-profile fight will nonetheless be successful in spurring support for broader change. In the final vote tally, 1,798 workers at the Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse voted against unionization while 738 voted to unionize. The union behind the drive said that it intends to file objections and unfair labor practice charges with the labor board, but it has also said that Amazon took advantage of a broken system, one that is stacked in the favor of employers. This sentiment is one that could fuel support for the union-friendly Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, reintroduced by Democrats this year and passed in the House. It includes provisions that would make it easier for workers to form unions, and it would empower the National Labor Relations Board to levy fines against employers for labor rights violations, a power it currently lacks. "The election in Bessemer demonstrated that under current labor law it is almost impossible for workers to unionize. There will be growing pressure on lawmakers to redress the balance and allow workers to win a voice on the job," Rebecca Givan, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations told CNN Business. "The PRO Act is a path to supporting the rights of working people, and politicians who claim to be on the side of working people will be asked to show this support by fixing our broken labor law." The Bessemer union effort received national attention, with celebrities and politicians -- including President Joe Biden -- lending support to the workers driving the effort. The spotlight put on full display the tactics deployed by Amazon to convey its stance, some of which would be prohibited if the PRO Act passed. Prior to the election, which took place by mail due to the pandemic and spanned nearly two months, Amazon's counter union efforts included pulling workers into one-on-one meetings on the warehouse floor and requiring them to attend group meetings during which the company relayed its anti-union stance (known as captive audience meetings) every few shifts, workers and the union previously told CNN Business. It launched an anti-union website that warned against paying dues, despite the fact that Alabama is a right-to-work state, so workers who didn't support the union would not have been required to join the union or pay union dues. The company also sent numerous text messages to workers pushing a "no" vote. When asked about its anti-union campaign, an Amazon spokesperson said the company "provided education that helps employees understand the facts of joining a union." For its part, Amazon issued a lengthy statement after the results of the tally Friday stating that claims it won because it intimidated workers are untrue: "Our employees heard far more anti-Amazon messages from the union, policymakers, and media outlets than they heard from us. And Amazon didn't winour employees made the choice to vote against joining a union." But Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union which organized the drive, told CNN Business on Friday that he sees it differently. "There are no real consequences," he said, referencing the NLRB's inability to impose traditional fines on employers. "The PRO Act would provide consequences and make it much more difficult for Amazon to do what it did." "People were amazed to learn about captive audience meetings and what it is employers are able to do, and it demonstrates the need why those are inappropriate pressure they put on individuals," added Appelbaum, noting that President Biden's speech in support of the Bessemer workers importantly signaled that union efforts should be about the workers' choice, not the employer. "There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda," Biden said in late February. Union-backers cast Friday's election defeat as part of a sweeping beginning, not an end. Appelbaum said the RWDSU has been in touch with other Amazon workers around the country, implying future clashes with Amazon may be ahead. He predicted the Bessemer workers will eventually vote again someday and likened the organizing effort to the civil rights movement. Michigan Congressman Andy Levin, a former labor organizer, said in a statement Friday that Amazon "won recognition as the very symbol of corporate oppression of worker voice, of income and wealth inequality, and of the dehumanization of work. They won themselves a battle to help Amazon workers organize not just in Bessemer but nationwide." "Without knowing it, they are igniting a movement to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act," he added. At least one of Amazon's Bessemer workers who voted in support of the union sees the silver lining. At a union press conference following the final results Friday, Emmit Ashford still had hope for the future. "We had to lose this election in Bessemer for people across the United States to succeed," he said. "Our time will come around again, and next time, we will win." TROPHIES In a tight-knitted community the size of Phillipsburg, the loss of a town police officer is felt beyond those in law enforcement and their families. It also hits a large swath of residents who have gotten a chance to know and interact with the officer over the years. That was certainly the case with Officer Dominic Belcastro, who died April 3 in an off-duty motorcycle crash on Memorial Parkway. It may be of little consolation to his loved ones, but the public funeral that honored his life and service was fitting and beautiful. Phillipsburg town officials and other organizers should be proud of the effort. And its also worth acknowledging the contributions from outside the town, including Bethlehem Police Departments motorcycle unit leading the procession, Allentown Police Departments 21-gun salute and New Jersey State Polices helicopter flyover. Rest in peace, Officer Belcastro. Tornadoes recently ravaged communities in Alabama, and among the casualties were volunteer fire departments that lost facilities and equipment. Its hard enough keeping a volunteer fire department properly staffed and equipped in an era where the appetite for fighting fires as an act of charity isnt as great as it used to be. But that doesnt mean its not still a critical institution, especially in rural communities that are nowhere near any professional fire department. Folks in the Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey recognize that. So it was unsurprising, but still heartwarming to see several volunteer fire departments in Northampton, Sussex and Warren counties band together to collect equipment to send down to Alabama to keep their volunteers in a position to respond to emergencies. Nancy Run Fire Company in Bethlehem Township, for example, donated a fire truck that had recently been replaced. The volunteers estimate the total value of the donated equipment at $1 to $2 million. The effort shows that goodwill toward neighbors isnt something bound by geography. TURKEYS A mother of a teen with Down syndrome was appropriately aggrieved at Emmaus High School administrators when her son briefly disappeared after he never boarded his school bus. According to the mother, the school didnt even realize he was missing until police showed up. The boys grandmother found him unharmed about an hour after the disappearance. The mother said the school owes her a public apology and information about how staff were held accountable. She may not get either, but what she did get is an assurance that new protocols have been put in place to prevent something like this from happening again. Thats great, but it shouldve never happened in the first place. If a student with special needs doesnt show up to school as planned, that ought to prompt immediate action, not action only after a visit from police. When the teen who went missing was found, he was about to cross an intersection on Cedar Crest Boulevard that a tractor trailer was approaching, his mom said. This could have ended tragically. Fortunately, it didnt. Lets hope that the new protocols the school has put into place prevent this from ever happening again. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription. A tanker truck ran a red light Friday afternoon in Lehigh County, slamming into a minivan whose driver was left with suspected serious injuries, according to police. The crash occurred about 12:03 p.m. as the Kenworth T800 was headed south on Grange Road and continued through the red light at Cetronia Road in Upper Macungie Township, according to township police, citing witnesses reports. The 2006 Chrysler Town & Country that was struck was traveling through the intersection east on Cetronia Road, police said in a news release. A 21-year-old man from Allentown driving the minivan was heavily entrapped in his vehicle and required extrication by the fire department, the release states. He was taken by Cetronia Ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, according to police. The tanker driver was a 22-year-old man from Kutztown, who was uninjured, police said. Both drivers wore seat belts, and both vehicles had to be towed away, according to police. The crash closed the intersection for nearly four hours, until about 3:45 p.m. It remains under investigation. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Flash The U.S. promise on lifting unilateral sanctions must be put into action immediately, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Friday, after a meeting with other senior diplomats concerning the Iran nuclear deal. "Regarding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, China and the parties concerned clearly expressed their concerns at the meeting, and it must be lifted immediately," Wang told Xinhua after the talks on the resumption of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the United States and Iran. Wang said that "such sanctions problems were all caused by the previous U.S. government's illegal sanctions on entities and individuals that implemented the JCPOA." He stressed that the lifting of these sanctions is "not only a bilateral issue, but also an important aspect of safeguarding the JCPOA, which is the result of multilateralism." "We have noticed that the U.S. side recently released some positive messages about the lifting of such sanctions, and we call on the U.S. to take practical actions immediately to facilitate the complete and effective implementation of the JCPOA," Wang added. The Joint Commission of the JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again on Friday, following Tuesday's meeting. The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the U.S. withdrawal in 2018. Wang told Xinhua that Friday's meeting was "constructive in general, as all parties have actively implemented the consensus reached at the joint ministerial meeting last December, and that the parties were moving in the right direction." Intensive work has been carried out upon the two processes launched in the current meeting, namely, the nuclear implementation and sanction-lifting working groups' work, and the "proximity talks" with the United States, Wang said. "Through these four days of meetings, the differences between the parties concerned are narrowing, and we have seen the momentum towards gradually forming a consensus among parties concerned. And this has created a beneficial atmosphere for the next step towards a good prospect," he added. Wang said the parties will continue negotiations here next week. "We hope that the positive and constructive momentum of this week's meeting can be continued." "Vienna is the place where the negotiations on the JCPOA started and reached," Wang said. "China hopes that Vienna will also witness all parties reaching an arrangement for the United States and Iran to resume the implementation of the JCPOA." Monticello, IL (61856) Today Sunshine and some clouds. High 88F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low near 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Canada is rapidly emerging as a global coronavirus epicentre, with a surge in cases due to the new more contagious and lethal variants. Daily new infections have more than doubled from an already high level in mid-March. On Thursday, there were 7,984 new cases, and the 7-day daily average of new cases, which has risen steadily for the past month, reached 6,873its highest point since close to the peak of the pandemics second wave in early January. Teachers at Montreals Westmount High School staged a protest Jan. 18 against the Quebec governments reckless school reopening policy. (Photo Credit: Robert Green) Canadas per capita daily new infection rate is close to matching, if not surpassing, that in the US, as is the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients per 100,000 people. Due to the rapid rise of cases and the rampant spread of variants, three of which are spreading widely throughout the population, the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) on Wednesday issued its highest-level warning against travel to Canada. Absent the political intervention of the working class to force the closure of all nonessential production and schools, and confiscate the vast wealth of the super-rich to provide billions in funding for overstretched hospitals, Canada is heading towards a catastrophe. In Ontario, the countrys most populous province, more than 550 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care. During the winters second wave, authorities repeatedly warned that if the number of ICU patients in Ontario hospitals rose above 350, it would be impossible to maintain emergency medical care for all. According to CBC the Ontario governments health agency has ordered the provinces hospitals to postpone all non-emergency surgeries as of next Monday. Stories are also emerging of certain drugs, including one that has proven highly effective in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients, being rationed in Ontario hospitals, and patients being transferred to other regions due to a lack of beds. ICU occupancy rates are also at their highest since the pandemic began in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Canada is one of the few countries where all three of new more infectious virus strainsthe B.1.1.7 British variant, the P.1 Brazilian variant, and the B.1.351 South African variantare spreading widely throughout the community. In Quebec and Ontario, the B.1.1.7 variant is already the cause of the majority of new COVID-19 cases, while in Alberta and B.C., where Thursday saw the highest number of new infections since the start of the pandemic, the P.1 variant is running rampant. Theres no other country thats kind of dealing with it as we arewe have all of them emerging at once, Dr. Zain Chagla, an epidemiologist at St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton, told CBC. The new variants are exacting a far heavier toll on younger patients in the prime of their lives, many of them frontline workers and/or their partners. Last weekend, a 47-year-old teacher in Ontario with no previous health issues was intubated. On Wednesday, local media in Montreal reported the death of a 16-year-old student. The Ontario governments scientific advisory panel reports that the variants have increased the risk of hospitalization by 103 percent, ICU admission by 63 percent, and death by 56 percent. A significant contributing factor to the eruption of a third wave fueled by these more transmissible variants is the ruling elites shambolic rollout of vaccines. Justin Trudeaus federal Liberal government announced late last year with much fanfare that a military general would oversee the distribution of vaccinesa tacit admission that the decades of austerity imposed on health care by all political parties, from the New Democrats to the Conservatives, has decimated Canadas health care infrastructure. The past few months have demonstrated that the consequences of this class war policy, pursued to ensure the enrichment of Canadas fabulously wealthy financial elite, could not be overcome by military command, no matter how often bourgeois politicians and the mainstream media invoke the armed forces as the countrys national saviour. However, the principal cause of Canadas unfolding coronavirus catastrophe is the ruling elites fulsome support for a criminal profits before lives policy of mass infection. To ensure that the profits of big business, the banks and the financial oligarchy continue to increase, governments at every level have refused to impose the necessary restrictions on workplaces and schools, the two main vectors of transmission. Since September, schools have been open almost continuously across the country, due to the ruling class insistence that parents must be freed from childcare responsibilities in order to go to work churning out profits for the capitalists. Scientific studies have proven the authorities' insistence on in-class teaching played a critical role in triggering Canadas deadly second wave, which claimed over 10,000 lives. And, as has been explicitly stated by public health officials in Montreal and Ontarios Peel Region, two of the countrys biggest COVID-19 hot spots, schools are major vectors in the transmission of the current third wave. The ruling elites back-to-work/back-to-school strategy has been spearheaded by Justin Trudeaus Liberal government, which began the pandemic by funnelling more than $650 billion in emergency bailout funds to the big banks and financial oligarchs with no strings attached. Following last springs lockdownwhich was only imposed because workers, including autoworkers in Windsor and across North America, launched job action to close their unsafe plantsthe Trudeau government, with the support of corporate lobby groups and the trade unions, implemented a reckless back-to-work campaign. Employers were given a free hand to ignore public health orders and basic virus protection measures, as Ottawa and the provinces refused to enforce even their own inadequate pandemic regulations. The unions connived in this gang-up against working people by sabotaging all workers struggles against unsafe work, and ordering teachers and education workers to return to their jobs despite widespread opposition. In its throne speech last September, the Trudeau government sent a clear message to big business that absolutely nothing would be done to get in the way of their profit-making. Any lockdowns or further public health restrictions, the speech asserted, should be implemented at the local level and be short-term, i.e., totally ineffectual. The minority governments throne speech only passed parliament due to the votes of the New Democrats, whose leader Jagmeet Singh has vowed that he will continue to prop up the Trudeau government until the pandemic is over. Trudeau has also hidden behind the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments to offload blame for the failure to close down all but essential businesses and the overall ruinous response to the pandemic onto the hard-right premiers like Doug Ford in Ontario, Jason Kenney in Alberta, and Francois Legault in Quebec. While they and their governments are undoubtedly complicit in social murder, the reality is that the conspirators-in-chief sit around the Liberal cabinet table in Ottawa. Already in early April 2020, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu callously declared that herd immunity was a viable policy because, Having 70 percent of people get COVID is not the end of the world. Trudeau provided billions of dollars in additional funding to the provinces that was made conditional on the enforcement of homicidal reopening policies. The entire Canadian political establishment, from the hard-right Conservatives to the ostensibly left New Democrats, is on board with the policy of mass infection and death to protect corporate profits. Just last week, British Columbia NDP Premier John Horgan arrogantly denounced young working-age people for spreading the virus, saying, Dont blow this for the rest of us. This from a Premier whose government has done absolutely nothing to stop hundreds of outbreaks at workplaces across the province, and deliberately covered up the extent of infections in schools by means of a byzantine reporting system. Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Ford continues to refuse to provide paid sick leave for workers despite widespread acknowledgement that this would curb the spread of the virus by allowing workers to shelter at home when they feel unwell. These political criminals would never get away with these policies without the assistance of the trade unions. They have enforced the ruling elites back-to-work/back-to-school program, expanded their corporatist partnership with big business and the Liberal government, and denounced calls for job action to protest workers health and lives as illegal. Under conditions where even sections of the corporate media have had to concede that the working class is bearing the brunt of the pandemic as both a health and socio-economic crisis, the Canadian Labour Congress website proclaims atop its homepage, In Canada, weve weathered the pandemic by sticking together and supporting each other. If the looming catastrophe of mass infections and death on an even greater scale than the pandemics first and second waves is to be averted, the working class must urgently intervene with its own program to stop the spread of COVID-19. All nonessential production and in-person learning in schools must be immediately halted, with full compensation for all workers and families so they can shelter at home. The ill-gotten gains of the super-rich, including the $650 billion bailout and the more than $50 billion accumulated by Canadas 40 billionaires since the beginning of the pandemic, must be expropriated and used to fund urgent social needs, from shoring up the crumbling health care system, to providing effective distance learning for all students and safe workplaces for all essential workers. If human lives are to be prioritized over private profit, workers must build new organizations of struggleincluding rank-and-file safety committees, established independently of and in opposition to the pro-capitalist unionsto fight for workers power and the socialist reorganization of economic life. The Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (CERSC) is holding its first public meeting on Sunday at 1 PM Eastern Time to discuss this program of political struggle. We urge all teachers, education staff, students and working people from all sectors to register to attend. The (WHO) has criticised what it describes as a "shocking imbalance" in the distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries. "There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Friday, the BBC reported. The group's chief said a target of seeing vaccination programmes under way in every country by Saturday would be missed. The WHO has long called for fairer distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. It is leading the Covax scheme which is designed to get jabs to poorer nations. So far, more than 38 million doses have been delivered to around 100 countries under the scheme. Covax hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year. In particular, it wants to ensure that 92 poorer countries will receive access to vaccines at the same time as wealthier countries. "On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people have received a Covid-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it's one in more than 500," he said. The Covax scheme had been expected to distribute at least 100 million doses worldwide by the end of March, but only 38 million jabs have been delivered so far. "We hope to be able to catch up during April and May," Tedros said. He also criticised countries that have sought their own vaccine deals outside of the Covax scheme. "Some countries and companies plan to do their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing Covax for their own political or commercial reasons," Tedros said. "These bilateral arrangements run the risk of fanning the flames of vaccine inequity," he added. "Scarcity of supply is driving vaccine nationalism." Earlier this year, Tedros warned that the world was facing a "catastrophic moral failure" over vaccine inequality. He said a "me-first" approach would be self-defeating because it would encourage hoarding and prolong the pandemic. --IANS int/pgh (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Natural News) For a party that screams racism and Jim Crow Laws on a daily basis, we note the hypocrisy of then arguing that blacks cannot read properly, cannot do math because asking for a correct answer is somehow racist, while insisting on handing out free money for no other reason than the color of their skin is black. (Article by Susan Duclos republished from AllNewsPipeline.com) Aside from the never-ending push for racial division, we now have a party, the Democrats, also playing the class warfare game, as all socialists have done throughout history. Top all that off with the continued attacks against Christians, and we see that the endgame goal is to pit almost every demographic groups against each other to further divide the American population. Below we will look at a number of recent stories that prove that assertion true. CANT PROPERLY READ THEIR OWN DRIVERS LICENSE? One blue-check (Twitter Verified) liberal, Marc Elias, decided to take to Twitter to argue against Georgias voter ID law, where he slapped a sample Drivers License with a picture of a black woman on it, (shown below), and said: The new Georgia law will require voters to submit ID to vote by mail. If they use their drivers license, they need to provide the #. One of the two numbers below is correct. If they put the other, it will be rejected. Are you sure you would pick the right one? As was pointed out in response by a number of people, only one of those numbers say DL NO, but the fact that he even thought that people of color, or anyone for that matter, are incapable of reading their own Drivers License correctly, or the instructions sent with the mail-in ballots, shows how stupid Elias seems to think people in Georgia are. Why did he use an image of a black woman when claiming people could not read the correct DL number on their very own license? Racism. Liberals like Elias are constantly claiming the GOP, Republicans and conservatives are racist, yet they cannot even see the projection of their own thoughts, actions and assertions is true racism. LIBS THINKS BLACKS DESERVE FREE MONEY Liberal students from Brown University have voted in favor of slavery reparations, which basically hands free money to descendants of slaves. descendants. In other words, they want to hand free money to people that have never been slaves, because to liberals, blacks deserve more than whites. Reverse racism against whites along with the typical liberal racism against blacks. Hitting both points in one vote is a feat to be sure. A resolution passed by the Undergraduate Council of Students on February 24 suggested the reparations would come in the form of preferential admissions for the descendants of slaves associated with the school and its founders, as well as scholarships and direct payments to those individuals. The resolution further called on the university to investigate the same benefits to Native American groups indigenous to the land Brown occupies such as the Narragansett. Confronting questions of reparations and institutional reckoning with connections to the transatlantic slave trade has a deep history at Brown, said school spokesman Brian Clark in statement to the media following the referendum vote. Quick question: How do they handle reparations from blacks that were slave owners? Other colleges and schools are facing the same type of racial issues, such as Bates College, where a security guard was caught on audio admitting that he and other security guards were frightened of writing up students of color because if the students lie about the incident the school will side with the student. Like I said to him before, anytime that I usually deal with a person of color, I dont document nothing, ok? I really dont. I mean, because Ill tell you most officers, we are afraid, the campus security officer can be heard telling an unidentified student in the two-and-a-half minute video posted to Instagram on March 6 by a group called Bates Student Rights. The video is completely blacked out, as if the recording is in a pocket or hidden somehow. Becausenot saying that you would do it or somebody elsebut, if a person of color lies, guess what? Theyre gonna believe that student over us, the officer is heard telling the student. Ive got a family. Ive got grandkids. You know, Ive been here for 25 years. Racism against whites has been running rampant in schools across America for decades now, getting worse each and every year. (ANP EMERGENCY FUNDRAISER: Donations and ad revenue are all that keep ANP online, so please consider donating to ANP to help keep us in this fight for Americas future at this critical time in US history. With slow-Joe Biden occupying the White House, and at a time of systematic, big tech censorship and widespread Democrat corruption, truthful media and alternative views are crucial.) MATH IS RACIST NOW Since we are dealing with education, yet another example. Examples of white supremacy culture cited by the document include a focus on getting the right answer and requiring students to show their work. Glenn Ricketts, Public Affairs Director for the National Association of Scholars, told Campus Reform that the course illustrates that no aspect of the educational process at any level is off limits for the social justice indoctrination. Mathematics was once considered immune: after all, doesnt 2 + 2 = 4? Ricketts said. But as I have read recently, the problem that math and arithmetic insist on correct answers is actually a hidden form of white supremacy, as everything else is as well. The authors of the program state that The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false, and teaching it is even much less so. Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate objectivity as well as fear of open conflict. According to the program description, this is an integrated approach to mathematics that centers Black, Latinx, and Multilingual students that provides opportunities for ongoing self-reflection as they seek to develop an anti-racist math practice. So expecting minorities to actually learn math and get the correct answers, like everyone else does, is RACIST!!!! Related: Theology prof: Dear God, please help me to hate White people For the most ridiculous racist claim of the day, week and maybe the year, we have: Portland school board member claims changing mascot to a tree may be racist. Had to be Portland, yeah? DEMOCRATS ARE SOCIALISTS While it is no surprise to conservatives that have been watching the socialism/communism indoctrinations in our schools, and throughout the Democrat party, the media and most Democrats deny it and attempt to distance themselves from what their party has become. Inevitably some liberal argues that Republican that call Democrats socialists are lying, misrepresenting the party, etc. Never mind that Alexandria Ortasio Cortez and Bernie Sanders are avowed socialists, and that the head of the DNC, said on camera that she was the future of the Democrat party. Now we see a Democrat Mayor, North Las Vegas John Lee, has officially switched from the Democrat party to the Republican party, and he cites his reasoning as the socialist takeover of the Democrat party. In the Democratic Party of Nevada, they had an election recently for leadership, and four of the five people were card-carrying members of the socialistic (sic) party, Lee told Fox & Friends Tuesday morning. Its not the party that I grew up with 25 years ago in this environment, and its not the party that I can stand with anymore. Lee was referencing recent elections for Nevada State Democratic Party leadership, in which most of the candidates elected to the partys top leadership posts were candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America. The working class, the working men and women of this country, and also the small business owners are not a part of the conversation anymore, Lee said in the interview. It all has to do with the elitists, and it has to do with the socialists. That is not the agenda that I have in mind for this country or the future. His Twitter announcement stated Today, I switched political parties. The Democratic Party is broken. Its time to bring people together to get things done. Its time to stop shouting and start solving problems. The image with the statement sent liberals over edge to lynch Lee online. I guess one doesnt have to be a Republican or conservative to see Democrats are a fully socialist party. ATTACKS AGAINST CHRISTIANS CONTINUE The persecution of Christians by liberals in America continues unabated as we see a recent incident where conservative students are attacked for their Bible verse Easter egg hunt. Conservative students at the University of North Texas have been attacked for their Bible verse Easter egg hunt, with many in the campus community calling for a mass trashing and stomping of the eggs. The members of the UNT Young Conservatives of Texas, which organized the effort, had sought to spread a message of positivity and hope during this week, considered Holy Week by Christians that concludes with Easter. They were mobbed online by non-Christian parents and students alike, and their eggs with Bible verses were stomped on by snowflakes that cannot handle people celebrating their religion. The backlash started with some parents on the group saying it was inappropriate to conduct the effort since not everyone on campus is Christian, and the students should have just filled the eggs with candy if they wanted to do something nice. Apparently those parents are ignorant of the fact that Easter is a religious holiday and it is not, in fact, about candy at all. But then students joined in the criticism, and took it to another level, Neidert said. They were trying to see who could go throw the most [eggs] away and who would stomp on the most of them, she said. Neidert provided screenshots to The College Fix of the bashing. In addition to taunting the Young Conservatives that their eggs would be trashed, some students accused them of littering. Read the rest at College Fix. The scariest part of this, aside from the complete disrespect for God, is that these little thugs will be allowed to go out into the world after college to spread more of their hatred of God and religion. BOTTOM LINE At every opportunity we are watching the deliberate stoking of race, class and religious warfare in America, with the media egging it on the entire time. Welcome to the Democrat socialist party. MSNBC attacks people of faith as a public health issue. Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com A piece of council land in Laois is to be sold to an expanding local company, despite an attempted delay by a councillor who is concerned that the price is too low. The serviced 3 hectare (7.5 acres) site is in Junction 17 National Enterprise Park, and is to be bought by Midland Steel Reinforcement Supplies Ltd, a Mountmellick company. The land sale was proposed by Cllr Paddy Bracken from Mountmellick, seconded by Cllr Ollie Clooney. Cllr Bracken said he had been assured by the companys manager Tony Woods that the existing jobs in Mountmellick will not be lost. He said that the company employs 80 people directly, and another 60 on contracts, at Bay Road Business Park. It is great to see a company like this doing what they are doing, working all over the UK, progressing. They have a very progressive manager, he said. However, before it could be agreed at the March meeting of Laois County Council, another councillor said she had concerns. The price of 562,400 plus VAT for the site is too low, claimed Cllr Aisling Moran, who proposed delaying agreeing to the sale for a month, asking the council to give a breakdown of full costs. We need to get the market value. I did research and land is making 150,000 an acre. We are getting half of what we should be getting. Half a million would make a huge difference to roads or disability services. We are completely underselling ourselves. This is prime commercial land. I contacted Amazon to ask them to set up a distribution hub. Look at the jobs it would create. I propose we come back to this next month. I want to see all costs associated with this, she said. Cllr Bracken disagreed. We are sending a message that the company is not paying enough. That message is a disgrace. We are trying to encourage business and heres a councillor that sees fit to oppose it, he said. Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland defended the sale and their development and promotion of Togher as a business and industrial hub for Ireland. It is four years this month since you decided to purchase land at Togher that we got at a very good price. We have disposed of 16.5 hectares with this new sale and I wish the companies every success. Glanbia has 11 acres with an option on another 6 to expand. We also have Alphadrive, Aubren and now Midland Steel. If things go well this means 270 new jobs in Portlaoise, only on half the land we own. There is another 10 or 11 acres left to dispose. Since we started with our business support unit, and with the IDA we have put out the positive message that Laois is a competitive destination with a capable workforce. We have had companies from the UK and China come and look, kick the tyre and walk away. In my view, a bird in the hand is worth more. We might be lucky to get a big global business in Portlaoise and I hope we do. But we have to keep stocktaking, he said. The council CEO also defended the agreed price. Who knows what the market rate is. We spoke to Midland Steel last July and once we mentioned a price we had to stick to it. This is a good solid success story for Portlaoise and Laois. Each development pays developer contributions that go to the local infrastructure like playgrounds and libraries. It is being done with fairness at a competitive price, he said. Mr Mulholland said they have not engaged an auctioneer. It was considered an unnecessary spend. In reply, Cllr Moran said she still wanted a full costing, including what it cost to put in roads and services, and legal costs. Many councillors had disagreed with Cllr Moran. Cllr Paschal McEvoy said he was baffled why she came out with her statement. It is not all about money, the view is to bring business to Laois. It has been done to a T from start to finish. I am lost for words, he said. Cllr Willie Aird who is a farmer in Portlaoise said that the land price is at market value, that more is for sale and the site is a jewel in the crown for Laois. It is unfair, it is not right that you state we are stockpiling land, its not correct, he said. The Cathaoirleach Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald said that Laois companies needed the opportunity. It is not being given away for nothing, it is a reasonable amount. They will pay rates in future and employ local people, she said. However Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said while she support the land sale, that as a female it is important that any member woman or man raising a genuine question is treated with respect and her concerns addressed by the CEO. Cllr Noel Tuohy said he had faith in the CEO and his team to do appropriate deals but that Cllr Moran is entitled to ask for details. Cllr Thomasina Connell seconded Cllr Morans proposal. She is entitled to clarification, she said. The proposal to delay the decision a month then went to a vote by the councillors and was defeated by 14 votes to two. Lootah Global Capital, a financial services company regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and Heritage Amanah International, an investment advisory company licensed by Indonesia Financial Regulatory Board, have signed a MoU to advise on the IPO and dual listing of an Indonesian tech company in the GCC stock market towards the end of 2021. The deal will explore opportunities between Mena and South East Asia and will bridge, in particular, the growing investment interests between the UAE and Indonesia, which were cemented through the UAEs $10 billion commitment for Indonesias sovereign wealth fund (SWF). The UAE has made significant strides to strengthen its ties with Indonesia, with the recent announcement of its intention to inject $10 billion into the Indonesian SWF at the directive of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. This will result in UAE becoming the largest anchor investor in the Indonesian SWF. The planned fund-raising activity in the Gulf equity markets signals a return of international business and investors confidence against the backdrop of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which dampened the number of IPO issuances in 2020 to 7 with $1.8 billion in proceeds from 12 in 2019 with $29 billion, which included the $25.6 billion from Saudi Aramco IPO, the worlds largest stock market debut. The MoU highlights the synergies between the UAE and Indonesia, which are countries with strong Shariah-compliant financial markets, stated Lim Say Cheong, CEO of Lootah Global Capital after signing the deal with Salina Nordin, Founder & CEO of Heritage Amanah International. "The UAE provides an attractive environment with its well established and dynamic global financial centres, ideal geographical location in the centre of the Asian and Western financial markets, robust legal system and judiciary that is familiar with the Shariah principles, vibrant Islamic banking industry, a wide array of Sharia-compliant financial instruments and funds as well as Sharia Index, noted Cheong. "The Lootah family name itself represents over six decades of pioneering economic and social activities in the UAE, including the founding of the regions first Islamic Bank. With this kind of deeply-rooted expertise and dedication, we are pleased to partner with Heritage Amanah and continue Lootahs legacy by creating value through innovation in Islamic finance and helping businesses pursue opportunities around the world with a particular focus on the GCC and Mena markets," he added. Nordin said: "The recent announcement by UAE to invest $10bn into Indonesias SWF, INA, reinforces the efforts to build stronger economic ties between Middle East and South East Asia. Our collaborations will allow us to connect minds without boundaries by providing a platform of investment opportunities within the regions." "Between Heritage Amanahs deep understanding of the Indonesian business culture coupled with the Lootah Holding esteemed history, it will enable us to recognise and tap into promising global Shariah opportunities for strategic value creation," she noted.-TradeArabia News Service While eulogies will not resurrect the dead, contributions to national development will remain indelible and undeniable. We can only be remembered by what we have done. This ought to, in the minimum, motivate the living to carefully number our days so we may daily apply our hearts to wisdom. Innocent has left footprints in the sands of time The death of Innocent Chukwuma hit the airwaves early on Easter Sunday, April 4. Coming after the sudden death of another illustrious activist, Yinka Odumakin on April 2, news of the death of Innocent suggested that fate was being unfair to Nigeria by taking away two patriotic and eminent Nigerian activists Odumakin on Friday and Innocent on Saturday. The sun set for both in a most inauspicious time and in their prime, both being in their mid-50s. I was a bit close to Innocent Chukwuma within the civil society and development activism space. Long before Innocent became the Regional Director for the West Africa Office of Ford Foundation, our paths had crossed on a number of civil society projects, including serving as joint consultants for DfID in 2008 to design one of its development intervention projects in Nigeria. More recently, Innocent as leader of the Ford Foundation office for West Africa partnered with the MacArthur Foundation led by Kole Shettima and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) led by Jude Ilo, to support the Buhari governments anti-corruption agenda, especially the work of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) in which I served as Member/Executive Secretary from 2015 to 2019, before assuming my current position. Without that strategic funding support from these three notable donor agencies, PACAC and indeed the lift up of the governments anti-corruption drive would have remained a theoretical idea for quite some time. That Innocent was eventually ambushed by an unexpected leukemia, a health challenge that sneaked behind the global focus and attention to COVID-19, is indicative of the providential and domineering hand of fate in the affairs of men. Just this January, he finished strong at Ford Foundation as Regional Director and had concluded plans to proceed to Oxford in the U.K. for a fellowship programme. Indeed, his former position at Ford Foundation was yet to be filled by a substantive director before the cold hands of death snatched him. In celebration of that milestone service at Ford Foundation, a memorable virtual send-forth was organised for him on Friday, January 29. The event revealed that he was a man associated with many firsts, having being part of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), unarguably Nigerias first human rights organisation, from where he left to set up CLEEN Foundation, one of the first African CSOs to focus on security, public safety and justice. CLEEN led the advocacy for community policing that has now become one of the inevitable solutions to Nigerias current security challenges. Innocent used his gift, knowledge and leverage within the civil society space to lift and mentor a number of other activists and organisations, often working behind the scenes but nevertheless ensuring impact with his eyes on the ultimate goal of democratic sustainability and the development agenda. Without notice, he suddenly reached his Bus Stop and disembarked! Fading away like the star of the early morning and a lighted candle mistakenly left in the open and blown out by the wind. Who can question that? As the popular saying goes, Quo sera sera What will be, will be. Most recently, the Ford Foundation provided support to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to advance its prevention work around illicit financial flows and associated corruption and money laundering, and to strengthen its capacity to investigate and prosecute allegations of sexual harassment as abuse of power, especially in the public service and tertiary institutions. While eulogies will not resurrect the dead, contributions to national development will remain indelible and undeniable. We can only be remembered by what we have done. This ought to, in the minimum, motivate the living to carefully number our days so we may daily apply our hearts to wisdom. Innocent has left footprints in the sands of time, especially here in Nigeria and in Africa. But, it has pleased God that service at Ford Foundation would be the terminal point of his earthly sojourn. Without notice, he suddenly reached his Bus Stop and disembarked! Fading away like the star of the early morning and a lighted candle mistakenly left in the open and blown out by the wind. Who can question that? As the popular saying goes, Quo sera sera What will be, will be. For those left to mourn and reflect these mysteries, we ought to remind ourselves frequently for whom does the bell toll? The answer as they say is blowing in the wind. I extend my condolences to Josephine, the children, extended family, friends and colleagues, especially in the civil society space. May God comfort all with words that human minds cannot fathom. Adieu, Innocent the son of Chukwuma, dear friend and brother. Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), is the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). As a township, you can do intergovernmental agreements with taxing bodies. Over the years, we have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to fire departments and schools. We built playgrounds for Pennoyer [Elementary school], Union Ridge school, [John V.] Leigh school, and J. Giles school, Lupo previously told the Pioneer Press. Thats what were here to do, and by doing that, we are helping the entire community. Nathaniel Moxom, managing director of Carlsberg Vietnam, at the launch of the comprehensive revamp of Halida At the launching event, Nathaniel Moxom, managing director of Carlsberg Vietnam, stated: At Carlsberg Vietnam, we want to invest for the development of local brands so that they would touch the heights of recognition and success. By implementing the comprehensive revamp inside out, we are enabling Halida to embark on a new exciting journey. In an era where the domestic market is more open to global brands than ever, the preservation of Halidas local roots serves as a concrete proof of Carlsberg Vietnams intensifying focus on delivering a more refined beer experience to local consumers, he added. A crucial change for bettering beer experience of consumers Established with a strong local root, Halida was welcomed to the Carlsberg Vietnam family in 1993 and has left its imprint in many generations memory as "the elephant beer" the pride of Vietnamese beer. As Vietnamese consumers needs have evolved, Halida has evolved right along with them, with today marks the official release of a comprehensive revamp of its liquid and product packaging, taking consumers beer experience to a higher level of refinement while staying true to the brands essence. With consumers stronger preferences for a more premium beer drinking experience in recent years, the comprehensive revamp for Halida has been initiated as a proactive and strategic move to cater to Vietnamese consumers needs in the most timely and impactful way, which solidifies Halidas long-standing history of beer brewing for Vietnamese consumers. In an era where the domestic market is more open to global brands than ever, the preservation of Halidas local roots represents Carlsberg Vietnams intensifying focus on delivering a more refined beer experience to local consumers. Refreshing beer for the inside, refreshing view for the outside Starting from the inside, Halidas new liquid is brewed with special Tetra Hops and Spring Barley from Europe, which offers a more refreshing taste with its balancing bitterness and crispy dry taste. Delivering the just right ABV, a creamy foam head, a smoother finish and a more long-lasting and refreshing aroma, the new Halida liquid is brewed with meticulous attention to Vietnamese consumers taste, and perfect for carefree moments with friends. Regarding the outside, the new design introduces an upgraded version of Halidas signature elephant that adds an edge of opulence to the icon, implying that the brand is steadily moving forward. While the newly added blue colour exudes a light-hearted, optimistic, and fresh aura to reflect Halida's more refreshing taste, Halida's iconic golden color is maintained as an embodiment of the brands heritage. When melded together, the colors give Halida a refreshed, premium identity that is still full of its existing prestige. "From nearly 30 years of Halida brand development in Vietnam, we have always catered to the needs of our targeted consumers who are real men that relentlessly exert themselves in life and are worthy of being truly relaxed in their natural habitat after a long working day. With this revamp, we hope to craft a more refined experience for consumers in this constantly-changing era, said Andrzej Bialasiewicz, vice president, Marketing of Carlsberg Vietnam. Four launching events are being held in Hanoi, Thanh Hoa, Son La, Vinh Phuc, giving consumers first-hand experience of Halidas new refreshing look and taste. Following the events, new Halida products is available on the market in April 2021, ready to provide consumers with a better refreshing beer experience. Most recently, Halida was honored to receive the Gold Award for its sub-premium line extension (Halida Export) at Monde Selection one of the most prestigious international awards for food and beverage products worldwide. This award, along with other reputable international awards that Halida has received over the years, are testaments to Halidas persistent efforts in living up to Vietnamese consumers pride. With nearly three decades of accompanying Vietnamese consumers through various activities, Halida has left its imprint in many generations memory as the pride of Vietnamese beer and solidified its position in the market. Halidas product portfolio includes Halida Draught, Halida Core, Halida Export, and Halida Dark. Carlsberg is one of the first Danish multi-national companies to enter Vietnam, making its first investment in 1993. In 2013, the fully dedicated Carlsberg Vietnam organisation was established, including representative offices nationwide and brewery located in Central Vietnam. Over nearly 30 years of establishment and development, Carlsberg Vietnam is setting its position as the organisation committing for sustainability and social responsibility. Carlsberg Vietnams brands including 1664 Blanc, Carlsberg, Tuborg, Huda, Festival, and Halida are globally recognised for their superior quality and are beloved by domestic consumers. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in Washington, DC on July 30, 2020. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Fauci told Insider that life in the US may start returning to pre-pandemic normal by the end of summer. After that, he said, the US could approach "a considerable degree of normality" in the winter. His optimism comes in part from studies that show vaccinated people are unlikely to spread the virus. See more stories on Insider's business page. It's the million-dollar question: When can life go back to normal? Anthony Fauci gets asked this a lot. "It's very difficult to predict, but I would think that we would approach some degree of normality as we get towards the end of the summer and into the fall, and a considerable degree of normality as we get into the winter of this coming year," he told Insider in a recent interview. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was referring specifically to life in the US. He pointed to two main factors that will determine whether his timeline is correct: "If we get the overwhelming majority of the population vaccinated, and it turns out how I suspect: that vaccinated people don't transmit." Both of these variables are trending in a positive direction. Growing evidence shows that US-authorized shots do indeed keep vaccinated people from readily transmitting the virus, thereby stymieing its spread. "I think ultimately, that's going to be the case," Fauci said. As for the number of Americans getting vaccinated, and how quickly, the ramp-up has been impressive. Vaccination rates in the US doubled from February to March, then again from early March to early April. More than 3 million doses are now given daily in the US, on average, and 20% of Americans are fully vaccinated. If enough people get vaccinated, the US could approach herd immunity In clinical trials before their shots were authorized, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson only showed that their vaccines prevent symptomatic COVID-19. They didn't test whether their vaccines prevent asymptomatic cases. Story continues But of course, without curtailing symptomless infections, it's difficult to stop transmission. Now, an expanding body of research suggests that people who get the vaccines are less likely to spread the virus after all. Still, Fauci said, "we haven't definitively proven it yet." Studies are also increasingly showing that the shots offer protection that lasts at least six months. A member of FDNY EMS receives a COVID-19 vaccine on December 23, 2020 in New York City. Michael Santiago/Getty Images Once enough Americans get vaccinated, the US could approach herd immunity: the point at which enough people are either vaccinated or immune due to an infection to stymie the virus' overall spread. Fauci has estimated this threshold could be between 70% and 85% of the population. "If we could just hold on for a while, we'll reach a point where the protection of the general community by the vaccine would really make it very unlikely that we're going to have another surge," he said. If the rate of US vaccination continues to double month-over-month, the country could reach that threshold as early as June. Already, President Biden has asked states to move the date when every American over 16 will be eligible for a vaccine up to April 19. According to a Kaiser Health News poll, the percentage of Americans who said they were hesitant to get vaccinated has halved since January. And on Friday, Pfizer asked US regulators to make its shot available to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15, since a recent trial showed it works for that age group. "We ultimately would like to get, and have to get, children into that mix," Fauci said during a March Senate hearing. Fauci said the US shouldn't 'pull back prematurely' Patrons at the West Alabama Ice House in Houston, Texas, June 2020. MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images Determining when we'll get back to normal, of course, depends on how that's defined. If normal means a return to nonessential travel, things are looking up: The CDC announced last week that vaccinated Americans can travel by plane, train, or bus in the US without needing to quarantine or get tested. They do need to wear masks, however. But if normal involves a return to frequent dining at indoor restaurants, or regularly going to bars, concerts, and sporting events without much risk of coronavirus infection, that's a more complicated question. States like New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have already loosened coronavirus-related restrictions on gathering sizes and relaxed capacity limits at restaurants and gyms. Texas, meanwhile, eliminated capacity restrictions for all state businesses, including bars. But all of those changes contradicted recommendations from the CDC, and the recent reopenings have coincided with spikes in cases. The rate of new infections is trending upward in 18 states. "We're at an interesting crossroads, where we have the virus in this country plateauing at a really concerning level, more than 60,000 new infections per day," Fauci said. "So it's kind of a race between the vaccine and the possibility that there'll be another surge." In his own life, Fauci said, he still avoids crowded, indoor places where people remove their masks, even though he's vaccinated. The CDC, too, recommends that vaccinated Americans avoid large- and medium-sized gatherings and continue to mask up. For most people, that means continuing to approach restaurants, bars, and movie theaters with a lot of caution. Still, Fauci is optimistic about avoiding a fourth coronavirus surge, given the speed of the US vaccine rollout: "We're absolutely going in the right direction," he said. "I think if we play it right, if we continue to vaccinate at the rate that we're vaccinating people, and we don't pull back prematurely on our mitigation, then we should be fine," Fauci added. We may need to keep wearing masks for a while A person works on her laptop in Central Park on March 23, 2021 in New York City. Noam Galai/Getty Images If being back to normal means everyone can throw away their masks, that's likely the longest timeline. At least 18 states currently don't have mask mandates - several of them, including Texas and Mississippi, rescinded their statewide mandates last month. But Fauci thinks masks could stick around into next year, given the overwhelming research showing how effectively masks reduce the coronavirus' spread. When asked for a prediction about when masks will stop being the default, Fauci "didn't want to go there." "Somebody'll come back and throw it in my face," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Guwahati: The Election Commission (EC) has ordered re-polling in four polling stations in southern Assam, where normal balloting was held in the second phase of polling on April 1, officials said on Saturday (March 10). The EC Secretary Ajay Kumar Verma wrote a letter to the Assam Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade and said that considering all the reports and other circumstances, the EC has ordered re-polling in four polling stations on April 20, news agency IANS reported. Quoting the EC order, the election officials said that the re-polling would be held in Indira M.V. School (Right) under Ratabari (SC) assembly constituency, Madhya Dhanchari Lower Primary School under Sonai assembly segment, Khothlir Lower Primary School and Mualdam Lower Primary School both under Halflong (ST) assembly seat. Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker and BJP candidate Aminul Haque Laskar, who is contesting from the Sonai Assembly constituency as a BJP nominee, was quizzed twice while five police personnel attached to him were suspended after they allegedly opened fire at the public during the second phase of polling on April 1. Cachar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Keerthi Jalli has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. District Development Commissioner B.C. Das has been asked to conduct the probe and submit a report in this regard. Laskar also told the media that the security personnel opened fire to protect his life during a clash between the rival political parties. The opposition parties have demanded his arrest. At least six polling personnel were suspended in Assam`s Dima Hasao district after it was found that a booth -- Khothlir Lower Primary School -- with 90 valid voters registered 181 votes during the second phase of polls on April 1. The repolling would be held at the Mualdam Lower Primary School in connection with the ballot mismatch in Khothlir Lower Primary School. The Election Commission earlier suspended the presiding officer, three other polling officials and an armed escort official associated with Indira M.V. School under Ratabari (SC) assembly constituency after an EVM was found in a BJP candidate`s wife`s vehicle on April 1. The Karimganj District Magistrate (DM) Anbamuthan MP (Repeat Anbamuthan MP) has ordered a magisterial inquiry and the police arrested three people in connection with the EVM found in a BJP candidate wife`s vehicle. The three-phase elections to the 126-member Assam assembly were held on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The results would be declared on May 2. Live TV Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. John Stossel is author of No They Cant! Why Government Fails But Individuals Succeed. YEREVAN, APRIL 10, ARMENPRESS. Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Artak Davtyan met on April 9 with the families of servicemen who have been declared missing or have been captured by Azerbaijan during the recent war, the defense ministry of Armenia told Armenpress. During the meeting Lieutenant-General Artak Davtyan presented details from the ongoing search operations, answered to their questions. He assured that all issues voiced are under the spotlight of the countrys military-political leadership and also within the jurisdiction of the defense ministry, adding that the maximum is being done to ensure the return of captured servicemen, reveal the fates of missing soldiers, find and identify the bodies. An agreement has been reached to regularly hold such meetings. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Community Perspective Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. Columns are welcome on a wide range of issues and should be well-written and well-researched with attribution of sources. Include a full name, email address, daytime telephone number and headshot photograph suitable for publication (email jpg or tiff files at 150 dpi.) You may also schedule a photo to be taken at the News-Miner office. The News-Miner reserves the right to edit submissions or to reject those of poor quality or taste without consulting the writer. Letters to the editor Send letters to the editor by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707), by fax (907-452-7917) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Writers are limited to one letter every two weeks (14 days.) All letters must contain no more than 350 words and include a full name (no abbreviation), daytime and evening phone numbers and physical address. (If no phone, then provide a mailing address or email address.) The Daily News-Miner reserves the right to edit or reject letters without consulting the writer. European Council President Charles Michel said he can't sleep at night because of a humiliating seating gaffe that relegated the female EU commissioner to a sofa during a meeting on women's rights. Ursula Von der Leyen, the first female president of the European Commission, expressed surprise and raised a hand in disbelief when she found Michel had taken the only chair available next to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the talks. In the episode, caught on camera, she ended up being relegated to a sofa, further away. Ursula von der Leyen was left irritated after being sidelined during talks between the EU and Turkey in Ankara on Tuesday after her two male counterparts took the only available seats Mr Michel said late on Wednesday that the embarrassment was the result of the 'strict interpretation' by Turkish services of protocol rules, and he regretted 'the differentiated, even diminished, treatment of the president of the European Commission' 'I make no secret of the fact that I haven't slept well at night since because the scenes keep replaying in my head,' Michel told German newspaper Handelsblatt, adding if it were possible he would go back and fix it. As Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Council chief Charles Michel took the two available chairs, von der Leyen - the President of the European Commission - was left standing awkwardly, before taking a seat on a sofa. Turkey strongly rejected accusations that it snubbed von der Leyen because of her gender, while European Council chief Charles Michel blamed Turkey - despite the fact he did not appear to offer his colleague his seat either. The incident took place in Ankara on Tuesday as Von der Leyen met with Erdogan, alongside her European colleague Michel. Video showed how Von der Leyen was left standing to one side and uttered an audible 'ahem' as Michel and Erdogan took the only two available seats - with neither offering her their chair even after she protested. She was instead left to perch on a nearby sofa, positioned a distance from the two men, as they held the lengthy talks on Turkey's relations with the EU, including Erdogan's decision to withdraw from a treaty protecting women's rights. The images drew intense criticism on social media and accusations of gender discrimination with a 'sofagate' hashtag trending. It was quickly pointed out that in previous meetings in Turkey when both EU representatives were male, both were offered seats. Von der Leyen, who could be heard uttering an irritated 'ahem' as the men sat down, was left to perch on a nearby sofa during two and a half hours of diplomatic talks It was pointed out that in previous meetings in Turkey when both EU representatives were male, both were offered seats. Pictured: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, sits together as he holds a meeting with then EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, right and then EU Council President Donald Tusk, left, Monday, November 16, 2015 (file photo) Von der Leyen was in Turkey alongside EU council president Charles Michel (left) and Turkish president Erdogan (centre) to discuss relations with the EU - including on women's rights Anakara insisted that the EU's own protocol requests were applied during the meeting at the Turkish presidential palace. But Mr Michel said late on Wednesday that the embarrassment was the result of the 'strict interpretation' by Turkish services of protocol rules, and he regretted 'the differentiated, even diminished, treatment of the president of the European Commission'. Von der Leyen's spokesman said afterwards that Turkey had breached protocol by failing to offer her a chair, as it has done to other male commission presidents in the past, but that she decided to 'prioritize substance over protocol' by staying. But, the spokesman added, 'let me stress that the president expects that the institution that she represents to be treated with the required protocol, and she has therefore asked her team to take all appropriate contacts in order to ensure that such an incident does not occur in the future.' Diplomatic protocol dictates that the EU commission president and council president, holding equal rank, should be seated in an equal manner. Denmark-based shipping company MHO-Co is heading a consortium that will spend 4.5 million during the next three years on developing green solutions for the future of the maritime industry. Together with Aalborg University, among others, and with grants from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), MHO-Co will test fuel cells and new battery technology on the shipping company's advanced hybrid vessels. The Danish shipping company is the initiator of the consortium which, with the companies Danfoss, Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S, Sterling PlanB and Stuart Friezer Marine, also consists of research engineers from Aalborg University. Of the 4.5 million, 2.15 million comes from grants from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP). Over the next three years, the six partners will develop and test a propulsion system for maritime transport that does not emit carbon dioxide. During this period, MHO-Co will test both fuel cells and liquid-cooled batteries. Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S will develop the fuel cells for the shipping application. Based on our experience with fuel cells for heavy transport, we are now focusing on how fuel cells and hydrogen can also become the green solution of the future in the maritime sector. This project is groundbreaking because together we can test the different options and find a sustainable solution, which can be approved by the authorities and live up to the current requirements for new technologies. Kristina Flche Juelsgaard, director at Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S Another pillar of the project is the use of energy storage systems for maritime use. This is where Sterling PlanB contributes to the project. The next generation of MHO-Cos vessels are custom-designed to service the wind turbine and offshore industries, and the shipping company specializes in transporting technicians to and from large wind farms. Currently, the shipping company is building the worlds first Crew Transfer Vessels with hybrid propulsion, and these two vessels will be the focal point of the project. Our two new vessels are built as floating test platforms. They are designed to be adapted to the environmentally-friendly energy systems of the future simply by replacing engine and propulsion packages. And since the vessels are catamarans, we have four platforms providing even better conditions for testing and comparing different sustainable solutions. Mik Henriksen (MHO-Co) The two new vessels are being built in China and are scheduled to be put into operation in Europe before the summer holidays 2021. MHO-Co is a Danish shipping company specializing in the service and transport of crew in the offshore wind industry. The shipping company was founded in Esbjerg in 2015 by Mik Henriksen and commands a number of vessels including the twin vessels MHO Gurli and MHO Esbjerg, whicheach measuring 39 metersare the worlds largest Crew Transfer Vessels. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has been deployed against COVID-19 in at least 115 countries, some of them for several months now. But it was not until a few cases of a rare blood-clotting disorder some fatal emerged within the past month or so that many European nations began to rethink its use across all age groups. Several of those countries, well stocked with alternate vaccines, have now limited use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot to older people, and a few have stopped using it altogether. While the incidence of these clotting disorders is extremely low, regulators and researchers are trying to raise public awareness of certain symptoms including headaches, leg swelling and abdominal pain especially in younger people who have been vaccinated. Public health experts, however, have expressed concern that publicity surrounding the rare vaccine-related reactions will fuel hesitancy, a particular problem in Europe. They continue to emphasize that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines benefits far outweigh the risks. In many nations, it is the only vaccine available. Below are some frequently asked questions. What is a blood clot, and what causes them, generally? A blood clot is a thickened, gelatinous blob of blood that can block circulation. Clots form in response to injuries and can also be caused by many illnesses, including cancer and genetic disorders, certain drugs and prolonged sitting or bed rest. COVID itself can trigger serious clotting problems. Clots that form in the legs sometimes break off and travel to the lungs or, rarely, to the brain, where they can be deadly. The clots in recipients of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine have drawn heightened concern because of their unusual constellation of symptoms: blockages in major veins, often those that drain blood from the brain, combined with low platelet counts. Platelets are a blood component involved in clotting. Researchers in Germany and Norway found that vaccine recipients who developed the clotting disorder had produced antibodies that activated their platelets and led to the clots. The scientists suggested naming the unusual reaction vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT. So far, researchers in Europe have not identified any underlying medical condition among the vaccine recipients who developed severe clotting issues that would help explain their susceptibility. Some health officials have said that younger people appear to be at slightly higher risk from the clots. Because those people are also less likely to develop severe COVID, regulators said, any vaccine being given in that age group has to clear a higher safety bar. What is the frequency of unusual cases in Europe? As of April 4, European regulators had received reports of 222 cases of the rare blood-clotting problem in Britain and the 30-nation European Economic Area (the European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). They said that about 34 million people had received the AstraZeneca vaccine in those countries and that the clotting problems were appearing at a rate of about 1 in 100,000 recipients. European regulators said that as of March 22, they had carried out detailed reviews of 86 cases, 18 of which had been fatal. British health officials have described a somewhat lower incidence of cases, perhaps as a result of having begun their rollout of the vaccine in older people, who they say appear to be less susceptible. But they offered evidence this week that the risk of being admitted to intensive care with COVID exceeded the dangers of the blood clots in almost every scenario. The only group for whom they said the risk of the clotting problems outstripped that of coronavirus-related intensive care admissions was people younger than 30 living in a place with low rates of COVID cases. People of all ages with a medium or high risk of exposure to COVID were more likely to suffer serious health problems from catching the virus than from being given the vaccine, they said. What actions are Britain, European countries and other nations taking as a safety precaution? Germany, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal and Spain have recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given only to people older than 60. Canada and France have limited it to those older than 55; Australia, older than 50; and Belgium, older than 56. Britain, where the AstraZeneca vaccine was developed, has been its staunchest defender, but announced Wednesday that it would begin offering alternative shots to people younger than 30. Denmark and Norway have stopped using the vaccine, and Congo delayed the start of its inoculation program. Full vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses, but regulators in France have recommended that people younger than 55 who have had one dose get a different vaccine for their second shot. German health officials have recommended the same for people younger than 60. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorized for use in the United States, but the company has said it would seek Food and Drug Administration review. On Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency said that the vaccines labeling should be revised to include the clotting disorder as a very rare side effect of the vaccine. How common are blood clots? In the United States, 300,000 to 600,000 people a year develop blood clots in their lungs or in veins in the legs or other parts of the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Based on that data, about 1,000 to 2,000 blood clots occur in the U.S. population every day. With several million people a day now being vaccinated, some of those clots will occur in those receiving the shots just as part of the normal background rates, unrelated to the vaccine. In Britain, regulators have said, roughly 1 in 1,000 people are affected by a blood clot in a vein every year. But medical experts said it was harder to discern the typical background rate of the more unusual clotting cases being observed in small numbers of recipients of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Cerebral venous thrombosis, or clotting in the brain, has not always been well diagnosed, researchers have said. Still, German researchers have said those clots were appearing more frequently in recipients of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine than would be expected in people who had never received the shot. What symptoms should doctors and vaccine recipients look for in case of an adverse reaction like blood clots? European regulators had recommended that recipients of the vaccine seek medical assistance for a number of possible symptoms, including swelling in the leg, persistent abdominal pain, severe and persistent headaches or blurred vision, and tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the area where the injection was given. But that set of symptoms was so vague that almost immediately, British emergency rooms experienced a surge in patients who were worried that they fit the description. As a result, some emergency room doctors have asked for more central guidance about how to handle what they described as largely unnecessary hospital visits. German researchers have described specialized blood tests that can be used to diagnose the disorder and suggested treatment with a blood product called intravenous immune globulin, which is used to treat various immune disorders. Drugs called anticoagulants, or blood thinners, can also be administered, but not a commonly used one heparin because the vaccine-related condition is very similar to one that occurs, rarely, in people given heparin. Do vaccines cause other bleeding disorders? Other vaccines, particularly the one given to children for measles, mumps and rubella, have been linked to temporarily lowered levels of platelets, a blood component essential for clotting. Lowered platelet levels have been reported in small numbers of patients receiving the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. One recipient, a physician in Florida, died from a brain hemorrhage when his platelet levels could not be restored, and others have been hospitalized. U.S. health officials have said that the cases are being investigated, but they have not reported the findings of those reviews and have yet to indicate that there is any link to the vaccines. What has been the impact in Europe? Shortly after the safety concerns emerged last month, surveys began to show that in Germany, France and Spain, a majority of people doubted the safety of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Use of the shot has suffered: Across Europe, 64% of delivered doses of AstraZenecas vaccine have been injected into peoples arms, markedly lower than the rates for other shots. But European countries have been able to withstand restricting use of the vaccine because they have purchased shots from other makers, too. The European Union is expecting the arrival of 360 million doses of coronavirus vaccines in the second quarter of this year, much of that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is becoming a bigger part of the continents rollout. And in many cases, people on the continent still eligible to receive the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine were eager to get it. Germany, for instance, where the vaccine is recommended only for people older than 60, has administered shots at a fast clip since the new restrictions were put in place. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Five states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala -- cumulatively account for 72.23 per cent of the country's total active COVID-19 cases which have breached the 10-lakh mark again after around six-and-half-months, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. Ten districts including Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, Bengaluru Urban, Nashik, Delhi, Raipur, Durg and Aurangabad account for 45.65 per cent of the total active cases which have climbed to 10,46,631 and now comprise 7.93per cent of the total infections, it said. A net increase of 67,023 cases have been recorded in the total active cases in a span of 24 hours. Maharashtra alone accounts for 51.23 per cent of the total active cases in the country, the ministry said. Ten states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan -- have shown a steep rise in the daily COVID-19 cases accountingfor82.82 per centof the new infections, it said. India registered a record single-day spike of1,45,384new infections on Saturday taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to1,32,05,926, Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 58,993. It is followed by Chhattisgarh with 11,447 cases while Uttar Pradesh reported 9,587 new cases. India's cumulative recoveries stand at 1,19,90,859 with77,567 recoveries being registered in a day. "Daily Deaths continue to show an upward trend. A total of 794 deaths were reported in a span of 24 hours," the ministry said, highlighting that 10 states account for 86.78 per centof the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties at 301 followed by Chhattisgarh (91). Twelve states and union territories have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said. These are Puducherry, Ladakh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Arunachal Pradesh, it said. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 9.80 crore, the ministry said. Cumulatively, 9,80,75,160 vaccine doses have been administered through14,75,410 sessions till 7 am, according to the provisional report. These include 89,88,373 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 54,79,821 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 98,67,330 FLWs who have received the first dose, 46,59,035 FLWs who have taken the second dose. Besides, 3,86,53,105 and 15,90,388 beneficiaries aged above 60 have been administered the first and second dose respectively and 2,82,55,044and 5,82,064 beneficiaries aged between 45 to 60 received the first and second dose respectively. Eight states including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala account for 60.62 per cent of the total doses given so far in the country, the ministry said. Over 34 lakh vaccination doses were administered in a span of 24 hours, it said. As on day-84 of the vaccination drive (April 9), 34,15,055 vaccine doses were given. Out of which, 30,06,037 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 46,207 sessions for the first dose and 4,09,018 beneficiaries received the second dose of the vaccine. In terms of the number of daily doses administered globally, India continues to remain at the top with an average of 38,93,288 doses administered per day. (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.) Manchin: Capitol Riot Changed Me, Sparked More Work Bringing Parties Together The Democrat senator considered the most moderate in his party in the upper chamber said this week that the events of Jan. 6 compelled him to work harder on bringing different lawmakers together. Jan. 6 changed me. And I was very clear with everybody: I never thought in my life, I never read in history books to where our form of government had been attacked, at our seat of government, which is Washington, D.C., at our Capitol, by our own people, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said during an April 8 interview with CNN. Now the British did it, but not Americans. So something told me: Wait a minute. Pause. Hit the pause button. Somethings wrong. You cant have this many people split to where they want to go to war with each other, he added. On Jan. 6, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol and clashed with law enforcement officers before ultimately being ejected. One, Ashli Babbitt, was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate despite both they and Republicans holding 50 seats in the chamber. Thats because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes in her role as president of the Senate. Manchin has gained power because he can kill a proposal Republicans dont like with his opposition, since the White House needs his backing to pass partisan bills. Manchin voted for the partisan COVID-19 relief packageno Republicans didbut has said he would largely oppose using budget reconciliation again to ram through large proposals. Security video from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 is shown to senators during the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, in Washington on Feb. 10, 2021. (Senate Television via AP) Manchin told CNN that reconciliation, which lowers the threshold in the Senate from 60 to 50 votes, was never intended to be our main focus or our main vehicle for legislation but that there is a time and a place for its use. He also reiterated his opposition to abolishing the filibuster, which would permanently lower the voting threshold to a simple majority. The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation, Manchin wrote in an op-ed this week. Another Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), has also defied calls from her party to ax the filibuster. When you have a place thats broken and not working, and many would say thats the Senate today, I dont think the solution is to erode the rules, she said in a recent interview. Manchin, who has been in Congress since 2010 after serving as governor and secretary of state of West Virginia, told CNN that hes witnessed people with power abuse it. Ive watched people that had power and abused it. Ive watched people that sought power and destroyed themselves, and Ive watched people that have a moment of time to make a difference and change things and used itI would like to be that third, he said. (Newser) The Anti-Defamation League is weighing in on Tucker Carlson's employment status. Specifically, it wants Fox News to give its No. 1-rated host the boot. "Given his long record of race-baiting, we believe it is time for Carlson to go," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote in an open letter that was spurred by a Thursday night segment. CNN was quick to note that there is "zero indication" Fox would do so much as reprimand Carlson for the comments he made during the 7pm hour, when he and Mark Steyn discussed the treatment of migrants at the US-Mexico border. CNN has some of his comments involving "white replacement theory," which it describes as "a racist conspiracy theory that imagines white people are being intentionally replaced by immigrants" and one that is part of white supremacist ideology: "I know that the left and all the little gatekeepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term 'replacement,' if you suggest that the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World. But they become hysterical because that's what's happening, actually. Let's just say it! That's true." Carlson at one point stated he wasn't invoking the theory: "White replacement theory? No, no, this is a voting rights question. I have less political power because they're importing a brand new electorate. Why should I sit back and take that? The power that I have as an American guaranteed at birth is one man, one vote, and they're diluting it. No, they are not allowed to do that. Why are we putting up with this?" story continues below The New York Times reports that in its letter, the ADL called Carlson's words "not just a dog whistle to racistsit was a bullhorn." The ADL continued, "This is not legitimate political discourse. It is dangerous race-baiting, extreme rhetoric. And yet, unfortunately, it is the culmination of a pattern of increasingly divisive rhetoric used by Carlson over the past few years." How Fox News characterized Carlson's appearance in its coverage of the segment: Carlson "doubled down on earlier warnings of the long-term ramifications of illegal immigration in a guest appearance on Fox News Primetime." Philip Bump weighed in Friday morning with a lengthy piece for the Washington Post that traced the own immigration story of Carlson's forebears. Bump writes, "Carlson is adept at presenting his rhetoric. It's part of what makes him good on television; he's sharp and brash and energetic. But that shouldn't obscure that his rhetoric is wrong, shortsighted, and potentially harmful." (Read more Tucker Carlson stories.) Yet thats exactly the name a German shop called Thunderbike gave one of their creations, formally a Street Glide two-wheeler. The color used on most of the build contributed to the name, but so did the aesthetic changes made to it.Thunderbike says the Grey Eagle is the first motorcycle of the hundreds they made over the past 30 years or so to use a short version of its Dayton body kit. And that includes pretty much everything from the fuel tank to the fenders and even the wheel the front one, for instance, is a massive 26-inch piece. The bikes visual appearance was handled by Thunderbikes usual partner in this field, Ingo Kruse.The looks of the the original stripped-down hot-rod bagger as Harley calls the Street Glide, was further altered by mechanical changes. The motorcycle rides on a custom air ride suspension, that can be raised to a height of up to 10 cm (4-inches).Engine-wise, Thunderbike says it used a Harley-Davidson Screamin Eagle tuning kit, but the shop does say a word of how the engines performance has changed as a result of that.As for the cost of the build, the Germans are not in the habit of saying things out loud, but they do list the parts used for each project, and most of these parts can usually be found in their shop . A simple math exercise reveals that the hardware used on the Grey Eagle alone is worth close to 13,000 euros, which is about $15,200 at todays exchange rates. Soon, she said, money began flowing into her account. Please take all of my money for your trip, I dont deserve it, wrote Betaboy10, who gave $500, according to screen shots she provided to The New York Times. Another, named SubMike00, sent $250. A user who goes by Peter Zapp sent $400, along with the message: Id do anything to be owned by you. Welcome to the lucrative world of financial domination, a form of B.D.S.M. that has flourished during the pandemic, when many sex workers and their customers have migrated online because of social distancing precautions. The concept is simple, even if the allure is not immediately self-evident: finsubs (short for financial submissives) send monetary tributes to a financial dominatrix, who could be any gender, in exchange for being humiliated and degraded. Its controlling someone through their wallet, said Mistress Marley. (The Times agreed to identify her only by her professional name to prevent stalkers from finding her.) I love waking up every day realizing that submissive men pay all my bills and I dont spend a dime. Trysts take place mostly online, though there can be in-person encounters. And the humiliation could be as fleeting as a few moments, or persist for hours during so-called draining sessions, when the dominatrix hurls a barrage of insults and demands that ends only when a monetary cap is reached or a finsubs bank account hits zero whichever comes first. In its purest form, financial domination is not transactional. Sending money is the kink, and finsubs offer tributes without expecting anything in return. The arousal is in the act, said Phillip Hammack, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the director of its Sexual and Gender Diversity Laboratory. Its about that loss of control. WHITEHORSE Yukon residents will head to the polls on Monday for Canada's fifth election held during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the legislature was dissolved, the Liberals held a majority followed by the Yukon Party and the NDP. Liberal Leader Sandy Silver, who was first elected in 2011, led the party to a surprise election win in 2016, going from the only elected representative to leading the party's second-ever majority government. "People wanted change," he said in a recent interview about the win. "The first year, we were feeding from the fire hose I was the only member of my team at that point that had any legislative experience." Silver pointed to his government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent territorial budget, which estimated the GDP would grow by 7.9 per cent in 2021, as reasons voters should choose to keep his party in power. "Now is not the time to change courses," he said. "We're in a good place, we've balanced the budget and now is not the time to retrain a bunch of (members of the legislative assembly)." The Liberals' win brought an end to 14 years of Yukon Party rule, relegating the party to the Official Opposition. Currie Dixon, a former member of the legislature, was chosen as the party's new leader in 2019, marking a return to politics for someone who was once one of Canada's youngest cabinet ministers. "The current government has said the right things," he said. "But where we've noticed Yukoners are left asking for more is on action. We want to deliver action, for a change." If elected, Dixon said the party will take actions including reversing cuts to the territory's business relief program, freezing power rates for two years and enhancing tourism funding in the first 100 days in office. The territory's spending and debt have risen during the Liberals' time in power and the Yukon Party is concerned about repaying that debt, Dixon said. Story continues Dixon also criticized the decision to hold an election as the territory works through its vaccination rollout. "We think it was driven by self-interest," he said. Silver disputed that characterization. "Was it the intent of calling the election at this time? No," he said. "We had the Opposition calling for the election since August. Every second question in the legislative assembly was, 'When are you going to call the election?' '" Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and New Brunswick have all held provincial votes during the pandemic. In every case, the result was a majority government for the party that held power heading in to the campaign. The New Democrats, Yukon's third party, and its leader Kate White are advertising themselves as the progressive alternative to the two main parties. White has led the NDP since 2019, and has been an elected representative since 2011. "The goal for the election is a fundamental shift," she said. "The pandemic has really done a good job of highlighting where those gaps exist ... this is an opportunity to look forward to the future that we want." White said an NDP government would freeze rents and improve access to health care. The NDP previously led the territory for 12 years between 1985 and 2000, but hasn't been able to do so since the turn of the century. However, White said the party is focused on winning a majority government. By Nick Wells in Vancouver This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2021. The Canadian Press Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said in para 1 that Yukon's upcoming election will mark the fourth campaign held since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will, in fact, be the fifth. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) Public health authorities on Saturday said the severe adverse event experienced by a vaccinee from Caloocan City was not caused by the COVID-19 shot. In a statement, the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration said an investigation was immediately conducted after a social media post on April 8 claimed a 54-year-old male from the city experienced a serious side effect after being vaccinated. Based on the casualty assessment by the Regional Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee, the DOH and FDA said "the COVID-19 vaccine did not cause the stroke, the adverse event is inconsistent with the causal association to the vaccine, and the adverse event is coincidental to underlying or emerging conditions of the patient." The DOH and FDA then reminded all vaccination sites to strictly follow screening protocols for assessing potential vaccinees, while the public is urged to fully disclose their underlying conditions during registration. They also assured the public that the vaccines are safe and effective against COVID-19, and in preventing the occurrence of severe cases. "With the expansion of the national vaccination program to cover senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, the DOH and FDA likewise urge the public to avail of the free COVID-19 vaccines to acquire the protection it provides not only for yourselves, but also for your families," the agencies added. The government has started administering COVID-19 vaccines to certain groups based on its prioritization line up. First in line are healthcare workers, followed by other members of the population who are most vulnerable, namely the elderly and those with comorbidities. Under the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, the government has allocated P500 million for the COVID-19 National Vaccine Immunity Fund to compensate vaccinees who may experience serious side effects or die after inoculation. (Newser) A Florida man is going to prison for his particularly cruel version of cyberstalking. Alvin Willie George, 25, harassed a woman who survived a throat-slashing as a child by sending her photos of the crime scene along with messages threatening to rape and kill her, reports the Washington Post. George has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for the abuse, according to a Justice Department release. The origins of the case go back to 1999. A serial killer named Tommy Lynn Sells attacked two young girls in a Texas home and slit both their throats, per NBC News. One of the girls died, but her 10-year-old friend survived the attack by playing dead. Sells was convicted and executed in 2014. Prosecutors say George researched the crime and tracked down the surviving victim. story continues below After his arrest, George admitted that he set up fake Facebook accounts and began sending the woman and her sisters crime-scene images and threatening messages in 2016. George also made clear he knew where the woman who survived the 1999 attack lived in Idaho. Details remained sealed, and it's not clear why he targeted her or what drew him to the case. When his prison term ends, George will be under three years of supervised release. The Post notes that George was prosecuted under a federal statute on cyberstalking that makes it a crime to put a person "in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury" or cause them serious emotional distress. (In another cyberstalking case, the alleged perpetrators are staffers at eBay.) A state trooper was fatally shot during a standoff between law enforcement and a barricaded suspect in an Iowa home Friday night, authorities said. Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens identified the slain trooper as Sgt. Jim Smith, a 27-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol. "He was shot and killed, attempting to arrest a barricaded subject," Bayens said during a press conference Saturday afternoon, adding that authorities "will do everything in their power" to make sure that the man who killed Smith is held to account. The Iowa State Patrol has identified a fallen trooper as 27-year veteran Sergeant Jim Smith. (via Iowa State Patrol) The standoff that resulted in Smith's death started after Grundy Center, Iowa, police attempted to pull over Michael Thomas Lang, 41, on a traffic violation around 7:22 p.m. Friday, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director at the Division of Criminal Investigation. Officers chased Lang after he fled from the police, he said. Lang later pulled over, exited his vehicle and assaulted the Grundy Center police officer who chased him, according to Mortvedt. He also disarmed the officer of his Taser, took his radio and put the officer in a chokehold, he said. More authorities responded to the scene, including a deputy who drew his weapon and gave commands to Lang to put his hands up, according to Mortvedt. Lang did not comply and ran, officials said. The deputy pursued Lang, lost sight of him and later tried locating Lang at his residence. After learning he was there, the deputy requested assistance from other officers in the area. Lang's father then arrived at the house and told officers that his son had multiple firearms inside the residence. Around 8:55 p.m., four Iowa State Patrol troopers and a Harden County sheriff's deputy K-9 unit entered the house through the garage. According to Mortvedt, the team announced themselves as law enforcement upon entering. "As the entry team began to clear the upstairs of the residence, Sgt. Jim Smith was hit by gunfire coming from inside the residence," he said. "After Sgt. Smith was shot, members of the entry team observed Lang emerge from the doorway, holding a black pump action shotgun." Story continues Authorities later opened fire, hitting Lang multiple times, after he had barricaded himself for several hours. Smith was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound, Mortvedt said. Lang was also taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and is currently in critical condition. Lang has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and a class A felony. He is also being held on a $1 million cash bond, Mortvedt said, adding that their investigation is still ongoing. Smith is the first trooper to die in the line of duty since 2011, when Trooper Mark Toney died in a crash in Warren County as he tried to make a traffic stop. McNeece appointed 5th Judicial Circuit magistrate judge A new magistrate has been hired for the 5th Judicial Circuit. Gaming Realms creates and licenses innovative games for mobile, with operations in the UK, U.S. and Canada. Through its unique IP and brands, Gaming Realms is bringing together media, entertainment and gaming assets in new game formats. The Gaming Realms management team includes accomplished entrepreneurs and experienced executives from a wide range of leading gaming and media companies. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. About 50 people gathered outside Macs Public House Friday night just hours after its owner, general manager and an attorney had their latest brush with the citys sheriffs officers. Danny Presti, the shuttered Grant City bars general manager, addressed the crowd and the disappointment they felt at the small turnout. I can see the disappointment in everyones face. Why arent more people here? Presti said, to which the crowd responded yes. I hear a lot that theres a silent majority,' he said. Unfortunately, we are not the majority. Its not even close. Im finding out real quickly how few people are actually willing to get their hands dirty and do what it needs to take to fight and fight for their freedoms. He wasnt clear on what that fight should look like, and declined to speak with the Advance/SILive.com before the rally. A crowd of about 50 people gathered outside Mac's Public House Friday, April 9, 2021 for a rally. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta) The Lincoln Avenue bar gained national notoriety in late November when Presti and the bars owner, Keith McAlarney, declared it an autonomous zone after Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down bars and restaurants on Staten Islands South Shore due to rising coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rates. What started as a fight against coronavirus lockdown orders in November had shifted to a fight against vaccine mandates by Friday. A number of people at the rally held signs against any vaccine mandates, none of which have been announced. Were going to fight this as much as we can,' Presti told the crowd. Unfortunately, civil disobedience doesnt seem to be working. We dont have the numbers, unfortunately, to cause what we need to happen. He said that lack of numbers is, in part, causing his ongoing legal issues with the city and state, and why Cuomo remains in office despite Assembly Speaker Carl Heasties announcement of an impeachment probe. Earlier Friday, McAlarney, Presti, and Louis Gelormino, an attorney representing them, were each served Criminal Court appearance tickets in Gelorminos Willowbrook offices. Their other attorney, Mark Fonte, shared a video with the Advance/SILive.com showing McAlarney ripping up the tickets and throwing them at the officers who served them. You guys are a waste, McAlarney can be heard saying. You guys lost. Youre going to come after me three months later? Just following orders? Give up your paycheck. McAlarney, Presti, and Gelormino, along with others at Macs, had been hit late last year with fines and criminal summonses totaling more than $40,000 after the bar declared its autonomous status and remained open in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions. However, those summonses were tossed out just before Christmas. A notification of dismissal said the city sheriffs office had failed to file a legally acceptable accusatory instrument with the court. Afterward, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration said the summonses had been mistakenly thrown out due to a clerical error within Manhattan Criminal Court. He said then the court cases would be rescheduled in Staten Island Criminal Court, although he couldnt say when. That process started Friday with the re-issuance of the summonses. In an email, Sheriff Joseph Fucito said Presti and McAlarney were each served Criminal Court appearance tickets for alleged violations of the states Alcoholic Beverage Law, which were observed on Dec. 1 and erroneously dismissed by the court. They were also served for new violations of the law, allegedly seen on March 19. Service of the summonses on Friday reopened another legal front in the fight between the bar and the city. At the Friday night rally, Presti and McAlarney were the only summons recipients in attendance. Two weeks ago, a justice in state Supreme Court, St. George, issued a temporary closure order shutting down Macs Public House after the city said alcohol had been served at the tavern several days earlier despite the suspension of its liquor license on Nov. 27. Besides serving alcohol, Macs was also flouting coronavirus (COVID-19) requirements on mask-wearing and social distancing, the city alleged. Justice Catherine M. DiDomenicos ruling subjects McAlarney, Presti, and tavern personnel to criminal contempt charges should they violate the order. The closure order, however, only shuts down Macs for the time being. The judge must still rule on the constitutionality of the governors executive orders instituting the coronavirus restrictions, as well the citys application to shutter the bar for a year as a public nuisance. A hearing scheduled for Friday was adjourned to April 29. [April 10, 2021] OncXerna Therapeutics Provides New Results from its Xerna RNA-based Biomarker Platform at the AACR Annual Meeting Xerna TME Panel describes the tumor microenvironment based on dominant biology subtypes with prognostic capabilities in colorectal cancer Data supports the application of Xerna TME Panel beyond gastric and ovarian cancers for prospectively-driven trials with OncXernas clinical-stage programs WALTHAM, Mass., April 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncXerna Therapeutics, Inc., a precision medicine company using an innovative RNA-expression based biomarker platform to predict patient responses to its first-in-class targeted oncology therapies, today presented new results from its Xerna TME Panel during Week 1 of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. In this study, OncXerna demonstrated that the first panel (TME Panel) from its Xerna platform revealed prognostic subtypes in colorectal cancer (CRC) by analyzing tumor samples from over 600 CRC patients. The Xerna TME Panel uses proprietary RNA-based gene expression data and a machine learning-based algorithm to classify patients based on their dominant biologies of the tumor microenvironment (TME), and has been developed as a clinical assay. Our goal is to expand the applicability of precision medicine in cancer through a novel approach that matches patients to the appropriate therapies by using RNA expression to identify patients with common biological drivers, said Laura Benjamin, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at OncXerna Therapeutics. In our AACR presentation, we presented results that verify the capabilities of our TME Panel and enable its expanded use for patients with colorectal cancer. These exciting findings pave the way for future prospectively-driven trials with the Xerna TME Panel and our clinical-stage programs, navicixizumab and bavituximab. The results from the study presented at this years AACR Annual Meeting revealed: An expansion of the TME Panels capabilities to include CRC, as the RNA-based gene signature identified unique subtypes of patients with angiogenic and immune biologies that dominated the stroma. These biologies were prognostic for recurrence-free and overall survival, supporting the potential use of the TME Panel as a novel, pan-tumor biomarker. A comparison of the TME Panels subtypes to the Consensus Molecular Subtypes (CMS) model. The CMS model represents gene expression data from both colorectal cancer cells and their microenvironment. In contrast, the Xern TME Panel integrates the interplay of angiogenic and immunogenic properties of the tumor microenvironment, and because of this focus, could be more predictive for treatments that target angiogenic and immunogenic properties of the TME. The following two datasets were used to explore the application of the TME Panel in colorectal cancer: 1) A public dataset from the Cartes dIdentite des Tumeurs (CIT) containing 566 primary tumor samples collected from patients with stage 1-4 CRC between 1988 and 2007 in France, and 2) A proprietary collection of 92 samples from the Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory (WH) of patients with metastatic CRC who were treated with various regimens including targeted therapies following surgery. OncXernas electronic poster, #348 entitled: RNA-based Diagnostic Panel Matches TME Phenotype to Therapeutic Mechanism of Action in Colorectal Cancer, is included in the Biomarkers Predictive of Therapeutic Benefit poster session at the AACR annual meeting. A link to the poster can be found here. About OncXerna Therapeutics, its Xerna RNA-based Biomarker Platform, and Xerna TME Panel OncXerna plans to deliver next-generation precision medicine to a larger group of cancer patients by leveraging the companys Xerna platform to prospectively identify patients based on the dominant biology of their cancer. This allows OncXerna to pair those patients with OncXernas clinical-stage therapies and known mechanism of action that directly address these biologies, to dramatically improve patient outcomes. The Xerna TME Panel uses proprietary RNA-based gene expression data and a machine learning-based algorithm to classify patients based on the interplay between angiogenic and immunogenic dominant biologies of the TME, and has been developed as a clinical assay. The Xerna TME Panel is an investigational assay that has not been licensed or approved, and has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use. For more information on OncXerna, please visit oncxerna.com About Navicixizumab Navicixizumab is an anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific antibody that demonstrated antitumor activity in patients who have progressed on Avastin (bevacizumab) in a Phase 1a/b clinical trial. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track designation to navicixizumab for the treatment of high-grade ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer in patients who have received at least three prior therapies and/or prior treatment with Avastin. OncXerna is targeting patients whose dominant tumor biology is driven by angiogenesis with a focus beyond VEGF to include broader anti-angiogenic pathways. Navicixizumab is an investigational agent that has not been licensed or approved, and it has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use, including for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. About Bavituximab Bavituximab is an antibody that reverses immune suppression by inhibiting phosphatidylserine (PS) signaling and is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat a specific subset of patients with advanced gastric cancer to improve their response to anti-PD-1 treatment. The mechanism of action of bavituximab is to block tumor immune suppression signaling from PS to multiple immune cell receptor families (e.g., TIMs and TAMs). The dominant biology targeted by bavituximab may be relevant for patients with many types of solid tumors whose immune systems are too suppressed to benefit from currently available immune oncology therapies. OncXernas clinical trials currently combine bavituximab with KEYTRUDA to test the hypothesis that relieving immunosuppression can enhance responses to checkpoint inhibitors. Bavituximab is an investigational agent that has not been licensed or approved, and it has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use, including for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. Investor and Media Contact: Ashley R. Robinson LifeSci Partners, LLC arr@lifesciadvisors.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Click here to read the full article. Chinas influential Douban review and culture online platform has wiped the 2021 Oscars from its site, the latest indication that this years Academy Awards have become a political flashpoint in the worlds largest film market. Douban is a trend-setting social networking site home to a vibrant message board community and a platform for user reviews for books, music and films. It boasts an impressive catalogue of Oscar data, with homepages for each year logging winners and nominees going back all the way to the first Academy Awards in 1929. As of Friday, however, theres no longer a page for 2021. Individual films catalogued on Douban also all have a homepage with a comprehensive running list of nominations and awards. Now, however, none of the films nominated for the Oscars this year have that accolade on file. The page for Chloe Zhaos Nomadland, for instance, lists every prize and nod shes won this year from the Online Film Critics Society Awards to the latest Golden Globes, but omits her history-making four Oscar nods. The Oscars as a whole havent been deleted off Douban, however. Oscar-related discussion groups and forum posts still remain up, and appear to have avoided mass culling thus far. Why did the entire list of this years Oscar nominees disappear entirely from Douban??? a puzzled user queried on one such message board. Another user answered frankly below: Because a documentary about the Hong Kong protests was nominated. Doubans decision to wipe the 2021 Academy Awards comes after Chinese authorities last month ordered local media channels not to transmit live coverage of the event and to otherwise downplay the ceremony. Soon after, Hong Kongs top free-to-air TV network Television Broadcasts said it would drop its coverage as well, despite having carried the event every year since 1969. Beijing has long sought Oscar gold, and in the past has even touted wins from ethnically Chinese non-Chinese nationals as wins for the country. This year is in fact actually a bit of a watershed for China. China-born director Zhao will be in the spotlight, as well as two other Chinese co-productions, animation Over the Moon and drama Better Days, which will vie for gold in the animated and international feature categories, respectively. But ever since the nominees were announced, internal political issues have dogged celebration of these nods. First, Chinese internet users accused Zhao of slandering China in since-deleted comments made to a U.S. magazine almost a decade ago, possibly putting the late-April China theatrical release for Nomadland in jeopardy. They then upbraided Better Days director Derek Tsang for a since-deleted years-old photo that they said depicted him showing support for the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement, which angered Beijing. The worst offense, however, is that the Academy nominated Norwegian director Anders Hammers 35-minute film Do Not Split, which chronicles Hong Kongs intense street protests against closer ties with Beijing, to run in the best documentary short subject race. Chinese authorities would never allow footage of such a film being discussed or celebrated to screen in the country. There does not yet appear to be a blanket directive for all Chinese sites and platforms to follow in Doubans footsteps. Information about the April 25 Oscars were available, for instance, on the online Maoyan ticketing, data and review platform just with Hammers offending title omitted from the list of nominees. Hammer told Variety that the more China censored coverage related to his short, the more Beijing was simply proving the films point for him. [Do Not Split] is a movie about how basic democratic rights are challenged and are disappearing in Hong Kong, so [Beijings reaction] is just in line with the story that we are covering in the movie, he said. From how I see they deal with freedom of expression issues in general, unfortunately its not a surprise. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Regional Travellers to Meghalaya required to register Correspondent Shillong, April 10 | Publish Date: 4/10/2021 1:39:09 PM IST The Meghalaya government on Saturday issued a revised protocols making it mandatory for all people entering the State to register themselves prior to their travel at: http://meghalayaonline.gov.in/covid/testing.htm, and to download the Arogya Setu App and the Behavioural Change Management App of Meghalaya from Google play store. The revised protocols were issued in view of the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in many States of the country with the possibility of the emergence of new strains requiring immediate steps to be taken to contain the spread of the virus in the State. In a notification signed by Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Sampath Kumar said, All entrants, other than those from North Eastern States shall carry a valid RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TruNat negative certificate else they will be tested with RTPCR on cost basis. The COVID negative report will be valid only if they were tested within 72 hours of their arrival at the entry point. All entrants tested by RT-PCR at the entry point should go into home quarantine or paid quarantine till the test results are declared, the notification specified. Entrants coming with a COVID negative report but showing symptoms on arrival at the entry point will have to be mandatorily tested by RT-PCR. Persons entering the State from any State or Union Territory possessing a valid final certificate of vaccination shall be exempted from testing, the notification said, adding that Day-trippers from North Eastern States would be tested using RAT. All entrants tested by RT-PCR at the entry point should go into home quarantine or paid quarantine till the test results are declared. The test results are usually available within 48 hours. If tested negative, which shall be communicated through an SMS or can be checked online at www.coronamegh.in, such individuals can carry on with their daily activities or work normally, the notification specified. It is mandatory for all international travellers to produce a negative RTPCR test report. The report will be valid only if they were tested within 72 hours of their arrival. If they are unable to do so, their sample must be collected at the entry point and shall be sent for RTPCR testing, the notification emphasised. All international travellers should be under home quarantine for seven days from the date of their arrival regardless of their test results, the notification read. By Panos Kotzathanasis | Published on 2021/04/09 It was a real pleasure watching Shin Sang-ok finally straying away from his usual melodramatic tropes, to deal with a different kind of film, a crime one. And although the narrative is anything but stripped of melodrama, the unique approach of Korean cinema towards this kind of movies, which focuses not on whodunit but whydunit, truly shines here. The story starts in the most impressive way possible, as we watch Seong-hee, wife of diplomat Baek Sang-ho confronting Yeong-sook, trying to prevent her from ascending the stairs of the building they are standing in. She fails, but before the latter has the chance to enter the door, Seong-hee shoots her, although not mortally. The next scenes see the prosecutor that is handling the case interrogating the perpetrator, her husband and Yeong-sook's boyfriend. The prosecutor thinks this is a case of a love triangle, and Seong-hee has been having an affair with Yeong-sook's boyfriend. Unfortunately, both the papers, who follow the case due to the involvement of a diplomat, and Sang-ho himself believe the prosecutor initially, with the latter threatening to divorce his wife. A bit later, however, and as Seong-hee visits Yeong-sook in the hospital, the latter forgives her, intensifying the mystery of why the attack occurred. Furthermore, and in an effort to protect her assaulter, Yeong-sook meets with the prosecutor and Sang-ho to explain the whole story. The movie then flashbacks to the past, when a younger Yeong-sook dated a rather awful man, who left her impregnated, and the help Seong-hee offered her in a number of ways including adopting her as a sister, and the terrible deal the two women stroke. The main premise of "It's Not Her Sin" is, once more in a Shin Sang-ok film, melodramatic, but at the same time, not overly excessive regarding the way the story unfolds. Furthermore, the social comments about the place of women in society, as slaves to the whims of men, their role as child-bearers and the social outcry of birth out of wedlock are all eloquently presented, while adding much to the general story the movie revolves around. That the focus is on women instead of men is quite evident from the initial scene, since a woman shooting another woman was anything but a common theme for Korean cinema (not even now I daresay, at least not in social dramas). At the same time, that the men are the ones who all dolled-up here and the ones essentially having secondary roles, also adds to the female focus. Furthermore, Shin creates an excellent antithesis between the two women that works on a number of levels, starting with the fact that Seong-hee is always in traditional attire and Yeong-sook in western clothes, but cemented by the fact that one is unwillingly pregnant and the other unable to bare children. The concept may seem somewhat preterit, but the way Shin implements it into the narrative is exceptional, with its gradual reveal eventually allowing the viewer to realize that everything derives from that concept, as the notion of motherhood also comes to the fore. With such a narrative, the burden of the quality of the film fell on the two protagonists, but Choi Eun-hee as Yeong-sook and Ju Jeung-ryu as Seong-hee give wonderful performances, in rather difficult roles that have them both exhibiting a plethora of different feelings and psychological statuses with equal artistry. Furthermore, their chemistry is one of the best parts of the movie. The third most memorable performance comes from Park Gyeong-ju as the prosecutor, whose misplaced notion of what has happened is injected with significant contextual meaning about how men perceived women at the time. Jeon Taek-yi as Yeong-sook's ex-boyfriend is a great (and essentially the only) villain in the title, while the two men are also the main representatives of the noir element here. Jeong Hae-jun and Choi Gyeong-ok's cinematography is also top-notch, with them portraying the number of different settings with realism, while highlighting both the melodramatic and the noir/crime aspects of the narrative artfully. Kim Young-hee-II's editing implements a pace that adjusts to the aforementioned elements, slower in the melodramatic and faster in the crime/noir ones, that suits the general aesthetics nicely, while at 104 minutes, the movie does not overextend its welcome in any way. Featuring great acting, direction and script (based on a novel by Austrian Gina Kaus), "It's Not Her Sin" emerges as one of the best works Shin Sang-ok produced in the 50s. Review by Panos Kotzathanasis ___________ "It's Not Her Sin" is directed by Shin Sang-ok, and features Choi Eun-hee, Ju Jeung-ryu, No Neung-geol, Lee Min, Jeon Taek-yi, Park Gyeong-ju. Release date in Korea: 1959/01/14. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. A pro-Trump rioter who was trampled over by a mob during the Capitol insurrection on 6 January died of acute amphetamine intoxication and was not crushed to death as it was initially reported. Five people, including one police officer, died and several more were injured when a mob of pro-Trump supporters breached the building on that day, during the confirmation of Joe Bidens presidential victory. The riot came shortly after Donald Trump gave a speech to protesters nearby, with the then president subsequently charged by the House with incitement to insurrection. Mr Trump faced his second Senate impeachment trial a few weeks after leaving office, but was acquitted by the majority-Republican Senate during the week-long trial, despite more than half of the senators voting for it. When the death of rioter Roseanne Boyland, 34, was confirmed shortly after the riot in January, it was initially reported that she died after being crushed, as footage showed a crowd of rioters trampling over her body to confront DC police officers. Read more: However, on Wednesday, more than three months after the insurrection, the DC Chief Medical Examiner, Dr Francisco J Diaz, confirmed that Ms Boyland, who was a recovering drug addict, actually died of a drug overdose on that day, with her death ruled an accident. During the announcement on Wednesday, Dr Diaz also revealed the cause of death of the three other rioters who died during the insurrection. He confirmed that 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt died from a gunshot wound to the left anterior shoulder, adding that it has been deemed a homicide as it was the result of intentional harm of one person by another. No charges have been brought over her death. The medical examiner also confirmed that Kevin Greeson, 55, and Benjamin Phillips, 50, both died from heart failure during the events of 6 January. However, Dr Diaz added that the the manner and death of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick is still pending, more than three months after the riot. Mr Sicknick died during the insurrection while attempting to defend the Capitol building from the mob, after he and one other officer were sprayed with bear mace by two rioters. George Pierre Tanios and Julian Elie Khater were arrested in March for allegedly spraying the mace, and are both facing several felony charges including assaulting police with a deadly weapon. An investigation into Mr Sicknicks death is ongoing. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 18:14:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS -- Munir Akram, the president of United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Pakistan's UN ambassador, on Friday called on the global community to address the crisis of inequality and mobilize financing for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. "We have to address the crisis of inequality, because we cannot build back better if we continue on this path of inequality," Akram told journalists at a virtual press conference ahead of ECOSOC's high-level meeting on Financing for Development, which falls on Monday. (ECOSOC-COVID-19-Inequality) - - - - SAN FRANCISCO -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Friday signed legislation to fund new grants and loans to provide immediate financial relief for small businesses struggling as a result of COVID-19. The 10.9-million-U.S.-dollar grant program will focus on helping storefront businesses that have received little to no federal or city funding, businesses that have been forced to close for six months or longer due to state and local regulations, long-established businesses, and those in high need neighborhoods, an announcement said. (US-San Francisco-Financial Relief) - - - - MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's industrial activity grew 0.4 percent in February compared to the previous month, marking nine consecutive months of growth, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). A breakdown by sectors shows construction grew 2.5 percent in February, while mining rose 2.3 percent, Inegi's monthly report said. (Mexico-Industrial Activity-Grow) - - - - TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan will build a hydrogen energy infrastructure to help the nation with its transition to a green economy, the Uzbek Justice Ministry said Friday, citing a presidential decree. The decree considers structural changes in demand for energy resources, and envisages a widespread introduction of innovative technologies to develop hydrogen energy and renewable energy sources, the ministry said. (Uzbekistan-Hydrogen Energy Infrastructure-Green Economy) Enditem Many people may have had the chance to meet Prince Philip in a receiving line or at an official reception or tea party, but few have had the chance to meet the Duke of Edinburgh person-to-person, let alone the experience of giving him direction. Many people may have had the chance to meet Prince Philip in a receiving line or at an official reception or tea party, but few have had the chance to meet the Duke of Edinburgh person-to-person, let alone the experience of giving him direction. That was the experience of Winnipeg actor-filmmaker Jon Ted Wynne, who met Prince Philip in 2011 while making his six-part documentary series Standing on Guard, a look at Manitoba's military units. In his capacity as the colonel-in-chief of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, Prince Philip consented to filming an introduction to that chapter of Wynne's series, which was later broadcast via MTS Stories from Home. In the wake of Philip's death Friday, Wynne, 62, remembers the experience fondly, and not just because he got to get into a cab at London's Victoria Station and tell the driver, "Buckingham Palace, please." "It was a very special circumstance," Wynne says. "Im sure his demeanour for meeting individuals was a little bit different than meeting groups. Its more down to earth, more immediate. "Ill never forget that because it was so special. It didnt have to happen that way, but because of Philip's dedication to his regiment, thats the only reason I got in. I was just a poor slob making a movie. I could be anybody. "He was very accommodating and very kind." Upon arriving at Buckingham Palace, Wynne was escorted by Philip's assistant to the "Sunshine Room" of the palace, which was like a mini library. "It had a beautiful big window with sunlight streaming in and it was perfect for my purposes," Wynne recalls, adding the assistant cautioned Wynne the prince "doesnt like to be fawned upon." "And I thought: Yeah, I imagine that would be hard to deal with... all these people bowing and scraping and all the rest of it." Two minutes before the appointment, Philip stuck his head in the door with three ties in his hand, and asked his assistant to confirm which of the ties was the official regimental tie. Because Wynne himself was wearing the same tie, the task was made easy. It was quickly time for the task at hand, filming Philip reading the introduction to the episode, which Wynne hoped to accomplish in two takes. "We did the first take and it was perfect," Wynne says. "He just turned 90 a few weeks before, and he read this one page for me. I was flabbergasted. When I was filming the intros to the other regiments with generals and people like that, they were quite good but Philip knocked them right out of the park. He was perfect. "So I had asked for the second take and he said, 'Is there anything youd like to comment on?'" Yes, Wynne, a veteran theatre professional, took the opportunity to give the prince some notes, such as adding a pause after one line. "He looked down at the sheet for about five seconds later he said 'Yes, OK.' So he did it again and he nailed it. It was just fantastic. "Philip was extraordinarily professional. There was nothing snobby about him. He was as sharp as a tack and it was an extraordinary experience." In fact, Philip remembered Wynne when the actor was battling cancer a few years later. "When I was fighting the 'Big C', a friend of mine in England wrote to Philip to tell him. Prince Philip, through a secretary, sent me a beautiful letter wishing me a speedy recovery. It came during one of the most difficult times in my life when I was not expected to live. Philip's thoughtfulness really had a positive effect on me," Wynne says. "That's one reason why I'm a monarchist. I believe our royalty at its best serves an important purpose to our collective morale, well-being and sense of tradition." randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing A family of four members has been hospitalized for poisoning treatment after using a bottle of strange essential oil advertised to repel mosquitos in the northern Vietnamese province of Hoa Binh. The family had purchased an essential oil diffuser and placed it on the first floor of their house, where they utilized the space to run a store, for ten days before moving it to their bedroom on the second floor on Tuesday. They added essential oil from a bottle with all label and information in South Korean that described the item as an essential oil mosquito repellent environmentally friendly and harmless to children. When they woke up the next morning, all four members exhibited signs of fatigue, headache, and vomiting. They were taken to Hoa Binh General Hospital for emergency treatment. After three days of treatment, the three-year-old and eight-year-old childrens health returned to stable condition. They have been discharged from the hospital and are being cared for at home by their other family members. Meanwhile, their parents are still undergoing treatment in the hospital, with the level of poisoning having decreased. The father suffered the worst as he had often worked on the first floor near the essential oil diffuser. Dr. Hoang Cong Tinh, head of the intensive care unit at Hoa Binh General Hospital, advised that people be cautious when using essential oils introduced to be capable of repelling mosquitoes, especially those of unknown origin. Users need to learn about the ingredients of essential oils and instructions for use in advance. Ideally, do not use essential oil mosquito repellent regularly and absolutely do not place the diffuser in a closed room, Dr. Tinh emphasized. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Several thousand people blocked traffic in front of the Serbian parliament on April 10 in a protest against the lack of government action to prevent pollution by heavy industry. Serbia is ranked among Europe's most polluted countries and its reliance on coal for heating and electricity has had a devastating effect on its air quality. Protesters, who came to Belgrade from all over Serbia, held banners reading "Cut corruption and crime, not forests," and "Young people are leaving because they cannot breathe." CORE Higher Education Group announced today that the University of Hawaii at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College Pharmacy has successfully launched a Pharmacy Exploration Center to help educate potential student candidates on pharmacy school, the profession of pharmacy, and potential career paths. A new offering as of 2021, CORE RECRUIT is helping pharmacy programs excite and engage potential student candidates about a career in pharmacy. The DKICP Pharmacy Exploration Center provides pharmacy career content and DKICP specific-content to potential students via an accessible and engaging platform. The college has had high engagement using the social platform, Instagram, and leveraging link.tree to share this content. Shannon Staton, PharmD, MBA, Senior Director of Pharmacy Relations at CORE reflected on the success, The DKICP is making the most of their Pharmacy Exploration Center by distributing this pharmacy career content through all of their marketing channels to make sure potential candidates know about the many career paths and opportunities within pharmacy. We are excited to partner with the University of Hawaii DKICP to increase quality candidates for the program. In 2020, CORE launched RECRUIT, a custom recruiting platform designed to help pharmacy programs engage, educate, and excite potential student candidates. With 70% of pharmacy schools currently using technology within the CORE Technology Suite, and major pharmacy chains currently utilizing the RECRUIT platform, CORE continues to position itself as a comprehensive resource in supporting the student pharmacists journey. About CORE Higher Education Group: Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, CORE Higher Education Group is a pharmacist owned and operated education technology company providing software applications that help manage the experiential education process for over 200 colleges and university programs across the US and Canada. Since 2006, CORE has grown to accommodate the experiential education, student competency assessment, co-curricular eLearning, recruiting, and digital portfolio needs for pharmacy education, as well as many other health science disciplines. http://www.corehighered.com This is the first of a multi-part series of articles featuring interviews with US educators. Part two can be read here. Over a year has passed since the initial cases of COVID-19 were reported in the US, and total cases and deaths have reached catastrophic levels. The death toll is over 575,000 in the US, nearly one-fifth of the global total of 2.9 million deaths. An estimated 31.2 million people have officially tested positive for the virus in the US, including over 3.4 million cases among children. The Biden administration, with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the corporate media, and the teachers unions, has deepened the policies of Trump to reopen schools, universities and businesses as the pandemic continues to spread. Significantly, the push to reopen the majority of schools throughout the US is now fueling an intensifying surge of more infectious and lethal variants across the country. Recent data from Illinois and Michigan have tied surges in cases directly to outbreaks in K-12 schools. In this March 18, 2021, file photo, pre-kindergarten students work on their school work at West Orange Elementary School in Orange, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) In the face of overwhelming evidence that school reopenings are playing a major role in the surge of the pandemic, on Friday CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated during a White House briefing, As cases increase in the community, we expect that cases identified in schools will also increase. This is not necessarily indicative of school-based transmission. Stressing that schools will remain open, she added, We have not yet seen evidence of significant transmission of COVID-19 within schools when schools have fully implemented CDC guidance. The homicidal efforts of the ruling elite to force schools open has been met with mass opposition from educators, school workers and parents. The World Socialist Web Site spoke with teachers throughout the US regarding Bidens push to reopen schools by April and the recent surge in cases throughout the US. A teacher in Tennessee commented, Bidens mandate to reopen all schools by the end of April, when half the country has less than a month of school left, will be a death sentence for more teachers, students, and their families. His order is so completely cynical, it provides no protections such as vaccinations for school staff and students, proper ventilation in classrooms, or security for teachers who cannot return to their schools because of high-risk vulnerabilities. No attempt has been made by the Biden administration to ensure the safety of our selfless teachers and our vulnerable children. Speaking on the enormous dangers with the present surge, she said, Here we are, just a little over a year since the first significant wave of COVID hit New York City, and we are seeing the cycle starting again. This time, however, COVID cases are still at dangerously high levels and the vaccine rollout has been inadequate at best. More contagious variants of the virus are outpacing immunity, yet everything is being reopened and mitigation strategies are being relaxed. The reopening of schools now will undoubtedly accelerate the fourth wave of the virus to deadly new highs. As COVID numbers rose in my district last fall, the justification for keeping schools open was that kids dont get it as bad, if at all. But even if only a handful of young people got seriously ill, there would still be medical bills to pay and lost wages for parents who stayed home with a sick child. This spring, we are contending with a very contagious variant that inordinately impacts kids. The unintended consequences of the elites pathological lust for profits will be workers who are forced to stay home, not to ensure their children are getting educated virtually, but to tend severely ill children. How many parents will become overwhelmed with medical bills, hospital bills, and potentially job loss because of a sick child? How will the economy hold up as parents have no choice but to stay out of work to care for their children? As children increasingly become ill and perhaps succumb to COVID, I believe we will begin to see a backlash against the craven policies of capitalists. A teacher in Detroit told the WSWS, It has been the case that schools would close with over five percent positivity. But as more people get vaccinated there is talk of something different. What we hear now is five to seven percent positivity rate would close schools. There is a lot of pressure being put on families right now to get the kids back in school. I think Detroit parents are more wary even than parents in the suburbs because of what happened early on. I hear parents saying, we dont want our kids in school especially with the rising numbers here in Michigan. Teachers have been able to get vaccinated but the children have not. So there is also the question, will the kids be getting it in school and taking it home to their families? I dont know what they will do with this new variant taking off. Amy, a teacher in Norfolk, Virginia, noted, Im shocked. I thought when we got rid of Trump we would have more workers rights. Im shocked that Bidens first thing was to open up the schools. Im extremely shocked that we opened up the schools in Norfolk prior to having full vaccination. I couldnt understand why all of a sudden it was such a huge push to open up when we were so close to being fully vaccinated. After 52 weeks of being closed whats four more weeks? Kuhea, a public school teacher in Hawaii with nearly 20 years of teaching experience, said of Bidens push to reopen schools amid the surge of the pandemic, Its a mistake. One of my colleagues said that an acting principal, who also has over 20 years as a teacher, warned that COVID is coming. So get ready, especially because the reopening of tourism has made her location, Lahaina, a tourist magnet, a hotspot. That vice principal wont publicly disagree with the Department of Educations position to reopen and compromised safety measures, but her warning says otherwise I support the shutdown of schools and non-essential workplaces, especially tourism, to contain the pandemic. Every teacher knows how a non-fatal cold virus or even uku [head lice] spreads like wildfire in the classroom without preventive measures. Alycia, a high school teacher with 15 years in Volusia County, Florida, wrote, The fact that we are experiencing our fourth wave of infection increases means something terrible has changed. While Americans have become a bit more lax as vaccines roll out, we have also seen schools reopening in areas where students had been learning virtually. There seems to be more confusion, not less, over how infectious children are. It seems that we do not definitively know, given that schools have been closed, and states that have reopened do not accurately report infections or quarantines. We have no idea how this has impacted student learning. Biden has tried to be effective with vaccinations, but he has pushed for reopening despite the dangers and lack of knowledge. In my district, we require masks, provide synchronous learning (which is a joke) and teachers are given sanitizer to spray desks with. The cleaning has been questioned many times and the school I work in has been on the list of reported infections almost constantly. Quarantines arent reported at all and it seems a third of the class is out every day. Still, whats done is done. If I were a school district superintendent in an area that has been virtual all year, I would simply maintain that. In Florida, the school year is almost over. I have long said that my district in Volusia will let teachers die at their desks, and whether it is from starvation or COVID that kills them is of no consequence to our leaders. Michael Hull, a former teacher in Texas and the founder of the Facebook group Teachers Against Dying, said, Clearly, there is a link between school reopening and the rise of pediatric cases, along with the prevalence of new variants of coronavirus. Like his predecessor, Biden serves at the behest of Wall Street and large corporate donors. Back in November, his pandemic task force leader, Dr. Michael Osterholm, called for a lock-down and stimulus for working families. The stock market reacted negatively, so of course they reverted right back to the false safe school narrative. The consequences of this deference to the owner class, who need a subsidized daycare for their employees, has been deadly. While the Democrats might be preferable to the increasingly fascist Republicans, the most one can hope for (even with super-majorities and a clear mandate from the American people to implement reform) is the Heritage Foundations corporate health care plan. Through their inaction and corporatism, they create the conditions for fascistic elements on the right to flourish. To be continued A tragic Kansas City murder case should remind locals to be cautious when welcoming company. Check-it . . . KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 23-year-old Kansas City man is now facing charges in a double murder earlier this month, prosecutors said Friday. Michael L. Gilmore has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in Jackson County in connection with the deaths of Joshua Gilmore-Harris and Mia [...] Senior Maharashtra Congress leader on Saturday accused the Centre of "discrimination on the basis of politics" in the distribution of critical medical equipment such as PPE kits, N95 masks and ventilators to various states. In a statement issued here, the former chief minister said information from the Centre itself confirmed this politically biased distribution, adding that Maharashtra, despite having the highest COVID-19 caseload, was facing step-motherly treatment. The Centre's reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha on February 12 on distribution of medical equipments revealed a shocking picture, Chavan said. "Gujarat got 9,623 numbers of N95 masks per thousand COVID-19 patients as compared to Maharashtra, which got 1,560 masks per thousand patients. Even UP got 3,916 N95 masks, more than twice that of Maharashtra. In PPE kits, Gujarat got 4,951 kits per thousand, and UP got 2,446 kits while Maharashtra got just 223 kits," he said quoting the Centre's reply in the Lok Sabha. Gujarat was given 13 ventilators per 1000 patients, UP got seven while Maharashtra got only two ventilators per thousand COVID-19 patients, with Kerala getting even less than Maharashtra on a per thousand patient basis, he said. "As per the Lok Sabha reply, in all categories, Gujarat was given the lion's share of supply of medical equipment, which is disproportionate to the caseload. What is this if not discrimination based on politics," he alleged. Chavan said Narendra Modi was forgetting that he was the prime minister of the entire country and not just Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and some BJP-ruled states. (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.) (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 11th Apr, 2021) DUBAI, 10th April 2021 (WAM) - Emirates one-of-a-kind flight EK2021 proudly made a journey across the different emirates today, to celebrate the UAEs remarkable progress in vaccinating its citizens and residents from COVID-19 through a national vaccination programme that has administered close to 9 million vaccines doses to date. The special flight, which carried fully vaccinated crew and passengers onboard, was unprecedented in the industry in scale. With close to 400 fully vaccinated customers onboard, the flight illustrates confidence and undiminished excitement for air travel. EK2021 was also supported by fully vaccinated teams across the aviation eco-system, from onboard crew to ground staff, demonstrating the readiness of the UAEs aviation eco-system to support the safe rebound of air travel. In spite of the pandemic, the UAE has maintained its status as a leading global aviation hub and it will continue to grow its position as a hub for passengers and cargo traffic by investing in innovations and close collaborations with all stakeholders. Onboard EK2021 was a group of senior officials from key aviation and health sector entities hosted by Emirates. H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said: "The UAEs rapid pace and progress in vaccinating our population is a testament of our leaderships vision and commitment to safeguard our communities, and manage the pandemic by adopting the appropriate measures to protect both nationals and residents. Todays flight is a showcase of the combined efforts and dedication of all stakeholders in supporting the vaccination programme, and the implementation of protocols in the past 12 months to ensure a safe travel journey, stimulate passenger traffic and set the groundwork for the ramp up of air travel in the near future. Emirates continues to support the national vaccination programme and we are pleased with the progress made within the group in vaccinating our employees." Adel Al Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer said: "We would like to thank the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Dubai Health Authority, The UAE General Civil Aviation authority (GCAA), Dubai Airports, GRFDA, Dubai Police, Airbus and Pure Health as well as other stakeholders for their close cooperation and support of our special flight." The UAE currently has one of the worlds highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents at 90.22 doses per 100 people. The outstanding effort by the health authorities in the UAE has contributed to reaching the administration of close to 9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In parallel, the Emirates Group vaccination programme rolled out to its UAE-based workforce less than three months ago, and since then has delivered COVID-19 shots to over 35,000 Emirates employees across its vaccination centres. Todays flight was operated with Emirates newest A380 aircraft which featured the airlines brand-new Premium Economy seats, and refreshed cabin interiors across every cabin class. First and business Class customers were able to safely network and mingle in the iconic A380 Onboard Lounge. In addition, all customers enjoyed a full-course meal. Combining the most advanced aviation technology and an inspired cabin design, The A380 remains a customer favourite for its unmatched comfort and spaciousness. This month, Airbus has launched a travel companion app called "Tripset". The application aggregates and provides flight and travel information to ease and restore passengers trust in their end-to-end journey when traveling by air during the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing passengers with the latest and most relevant travel conditions, restriction and health requirements in place, without having to consult a variety of sources. Tripset is part of Airbus continuing commitment, alongside airlines, industry partners and regulatory agencies, to encourage the flying public to keep trust in air travel, supporting the safe and well-coordinated return to flight, which is essential for economic recovery from COVID-19. On the ground, passengers checked in using the latest biometric technologies for a seamless journey across multiple touchpoints. Biometric touchpoints were recently expanded to include over 18 check-in desks and 15 boarding gates at the airport. As a result, customers across all classes enjoyed seamless biometric entry to experience the First and Business Class lounge at DXB. All EK2021 passengers were provided rapid COVID-19 PCR tests, facilitated by Pure Health. Pure Health, the largest integrated healthcare solutions provider in the UAE, has facilitated the administration of up to 4 million PCR tests at Dubai Airports to date. It has also played a vital role in providing COVID-19 testing support to the aviation industry at large, since the start of the pandemic. After passengers checked in, they received the green Choose to Vaccinate pin and took photos to mark the special event. All EK2021 customers who passed through immigration also received a bespoke Choose to Vaccinate stamp on each boarding pass as an added keepsake. As passengers disembarked, they were handed commemorative certificates for taking part in this initiative. EK2021 was commanded by UAE National Captain Ahmed Al Obeidli, First Officer Ramon Wilde and flight deck crew were supported by Captain Ricky Garala. Earlier in the day, aviation entities across Dubai and the UAE were sending their messages of support on Twitter in advance of the special flight. All proceeds for EK2021 have been donated to the Emirates Airline Foundation, the airlines non-profit charity organisation which supports projects around the world aimed at improving the quality of life for disadvantaged children around the world. Today, in the morning, a conflict between the two men escalated into a shooting, the press service of the Almaty police department informed. "As a result of the conflict that occurred between two unknown men, one of them, born in 1998, was wounded from a traumatic pistol and was taken to a medical facility," the press service of the Almaty police department said, Sputnik Kazakhstan reports. The police officers cordoned off the scene and detained the suspect who opened fire - he turned out to be a man born in 1987. He was detained and placed in a temporary detention centre. (@FahadShabbir) Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin warned against a "spiral back" into sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland on Saturday, after a week-long streak of unrest in the British province Belfast, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2021 ) :Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin warned against a "spiral back" into sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland on Saturday, after a week-long streak of unrest in the British province. Saturday marked the 23rd anniversary of the 1998 "Good Friday Agreement", which wound down "The Troubles" a decades-long conflict in the region which claimed 3,500 lives. "We owe it to the agreement generation and indeed future generations not to spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord," Martin said in a statement. "There is now a particular onus on those of us who currently hold the responsibility of political leadership to step forward and play our part and ensure that this cannot happen." Police said disorder continued on Friday night, albeit on a smaller scale to relative to clashes elsewhere in Belfast earlier in the week. The most bitter unrest in recent years has mainly emanated from the pro-UK unionist community. Resentment is simmering in some quarters over apparent economic dislocation due to Brexit and existing tensions with pro-Irish nationalist communities. But the violence has since spread into the nationalist community in the divided British province. On Thursday night nationalist rioters hurled petrol bombs, fireworks, bricks and bottles at ranks of armoured police vehicles preventing their advance to a unionist enclave. Officers deployed a water cannon for the first time in years and drove back the surging crowds late into the night. On Wednesday night, the gates in a "peace wall" separating unionist and nationalist neighbourhoods were set alight. Police said crowds from either side broke through to attack each other with petrol bombs, missiles and fireworks. On Friday marches had been planned in unionist communities in Belfast but they were cancelled following the news that Prince Philip -- the husband of Queen Elizabeth II -- had died. "Protests are postponed as a mark of respect to the Queen and the Royal Family," a hastily erected placard in one unionist neighbourhood announced. EV The South Korean company even points to the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector as the reason for its decision, explaining that it will focus oncomponents, connected devices, smart homes, AI, and other platforms and services.So in essence, LG is abandoning mobile phones for good, but what does this mean for current owners who use such a device to run Android Auto?In the short term, nothing is changing.First and foremost, LG has promised continued software updates according to the original schedules. In other words, the company isnt changing anything on the software side, so new monthly updates would still land just like before.Whats more, the South Koreans have even promised to release new Android versions for some high-end devices, with Android 12 to land as soon as late 2021 and early 2022. Android Auto will continue to work on LG devices, with updates to be released via the Google Play Store just like they ship right now.On the other hand, what could be concerning is LGs commitment to fixing potential bugs hitting Android Auto and which would require additional software patches. While the company claims its willing to roll out software updates until the end of support is reached, theres a chance the number of engineers working on reliability improvements could also be reduced as the wind-down of the mobile business is completed.LG claims all decisions related to employment will be determined at the local level, but in practice, this could affect the pace at which bug fixes that arent considered a priority are actually fixed.For now, LG guarantees that nothing would change in the short term, so if you own one of their phones, you shouldnt notice any difference in the experience behind the wheel. Yangon: At least 82 people were killed in one day by Myanmar security forces firing rifle grenades on pro-democracy protesters, according to reports from independent local media and an organisation that keeps track of casualties since the February coup. Fridays death toll in Bago was the biggest one-day total for a single city since March 14, when just over 100 people were killed in Yangon, the countrys biggest city. Details of the death toll in the town of Bago, 90 kilometres north-east of Yangon, were not initially available because security forces piled up bodies in the Zeyar Muni pagoda compound and cordoned off the area, according to witnesses and domestic media outlets. Anti-coup protesters holding pictures of those who died during a protest offer prayers for them. Credit:AP The death toll of 82 was a preliminary one compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which issues daily counts of casualties and arrests from the crackdown in the aftermath of the February 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Their tallies are widely accepted as highly credible because cases are not added until they have been confirmed, with the details published on their website. Hottie divas and their seductive sci-fi movie inspire our quick peek at community news, pop culture and top headlines. Kansas City Eat Out Starts Kansas City makes outdoor dining options permanent for some bars, restaurants KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Outdoor dining will be a permanent option for some Kansas City restaurants. City council members voted to amend the city's zoning code Thursday allowing some bars and restaurants to use parking lots and other outdoor space as seating. It comes after the city allowed businesses to apply for permits to expand outdoor seating [...] Downtown Kansas City Hopes For Office Space Comeback PHOTOS: See Plexpod's new coworking space in KC's Flashcube building - Kansas City Business Journal The newly renovated Flashcube luxury apartment building has an extra amenity: a Plexpod coworking space. Built in 1974 for Commerce Bank, the Flashcube building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and underwent a $70 million redevelopment by Worcester Investments. Designed by Kansas City-based Clockwork Architecture + Design, the Plexpod space at 720 Main St. Training Day Returns Englewood Arts partners with Metropolitan Community College to offer hands-on learning INDEPENDENCE, Mo - It was all hands on deck at the Englewood Arts Center on Friday. The 30,000 square-foot facility is getting a major makeover after previously being a former medical building in town. Staff hopes the brand new building will provide art studios and serve the community as a safe space for budding artists to share their work. Smootchie Song Debuts Doja Cat and SZA's Trippy Video for 'Kiss Me More' Sends Alex Landi From 'Grey's Anatomy' on a Dangerous Odyssey It's not often that you've got Homer's Odyssey and "Grey's Anatomy" combined for the theme of a music video, but it happens in the clip for "Kiss Me More," the new collaborative single from Doja Cat and SZA. FREE MONEY RULES!!! How an arcane budget provision could let Democrats advance their agenda A novel interpretation of an arcane parliamentary procedure has presented congressional Democrats with an unexpected - and tantalizing - new opportunity to advance some of their most ambitious legislative goals despite their slim majorities and fierce Republican opposition. Congressional Ethics Probe Starts: Dont Laugh House Ethics Committee opens investigation into Matt Gaetz The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it has opened an investigation into Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz. The investigation comes after multiple sources told CBS News that federal investigators are probing whether the Florida man violated sex trafficking laws. Tucker Vs. AOC Tucker Carlson: Disagree with AOC? You might want to start looking over your shoulder If you had to sum up this moment in American history, what would you call it? Maybe the "Age of Fraud." We're living in a time when the most powerful people in the world masquerade as the least powerful, a time when billionaires pose as helpless victims (don't criticize Bill Gates!), when a women who literally identifies as "the Duchess of Sussex" tells Oprah she's oppressed and Oprah nods in empathy, because Oprah's oppressed, too. Americans Would Rather Ignore Embarrassing First Son The scandal that wasn't: Republicans deflated as nation shrugs at Hunter Biden revelations Where's Hunter? The rhetorical question about Joe Biden's troubled son was posed time and again by Donald Trump during last year's US presidential election but never caught fire in the way "Lock her up!" did against Hillary Clinton. Duchess Declines Meghan Markle Will Not Be at Prince Philip's Funeral, Prince Harry 'Planning to Attend' Meghan, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, has been advised by her physician not to make the trip to the U.K. "The Duke of Sussex is planning to attend. The Duchess of Sussex has been advised by her physician not to travel. Local Foster Pets Return KC shelter's new program reuniting struggling owners with their pets KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new program is helping people in crisis during the pandemic keep their pets. KC Pet Project recently launched Home Away From Home to foster pets until they can get back on their feet. Northeast Helps Neighbor Volunteers make repairs following Indian Mound house fire Following an early morning fire on April 5, Northeast neighbors are stepping up to help one of their own repair the damage. Indian Mound residents say fire investigators suspect arson was the cause of the residential fire at the southeast corner of the Indian Mound. Katie Calls Weather Rain will move out by Saturday afternoon Hide Transcript Show Transcript WOULD BE A BETTER BET. KATIE: YES, EVERYTHING THIS MORNING WILL BE SOGGY AND WET FOR THE MORNING HOURS, BUT WE HAVE SIGNS THINGS WILL IMPROVE FOR THE AFTERNOON. IT WILL NOT BE A REAL WARM DAY, THOUGH. WE WILL STILL SEE HIGHS IN THE 50'S TODAY. Doja Cat - Kiss Me More is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. Senegal and Spain signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to discourage illegal migration that has been increasing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Spain wants to order migratory flows through legal channels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after meeting with Senegals President Macky Sall while visiting the West African coastal nation. More than 41,000 people from Morocco and West Africa crossed to Spain in 2020, and more than half of them did it by embarking on flimsy boats to the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwestern African coast. Hundreds died last year after embarking on the deadly water route. Spanish authorities are holding thousands of migrants, including potential asylum seekers, in camps set up on the islands, hoping to return as many of them to their home countries either voluntarily or through agreements with African governments. Part of that solution is to resume flights of forced returns to Senegal, a program that has been halted since 2018. While the president did not mention a resumption of flights or the return of illegal Senegalese migrants, he did discuss the memorandum of understanding that would see seasonal migration trips to Spain. We can organize seasonal departures since Spain needs manpower, Sall said. We are working with the Spanish government so that those who have to return will be given priority. More than 71,000 Senegalese live and work in Spain, according to the two leaders. The solution for Africa is not to see children die in the ocean, he said. Sall said the government would create 65,000 jobs in Senegal, as well as promote enter entrepreneurship, vocational training and cooperation. This is how we can resolve the issue of migration. Its not about leaving organized gangs that exploit these young people and let them die on the ocean floor, he said. The Spanish Prime Minister insisted on the fight against migrant smugglers. We discussed the importance of sending a clear message to traffickers. We need to send a clear message to fight human trafficking and illegal migration. We must give the opportunity for there to be a regular migration which could be beneficial for our countries, Sanchez said. The visit by Sanchez to Senegal ends his mini-tour to two African nations that are key in the European countrys new push to bolster ties with the neighboring continent and mitigate the migration flows. He visited Angola before his stop to Senegal. Sanchez is also scheduled to pay a visit to Spanish police working with Senegalese counterparts to crack down on human trafficking across the West African coast. The contingent comprises 57 members of Spains Civil Guard and National Police, two patrol boats, and a helicopter based on the port of Dakar. Africa has proportionally reported fewer coronavirus cases and deaths than Europe. But officials in Madrid fear that the fallout of lockdowns in jobs and the shockwaves of the global economic slump could send even more Africans on the perilous journey to European shores, many of them via Spain. Spain also hopes to increase its limited investment and trade exchanges with the neighboring continent as a way to lift African economies and dissuade potential migrants. Nearly one-fifth of Spains exports in 2019 went to Africa, amounting to 19 billion euro ($22 billion). Spain imports from the continent were worth 27 billion euros in the same period. Sanchez, a Socialist leading a left-wing coalition, has said that he wants to turn 2020-2030 into Spains decade in Africa. He will wrap his tour in Senegal on Friday by visiting a military base for Spanish and other international forces fighting extremism in the Sahel region and the center in Dakar that will host the first Cervantes Institute in sub-Saharan Africa for studies of the Spanish language and culture. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College will postpone the opening of Fall Registration while staff and faculty work with academic leadership to refine the schedule, so it offers a strong mix of in-person and remote or online courses. Fall registration will begin on April 19, one week later than initially planned. The delay will allow for additional time to secure a variety of course modalities for students. The college is guided by the same two principles it started with: keeping students, faculty, staff, and community safe; and helping students complete their education. More details regarding the plan for next semester can be found online in the Fall 2021 Instruction Plan. April 10 : Actor Ranveer Singh paid his last tribute to American rapper DMX (Earl Simmons) on social media on Friday The rapper was hospitalized on April 2 after suffering an apparent drug overdose and subsequent heart attack at his home in White Plains, New York. He was 50 years old. Ranveer remembered DMX by putting up an Instagram story and played his popular track Let Me Fly in the background and tagged DMXs official Instagram handle along with heart break emoji. Ranveer Singh is a huge admirer of rap genre. He played role of a street rapper in Zoya Akhtars critically acclaimed film Gully Boy (2019). The film was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards India's one of the top rappers Divine also remembered DMX by posting his picture on Instagram and he captioned it as Dark man x forever along with heart emoji. DMX (Dark Man X) began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album, "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot," in 1998. DMX released several albums over the years, including one of his most commercially successful, "...And Then There Was X," that was released in 1999 and was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap album category. It was one of three Grammy nominations for the rapper. He sold millions of albums, boosted by hits like "Get At Me Dog" in 1998, "Party Up," in 1999 and "X Gon' Give It to Ya," in 2003. He parlayed his growing fame into an acting career, appearing in multiple films including, "Romeo Must Die" and "Cradle 2 The Grave." His professional achievements were often overshadowed by his issues with substance abuse and run-ins with the law. He pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2017 and was sentenced to one year in prison. On the professional front, Ranveer Singh will be seen onscreen in Rohit Shettys cop-action drama film Sooryavanshi and comedy film Cirkus, Kabir Khans sports-drama film 83 and Yash Raj Films productions social-comedy drama film Jayeshbhai Jordaar. India is a crucial partner in the fight against climate change, a top American lawmaker has said applauding the just-concluded visit of Special Envoy to New Delhi. "I'm glad that Kerry met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss US-India cooperation in the efforts to meet global emissions targets," Congressman Frank Pallone said in a tweet on Friday. "India is a crucial partner in the fight against and would be a welcomed participant in President Biden's Earth Day Summit," he tweeted. Senator Ed Markey also expressed similar sentiments. "Pleased to see my friend Kerry meet with the @PMOIndia this week. As the #2 and #3 top global polluters, the US and India can and must lead the world to get to net-zero global CO2 emissions by 2050," Markey said in another tweet. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 23:45:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA -- Six people were killed, another one was seriously injured, and scores of buildings were damaged after a 6.1-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's western province of East Java on Saturday, officials said. The earthquake struck at 2 p.m. Jakarta time (0700 GMT) with the epicenter 96 km south of Kepanjen town of Malang district with a depth of 80 km, Andry Sembiring, an official at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said. (Indonesia-Earthquake-Casualties) - - - - LONDON -- Fourteen more police officers have been injured in the latest riot in parts of Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of police officers injured in the past week to 88, local media reported Saturday. The disorder happened Friday night around the loyalist Tiger's Bay and nationalist New Lodge areas of north Belfast, as well as Coleraine, County Londonderry, according to the BBC. (Britain-Riot-Police) - - - - RIYADH -- Saudi Arabia executed on Saturday three soldiers for high treason crime, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The executed soldiers, identified as Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Yahya Akam, Shaher bin Isa bin Qasim Haqqawi, and Hamoud bin Ibrahim bin Ali Hazmi, collaborated with the enemy against the kingdom and its military interests, the SPA said, without mentioning which enemy they were aiding. (Saudi Arabia-Soldiers-Crime) - - - - MOGADISHU-- At least four people were killed and six others were injured on Saturday morning in a suicide bombing in Baidoa, southwest Somalia. Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, spokesperson of the Federal Government of Somalia, said in a brief statement that the incident happened when a man wearing explosives blew himself up at a restaurant in Baidoa city of South West State. (Somalia-Bombing) Enditem He saved much of his vitriol for Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, calling him a dumb son of a bitch and a stone cold loser, according to the attendee. A real leader, he said, would never have accepted the results of that election. Late in his remarks, Mr. Trump praised the crowd that attended his rally on Jan. 6, admiring how large it was, the attendee said. Mr. Trump added that he wasnt talking about the people that went to the Capitol, though hundreds of the rally attendees left the rally at the Ellipse to go to the Capitol. Among other things, Mr. Trump is considering running again in 2024. Though few of his allies believe he will follow through, his presence could have a chilling effect on other potential candidates. The party is still very much revolving around Mr. Trump, said Andrea Catsimatidis, chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party and a donor who attended the retreat. He was the one who very much revived the party when we werent winning. Also inescapable is the fact that Mr. Trump has quickly built a political war chest that rivals that of the R.N.C. An adviser to Mr. Trump said he currently had about $85 million on hand, compared with nearly $84 million for the R.N.C. Send your donation to Save America PAC, Mr. Trump urged supporters last month, not to RINOS, the derisive acronym for Republicans in Name Only. Mr. Trump has appeared as passionate about punishing Republicans who crossed him, especially those who supported his second impeachment, as he has about taking back the House and the Senate in 2022. For party officials, the goal is keeping the energy that has propelled Mr. Trump to success inside the Republican tent while not entirely allowing the former president to dominate it. Ronna McDaniel, the R.N.C. chairwoman whom Mr. Trump supported for a second term, has vowed to remain neutral in a potential 2024 primary should Mr. Trump run again. Artists prepare to perform during a culture and tourism festival themed on Dolan and Qiuci culture in Awat County of Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, Oct. 25, 2019.(Photo: Xinhua) A number of foreign databases on so-called issues in China's Xinjiang including the Xinjiang Victims Database have been fabricated by anti-China forces, and claim to include eyewitness accounts and testimonies; however, they are full of outright lies and are purely political in nature, based on which Western countries and media outlets make up allegations such as "genocide and crimes against humanity." These "databases" can be clearly refuted by actual figures, official records and the family members of those listed in them, said officials from Xinjiang. Three "databases" - the Xinjiang Data Project, Xinjiang Victims Database and Uyghur Transitional Justice Database (UTJD) - involving over 10,000 so-called "victims," include nearly 7,000 who are living normal lives and over 3,000 who have been charged with terrorist activities or other crimes, Xu Guixiang, spokesperson of the Information Office of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said during a press conference on Friday in Beijing. Meanwhile, among the so-called 380 geopolitical information datapoints unveiled by those databases about "detention facilities," 343 are obviously schools, administrative institutions, hospitals, residential areas, shops and so on; such locations account for 90 percent of the total geopolitical information in these databases, Xu noted. The Xinjiang official further elaborated that behind all of these so-called databases, there are anti-China organizations, figures, and even secessionist forces based in the US and other Western countries. For example, the Xinjiang Data Project was created by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), which is funded by US government departments and Human Rights Watch, a notorious anti-China organization. "It's clear to all that ASPI receives financial support from the US government and multiple military merchants who encourage it to spread rumors and demonize China, meaning it constantly releases groundless and ridiculous claims," he said. The Xinjiang Victims Database was created by anti-China figures and organizations such as Darren Byler, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement which is financially supported by the US and Australia, and the UTJD, created by the Norwegian committee of the Xinjiang secession organization World Uyghur Congress, which is also financially supported by the National Endowment for Democracy. These databases all share a common goal: to instigate, delude and seduce overseas Uygur people to fabricate victim-like experiences with false eyewitness claims and testimonies; they aim to provide evidence for the groundless allegations about illegal detention and crackdown on ethnic peoples in Xinjiang. "These databases involve 12,050 people; we have verified the accounts of 10,708 people in total so far and 1,342 are completely fake who do not even exist. 6,962 are living normal lives, 3,244 have been charged with terrorist acts and other criminal offenses, 238 have died of illnesses and 264 are living overseas," Xu said. Using false identities and information, these databases make claims about victims that don't even physically exist, Xu said. There are also some people identified who are currently under detention but live normal lives; others have been sentenced for crimes such as terrorist acts, rape, murder, drug trafficking, robbery and prostitution. These databases use four major tactics to create sensational and "headline worthy" material, which are often picked up and used by Western media outlets such as the BBC and New York Times without in-depth cross-checking the data's authenticity. For example, the databases suggest well-known Uygur people have experienced "forced labor or detention" but actual evidence shows that they are faking their experiences to echo the claims of other anti-China forces in the Western world. Second, in order to obtain sympathy from the global community, some victims bring their own relatives into their stories to add weight to their false testimonies. For example, they make up lies such as claiming their "family relatives have been detained, persecuted, and they have lost contact with them." This severely misleads the public's opinion. Third, the databases include fabricated testimonies using those who have been charged with actual criminal offenses in China, turning them into victims, despite them actually being punished for their illegal actions. For example, Tursunay Ziawudun's testimony, a "victim" who claims to have experienced rape and forced sterilization, turned out to be nothing but a lie and false, but it was still used by the BBC and other foreign media, Elijan Anayat, spokesperson of the information office of the region's government, told a press conference. "First, Tursunay Ziawudun does not have any record of undergoing sterilization surgery. Second, many points contradict with her earlier interviews with foreign media," the official said. She told the BBC that police interrogated her about her absent husband, pushing her on the floor when she resisted and kicking her in the abdomen, according to a report in February. But when she was interviewed by US media outlet Buzzfeed a year ago, she said she wasn't beaten or abused. She also claimed she was detained from January-June 2019, but her passport was issued on March 13 - how did she pick up her passport in person during the period she claims she was detained? Despite obvious holes in these databases, foreign journalists continue to quote them when researching their anti-China stories or making up claims about "genocide" or "forced labor" in China. When foreign journalists actually visited the region, talked to local people, and visited the region's vocational education and training centers, they realized Xinjiang is not like that described in Western media, a source who is close to the matter but preferred not to be named told the Global Times. "But some foreign journalists face pressure to stay within their editorial lines, and this explains why so many Xinjiang coverages continue to be strongly biased," he said. SPOILER ALERT: This post includes details about the series finale of SYFYs Wynonna Earp. It all came full circle for the Earp sisters in the series finale of Syfys Wynonna Earp. The supernatural series from creator, executive producer and writer Emily Andras, went out with a bang as Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano), Waverly Earp (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and the rest of the gang gathered for one last family gathering at the homestead. More from Deadline The final episode Old Souls, written by Andras, finally brought Waverly and Nicole Haughts (Katherine Barrell) long-awaited wedding to center stage. As the soon-to-be newlyweds (a.k.a. WayHaught) prepared the Earp homestead for an intimate ceremony, Wynonna tries on her sisters wedding dress for cheap thrills. The fun comes to an end when she realizes the wedding gown is impossible to remove, even when a non-Vampire Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) attempts to cut it off her body. Naturally (or supernaturally), the wedding dress lives with a hex from a Lizzie Borden-type bride that curses every wedding in the Ghost River Triangle to end in a bloody massacre. Doc and Wynonna attempt to fool the killer bride-turned-bridal shop owner into lifting the curse, but to no avail. Before the demon unleashes her wrath, Waverly interrupts to effortlessly trap and appease the villain herself. Later, in the small ceremony officiated by Jeremy (Varun Saranga), Nicole and Waverly exchange their vows and say their I dos. Though the finale may not feature a heartbroken cupid infecting characters with love sparkles, romance was in the air for the small group of friends. Beyond the newlyweds, Jeremy sets a date with a handsome caterer, Rachel (Martina Ortiz-Luis) gets another chance with a non-Reaper Billy Clanton (Billy Bryk) and Wynonna recognizes her true feelings for Doc, who plans to leave Purgatory behind to live his mortal life to the fullest. Story continues Wynonna, after receiving pressure from her found family, slaps on her signature leather pants and fringe jacket to chase down Doc on the outskirts of the Ghost River Triangle. I love you Doc. I love you in that bottom-of-the-deep-dark-well way. I love your face and your butt and your drawl and your heart, she tells her long-time demon-slaying partner. And I love the way you love my sister and I love the way you love me. After Doc reciprocates his feelings for Wynonna, the two leave behind almost everything, save for each other and Peacemaker. They drive down the open highway on Wynonnas hog for their next adventure, which may even include a stop in Montana to visit their daughter Alice Michelle. Its been a long time since Ive traveled light, Earp says. Andras spoke to Deadline ahead of the series finale to break down WayHaughts big day, the future Purgatorys Scooby gang and more. Read the full interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, below. DEADLINE: How did the finale match up with what you had originally planned from the very beginning of the series? EMILY ANDRAS: What was important to me on Wynonna Earp with the finale is to give everybody some version of happiness. It didnt have to be perfect because Wynonna Earp, both the show and the heroine, have never been perfect. Theyre messy. They make mistakes. Theyre sly, but I really think the message I wanted to convey was if you can find any semblance of joy and happiness and contentment in your life, thats good. Thats rare, and you know, sometimes you shouldnt look a gift in the eye. Thats enough. That can be enough if you let it be enough. DEADLINE: Was the WayHaught wedding always slated to be in the finale? What about Doc and Wynonna setting out for a new chapter? ANDRAS: I mean, always is a tough word, right? You always start with the best intentions, and I think you have to have a plan, certainly, when youre starting out a series, but things evolve. If I had known I had eight seasons, I probably wouldve pushed the wedding a little later, probably wouldve found another reason to keep Wynonna and Doc around, but the wedding really felt like a gift to the fans who have supported us including members of the LGBTQ community. Its very rare for two gay characters, particularly women, to have a happy ending on TV. That was not something I was going to compromise on. I was determined to give WayHaught, Waverly and Nicole, a happy ending. And I think they are happy, which is good. With Doc and Wynonna, it just felt like the right move for them to leave. The pilot episode starts with Wynonna very reluctantly coming back to this town that hates her, and just looking for the first excuse to get the hell out of there, but she kind of is trapped and blackmailed to stay, and she does stay ultimately for her sister. For her sister to give her permission and say things are different, this is your home now, you will always be welcome here, and I know youll always return to me, but go and have adventures, go with the man you love and go see what happens it felt like a nice bookend to where we started. I was pretty pleased with that. DEADLINE: In February, during the mid-season break, Syfy announced that the series would end with season four. What kind of work did you need to do to accommodate an unexpected series finale? ANDRAS: We always had the specter of season five hanging over our head, and we were very hopeful. We only found out the show would not be returning on Syfy in January or February, and we had finished shooting in about August. What we were really dealing with mid-season was the pandemic like everyone else. We went back in July after shutting down in March. I think that because the show has been through the ringer behind the scenes, as far as finances and studios and different networks, I felt that I couldnt risk having a typical Wynonna Earp finale with a million different cliffhangers. I did think it was worth it for the audience who have been so loyal to at least give them this ending. There are some storylines that we just havent resolved. We have sort of this character who shows up in the first two episodes of season four named Eve, whos a shapeshifter who seems to be on the loose. We just dont know where she is right now. As far as shifting, not that much work had to be done. I just couldnt risk it. I knew at the beginning of season four that I needed to make sure I hit the wedding and some sort of happy ending for Doc, Wynonna. It was bittersweet, but now that the writing is on the wall, Im very happy we planned it out that way. DEADLINE: In addition to Eve, there seem to be other loose threads at the end of season four, like Kates whereabouts. What were the other storylines that you were hoping to explore if you were given a season five? ANDRAS: I mean, I got to keep some of my cards close to my chest. I have a million ideas. I think the return of some villains who maybe we havent quite dispatched with, even when it looks like we have. Certainly the Eve storyline. I think we only dove into the tip of the dark angel Waverly storyline. Has Wynonna completely resolved her relationship with being a demon hunter and the gun? Of course, now Nicole Haught as well shes this thing called the Angels Shield and shes not permitted to leave the Ghost River Triangle. What does that look like? Are there supernatural abilities affiliated with that, or is she just a mortal who literally cant leave this prison? And now, of course Doc Holliday is not a vampire, but Im not sure if he did that on the up and up. Vampires are a very famously vengeful bunch. Im not sure theyre going to love the way he went about this. Theres always more story, especially in a show like Wynonna Earp. Theres always another demon hiding under the bed, and Im confident theres a million different ways to continue telling those stories. If we do a movie 5 or 10 years from now, see where people are at, I would love to do something like that. Theres a million different ways for this to live. But its funny, its like giving birth. Sometimes right after its over, youre like never again. That was so hard, and then you start to look at your beautiful baby, and they grow up, and you get some distance from the pain, and youre like well, actually Now that its been a while, I really do think theres stuff I can tell, but whatever happens Im genuinely so grateful to have had this experience. DEADLINE: We see everybody gather back on the Earp homestead, where it all started, for yet another family event. How did you come to the decision to bring everything full circle location-wise? Wynonna Earp ANDRAS: I think both the town and the homestead in particular was a very dark, haunted place for the Earp family. Obviously, there had been a lot of death and destruction. Wynonna has literally shot her own father when she was 12 years old there. Lots of people have died on the homestead. Anytime we seem to be there, there seems to be kind of an awful terrorism event, for lack of a better term. It felt like a way to reclaim that space. Because of the pandemic, this was the first season that weve ever shot in the summer. So, as far as the wedding was concerned, we had such a gorgeous day and we could be outside. Our art department kind of made it look like the greatest Pinterest board of all time. I felt like that was a real gift. It just had a different feeling, and I feel like, it made me quite wistful. Even just having the core characters at the wedding instead of a big crowd, I feel like this was the found family that has fought so hard to redefine their legacy, redefine who they were to one another. But to redefine also this place, like literally to make it a home, but with all the positive connotations that come with that word. Weve come so far from the pilot where Wynonna goes back to this kind of abandoned homestead and its just such a source of shame. Thats a good metaphor for who the characters were and a lot of the themes we were trying to explore on the show. DEADLINE: The wedding features empty chairs that represent people who were lost in the series one way or another Michelle, Julian, Dolls and even Mercedes. How did you arrive at that sequence? ANDRAS: We knew that we were going to limit the number of people on the homestead, and that was indeed because of the pandemic, but also it did feel right. Like, who are you inviting? Are you inviting Mercedes? Well, then are you inviting Kate? Are you inviting Bunny Loblaw? Then were flying people in. I think they wouldve kept it to their core group. Honestly the art department had set it so beautifully, and then they had set out chairs just so we had the sense of an aisle. My director, Paolo Barzman, and my art director, Trevor Smith said everything looks perfect, but were a bit concerned that these chairs look weird. They came up with this idea where we write the names of the fallen or the missing or the loved ones who couldnt be here on nametags. I had talked way earlier when we were in prep on the episode about how I wish we could have the ghosts, some type of a ghost of people who had gotten us here, who had kind of ushered WayHaught to this moment of joy and unity. We had like 20 PAs on set just grabbing markers and writing out nametags, and then it was a real team effort, which is very much Wynonna Earp very collaborative, good ideas can come from anywhere. Its one of my favorite parts in the wedding. Every time I see Dollss empty chair right up front, I just think nobody would be here without him and his sacrifice, and theres something so joyful about them honoring him, again, not with shame, but like with love and recognizing his sacrifice and that he made them all who they are. DEADLINE: What were some of the other Easter eggs or callbacks in the series finale? ANDRAS: This happens a lot when you have really lovely fans the fans have been asking me to do a cameo forever, but I am not an actress at all. I dont have any interest in being an actor, but I did cave and do the smallest cameo. I am the voice on the phone, the BBD voice who phones Jeremy to tell him that he has a new job as Deputy Director. So, that was my big Meryl Streep moment. Its terrible, but I feel like thats my acting debut and thats the end of it. DEADLINE: What does the finale mean for Black Badge Division after their secret operation to rid Purgatory of the demons? Is BBD totally in the clear? ANDRAS: Oh, God, no. I feel like the BBD is like the Force in Star Wars or like HYDRA in Marvel, like you cut off one head and another head grows. I think theyre always in the shadow, waiting. I think theyre more powerful than you think. I think theyre strategic and always bide their time. I think its good that they were bested in season four. I think Jeremy will be one of the best bosses theyve ever had for the Purgatory branch, for the Ghost River Triangle. Never count out a nefarious government organization. Someone needlepoint that I think thats a good takeaway. DEADLINE: If you could expand this universe, for movie or a spinoff, what other threads would you like explore? ANDRAS: I could write 10 seasons of Mercedes the vampire taking New Orleans by storm. Are you kidding me? Like, theres so many comedy ideas, or Id love to do a WayHaught spinoff and bring in more people. I think Rachel growing into her own, or what about Rachel and Alice 20 years from now kind of working together to police the Ghost River Triangle? Id do Doc and Wynonna going to through state, dealing with supernatural stuff. I think its such a rich world and the tone is so fun that theres lots of potential for reboots or spinoffs or just a continuation of these beloved characters stories. DEADLINE: What did the final days of shooting and celebrating the series end look like, given Covid-19 precautions and safety measures? ANDRAS: Theres two days in particular that really strike me. Obviously, one was the wedding. I mean, it was just so loaded. There was a lot of pressure for it to be very emotional and very beautiful, and I feel like everybody was actually quite serious. They felt that energy, that this was a moment that we had been waiting to deliver and that the fans will have been waiting for, but again, it was just like the universe was smiling on us. It was a beautiful summer day, late August in Calgary, Alberta. We were on the homestead. It couldnt have been more beautiful. Everybody was very playful, having so much fun together. I just walked around that set, walked around the homestead, really trying to take it in just in case it was the last time, and just thinking about what a miracle it is that we built this. We built this both figuratively and literally. We all took some rocks from the homestead, just sort of for memories. The the actual last day of shooting was Doc and Wynonna, Melanie and Tim, on the motorbike. It seemed right to put those two together on the last day. Theyre very good friends, and it was about them. Again we were kind of in the mountains of Alberta, beautiful day, watching them on the motorbike. I love the image of like Wynonnas still driving and Doc is secure enough to be on the back. I felt like that was a very iconic, very Earp-y moment where shes still kind of in charge, but it was very tearful. There were a lot of tears, a lot of hugs, a lot of goodbyes, but a lot of joy. I dont think anyone wanted to leave that feeling, and of course at the end of the day youre always hoping that youll cross paths again. It was absolutely perfect. Probably quite a few tears from me on the camera truck as I was looking at the motorbike. DEADLINE: What did it mean to you to bring unapologetic feminist and LGBTQ stories to TV? ANDRAS: I really wanted everybody to have nuance. I really feel like I have been privileged enough to figure out that thats my brand. Im really interested in taking traditional male spaces in a genre and just taking all the people who would normally be on the margins of the story and making them the heroes. I really love the idea of taking a Western with Wynonna Earp and making the women the gunslingers and the queer characters the heroes. Theyre even the angels. Another thing that was really great always for me about Wynonna Earp was because we had so many incredible queer and female characters, I never felt like any one of them had to represent the community as a whole. Like, I feel like Waverly and Nicole and Jeremy and Robin, they were all very different people, and Wynonna and Waverly and Nicole and Mercedes and Kate, they were all very different women. Then you see these male characters who really admire the female heroes in their life and werent necessarily threatened by that. It felt like a very nice opportunity to turn those traditions and tropes on their heads. I feel thats just what I want to do going forward with my storytelling. I just dont want to ever go back. I think thats what brings me joy, and I think the passion of the audience shows that theres just a huge, huge fanbase out there for familiar worlds and familiar genre told through a completely unique and different set of eyes. DEADLINE: As the creator, executive producer and writer of Wynonna Earp, what is your biggest takeaway from helming the series? ANDRAS: I think that you really need to know what your lines in the sand are. Showrunning and creating and writing in television, its collaborative and its compromise all the time, and you cant be a bully and you cant be a monster about it. If you want to make great TV, you hire the best people you can. You need to let them do their jobs alongside you, and they will lift you up too. Theres enough glory and triumphs and victories for everyone, but at the same time, it has really taught me personally what Im willing to compromise on, Im just not willing to compromise anymore on the characters that arent fully fleshed out or diversity, or gender representation. I feel kind of buoyed by the sense that like if you make something unique, there is an audience for it. It doesnt have to be for everyone, but it really has to be authentic, and thats what Wynonna Earp has taught me, that people understood the stories we were trying to tell ferociously. It has made me braver. It has made me braver in every way I think, but also grateful. DEADLINE: Whats next for you? ANDRAS: My brain is going a mile a minute. I mean, I definitely am very interested in staying in genre. I have some things I cant quite announce yet, but Im very excited about. I would like to be even more ambitious with my insane feminist agenda with storytelling. I really want to go for the brass ring. I want to do a big feminist, queer space opera. I want to tackle the fantasy realm. I want to visit ageism and fat culture. Again, spotlight people who maybe dont get to see themselves on TV. I just want to keep showing new heroes in a way that is both unexpected and feels like it always shouldve been there. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is expected to announce a schedule for recruitment of various posts in universities of the state on Ugadi, April 13. DC file photo VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh government has decided to fill up all vacant posts of faculty members in each of 17 universities in about two to four months. The decision comes in the wake of an order issued by the AP High Court. Following the order, the state government has directed all its universities to take up rationalisation of teaching posts, including assistant professors, associate professors and professors, for arriving at the number of vacancies university-wise. Simultaneously, it has taken up the exercise for filling jobs as per reservations provided for BC, SC, ST and other categories. AP higher education authorities maintain that all vacancies in each university will be filled in about two to four months. They say a series of anomalies had risen in filling up of posts in the recruitment drive taken up by the previous Telugu Desam regime. They will have to thus start the entire process all over again. The previously conducted screening test by Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) stands cancelled. This means those who qualified for that test will have to take the screening test again. Though the state government proposed to consider the candidature of the previously qualified candidates, the High Court did not permit the government to do so. Moreover, the University Grants Commission had earlier issued a direction stating that a PhD degree will be a mandatory qualification for direct recruitment to the post of assistant professor in universities with effect from 01-07-2021. The state government will have to look into this issue too while taking up fresh recruitment of assistant professors. The government has to further address the long-pending demand of ad hoc assistant professors working in universities since long. They have to be fixed into a time scale before going in for fresh recruitment drive as, otherwise, they could take to legal course, which would again stall the entire recruitment process. AP Higher Education Council chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy said, Following a recent order of High Court, the state government will take a fresh recruitment drive for all teaching positions in each of the 17 universities in AP in two to four months from now. There will be a fresh screening test for recruitment of assistant professors. We have to take care of some other issues too before going in for the recruitment drive to avoid further hurdles, he underlined. NEW YORK, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Artist Alec Monopoly will be unveiling a full collection of never-before-seen original works during a live exhibition at Eden Gallery, his exclusive distributor, this Sunday, April 11th from 11:00am in SoHo. The exclusive works will be available to collectors who register via Eden Gallery's website, and are available only through the use of cryptocurrency, both online and in person. The artist, whose work has been internationally recognized, will be in attendance. The introduction of cryptocurrencies as the exclusive method of payment throughout the exhibition is a first for the artist and is a symbolic return to his roots, with his famed Mr. Monopoly mascot having been inspired by the stockbroker Bernie Madoff and his work being a blatant criticism of the billion-dollar bailouts and deregulation associated with major banks. The disruptions being caused by the arrival of cryptocurrency to traditional financial systems and institutions are consistent with many of the themes found within Monopoly's work. The use of 'crypto' as the exclusive form of payment for his new collection is a natural extension of Monopoly's intention to criticize the systems his work targets and explore new forms of self-autonomy. In his own words, Monopoly has declared that "Crypto is a modern way of doing business. It connects people around the world by allowing them to bypass antiquated financial systems that no longer serve them, or never served them at all. For me, it's the way forward." Cathia Klimovsky, owner of Eden Gallery, has expressed her support for this new direction: "We have always loved Alec's work. With its provocative, colorful imagery, Alec provides an incredible commentary about modern society. By making this collection available exclusively through the use of cryptocurrencies, he's sending a strong message about the direction financial transactions are going in, especially in the art world. It also gives incredible access to a broad range of new collectors who may not have had access previously." The collection will be available to collectors in person and online at https://www.eden-gallery.com/collection-by-alec-monopoly from the 11th of April onwards. About Alec Monopoly Originally from New York City, Alec Monopoly's graffiti art can be seen in urban environments across the world, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Europe, Mexico and Asia. Growing up in New York City with a classically trained painter as a mother, Monopoly considers himself a lifelong artist. Monopoly has established himself as one of the foremost artists of this genre. His unique style takes a lighthearted approach, rather than the typical grim slant of street art, differentiating him from his contemporaries and giving his art a relatable quality. About Eden Gallery Since its foundation in 1997 by Cathia Klimovsky, Eden Fine Art has evolved into a global network of high-end art galleries representing a selection of international artists, each with a uniquely modern approach to creation. Collectively, Eden artists represent and promote contemporary optimism and a colorful view of life. With premier gallery spaces, including locations in New York, London, Miami, Aspen and Mykonos, the Eden Gallery Group operates at the forefront of modern, vibrant culture with an ethos of commitment to our community of artists, curators, and supporters. Held to the highest standards of curatorial excellence, we strive to create unforgettable exhibitions, events, and experiences designed to inspire and transform. For further information, please contact Guy Martinovsky at mguy@eden-gallery.com. Related Images alec-monopoly-bitcoin-eden-gallery.jpg alec_monopoly_bitcoin_eden_gallery New machine learning method accurately predicts battery state of health Electrical batteries are increasingly crucial in a variety of applications, from integration of intermittent energy sources with demand, to unlocking carbon-free power for the transportation sector through electric vehicles (EVs), trains and ships, to a host of advanced electronics and robotic applications. A key challenge however is that batteries degrade quickly with operating conditions. It is currently difficult to estimate battery health without interrupting the operation of the battery or without going through a lengthy procedure of charge-discharge that requires specialised equipment. In work recently published by Nature Machine Intelligence, researchers from the Smart Systems Group at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK working together with researchers from the CALCE group at the University of Maryland in the US developed a new method to estimate battery health irrespective of operating conditions and battery design or chemistry, by feeding artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms with the raw battery voltage and current operational data. Darius Roman, the PhD student that designed the AI framework said: "To date, the progress of data-driven models for battery degradation relies on the development of algorithms that carry out inference faster. Whilst researchers often spend a considerable amount of time on model or algorithm development, very few people take the time to understand the engineering context in which the algorithms are applied. By contrast, our work is built from the ground up. We first understand battery degradation through collaborations with the CALCE group at the University of Maryland, where in-house degradation testing of batteries was carried out. We then concentrate on the data, where we engineer features that capture battery degradation, we select the most important features and only then we deploy the AI techniques to estimate battery health." In addition, the researchers found that current data-driven models for battery health estimation do not consider model confidence. However, this is often critical for decision making to understand how the AI model came to a certain conclusion and whether the model can be trusted. In their work, the proposed AI model is capable of quantifying uncertainty in its predictions to better support operating decisions. The developed framework scales up with new chemistries, including the new upcoming solid-state batteries, battery designs and operating conditions and has the potential to unlock new strategies of how batteries can and should be used. Valentin Robu, from the Smart Systems Group said: "Batteries are increasingly critical to a variety of applications, from robotics to renewable energy integration. A key challenge in these domains is having an accurate, high-confidence estimates of battery state of health. Consider for example, a robotic asset operating in a remote environment such as deep subsea monitoring, where assuring the health of the battery deployed on the robot is mission-critical. Similarly, for energy applications, having an accurate estimate of the remaining useful lifetime of the battery is often critical to a project's economic viability." ### Funding note: This research was supported by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence, the UK Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Hub for Offshore Energy Asset Integrity Management (ORCA Hub) and Responsive Flexibility (ReFlex), one of UK's largest smart energy demonstration projects, based on the Orkney Islands in the UK. This story has been published on: 2021-04-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. 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. Led by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the US mourned the death of Britain's Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of II, saying he dedicated himself fully to his family, country, and the Commonwealth. "(First Lady) Jill and I and the entire administration send our condolences to Her Majesty II on the loss of He was a heck of a guy," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday. "He in his lifetime of service to the United Kingdom and the whole commonwealth was visible to everybody for a long, long time, and his bravery serving in World War II as well as his being a champion of the environment, as well as the charitable things he set up," he said. Biden expressed condolences and said is going to be missed. "So, we really express our condolences for an extraordinary life that was led by the prince, and I think he's going to be missed, particularly in the United Kingdom with all --99 years old. He never slows down at all, which I admire the devil out of," he said. Expressing grief over the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, Vice President Kamala Harris, in a statement, said, "His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, led a long, remarkable life - the hallmarks of which were loyalty and service." "From his decorated service in the Royal Navy during World War II to his long marriage and partnership with Her Majesty, II, he dedicated himself fully to his family, his country, and the Commonwealth. Whether he was promoting environmentalism or the wellbeing of military families, he brought a profound sense of purpose to all he did," she said. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed deepest condolences on the passing of "We send our sympathies to the Royal Family and to the people of the United Kingdom," she said. Earlier, in a joint statement, Biden and the First Lady said that over the course of his 99-year life, he saw the world change dramatically and repeatedly. "From his service during the World War II, to his 73 years alongside the Queen, and his entire life in the public eye- Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the UK, the Commonwealth, and to his family," they were quoted as saying in the statement. "The impact of his decades of devoted public service is evident in the worthy causes he lifted up as patron, in the environmental efforts he championed, in the members of the Armed Forces that he supported, in the young people he inspired, and so much more. His legacy will live on not only through his family, but in all the charitable endeavours he shaped," they said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (TNS) Starting July 1, a de facto ban on use of facial recognition technology will go into effect across Virginia, meaning that most police departments will not be allowed to use or buy it without legislative approval first.House Bill 2031, sponsored by Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, had cleared the General Assembly during its winter session this year, but Gov. Ralph S. Northam sent it back with an amendment to exclude commercial airport police services. On Wednesday, during its annual reconvened session, both the House of Delegates and state Senate agreed to the governor's amendment, putting a bow on the legislation.Facial recognition technology converts images into algorithms that is then used to determine if the person's face matches any within specific databases. Some mobile phones use facial recognition to unlock, but the technology addressed by Aird's bill would apply to tech used by police or sheriff's departments, including campus police departments.House Bill 2031 would not allow police departments to buy or use the technology without getting the legislature to approve it. In addition to airport police forces, the ban also would not cover the Virginia State Police. The House agreed to Northam's amendment on a 99-1 vote, with the only dissenting coming from Republican Del. C. Matthew Farriss of Campbell County. The amendment passed the Senate unanimously.In its original introduction, the restriction on facial recognition technology would have been lifted only if local government agreed to do so. In the Senate, however, Republican Ryan McDougle of Hanover County pushed through an amendment to make the approval have to come from the General Assembly rather than a city council or county board of supervisors. Police lobbyists provided little resistance to the measure in both of its legislative journeys. Arizona News Parker, Arizona - On Thursday, Simon Calvin Simms Hiatt, 46, of Parker, Arizona was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan to 108 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Hiatt previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On November 19, 2018, officers from the Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department contacted Hiatt in Parker, AZ during a traffic stop. While conducting a search of Hiatts passenger, an officer found a digital scale underneath her clothing that contained a white powdery substance inside. Officers then searched Hiatts vehicle and located more than half a pound of methamphetamine and a loaded firearm. Hiatt is an enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-19-00777-PHX-SPL RELEASE NUMBER: 2021-023_Hiatt With their courageous fight against the WISAG corporation, the ground workers at Frankfurt Airport have already achieved something important: They have torn the mask off the media, the establishment parties, and the Verdi trade union and revealed social conditions as they are. The politicians and union officials, who endlessly prattle about social partnership and social market economy, have stabbed the sacked workers in the back and thrown their weight behind the WISAG corporation, which is unscrupulously using the coronavirus pandemic to lay off qualified employees and replace them with poorly paid temporary workers, who are subject to be sacked at any time. WISAG laid off some 200 ground workers and 31 bus drivers at Frankfurt Airport shortly before Christmas. Many of those who were fired are experienced airport employees who carried out strenuous labour at low wages for decades. The back-breaking nature of their work was compounded by relentless time pressure and constant engine noise, with detrimental consequences for their health. WISAG workers protest in Wiesbaden (WSWS photo) To the surprise of the corporation, the workers responded to their sacking not only with shock but also with a readiness to fight. They refused to simply accept their dismissal and decided to resist. They organized numerous demonstrations and rallies. At the end of February, two dozen of the sacked workers went on hunger strike for eight days in Frankfurt Airports Terminal One. It quickly became clear that neither WISAG nor the politicians of the governing parties would be won over by protest. The media, which is in cahoots with the corporations and the establishment parties, barely reported the industrial dispute. The same pro-corporate media that dispatch droves of journalists and photographers to the scene as soon as a right-wing coronavirus denier stands up in a marketplace with a cardboard sign, kept silent about the weeklong hunger strike at Germanys largest airport. There is a simple reason for the media blackout: The Frankfurt ground workers stand for millions of workers all over the world who face similar attacks. To prevent their struggle from spreading, they must be isolated and silenced. A small layer of the superrich is using the pandemic to further enrich itself at the expense of the working class. While coffins pile up in morgues, stock prices hit new highs. The number of billionaires worldwide rose more in the pandemic year of 2020 than in any previous year. Their ranks increased from 2,115 to 2,775. Their collective wealth surged by more than 60 percent, from $8 trillion to $13.1 trillion. The latter sum is more than three times Germanys annual gross domestic product. The human cost of this orgy of enrichment is borne by the working class. Nearly three million people have died worldwide because governments refuse to close businesses and schools to stop the spread of the deadly virus. The corporate elites and the governments they control walk over dead bodies to keep profits flowing. In aviation, the auto industry and numerous other sectors, CEOs are implementing longstanding plans to cut jobs and lower wages. A huge storm of resistance is developing. Protests and strikes are growing all over the world, even though they are often isolated and silenced. This is the reason for the hostility of the establishment parties, the media and the unions to the WISAG ground workers. They fear that their struggle will develop into a conflagration they can no longer control. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) has organized international support for the struggle of the ground workers, revealing the enormous potential for struggle that exists in the international working class. It has organized messages of solidarity from bus drivers in Berlin and London, from American, British and Turkish teachers, and from education action committees in several countries. The World Socialist Web Site has reported on the industrial action at Frankfurt Airport to readers around the world in several languages. The SGP has called for the building of an international network of independent action committees. It has stressed that the struggle against layoffs requires a socialist programme that places workers needs above capitalist profit. While many ground workers agree with this, the Industrial Union of Air Transport (IGL) has reacted with open hostility. Its officials prevented SGP representatives from speaking at ground workers rallies and agitated against the party on social media. They issued the slogan: No politics! After it broke with the large service workers union Verdi, the IGL sectoral union offered itself to the struggling ground workers as a saviour in time of need. Verdi does not represent the interests of workers. It is a corporatist apparatus that sits on the supervisory boards of airport operator Fraport and Lufthansa and works closely with management in planning layoffs and wage cuts. During a rally, the ground workers demonstratively laid a black wreath in front of Verdi headquarters. But IGL, which was formed in 2015, advocates the same perspective as Verdi. It is trying to use the struggle of the WISAG workers to demonstrate its reliability as a collective bargaining partner of the corporations. It promotes itself with the slogan Experience social partnership in aviation once again. It is not possible to represent the interests of the workers and at the same time cultivate social partnership with WISAG, Fraport and Lufthansa. Already a year ago, at Lufthansa, the IGL joined with Verdi and other unions in signing a declaration of loyalty to CEO Carsten Spohr, promising its support for all measures necessary to stabilize our Group in these difficult times. The declaration, which bears the signatures of IGL board members Daniel Wollenberg and Thorsten Spreu, has encouraged the Lufthansa board to launch its biggest attack ever on the workforce. This year, the group is cutting labour costs for its own ground staff, colleagues of the WISAG workers, by 50 percent. The IGL rejects international solidarity among workers. At the Frankfurt Airport, it calls for further action under the nationalist slogan, Strengthen Germany as a business location. Instead of uniting workers of all countries, it plays off workers in Germany against their international brothers and sisters, who are all fighting the same global corporations. Equally reactionary is its slogan of no politics. In reality, this means subordinating workers to the politics of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), the Greens and all of the other government parties with which the IGL collaborates. But from day one it became clear that the ground workers could achieve their goals only by fighting against the policies of these parties. The labour laws on which WISAG is basing its attack on the ground workers were drafted by the SPD and the Greens under Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. They served as the basis for creating a huge low-wage sector in Germany. WISAG boss Claus Wisser, a member of the SPD for more than 60 years, has become rich as a result. He has used the corrupt networks in the SPD and the trade unions to build a corporate empire that thrives on the brutal exploitation in the low-wage sector. In addition to airport ground services, WISAG is active in the areas of building cleaning, facility management and security. The group uses bogus, temporary and subsidiary companies to lay off employees and then rehire them on worse terms. Anyone who resists is punished by being banned from the company, having his wages cut and being fired. In Berlin, where WISAG took over ground services at the citys airports in 2008, with the support of the SPD and the Left Party, the company split the services up between three subcontractors, laid off numerous workers and then forced them to transfer to a newly established company on much worse terms. In the summer of 2020, Berlin-based WISAG went bankrupt, paving the way for the setting up of a new company at the new BER airportalso on worse terms and at the cost of at least 350 jobs. Many employees were replaced by temporary workers. For the owners of WISAG, the Wisser family, it was worth it. With a fortune of 450 million, they were ranked 281st on Manager Magazin s list of the richest Germans in 2020. (Other sources cite a sum twice as high.) In Hesse, Claus Wisser is celebrated as a patron of the arts and showered with state medals and prizes. He is also a regular guest of honour at the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) annual reception. The CDU and the Greens, who form the state government in Hesse and co-govern in the city of Frankfurt, have a direct interest in increasing the profits of Fraport, the airport operator, at the expense of the workers. Fraport is majority-owned by Hesse and Frankfurt. In 2017, Green Party Economy and Transport Minister Tarek Al-Wazir personally lobbied for the concessions at the airport to be transferred from Spains Acciona to WISAG. WISAG workers are at a crossroads: Either they follow the IGL and allow themselves to be reduced to impotent supplicants to WISAG, the state government and the capitalist parties, which is the sure path to sellout and defeat. Or they extend their struggle, turn to their colleagues at other airports, in the auto industry, in hospitals and throughout the international working class and fight for their support. This requires perseverance and determination, but it is the only way to succeed. To do this, they must organize themselves into an independent action committee, which will take charge of defending jobs, building contacts with other workers and preparing for a political struggle against capitalism, its parties and the government. In this fight the SGP will give the workers all possible support. Such a struggle requires a socialist programme. Not a single social problem can be solved today without expropriating the vast fortunes of the financial oligarchy and transforming society to serve social needs rather than private profit. This applies as much to defending jobs, incomes and social gains as it does to curbing the coronavirus pandemic, which primarily affects workers and the poor. The SGP is running in the federal election in the autumn to fight for an international socialist programme and to build the new socialist leadership in the working class. Peter Clark, 51, was arrested in Dubai in February days after smoking marijuana legally in Las Vegas. Now, he is on a no-fly-list and cannot leave the UAE until prosecutors decide whether or not to charge him A businessman who legally smoked marijuana at home in Las Vegas before flying to Dubai now finds himself facing three years in jail on a drugs charge. Peter Clark was arrested after traces of the drug showed up in his system when he was admitted to hospital for emergency treatment. Clark is a retired games designer who previously worked on popular Xbox and Playstation games. He said he wants to branch out into something 'new', so flew to Dubai on February 24 to scout recording studio locations. He had last smoked marijuana days before flying from his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a business trip in the United Arab Emirates. Clark, 51, had only been in Dubai for one day when he fell ill with pancreatitis and was rushed to hospital. Nurses took a urine sample which showed traces of the drug marijuana. As required by Dubai law they informed the police of the results. Clark, a retired computer games designer from Las Vegas, Nevada, was arrested and thrown in jail for three days. Since being released he has been forced to stay in his hotel while awaiting a decision from prosecutors if they will charge him. Clark said he was fully aware of Dubais zero tolerance policy on drugs and had not bought or taken any after arriving on February 24th to look at recording studios. He told Mail Online: I was absolutely stunned to learn that I was being charged due to residual marijuana in my system. I smoked it legally back in America long before I even got on the plane. I knew about Dubais strict drugs laws but never for one moment did I think something I legally did in my own country would lead to my arrest. Peter fell ill the day after arriving in Dubai for a business trip to assess setting up a recording studio in the country. He received emergency treatment in hospital and the day before being discharged was asked to provide a urine sample. The Al Barsha police station in Dubai where Clark was detained in February After the test came back positive for a banned substance police arrived at his bedside, handcuffed him and transported him to the Al Barsha police station. While being held in jail, a vein where an IV line had been placed as part of his treatment became infected and antibiotics he had been prescribed were not handed over by prison staff. After being freed he was repeatedly summoned to a police station and told he would have his passport returned. Clark now is stuck in Dubai. He has obtained a lawyer But instead, he was questioned over the drugs in his system with his pleas of innocence ignored. The retired computer games designer is on a no fly list and cannot leave the country until prosecutors decide if he should face a court. Peter said: This has just turned into a complete nightmare. I never thought by going to hospital I would end up being thrown in a jail. I have not done anything wrong. Peter, who was involved in the design of popular games for Play stations and Xbox, has obtained legal representation. The US Embassy in Dubai have also been informed of his arrest. The pressure group Detained in Dubai, who assist many visitors who fall foul of Dubais strict laws, have also taken up his case. Founder Radha Sterling said: The UAEs arbitrary enforcement of laws and lack of predictable legal outcomes means that Peter faces years in prison for legal smoking marijuana. Even if found innocent he can be dragged through a slow a costly legal process. Corrupt police informants have been used by the prosecution to upgrade possession charges to that of drug dealing. Sterling added that it was vital for the US Embassy in Dubai to get involved. She said: 'The US State Department needs to ensure that its citizens who visit the UAE are safe from legal abuse.' Detained in Dubai were previously involved in trying to help secure the release of a former British soldier who found himself charges with drug offences. Andy Neal spent more than a year stranded in Dubai on false charges before they were finally dropped and he could return to the UK. Dear Annie: I am 57 years old and autistic. Due to my inability to read people and my own bad choices, I am the single mother of three adult children, whom I love and am indescribably proud of. But I have never been loved. As a child, I was sexually abused by my father for years. A teacher sexually assaulted me in high school. Im terrified of male doctors. But two years ago, I started having to go to a doctor regularly to get injections in my eyes. If any other man even got that close to me, Id go through the roof. But this man can get up in my face with a hypodermic and poke a hole in my eye, and, somehow, Im fine. In fact, I feel safe around him. I have had nightmares on a couple of occasions and found that I changed the dream to imagine I was lying next to this doctor with my head on his shoulder, and I wasnt afraid anymore. Why cant I find a man like this? And are autistic people like me allowed to be loved? -- When Will I Be Loved Dear WWIBL: Im so sorry that people who should have protected you instead hurt you. That should never happen to anyone. None of it was your fault. It makes sense that you would find yourself attached to this doctor, an authority figure with a gentle manner. Youve been vulnerable with him, and he has validated that trust. Its just the opposite of what you got growing up. But the healing that you seek wont come from any man, no matter how caring he is. It will come from you, working through the severe trauma youve been carrying for decades, with the help of trained specialists. There are several resources Id encourage you to make use of. The first is the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network hotline at 1-800-656-4673, which can connect you with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. I also urge you to find a counselor, preferably one who specializes in trauma and/or serving clients who have autism. Find one by asking your primary care doctor or calling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline at 1-800-662-4357. (SAMHSA can also provide referrals to support groups and community-based organizations.) You may also be interested in the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist and researcher who has decades of experience helping patients recognize, cope with and recover from post-traumatic stress disorder. Lastly, youre not just allowed to be loved; you are loved. Youve raised three children who, no doubt, care a great deal for you. Dear Annie: Im a 39-year-old woman who wears full-mouth dentures. Im insecure and feel as though Ill never find someone who would want to be with me because of them. Im currently in a toxic relationship and stay in it because of the fact I wear dentures. How do I overcome these insecurities and find someone who wants to be with me? -- Scared to Smile Dear Scared: For what its worth, dentures are usually only obvious to the person whos wearing them. But youre not alone in your feelings -- many who have dental implants report feeling self-conscious. I encourage you to connect with some of them at community.dentureliving.com. And you must break up with your current partner. Building up your self-esteem will be hard, if not impossible, while in a toxic relationship. You can and will find someone who truly values you as a person inside and out, who makes you smile with no reservations. It will have been worth the wait. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2021 CREATORS.COM With Band-Aids on their arms and vaccine cards in hand, Shawn and Orey Blunt clinked glasses and downed celebratory watermelon lemon drop shots. This time, the drink was the chaser to another type of shot. It didnt hurt at all, Orey had said as she waited for husband to get jabbed with a Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine. Then without skipping a beat, the two headed straight from the vaccine station in the neutral ground on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans to the Dragons Den bar. At the Dragons Dens Shots for Shots event, which is the most New Orleans way to convince people to get vaccinated. They had 40 people signed up 15 minutes before the event started, and the line keeps growing. pic.twitter.com/EpGzNa9cRY Katelyn Umholtz (@kumh0ltz) April 10, 2021 They were two of the more than 125 people who were lured in by the promise of free alcohol as long as they were inoculated first. To the right of the couple, DJ RQ Away intermittently interrupted songs by Tyler, the Creator and Ms. Lauryn Hill to announce who was up next in the vaccine queue. Most didnt wait any longer than 20 minutes. The planner of the Shot for Shot event, DJ RQ Away is no stranger to bringing public health initiatives to the people, usually at bars or music lounges, and targeting younger people and minorities. Before the pandemic, he held events with CrescentCare clinic to provide sexually transmitted disease testing to his guests at Tipitina's. Noting the disparity in COVID-19 cases and the vaccine rollout among Black people, along with his eagerness to see people and play music again, he knew his next project with CrescentCare would have to involve the shot. +5 In Louisiana, young people can get a COVID vaccine. But does everyone want it? In early January, once vaccines hit pharmacy shelves, seniors in Louisiana were calling up pharmacies to get on waitlists, driving across stat I cant ask people to care more, but I can make it visible, DJ RQ Away said. My following is mostly young people, Black people and artists, and thats who I do my events for. Katie Conner, the COVID-19 vaccine manager at CrescentCare, said that in order to get young people and people of color to come, it was important that the event be convenient to them. And it should absolutely be cool. We wanted to bring the vaccines to the people, and making it cool definitely helps push that, Conner said. 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 So they set up the vaccine station in front of a bar and planned the event to start at 8:30 p.m. Not all of the 244 vaccines were used by 10 p.m. But as expected, the crowd was overwhelmingly young. Some said they had been holding off getting the shot - until alcohol was involved. It was an ultimatum that Briggs Martin had declared to his friends: He wouldnt get a shot unless he also got another type of shot. They called my bluff, Martin said, his free shot in one hand and a can of Miller High Life in the other. Its a proper combo, though. Others came just because of who would be at the event. In another way to draw in younger guests, CrescentCare had Qween Amor, a transgender activist and newly licensed EMT, doling out shot after shot Friday night. By 9:40 p.m., she said she had jabbed at least 50 arms. I wanted to get my shot from her, and I did, said Erin Street, a bookkeeper. She was drinking beer on the sidewalk outside of Dragons Den with Stacy Wall, a woman she met 30 minutes earlier while waiting in the vaccine line. "Thats New Orleans for you," Street said. As symbolic as the shot was to many at the event, it was a way to New Orleans almost at its normal pulse again. +6 Bars in New Orleans can stay open later beginning Friday; here are the new rules New Orleans bars will stay open later beginning Friday under loosened coronavirus restrictions that come as cases continue to decline in the c It was also the first night since the pandemic started that city officials extended last call from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Progress, to be sure, but masks were still required and capacity was still limited at Dragons Den. This is probably the most epic way to say f--- you to COVID, said Emma, a graduate student who would not give her last name. She showed up even before the 8:30 p.m. start time to get her vaccine and shot. Its like a victory party. If New Orleanians missed the first Shot for Shot event, Kermit Ruffin's Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge will be hosting its own vaccination event April 17 in the same style: One J&J shot, followed by one alcoholic shot. Chinese leader Xi Jinping (C) walks towards the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square during a wreath-laying ceremony marking Martyrs' Day in Beijing on Sept. 30, 2019. (Madoka Ikegami/AFP/Getty Images) The CCP Is Alone in Its Anti-American Alliance Commentary The senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wanted to win over a few so-called allies to form an anti-American alliance but found themselves standing alone in the anti-American front. On the surface, Russia, North Korea, and Iran appear to be helping the CCP against the United States, but they are actually pushing the CCP to the forefront, each taking the opportunity to seek benefits for themselves. The Regimes Embarrassing Isolation On April 7, Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the regimes mouthpiece Xinhua News reported. To the CCP, Germany is the weakest link in the Western camps. Top CCP leaders always used Germany as their last resort during internationally desperate conditions. Xi once again pinned his hopes on Germany when the CCP was in a direct stalemate with the United States and Europe. The call to Germanys leader shows that the CCP has fallen into international isolation. Xinhuas report mainly covered what Xi said in the phone call: he hopes that Germany will remain open and create more convenience for the enterprises of both countries to expand mutually beneficial cooperation. China stands ready to work with the EU and jointly practice multilateralism, and promote fair and reasonable vaccine distribution. Of course, Xi hopes that Germany and Europe will not join forces with the United States to fight against the CCP. At the same time, he continues to draw a big piece of the pie for German companies and tout cooperation on vaccines. As for Merkels reaction? Xinhua reported, Merkel said that the EU upholds independence in its foreign relations. Such a statement at least shows that Germany will not stand on the side of the CCP. In fact, Japan and Germany are about to hold 2+2 ministerial talks on foreign affairs and national defense. I wonder if Xi and Merkel discussed this specific issue. Xinhua also stated that Merkel hopes to maintain communication with China on issues such as fair distribution and mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccines. This kind of call, without much consensus and no actual results, is merely symbolic. This call just revealed the awkward position of the CCP in the world. CCP and Iran Take Advantage of Each Other On March 27, Iran and the CCP signed a 25-year $400 billion strategic and economic partnership. It continues to fuel the CCPs ongoing Belt and Road Initiative for hegemony. The CCP certainly hopes to use Iran and the terrorist organizations it supports to drag the U.S. military further into the Middle East, but after the first round of indirect tentative military engagements between the new U.S. government and Iran in Syria in Februrary, Iran has not increased its military provocations against the United States. In fact, Iran began negotiating with the United States on April 7 in order to strive for greater benefits. Iran may be using the CCPs recent large-scale challenge to the United States in the Pacific as a bargaining chip. Lloyd Austin, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense, has rich practical experience in the Middle East and should also attach great importance to the situation in the Middle East. However, he did not propose a plan to increase troops in the Middle East. Instead, he is implementing a plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. Naturally, Iran does not want the U.S. military to be stationed in its surrounding areas on a large scale. Iran should hope that the CCP will provoke the U.S. military more in the Pacific, which will reduce Irans pressure, and it may be beneficial to the U.S.-Iran negotiations. Iran ultimately hopes to reach an agreement instead of going to war with the U.S. military. North Korea Is More Words Than Actions After the tense China-U.S. meeting in Alaska, the CCP immediately interacted openly with North Korea. North Korea also conducted its short-range missile test. North Korea even issued statements of threat to the White House. But it has not made high-profile claims about nuclear tests, nor has it launched high-level long-range ballistic missiles. North Korea and the CCP continue to spin their roles in intimidating the United States, but North Korea seems to know when to stop. After all, the new U.S. government has publicly stated that it has been trying to communicate with North Korea through the original channels. The ultimate goal of North Korea is to use nuclear weapons as a bargaining chip to achieve a breakthrough in relations with the United States. North Korea should know that the CCP is not strong enough to be an opponent of the United States, and North Korea is not even qualified to challenge the United States. Kim Jong-un knew that once a war is engaged with the United States, he himself would be beheaded soon, and he would not dare to take such a risk. North Korea does not really want to fight a proxy war for the CCP. If the China-U.S. conflict intensifies, North Korea may still have a chance to break the ice with the United States as long as it does not blindly rush forward. If China-U.S. relations really ease, North Korea may become an abandoned pawn. Therefore, when the Chinese aircraft carrier rushed to the Pacific again, North Korea kept silent. Russia Is Also Using the CCP Russias military actions have attracted the attention of the United States, but they are not helping the CCP to contain the U.S. military. The U.S. military should have no intention to intervene in any possible wars between Russia and Ukraine. On the contrary, Russia may be taking advantage of the CCPs further antagonism with the United States and the West by trying to fish in troubled waters and trying to resolve its conflicts with Ukraine. This is an ethnic conflict in the former Soviet Republic or the Commonwealth of Independent States and has little to do with the interests of the United States. Of course, the United States does not want to see war in any region, nor does it want Russia to arbitrarily undermine international rules. In fact, NATO is more affected by Russias move, which actually sounded the alarm to NATO European countries. Faced with the imminent threat, Ukraine also revealed its desire to join NATO. Russia has made it clear that it will not form a military alliance with the CCP. Instead, it should hope that the CCP will provoke the U.S. military more. It is best to pull both aircraft carriers to the Pacific and South China Seas. Russias political pressure of aggression against Ukraine will be reduced a lot if the CCP continues to engage in its hostile act against the EU. I dont think Russia has any intention to help the CCP to target the United States at all. Russia is trying to strengthen its own interests during the international chaos created by CCPs attacks from all sides. The CCP wants to win over and take advantage of Russia, Iran, and North Korea. These three countries may have their own commitments to the CCP in private, but none of them have rushed to the forefront of anti-Americanism. Only the CCP itself is the most vigorous. These three countries are actually taking advantage of the CCP, losing no time in seeking their own interests. The CCPs Foreign Minister Wang Yi also recently met with the foreign ministers of South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Of course, he also tried to draw these neighboring countries to Chinas side. But it is clear that these countries are unlikely to be on the anti-U.S. camp. South Korea has just agreed to Seouls financial support of the extensive U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula; Malaysia has just conducted joint military exercises with the U.S. military in the South China Sea; and there are U.S. military bases in the Philippines and Singapore. These countries all rely on U.S. military protection. When China and the United States are in confrontation, these countries are taking advantage of the opportunity to their best benefit and avoiding offending either one. The top-level CCP officials cannot count on these countries to be anti-American. They can only try to prove to the party members that there are still communications with some countries. Of course, they have to pay a high price to these countries in private. Thats all the top officials of the CCP can do. The CCPs anti-American alliance obviously failed to form, instead it pushed itself further into an isolated frontline. 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. Jolie Ruben, a Times photo editor, said she wanted the project to portray the diversity of Asian communities outside the confines of breaking news and to shine a light on another part of the Asian experience. The collaboration among editors and designers was led by Ms. Ruben and Ms. Han, along with Meeta Agrawal, Alicia DeSantis, Tala Safie, Gabriel Gianordoli, Jennifer Ledbury and Tonya Douraghy. Many photographers focused on their friends, family, food, pets and their own bodies. Others turned outward, capturing their neighborhoods. For some, love existed in the small gestures of everyday life. As a child, Brendan George Ko spent time with his father by learning how to help around the house. Now that hes grown, he says that he is trying to navigate the differences in how fatherhood is defined in the dual cultures that make up his identity. Growing up in the West, he said, I wasnt given any instructions on how a Chinese father shows love. Mr. Kos pictures show his father around his home in Hawaii, napping, roller skating and cutting an overgrown plant in his yard. Hiroko Masuike, a photographer and a Times photo editor, also looked to her parents, taking shots while visiting them in Osaka, Japan. Because it was about love, but also because of this time of hate, I wanted to show people, This is our life. This is our culture, she said. There is nothing to be hated. Its such a normal thing, just like what you, our readers, have. In Portland, Ore., Ricardo Nagaoka sought to capture both romantic and familial love with two sets of photographs: a series of his friends Denzel and Aurora, who was pregnant with their first child, and the other of two sisters who had recently immigrated from South Korea. Mr. Nagaoka, who is of Japanese descent and was born and raised in Paraguay, said most if not all of his art pertained to the tenuous idea of home. Once I started to think about love in a more pluralistic, open way, to me the story became not just about romantic love but how we experience love day to day, he said. United Nations officials on Friday said they were unsure whether Jordan's Prince Hamzah was still under de facto house arrest, despite an ongoing investigation into the Prince's disappearance. Jordan's King Abdullah II placed his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, under arrest on April 3 after he was accused of plotting with foreign supporters seeking to destabilize Jordan. Hamzah has denied the allegations. The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday said the arrests of Hamzah and 16 other officials and tribal leaders were signs of an "increasingly repressive securitisation of society." Spokesperson Marta Hurtado also commented on Princess Latifa Al Maktoum, the daughter of the ruler of Dubai, saying that they "haven't got any proof of life" despite seeking proof from United Arab Emirates officials two weeks ago. It was reported that Princess Latifa attempted to flee UAE in 2018, but was returned. Since then Dubai's ruling family have said she is safe and cared for, but the UN says smuggled video messages show her claiming she is being held hostage. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The Western North Regional Health Directorate has received a total of 11,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Dr Marion Okoh-Owusu, Regional Health Director who confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said approximately 7000 have been given out to health facilities ou of which 6,177 persons have so far been vaccinated. "We hope to vaccinate additional 468 persons in all the nine districts over the weekend before the first phase of the exercise ends on Sunday." She indicated that the Waiwso Municipal received a total of 2,910 vaccines, Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai got 3,790 and Aowin Municipality received 1,060 vaccines. The Bodi District received 723, Juaboso 670, Suaman 350, Akontombra 470 while Bia East and West Districts received 230 and 880 vaccines respectively. Dr Okoh-Owusu said the exercise was being carried out in all hospitals and major health centers within the region. She mentioned the Sefwi-Wiawso government hospital, Essam and Enchi hospitals, Adabokrom Health Center, Akontombra Health Center, and Bodi clinic as some of the facilities designated for the vaccination. The Regional Health Director used the occasion to encouraged residents to take the vaccine since it was safe and would help protect their families, friends, and the general public. She asked the residents to welcome and cooperate with the vaccination team to ensure the success of the vaccination exercise. Dr Okoh-Owusu expressed satisfaction in the work done so far and commended the team for good work done. She assured them they would continue with the risk communication and education on the safety of the vaccine to motivate residents to take the vaccine. 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 Just weeks after being installed as the Liberal-National Coalitions defence minister, Peter Dutton declared yesterday that his top priority is to assure all military personnel that the government has their back after an official report documenting Australian war crimes in Afghanistan had dented troop morale. Duttons comments were the most explicit statement yet from a government minister detailing the relationship between the official attempts to bury the Afghan revelations, and the preparations for even greater crimes, centreing on Australias frontline role in escalating US-led plans for conflict with China. Last November, the official Brereton inquiry, which had dragged on in secret for four years, revealed credible evidence that Australian troops murdered at least 39 Afghans and committed other atrocities, including torture, between 2009 and 2013. Dutton speaking to soldiers at the Lavarack Barracks (Credit: Twitter, @PeterDutton_MP) As a continuation of a years-long cover-up, the Brereton report absolved military command and governments of any responsibility and concealed more than it revealed. A brief period of hand wringing from the political and media establishment ensued, focused on the damage done to the militarys reputation. The issue was then largely dropped. Late last month, Chris Moraitis, director-general of the Office of the Special Investigator, established at the recommendation of the Brereton report to oversee criminal inquiries into the allegations, revealed that his organisation had done virtually nothing. It had not even hired investigators. Duttons comments yesterday, in a featured interview with the Murdoch-owned Australian, demonstrated the political calculations behind the glacial progress of the investigation. The office would continue to examine whether criminal charges could be brought against any of the soldiers, and the issue, according to Dutton, was properly left to that process. The framing, as though there is any doubt that chargeable conduct occurred, is nothing short of obscene. One of the murders, involving a special forces soldier shooting a prone and unarmed Afghan at point blank range, was captured on film and has been seen by millions of people. The government, meanwhile, would not be rushed into implementing the other cosmetic recommendations of the Brereton inquiry. Dutton spoke as though the revelations were of the distant past. Despite the fact that literally nobody has yet been held accountable for the violations of international law, it was time to move on. I think morale has been down and I think there is good reason now for it to be rebuilt, Dutton said. And the commitment that the government has got to the Australian Defence Force, not only financially but morally, is very important. My message is we are getting back to business, the defence minister proclaimed. That business is more important than ever, and that business is to keep Australia safe and secure. The real business is to intensify the preparations for war with China, as the newly-installed Biden administration deepens a confrontation with Beijing initiated under Obama and continued by Trump. In his interview, Dutton declared that he had instructed his department to provide all available support to the troops and get major procurement programs back on track. This was necessary because Australia faced a very uncertain time in the future as a result of purported Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. In a half-hearted attempt at concealing the imminent dangers posed by the US-Australian military build-up, Dutton reassured readers that Nobody believes we are on the brink of war or anything like that. In the next breath, however, he stated that Australia was already in a war, being fought on the cyber arena. Such grey-zone conflict would become the norm. Dutton proceeded to provide a list of measures undeniably directed towards violent confrontation with Beijing, from the deepening of the US-Australia alliance, to the consolidation of the Quad, a partnership of America, Australia, India and Japan, the regions largest militaries, and the rapid expansion of arms capabilities. The government had to ensure that its $270 billion spend on military hardware over this decade proceeded on time, meaning that Dutton would focus on the crisis-ridden programs to build 12 Attack Class submarines and nine Hunter-class frigates. In his first announcement as defence minister, less than a week after his appointment, Dutton unveiled plans to build missiles in Australia for the first time since the 1960s. The ministers pronouncements in the Australia n coincided with a tour of the Lavarack Barracks in the northern Queensland city of Townsville. Dutton and Phillip Thompson, the areas federal MP and himself a military veteran, were provided with a capability display involving infantry, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and Bushmaster vehicles, according to the Australian . The Townsville Bulletin reported that Dutton and Thompson met with the 3rd Brigade on Thursday night to pick their brains about what the troops on the ground need, what equipment works, and what needs to change. Thompsons description of the visit had an unmistakably militarist and authoritarian character. It was just the Diggers and the Minister, he said. We can have meetings with high-ranking officers whenever we want but we want to listen to the Diggers, we want to find out if we can help them do their job better and easier. Aside from anything else, the clear subtext of the visit was that Dutton is a soldiers man, and they need not worry about future ramifications, including prosecutions, over the Afghan war crimes. Thomson pointed to the other symbolic purpose of the visit, obliquely noting the strategic importance of the Townsville base. Since the US unveiled its military build-up throughout the Asia-Pacific in 2011, a central focus has been on the development of capabilities in northern Australia, including through the establishment of a US marine base in Darwin. In strategic circles, it is openly discussed that the purpose of this is to ready Australia to cut-off off Chinese supply lines that pass through the sea lanes of South East Asia and the Pacific in the event of war. Duttons statements have received an almost rapturous response from the most bellicose sections of the establishment. The Australians foreign editor Greg Sheridan, who has the closest of ties to the US and Australian military-intelligence agencies, gushingly described Duttons comments as the clearest statement of purpose a defence minister has made in a long time. Sheridan has called for a rapid military build-up, to ready the armed forces for potentially imminent war. While paying lip-service to the seriousness of the Afghan allegations, Sheridan insisted that the military are not required to be the wokest force on the planet. Instead they are required to master the application of deadly force supposedly to protect the peace. In a Foreign Policy article last week, Salvatore Babones, a right-wing University of Sydney academic, outlined some of the domestic and international calculations behind Duttons appointment. As a former police officer, who had presided over Australias brutal attacks on refugees, Dutton could be a tough cop on China. Babones hinted at some of the behind-the-scenes discussions surrounding what Dutton described in the Australian as grey-zone conflict. Australias real threat from China is more likely to come in the form of a maritime militia disguised as fishing boats than an invasion strike force targeting Darwin, Australia, with advanced weaponry, he wrote. Given his experience stopping the boats of people smugglers... Dutton has the right background for figuring out how to thwart Chinas irregular gray zone tactics for expanding its hold over the regions seas. Babones continued: As Chinas illegal fishing fleets creep closer to Australias home waters, Australia should be prepared to tackle Chinas short-of-war methods with a proportionate response of its own. The comments are a warning that various provocations that threaten a conflict are under discussion in military and intelligence circles. Duttons minister of the soldiers posture, moreover, is of a piece with a broader erosion of democratic rights, which he has been centrally involved in. More and more, as social tensions mount, the military is being held up as an unchallengeable institution with a central role to play, not only abroad, but also in domestic life. In the words of Dutton and Sheridan, they represent the best of our nation. The two policies that Duttons elevation are aimed at furthering, war and authoritarianism, have the full support of the Labor opposition. In government when the Afghan war crimes were committed, Labor has joined with the Coalition to bury any discussion of the atrocities. It is also fully-committed to the aggression against China, a stance unanimously affirmed at its recent national policy conference. More than 70 religious places will partner with Walgreens clinics for the next three weeks as part of a new COVID-19 Vaccine Faith Initiative in Chicago, Lightfoot said during a news conference at JLM Abundant Life Center on the citys Near West Side. She touted the new vaccination partnership as a means to cover moderate- to high-risk residents who have not participated in previous equity campaigns from the city. Indore Lockdown: The lockdown currently in effect in Indore has been extended till 6:00 am on April 19. The lockdown was initially scheduled to end on Monday, i.e. April 12. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan received a suggestion to extend the restriction from Indore District Crisis Management Committee on Saturday. Chauhan gave his approval to the committee's suggestion and extended the lockdown in the city. The Chief Minister had met with the Crisis Management Committee via video conferencing. During the meeting, Indore Mayor Krishna Murari Moghe suggested extending the lockdown in the city till April 19. The meeting was also attended by MP Shankar Lalwani, and ministers Tulsi Silawat, Usha Thakur, Mahendra Hardia, Malini Gaur, Madhu Verma and Akash Vijayvargiya. District Collector Manish Singh reportedly confirmed that lockdown in Indore has been extended. Singh stated that vegetable and milk shops in the city will remain open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm. He added that kirana shops and medical shops will continue to remain open during the lockdown. Singh further added that kirana control shops will also be open in order to provide food grains to the poor. Madhya Pradesh is amongst the 10 states that account for nearly 84 per cent of daily cases, according to Health Ministry data. Madhya Pradesh recorded 4,882 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The addition of these cases has taken the infection tally to 3,27,220. More than 4,000 people have died due to the deadly virus in Madhya Pradesh. On Friday, India reported 1,45,384 infections. This was the highest-single state spike in the country. The addition of these cases have pushed the total case count to over 1.3 crore. Also Read: India's COVID-19 vaccination drive hits roadblock; Punjab, Rajasthan, Maha report vaccine shortages The crushing defeat for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) at Amazons Bessemer, Alabama plant exposes the extent of workers alienation from the pro-corporate trade unions. In a facility with 5,800 workers, only 738 (less than 13 percent) voted for the union. The turnout for the vote was approximately 50 percent, and less than one-third of the votes that were cast went for the RWDSU. The results demonstrate that the campaign waged by the RWDSU did not reach the workers, who were either hostile or indifferent. The RWDSU is predictably attempting to explain its debacle by citing company intimidation. RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum declared that workers were afraid that they would lose their jobs if they voted for the union. He said that Amazon worked very, very hard to get a very strange mailbox on their property to collect the votes, and that the company said that the deadline for voting was earlier than it actually was. Banner on Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama (Credit: WSWS Media) Appelbaums explanation is absurd on its face. First, no genuine workers organization expects that its efforts will have the support of the company. The industrial unions were built in the United States as mass organizations under conditions in which the employers resorted to massacres, the Ku Klux Klan, Pinkertons and other vigilante groups to defeat insurgent workers. Alabama was itself the scene of violent class battles against the determined resistance of the capitalist ruling elites. Compared to what the unions confronted in an earlier period, the conditions in which the Bessemer vote was held were practically idyllic. The vote on the RWDSU had the support of dominant sections of the state apparatus and the media, including dozens of members of Congress and the explicit endorsement of the president of the United States, Joe Biden. Appelbaums claim, moreover, that the RWDSU could only get 13 percent of workers to support the union campaign because Amazon put a strange mailbox on their facility is an explanation that could only be given by wealthy executives with no connection to the working class and the class struggle. As for the assertion that Amazon misled workers into voting earlier than they had to, this cannot explain the abysmally low turnout of only 50 percent. If anything, it would have produced the opposite result. What are the real reasons for the defeat? We might suggest to Appelbaum that he look to the forty years of unending betrayals by the AFL-CIO, dating back to the refusal of the unions to defend the PATCO air traffic controllers against the Reagan administrations strikebreaking in 1981; the endless series of concessions contracts, in which the unions sanctioned wage and benefits cuts and job losses; and the transformation of the unions themselves into instruments of corporate management, a labor police force, staffed and led by highly paid executives, including Appelbaum himself (income $344,464). The campaign to install the RWDSU at Amazon did not arise from a movement of workers from below. Rather, it was an operation of the AFL-CIO, the ruling class and the state from above. The intervention of the Democratic Party and Biden reflects calculations within substantial sections of the ruling class that the working class can be better restrained by placing it under de-facto state guardianship within the unions. The union advanced no demands related to compensation or working conditions. It could not make any demands, because to do so would mean to forfeit the support of the Democratic Party, along with sections of the Republican Party like the fascistic Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who endorsed the unionization drive in March. The only concrete result for workers of bringing in the RWDSU would mean the additional subtraction of union dues from their poverty-level paychecks. The RWDSU did everything that it could to dissociate itself from working class militancy. Its plans, had it won the election, would have been to bind and gag workers through the National Labor Relations Board and arcane US labor law, while it pushed through a sellout contract that it likely already had in its back pocket. The RWDSU campaign generated far more enthusiasm within privileged layers of the upper middle class, articulated by publications like Jacobin and Left Voice, than it did from Amazon workers. The unions provide for them a mechanism for achieving labor peace, reconciling their desires for minor reforms within the existing capitalist system with the rising stock market. These pseudo-left organizations are now bemoaning the result of the vote. They have also helped the Democrats and the union present the campaign in primarily racial terms, as a continuation of Black Lives Matter. This racialist appeal, however, fell on deaf ears in the predominantly African American workforce. In fact, press interviews with Amazon workers, expressing opposition towards the attempt to present their plight in purely racial terms, suggest that it may have even backfired spectacularly. Many workers no doubt saw such a perspective as serving only to divide them in the face of a company with a global workforce of 1.2 million people of all races and nationalities. The vote at Bessemer is not only a debacle for the RWDSU and the AFL-CIO, it is a debacle for the Democratic Party and all the middle-class organizations that surround it. The fact that the direct intervention of Biden in the vote either had no impact or led to decreased support for the RWDSU demonstrates how alienated the entire political establishment is from the working class. There is enormous and growing social opposition in the working class. Among Amazon workers, there is mass hostility to conditions of extreme exploitation. The impact of the ruling class response to the pandemic, which has led to the deaths of more than 570,000 people in the US alone, has had a far-reaching impact on the consciousness of an entire generation of workers and young people, exposing the brutal and irrational nature of the capitalist system. Even during the Bessemer vote itself, significant strikes were begun throughout the country by graduate students, nurses, steelworkers and, only a few miles away from Bessemer, Alabama, coal miners. In every case, the unions have worked to isolate and defeat the aspirations of workers. The Warrior Met miners in Alabama yesterday voted overwhelmingly, by 1,006 to 45, to reject the sell-out contract that the United Mine Workers sought to ram through. What the Bessemer vote demonstrates is that workers do not see the unions as instruments for advancing their interests. What are called unions are not working-class organizations. They are organizations that represent an upper middle-class stratum, entirely tied to management and the capitalist state. Workers must draw the necessary conclusions from this experience. Above all, the rejection of the RWDSU points to workers need for alternative organizations to the pro-corporate trade unions that are genuinely democratic and responsive to their needs and not dominated by a bureaucratic clique. The AFL-CIO and its affiliateswhich are, collectively, multi-billion dollar corporate enterprises staffed by tens of thousands of highly paid executives whose compensation places them in the wealthiest 10 percent, and, in many cases, the top 5 percent of the populationcannot be transformed into instruments of the class struggle. The task of socialists is not to serve as apologists and propagandists for organizations that are tied to the capitalist state and the corporations, and from which the working class is deeply alienated. Rather, socialists must assist workers in creating new and democratic organizations of class struggle, which they control and which are responsive to their interests. That is why the Socialist Equality Party and World Socialist Web Site advocate and are assisting workers in forming a network of independent rank-and-file committees in factories, schools and all work locations. The development of a network of rank-and-file committees, in the United States and throughout the worldto which socialists must impart a revolutionary internationalist and anti-capitalist perspectiveis critical to the development of the working-class counteroffensive against the ruling class and the entire capitalist system. For help forming a committee at your workplace, contact the World Socialist Web Site by filling out the form at wsws.org/workers. When St. James Parish Hospital in Louisiana began COVID-19 vaccinations in the winter, it routinely administered 500 daily shots and could not keep pace with the long lines of vaccine seekers. After Louisiana joined a cascading number of states to waive age restrictions and allow all adults to get vaccinated, hospital leaders find more appointments going unfilled. The hospital that serves a Mississippi River community of about 22,000 no longer hosts the large vaccination events, instead directing about 200 doses each week through smaller clinics and targeting hard-to-reach populations. It's a fast-changing scenario hospital leaders did not imagine would happen so quickly. "We always felt the vaccine was like gold and it was precious," said MaryEllen Pratt, CEO of St. James Parish Hospital. Now, were having more trouble filling our schedules ... more people can get it, but were finding less people interested in getting it. St. James Parish is among a growing number of U.S. communities with more vaccine slots than people willing to take them. The number of counties with unfilled vaccine appointments at chain retailers Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid grew about 60% in a week from 530 last week to 847 this week, according to an analysis by GoodRx. The surplus appointments represent a new challenge as President Joe Biden pushes to make every American adult eligible for a vaccine shot by April 19. More than 174 million shots had been administered nationwide and more than 25% of adults were fully vaccinated as of Friday. Public health experts warned of hard work ahead to immunize enough Americans to slow the spread of COVID-19. The unused vaccine slots are evident across a wide swath of the South, a possible sign regional demand is slowing as clinics targeting health care workers and seniors court younger adults and other harder-to-reach populations. In Louisiana, 48 out of 64 parishes the equivalent of counties had available vaccine appointments at the three chain retailers as of Monday, according to GoodRx. Even nonpharmacy clinics said that even though three vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration vaccines are flowing to communities, the public does not seem as desperate to get immunized. Story continues At Baton Rouge Clinic, a large vaccine site in Louisiana's capital city, urgency seems to have subsided, CEO Ed Silvey said. The primary care practice has had more vaccine appointment no-shows in recent weeks, but Silvey said the clinic fills openings by offering doses to patients there for nonvaccine appointments. Rural sites with fewer patients have fewer options. St. James Parish Hospital started to call people in advance to remind them of vaccine appointments. The hospital became more proactive after an appointment no-show resulted in a wasted dose. St. James Parish Hospital enlisted the help of ministers and churches to reach out to Black residents, who make up about half the town's population. Hospital and public health officials brainstorm ways to convince younger adults to vaccinate. One possible strategy: Have the hospital's younger doctors explain the importance of vaccination. "It wasnt as hard to sell in the older population, they see themselves as quite vulnerable," Pratt said. "Were up against more challenges as we try to inoculate a younger population that feels like, If I get it, Im not going to die. Im just going to get sick. Some states see a dwindling demand for vaccines. More than one-third of rural residents say they wont get vaccinated In rural communities such as Bolivar, Tennessee, about 60 miles east of Memphis, health leaders work to overcome skepticism. Bolivar General Hospital CEO Ruby Kirby said the effort started with her nurses and other hospital employees. Kirby, who is Black, talked one-on-one with Black staffers who were really hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination. The effort paid off, and hospital employees' immunization rate surpassed 90%. It's a tougher message to communicate in surrounding Hardeman County. Only 15.9% of people in the county of more than 25,000 had been fully vaccinated as of April 7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statewide, more than two-thirds of Tennessee's 95 counties had available appointments at chain pharmacies this week. National polls show residents of rural communities are less likely to commit to vaccination. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 35% of rural residents say they probably or definitely will not get vaccinated, a higher rate than city or suburban residents. Vaccine acceptance can be influenced by political beliefs. About 79% of self-identified Democrats say they have been vaccinated or intend to do so soon, compared with 46% of Republicans. About 3 in 10 Republicans say they will definitely not get vaccinated, a KFF poll found. Kirby said people who oppose vaccination for political reasons represent one of the biggest hurdles weve had to cross. She said the community eschewed mask wearing as a tool to mitigate spread of coronavirus, though opposition to masks and vaccination melted away when influential community members became infected and spoke about their experience. "It tends to change people's view when they know somebody who had it and had negative outcomes or had difficulty recovering," Kirby said. In Mount Pleasant, Texas, Titus Regional Medical Center CEO Terry Scoggin has faced similar challenges. His hospital serves a five-county region about 60 miles from Arkansas and Louisiana. Including high-risk employers such as meatpacking plants and a large number of uninsured residents, the industrial and agricultural hub was hit hard during COVID-19 surges. Scoggin said too many people "dont trust the process of vaccines" because of political views or misinformation on social media. "Theres so much out there," Scoggin said. "You can find what you want to believe." Hospital staffers also have been slow to take the vaccine. Fewer than half of hospital employees had been vaccinated as of last week. Some staffers infected during surges questioned whether they need the vaccine because of their own body's immunity. Several female employees expressed worry about how vaccine might affect pregnancy despite studies that show vaccines are safe and effective for pregnant women and probably protect their babies as well. The hospital provided staff with reliable information about vaccine safety and offered incentives such as discounted health insurance premiums. Scoggin wants his staff protected, and he's aware of the importance of health care workers setting an example in a community where vaccine hesitancy runs deep. "When half of your employees wont get the vaccine, what does that tell those employees family members, relatives and friends?" he said. Many rural communities are battling vaccine hesitancy, said Alan Morgan, CEO of National Rural Health Association. "It is an issue nationwide," Morgan said. "What makes it challenging is youve got a population thats at most risk and has limited health care options. When you throw vaccine hesitancy on top of those other barriers, it makes it much more problematic." CVS is offering the COVID-19 vaccine in many states. Getting that one shot The available vaccine appointments in small towns have opened opportunities for city residents willing to drive long distances to get immunized. Mary Santelman of St. Paul, Minnesota, desperately needed a vaccine, not just to protect herself but also her husband undergoing cancer treatment. She was shut out of Minnesotas vaccine lottery and could not secure an appointment after searching pharmacies and clinics throughout the Twin Cities. Based on a tip from a friend, she booked an appointment at Walmart in Wadena, Minnesota about 150 miles from her home. Just getting that one shot brought my stress level way down, Santelman said. That feeling did not last long. She and her husband had to travel to Ohio State University for cutting-edge immunotherapy cancer treatment he could not get closer to home. Santelman tried to reschedule her second Moderna vaccine shot at a pharmacy near their hotel in Columbus, Ohio. She was on the verge of flying back to Minnesota when her doctor convinced an Ohio Walmart pharmacy to administer her second dose. Santelman is thankful to be vaccinated, but she worries about the toll of skeptics who refuse to do so or wear a mask in public. There are these people actively searching for it and a segment of the population who is refusing it, Santelman said. Although vaccine opportunities are expanding in several states, some said barriers persist. Katelyn Hertel is founder of Vaccine Fairy, a website that helps find vaccine appointments for people. Website volunteers scour pharmacy websites, often overnight or early morning. Hertel said the website prioritizes appointments for seniors who face barriers such as a lack of transportation or medical conditions that make travel difficult. She cited struggles obtaining timely appointments for people with limited travel options in states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She worries more disadvantaged communities will struggle to secure nearby appointments as states open eligibility for all adults. "You have 20-, 30-, 40-somethings who are tech savvy and can grab them for themselves or their friends," Hertel said. "What happens to our seniors?" Ken Alltucker is on Twitter as @kalltucker or can be emailed at alltuck@usatoday.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clinics, hospitals seek to bolster COVID-19 vaccination in rural areas Ive said a lot of stupid things but thats the one stupid thing I wont say, Peter Carey replies when asked the question all writers hate to be asked: when will you finish your book? The Australian author, who has won the Booker prize twice and has a trio of Miles Franklin awards, has been working on a novel while in lockdown in what was the epicentre of Americas coronavirus crisis, New York. This week marked the first time in a year Carey, 77, now vaccinated, had been out with friends. Carey will release his 21st book into a very different world from his debut, the short story collection War Crimes, published in 1979 when the boy from Bacchus Marsh worked at a Sydney advertising agency. Peter Carey this week on a rainy day in New York, where he has lived for three decades. Credit:Idris Solomon The profound social changes driven by the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements have disrupted the world of literature, which is grappling with debates about who can tell what stories, whether we should separate the art from the artist, the need for diverse representation and how to deal with older books that dont meet current standards of acceptability. Twelve times as many people are now dying of cancer than from Covid-19. Figures show that 36 people on average died each day from coronavirus over the past week, down from a peak seven-day average of 1,280 in mid-January. By comparison, cancer is claiming 450 lives every day, or about 166,000 annually. Figures show that 36 people on average died each day from coronavirus over the past week. By comparison, cancer is claiming 450 lives every day (stock picture) Experts say that unless the NHS urgently expands cancer services to deal with a huge backlog, thousands will become 'collateral damage' of the pandemic. Professor Karol Sikora, of Rutherford Cancer Centres, said: 'Every day, 1,000 people in Britain will be told they have cancer for the first time. 'But when Covid peaked, this dropped precipitously. Where did the missing patients go? 'They exist and their diagnosis was significantly delayed. Now many will die.' Even before the second wave hit, Cancer Research UK estimated last summer that Covid could cause an extra 35,000 cancer deaths. NHS England said: 'People should not be deterred from coming forward for checks or treatment. 'Most cancer services are operating at pre-pandemic levels.' New Delhi: Twenty-two-year old Aarti Chawla is the latest victim of alleged oppression by the majority Muslim community on the hapless Hindu girls. She was allegedly abducted by a factory worker Mohammad Fawad who married her after converting her to Islam. Aarti alias Ayesha is now in Dar ul Aman, Larkana, a city in Sindh province of Pakistan, and has even refused to recognize her family members. According to Facebook page of All Pakistan Hindu Panchyat (APHP) nine Hindu girls, including Aarti, had been allegedly abducted in the past eight weeks. Seven Hindu girls were converted to Islam and married to Muslim men twice or thrice their age. The repeated incidents of abduction, conversion and marrying off the Hindu girls with Muslim men had created panic among the minority Hindu community that expects Imran Khan-led government to take stringent measures to prevent such incidents to infuse a sense of safety and security among them. Following Aartis abduction, the APHP has floated an idea of constituting a committee comprising of retired judges, prominent Hindu leaders including religious ones to exclusively investigate whether the girls from the minority community are willingly embracing Islam and marrying Muslim men or not and thus act accordingly. While expressing concern over unending incidents of conversion of Hindu girls to Islam, Kheal Das Kohistani, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Member National Assembly (MNA) told media that in 2019 a Parliamentary Committee to Protect Minorities from Forced Conversions was constituted under Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar. The Committee was still in process of doing the groundwork before drafting a Bill to form a law to prevent the forced conversions, said Kohistani. Stating that Aarti had been found by the police and sent to Dar ul Aman, Kohistani, further said it was a temporary relief and not a solution since the minority communities lived in constant fear of some mishap with the young girls. In the recent past, Pakistan Hindu Council led by Pak Hindu MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani had penned down an agreement with Islamist clerics including Pir Mohammad Ayub Jan Sarhandi and Mian Mitha to hold a joint meeting with the girl who embraces Islam or with her parents as well as with the Muslim men with whom she ties a nuptial knot but that agreement has also failed to yield any desirable result. Moscow: Armoured personnel carriers bristling with weapons line a highway in southern Russia. Rows of tanks are parked beside major roads. Heavy artillery is transported by train. Videos of military movements have flooded Russian social media for the past month, shared by users and documented by researchers. And Western governments are trying to find out why. The movements appear to be the largest deployment of Russian land forces toward the border with Ukraine in seven years, according to the US government. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with a soldier as he visits the war-hit Donbas region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, April 8, 2021. Whether it is a test of how the Biden administration might respond, retaliation against Ukraine for curbing Russian influence in domestic politics in Kiev, or preparation for actual cross-border military action has divided analysts of Russian policies. The United States military have given warnings on the possibility of China taking back their control over Taiwan that they regard as their "rebel state," reports say. According to the Associated Press, China is mounting its "power" in Asia beginning with reclaiming Taiwan that is regarded as the "most immediate flashpoint" to overthrow the United States' hold in the continent and its "chief source of tension between Washington." The AP cited two top military personnel who have projected "risks are going up" in so far as China's invasion of Taiwan is concerned. "We have indications that the risks are actually going up. The threat is manifest during this decade - in fact, in the next six years," stated Asia-Pacific Region Senior U.S. military Commander Admiral Philip Davidson. Davidson's pronouncements took place before a Senate panel on the Chinese military move on Taiwan last March. But the AP said this could be nearer as per remarks of Admiral John Aquilino that came in days later. "My opinion is, this problem is much closer to us than most think," Aquilino said. CBN News reported that these fresh fears of Taiwan's invasion by China were heightened when the former's foreign minister warned the latter on Wednesday that they are willing to defend their nation "to the very last day." CBN News stressed that the Chinese government "sees the Biden Administration as weak" such that they could easily be tempted to invade Taiwan now that they have "ramped up military operations in the Taiwan Strait." Meanwhile, The Diplomat pointed out three factors that have increased fears of China's impending attack on Taiwan. First is the statements given by "many outside experts" primary of which is Davidson's. Second is the "cross-strait war" where Chinese military equipment have intensified since 2020 and where a military exercise took place not as a "warning" of China's power "but a rehearsal for a Taiwan takeover." Third is the perception on "the general increase in the aggressiveness" of China's "foreign policy" that has led to border clashes with neighboring countries such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. CBN News raised that an agreement between the United States and Taiwan for its defense could prevent its invasion. It cited Ohio Representative Steve Chabot in stating the need for a "crystal clear" agreement with Taiwan on the matter. "And I must say, strategic ambiguity relative to Taiwan and China is, in my opinion, absurd and dangerous. We ought to be crystal clear that if China attacks Taiwan, we will be there with Taiwan," Chabot said during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Taiwan. The question that needs to be answered is whether the United States would help Taiwan should China invade it. In such a case the U.S. does help, the Pentagon presented simulations that the U.S. will lose the battle to China since its bases are far from Taiwan, CBN News noted. Despite speculations, The Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Dean Cheng believes that China would pick a more peaceful route in reclaiming Taiwan. Cheng said that it is "very dangerous to assume" China will invade Taiwan. Instead, the Chinese government would "certainly prefer to reunify with Taiwan peacefully" although they have stated in the last seven decades that they are "prepared to use force if it is necessary." , Cookies . cookies. Vienna/Washington, April 10 : A senior US official that the Vienna talks over the Iran nuclear deal were productive, and hoped that Tehran would show a more constructive attitude in discussions scheduled next week. The indirect talks between the US and Iran over respective steps to revive the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), were just preliminary steps but "productive and businesslike", a senior state department official told reporters in a briefing on Friday. "At the same time, a question still remains about whether the seriousness of purpose and the intent of coming back into compliance that the US showed will be reciprocated by Iran," the official said. "We saw some signs of but certainly not enough." The official reiterated that Washington is prepared to lift those sanctions that are inconsistent with the nuclear deal, reports Xinhua news agency. "Without getting into specifics, I would say that that's our position, all sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA and are inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expects from the JCPOA, we are prepared to lift," the official said, adding but "that doesn't mean all of them because there are some that are legitimate sanctions". Meanwhile, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also said on Friday that Tehran will not stop parts of its current nuclear activities until the US lifts sanctions and returns to the deal. The country will not halt or even reduce the pace of its current nuclear activities in particular its uranium enrichment, including the 20 per cent enrichment, Araqchi was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. This will continue until an accord is reached under which the US will be obliged to lift all of its sanctions against Iran, he said, adding that the American sanctions should be lifted in one step. Araqchi, who also represents Iran in the ongoing talks with the remaining parties of the nuclear deal, noted that there are signs that Americans are considering the removal of all sanctions. On Friday, the diplomatic representatives of Iran, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany, resumed talks in Vienna with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda. On Tuesday, the senior diplomats held the first round of their meetings to discuss the current standoff in the JCPOA implementation in Vienna. Under the deal, Tehran agreed in 2015 to roll back parts of its nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. Washington under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran. The US and Iran are at a stalemate over reviving the nuclear deal. President Joe Biden's administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, the US would do the same. But Iran insisted that its compliance would only take place once the sanctions are removed. New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Police have claimed to bust a Lashkar-e-Toiba network, believed to be behind the attack on Municipal Councillors and Police in north Kashmir's Sopore. At least six Lashkar terror associates have been arrested by the police. In a statement, the police claimed that Sopore Police busted the network involved in a terrorist attack on March 29, by apprehending the OGW's and seizing the bike used in the attack. On March 29th, after the killing of two Municipal councillors and police personnel, multiple 'Cordon and Search Operations' were launched by the Sopore Police along with other security forces at suspected locations Dangepora, Brath Kalan, Sidiq Colony Sopore, Model Town, Batpora. Police picked up various suspects for questioning during which one suspect, an Over Ground Worker (OGW), identified as Ashiq Ahmad Pandith of Dangerpora, revealed that terrorist named Mudasir Pandith aka Maaz along with a foreign terrorist named aka Asrar before the terrorist attack had stayed at his residence from March 25-28 and had planned the entire terrorist attack. Furthermore, during the questioning, the name of another suspect, Junaid Ahmad Shusha of Model Town, Sopore, came to the fore. He disclosed that he came into contact with Mudasir Pandith aka Maaz in November 2020 at the residence of his cousin Umair Ashiq in Model Town, Sopore. Mudasir Pandith aka Maaz along with his two foreign terrorists aka Ahmad and aka Abu Sariya stayed for the night on the instructions of Sayeed Imran, an OGW of LeT outfit. Junaid Ahmad Shusha and Umair Ashiq were convinced by Mudasir Pandith to work for Lashkar and they were introduced to Sajid Ali, the PoK handler of Lashkar. Upon Imran's disclosure, Umair Ashiq and Sayeed Imran were picked up and confessed that both were working for proscribed outfit LeT and were providing logistical support to the banned organisation to strengthen their network in the main town of Sopore. They further revealed that they conducted the recce of Lone Complex Sopore on the directions of Maaz and Sajid. Upon revelations of these suspects, another hardcore OGW Shakir Yousuf Bhat, a resident of Batpora was apprehended, who then revealed that he is a cousin of militant Mudasir Pandith. Bhat told interrogators that prior to him taking the militancy rank, they were working together as a mechanic in a local workshop in Sopore and he had been in touch with him since then. He told that he used to ferry Mudasir and his associates from Sopore to other places (Wagoora,Nowpora Kerri Baramulla ,Sahipora,Pandithpora,Tulwari Handwara ,Hajin Bandipora). To execute the terrorists' actions, which Mudasir Pandith along with his foreign associates, had hatched on the directions of the main handler from across the border Sajid Ali, Maaz activated his OGW network, including Junaid Shusha, Umair Ashiq and Syed Imran. As per his directions, Umair recceed the site and shared his feedback. On March 28, on some pretext, Ashiq Pandith also came to the complex for recce. In the late evening, Shakir along with his friend Feroz Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Batpora Sopore, went to Dangerpora to bring Mudasir Pandith and his foreign terrorist to Batpora and stayed at the residence of Feroz Ahmad Bhat for the night. From their stay at Feroz's home, they again communicated with other OGW's about conducting physical recce. He directed Junaid Ahmad Shusha and Syed Imran of Model Town Sopore to remain present near the Municipal office the next day (March 29). The next day Shakir took Mudasir Pandith and foreign Asrar on his bike following interior roads, in order to avoid security checkpoints. They reached the place of the occurrence where his other associates were waiting for them as per their prior (last night ) directions. Before entering the complex, terrorist Mudasir Pandith asked the duo (Junaid and Imran) to go inside and get the latest information regarding the presence of police personnel and counsellors. On March 29, at 12.48 hrs, terrorists went inside the complex and indiscriminately opened fire upon police personal and counsellors, resulting on spot death of counsellors Riyaz Ahamd Pir and SPO Shafat Ahmad and seriously injuring counsellor Shamus Din Pir who later succumbed to his injuries. Live TV They then boarded Shakir's bike and escaped into Syedpora Orchards using interior roads. Sopore Police along with the sister agencies are working tirelessly to nab or eliminate the dreaded terrorists, reads the statement. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Col. Jason Glass, Tennessees Assistant Adjutant General, Air, was named Tennessees first Dual-Status Commander for the federally-supported effort to help vaccinate citizens throughout Memphis against COVID-19 on April 1. Dual-Status Commanders serve a critical and unique function during emergencies by commanding both National Guard and active-duty forces. They coordinate and give orders to both state and federal troops, therefore simplifying the command and control of military personnel. The president and governor must both agree to the establishment of a dual status commander in the event of an emergency requiring the need to use multicomponent personnel. In partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state and local agencies, Glass leads a team of approximately 130 Navy and Marine Corps personnel with the 2nd Marine Division who arrived in Memphis earlier this week. The Sailors and Marines, organized as Vaccine Support Teams, help support a city-run, federally-supported Community Vaccination Center located at the Pipkin building at the Memphis Fairgrounds. In addition, he leads more than 30 Army and Air National Guard personnel also supporting the vaccination efforts in Memphis. Im honored to serve in this role, said Glass. Any opportunity to command is a blessing, but to be able to have four branches of the service under one multi-component command is a once in a life time opportunity and one that I dont take lightly. Our team will be fully integrated in a whole-of-government approach to combat this plague at the federal, state, and local levels. Capable of vaccinating 3,000 people per day, the Pipkin Community Vaccination Center is open 12-hours per day, seven days per week. The Marines and Sailors are prepared to serve for approximately eight weeks or longer if needed. I have full confidence in the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen that make up this incredible team! Once put on mission, we will be poised to meet or exceed the standards and expectations, while serving the great city of Memphis, said Glass. Glass serves as Assistant Adjutant General, Air, for the Tennessee National Guard where he commands and ensures the readiness of Tennessee's air assets. As the most senior Air Guardsman in the state, he is responsible for the 118th Wing in Nashville, the 164th Airlift Wing in Memphis, and the 134th Air Refueling Wing in Knoxville as well as other support units throughout the state. Col Glass first enlisted in the Air Force in 1989 as an Air Traffic Control Radar Specialist and, in 1993, commissioned into the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. Over the course of 32 years of service, he served in both the active duty Air Force and the Tennessee Air National Guard. Ankara, April 10 : Two US warships will pass through Turkey's straits to the Black Sea next week, a Foreign Ministry official said. "A notice was sent to us 15 days ago through diplomatic channels that two US warships would pass toward the Black Sea in line with the Montreux Convention," the official said in a statement on Friday. "According to the information we have got, the ships would go to the Black Sea separately on April 14 and 15," it said, adding that the vessels are expected to return on May 4 and 5, reports Xinhua news agency. The 1936 Montreux Convention, which gives Turkey control over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, restricts the access of warships and guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, 43, resigned from her post as a dean to which she was appointed at aged 27 to begin a new path of research about tertiary education. More than 20 years ago, Huong was one of 12 excellent graduates at the University of Foreign Languages, a member school of Hanoi National University. After graduating, she got a job as a lecturer at the Hanoi University of Industry. She never thought the decision would lead her to a turning point in her career. As a young lecturer, she was passionate about finding opportunities for international cooperation. Becoming the head of the international cooperation division and then the Dean of Foreign Languages at the age of 27, Huong said it was a challenging position. There were then 130 officers and lecturers, while I was just 27. My advantages were the potential for professional development and enthusiasm of youth, she recalled. Huong spent a lot of time traveling from the north to the south and visiting many universities to learn about their training programs. The young dean also took full advantage of the support of international experts, inviting them to Vietnam to develop some learning subjects. Huong found that there were some subjects that were useless, which students would not apply in real life. Given the right to determine learning subjects, Huong developed four new subjects college skills, presentation skills, job application skills and working skills. Huong then was under pressure because few people believed in her philosophy. But 10 years later, she was happy to hear from students trained in the new program, who said the subjects helped them a lot in applying for jobs and in their work. Leaving to return later Huong felt happy with her job as the board of management of the school created favorable conditions for her to turn her ideas into reality. The subjects that Huong laid a foundation for are still being used at the school and some have become compulsory. But after nine years of working as a dean, she decided to leave. I was always thinking about issues in tertiary education administration in Vietnam. So I decided that I needed to study abroad and come back to Vietnam to do better, she said. She resigned from the post and applied for a 1.5-year study course in education management Australia. In 2008, she left Vietnam for Australia, while her husband left for Japan. Their child was left with the grandparents. Huong admitted that when "coming back to the starting point" after nine years of working, while her friends were obtaining a doctorate, she faced a small crisis when trying to answer the questions who am I and what am I doing. However, she received practical knowledge about tertiary education administration and had a long-term vision. The experiences she had in Vietnam when she was a dean helped her finish the masters degree, winning an award for the best thesis. The thesis was later published in two international articles. After that, she continued studying four years for her doctorate and became a managerial officer and lecturer for the postgraduate training program at Swinburne University. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, 43, resigned from her post as a dean to which she was appointed at aged 27 to begin a new path of research about tertiary education. She then worked for UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) as an expert analyzing tertiary education management policy after leaving Swinburne. Research mission of universities Huong focuses on research about lecturing staff at tertiary education establishments. According to Huong, the number of lecturers with a doctorate in Vietnam remains modest, accounting for 20 percent, much lower than the 80 percent in Australia. In international practice, a doctorate is just the start of an academic career. She believes that the state should invest more heavily in training to produce more PhDs and require university lecturers to have a doctorate. Another issue that Huong is interested in is scientific research capability of universities in Vietnam. Vietnams universities now just focus on training, not on creating knowledge, which universities in developed countries do. If universities have lecturers who can carry out research and publish internationally, they will be able to integrate into the "flow of knowledge". If not, they will just "sit and see what the world is doing". Huong thinks that in order to develop research capability, Vietnam needs to have some top-tier universities and leading experts who can transmit knowledge to other schools. Her study pointed out that among the levels of research capability, Vietnam is at the lowest level, and that it has just begun building research capability. Thuy Nga - Phuong Thu Female scientist dreams of reviving contaminated land The image of a boy with shining eyes and crippled limbs damaged by Agent Orange prompted Ngo Thi Thuy Huong, born in 1974, "to do something" to revive contaminated land in Vietnam. One of Britain's biggest currency exchange firms could be about to change hands for about 150million after its secretive Chinese owner put it up for sale. City sources said advisers from Houlihan Lokey had been appointed to sell International Currency Exchange (ICE) on behalf of HNA, the controversial Chinese conglomerate that recently declared itself bankrupt. ICE was set up 48 years ago with one outlet in London's Victoria Station. It now has more than 350 outlets, many in airports across the world. Reports suggest the firm has a turnover of 1.3billion a year. International Currency Exchange has more than 350 outlets, many in airports across the world HNA bought ICE from Lenlyn Holdings in 2016 during a period in which state-backed Chinese firms carried out an unprecedented debt- fuelled acquisition spree. HNA, which also owns Hainan Airlines, was one of the most aggressive Chinese companies on the acquisition trail. It also bought airline caterer Gategroup, and sizeable stakes in hotels group Hilton Worldwide and Deutsche Bank. But the Chinese giant ran into trouble after racking up a reported 70billion of debt. It was forced into a debt restructuring and in January declared itself bankrupt. Reports suggest Global Exchange Group, a Spanish firm, is weighing up a bid for ICE. Bureaux de change have had a tough time since the pandemic limited foreign travel. Travelex, another currency exchange firm, went through a financial restructuring that saw its bondholders take control of the business. Creditors to Travelex, such as Heathrow Airport, reportedly suffered a shortfall of more than 319million, and the future of foreign holidays remains uncertain. International Currency Exchange did not return requests for comment. HNA could not be reached for comment. Houlihan Lokey declined to comment. Statistics As of January 2019, Texas had an estimated 25,848 experiencing homelessness on any given day, as reported by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of that total, 1,919 were family households, 1,806 were veterans, 1,355 were unaccompanied young adults (aged 18-24), and 3,511 were individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. Public school data reported to the U.S. Department of Education during the 2017-18 school year shows that an estimated 231,305 public school students experienced homelessness over the course of the year. Of that total, 56,174 students were unsheltered, 19,797 were in shelters, 19,942 were in hotels/motels, and 135,392 were doubled up. Source: United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 20:17:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran celebrated its National Day of Nuclear Technology on Saturday with an event held simultaneously in Tehran and in nuclear sites in different Iranian cities, in which advanced IR-6 centrifuges started operating, and more than 100 other nuclear industry innovations were unveiled. During the event, 164 IR-6 semi-industrial centrifuges were injected with gas and became fully operational at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, and 30 IR-6S centrifuges entered the first phase of gas injection at the same plant, official news agency IRNA reported. As broadcasted by state TV, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave the order from Tehran to introduce uranium hexafluoride gas to the cascades in Natanz, and made a short speech to defend the accomplishments of Iran's nuclear program under his administration. Rouhani said that the United States, European countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are "in debt" with Iran, since the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons obliges nuclear states and the IAEA to "help" signatories in their peaceful nuclear activities. Apart from the launching of the IR-6 centrifuges in Natanz, other innovations unveiled in the exhibition included the manufacturing and assembly of the first prototype of IR-9S and IR-9-1B centrifuges, currently under mechanical testing, according to official information releases. "Today, we have reached the IR-9 centrifuge with the capacity of 50 SWU in terms of technology, and they provide us products 50 to 60 times more than those of the old centrifuges," Ali-Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying at the event by Press TV. Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran is restricted to use only a number of uranium enrichment centrifuges of first generation (IR-1) until year 2025. One year after the United States unilaterally abandoned the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran started reducing its compliance with its JCPOA obligations. The current U.S. administration has pledged to return to JCPOA, but demands Iran to fully comply with its commitments first, while Tehran demands Washington to lift all sanctions on Iran before it returns to full compliance. The JCPOA Joint Commission resumed talks in Austria's capital to revive the deal this week, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures topping the agenda. Enditem Trader Joe's logo. (Adrian Mangel / For The Times) A federal grand jury has indicted a Huntington Park man in the robbery or attempted robbery of more than a dozen Trader Joes stores across Southern California over a span of three months. Gregory Johnson, 43, was named in a superseding indictment Friday that charged him with 15 counts of interference with commerce by robbery, five counts of knowingly using and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California charged Johnson in February with two counts in connection with robbing a Trader Joes in Chino Hills in December, during which he allegedly stole $3,800 in cash. Ciaran McEvoy, a public information officer for the U.S. attorneys office, said Johnson pleaded not guilty to those charges. Fridays indictment alleges that from Aug. 28 through Dec. 4, Johnson robbed or attempted to commit robbery 15 times at Trader Joe's stores in Eagle Rock, Sherman Oaks, Chatsworth, Pasadena, Culver City, Rancho Palos Verdes, Agoura Hills, Simi Valley, Brea, Santa Ana, Tustin, Corona and Chino Hills. On two occasions, it said, Johnson returned to rob stores in Rancho Palos Verdes and Brea that he had robbed weeks before. During the alleged incidents, the indictment claims that Johnson stole more than $26,000. If convicted of all charges, Johnson faces a maximum sentence of more than 300 years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office. An attorney representing Johnson did not immediately return a request for comment. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. ?????????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? It's a huge 195'-10" (59.70m) from Usual in the discus? #2 NCAA this year #2 Program history pic.twitter.com/f0HZHn9X6n Texas Tech Track & Field (@TexasTechTF) April 9, 2021 It's all coming together ?? After a discus PR last week, @ShowtimeGeee goes 188'-10" (57.56m) for the second-best mark of his career. pic.twitter.com/kHBsgBlmRD Texas Tech Track & Field (@TexasTechTF) April 9, 2021 It's a PR (obviously) in the hep ??@_calliewallie_ completes a career weekend with four PRs and 5??5??7??7?? points? pic.twitter.com/eq8M5Q4FsD Texas Tech Track & Field (@TexasTechTF) April 9, 2021 Zenker takes the ?? Fynn finishes with 7??1??3??4?? in his first dec as a Red Raider. pic.twitter.com/IEI3yS62aM Texas Tech Track & Field (@TexasTechTF) April 10, 2021 Texas Tech's throwers got the Masked Rider Open underway Friday evening while the multis athletes competing in Arizona wrapped up.first discus throw on her home practice field went flying. She landed her mark at 195'-10" (59.70m) from the circle, plenty for a career best. The distance counted as the second farthest in program history for the All-American, and the second farthest in the NCAA this season. Usual is one of just two to have recorded a mark over 59 meters so far this year."I knew I had a PR coming based off my practices this week," Usual said. "I just had an off weekend and it allowed me to focus coming into this week. I still wanted further, but I will take today. I know a big one will come in due time so I'm just thankful for today and can't wait for more."For added perspective, in 2019 the last NCAA outdoor season only four recorded a throw of over 59 meters the whole year. Usual's best mark that year was 179'-7" (54.75m).A week removed from his first discus PR as a Red Raider,threw 188'-10" (57.56m). It is the second time Oladipo, who currently ranks fifth in the NCAA, has gone over 57 meters in his career.The javelin brought season bests for each Red Raider competing.won the men's competition with the second-best distance in the Big 12 this season 224'-1" (68.30m). Maria Sotomayer's 140'-11" (42.96m) netted her second place.In Arizona,continued her string of personal bests. She began the second day of competition with her third PR of the weekend a 19'-7" (5.97m) long jump. It was the second time she had ever cleared 19 feet in the long jump and first time outdoors.Jones would go on to finish second in the heptathlon with 5,577 points of course, a new personal best.led Tech in the decathlon. He finished with 7,134 points on the weekend, thanks to a strong second day in his first collegiate decathlon. His 50.11 400m earned him 810 points. Zenker scored another 703 in the hurdles, then cemented his third-place finish with a personal meet-high 941 points in the pole vault.Saturday's action in Lubbock will begin at 8 a.m. with the 10,000m runs. The rest of the meet will commence at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all. Some of Australias top universities have called in a Chinese Communist Party expert to detect foreign interference risks, including auditing academics from at least one institution to see if they have secret secondary jobs. The universities of Sydney, New South Wales, Monash and Queensland have all engaged former journalist and government adviser John Garnaut through consultancy firm McGrathNicol in a move designed to reassure the federal government they are taking the issue seriously. McGrathNicol senior risk adviser John Garnaut (far left) speaks at a panel with his former boss Malcolm Turnbull (right). Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Mr Garnauts appointment follows the introduction of the Foreign Influence Transparency Register, which requires people acting for overseas governments to declare their activities, and the refusal of several academic funding grants by the Education Minister last year on security grounds. There have been growing fears in the West, including Australia, that the Chinese government is using academic talent programs to acquire intellectual property that can be put to military use. Belarusian opposition leader and ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has said that efforts are underway to arrange meetings with United States President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "We are in touch with Washington. The biggest obstacle to a planned meeting is Covid, which has forced us to make some adjustments. A lot of international trips are either being cancelled or postponed due to Covid restrictions. We also keep in touch with Ambassador Julie Fisher. She is telling us how things are getting on," Tikhanovskaya said during a livestream on her YouTube channel on Friday. The politician also fielded a question about a potential meeting with Zelensky. "Such a meeting is under discussion. We're making every effort for this meeting to take place," Tikhanovskaya said. NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is just two days away from making humankinds first controlled flight on another planet. The nearly 1.8 kg robotic helicopter arrived on Mars tucked in the belly of Perseverance Mars rover on February 18. As defined by NASA itself, the Marscopter is different from the helicopters on earth and is just a technological demonstration to see it could fly on Mars. As per the details provided by the space agency, Ingenuity would take off from Jezero Crater on Sunday, April 12 at 12pm local Mars Solar Time. The 'Marscopter' would rise to a height of 10 feet above the surface, hover there for about 30 seconds before coming down. Mission Control specialists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are expecting to receive the first data at around 4:15 am EDT. The whole episode of receiving data from the Red planet would be broadcasted LIVE on NASA TV. While Ingenuity carries no science instruments, the little helicopter is already making its presence felt across the world, as future leaders follow its progress toward an unprecedented first flight, said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters. We do tech demos like this to push the envelope of our experience and provide something on which the next missions and the next generation can build. Just as Ingenuity was inspired by the Wright brothers, future explorers will take off using both the data and inspiration from this mission. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle With just a little bit of swing, the #MarsHelicopter has moved its blades & spun to 50 rpm in preparation for first flight! Takeoff is slated for April 11, with confirmation expected overnight into April 12 for us Earthlings. https://t.co/TNCdXWcKWE pic.twitter.com/EpDZymjP13 NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) April 9, 2021 Watch it here How to watch this weekends historic test of the #MarsHelicopter: Test flight is scheduled for April 11, with live stream to confirm results on April 12, 12:30 a.m. PT/3:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. UTC. Tune in: https://t.co/hZPbIvxMsi Read more: https://t.co/lK2JvMHrhB pic.twitter.com/Q6xd4wj2BA NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) April 9, 2021 All about NASAs Ingenuity Even though it can be called a helicopter, the appearance is closer to that of mini-drones. The small but mighty passenger aboard Perseverance is named, Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter which weighs about 1.8 kilograms on Earth and has a fuselage about the size of a tissue box. The United States space agency also elaborated that it started out six years ago as an implausible prospect. Ingenuity is an experimental flight test: NASA has stressed that the Mars Helicopter or what known as a technology demonstration is also a narrowly focused project that seeks to test a new capability for the first time. It also informed that the helicopter is currently not carrying any science instruments and is not a part of Perseverances science mission. Image Credits: @NASA Non-state vaccines get nod BANGKOK: Private hospitals can buy 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to the governments purchases, to help create herd immunity amid rising numbers of new infections, a senior spokesman said on Friday (Apr 9). Saturday 10 April 2021, 09:42AM Photo: NNT Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as head of the CCSA, had approved the move, reports the Bangkok Post. He was responding to claims that the government was monopolising vaccine imports and preventing private firms from buying and selling shots. Private hospitals could procure a total of 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, enough to inoculate 5 million people, he said. The decision was made at a meeting between the prime minister and senior officials of the Public Health Ministry, the Department of Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), the National Vaccine Institute (NVI), and representatives of private hospitals and the Private Hospital Association (PHA) at Government House yesterday. The meeting acknowledged that the government was buying 70 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, enough for 35 million people. To achieve herd immunity, however, at least 40 million people must be vaccinated, Dr Taweesilp said, citing information from the Public Health Ministry. Representatives of private hospitals confirmed they were able to buy the 10 million doses needed for the other 5 million people. The prime minister agreed to let private hospitals meet the demand, Dr Taweesilp said. Representatives of private hospitals told the meeting that vaccine producers needed letters of intent from the Thai government to allow them to supply vaccines to private hospitals. Another option is for the GPO to procure doses and resell some of them to private hospitals. The prime minister approved all the requests, the spokesman said. Gen Prayut appointed Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, adviser to the CCSA, to head a committee for the private purchase of vaccines. The committee will work with the GPO, the FDA, the NVI and the PHA, to come up with details of the procurement plan and submit it to the prime minister within one month. Private procurement would target vaccines from producers other than the manufacturers the government had already registered, for the sake of diversification and risk distribution, Dr Taweesilp said. The prime minister also agreed with private hospitals requests for larger allocations of existing vaccines from the Public Health Ministry, because demand was increasing due to rising numbers of COVID-19 patients receiving treatment at private hospitals. The PM also instructed the Public Health Ministry to expedite the vaccination of people following the new infection cluster linked to pubs and bars in the Thong Lor area, the spokesman said. Currently, health officials are vaccinating about 10,000 people daily, except in Phuket where about 14,000 people are being inoculated per day, Dr Taweesilp said. Speaking after the meeting, Gen Prayut said a plan was discussed to allow private hospitals to import more vaccines, on top of state purchases. The planned procurement would be for emergency purposes, he said. The prime minister said he was glad that many private hospitals asked to procure vaccines to support the governments inoculation programme. He said the government has never prohibited them from doing so. Some 350,000 doses have already arrived and 1.5 million more will be delivered to Thailand this month, the prime minister said. However, Gen Prayut said it remains to be seen as to whether manufacturers in foreign countries will be willing to sell vaccines to Thailand because there has been an overwhelming global demand for COVID-19 vaccines as nations around the world race to acquire doses. He insisted that Thailand was not slow in procuring vaccines. Chalerm Harnpanich, president of the PHA, said that private hospitals agreed that the FDA should register more COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, Gen Prayut said reopening the country to foreign tourists may be delayed if the situation does not improve. He said the plan did not mean the country would be fully reopened at once, adding it is important to consider whether neighbouring countries would also reopen. He also stressed the need for economic recovery and distributing vaccines to provinces that are home to top tourist spots. Advertisement Borne by a Land Rover and in the presence of his family and representatives of the military establishment that was so close to his heart, Philip's body will be taken to the steps of St George's Chapel, Windsor. Based on details released by Buckingham Palace yesterday, this is how his funeral service will then take place next Saturday afternoon. Based on details released by Buckingham Palace yesterday, this is how his funeral service will then take place next Saturday afternoon Details about the order of service have not been released but the Mail on Sunday has compiled this based on the one used for the Queen Mother 1 The coffin, covered with Philip's personal standard and a wreath of flowers, is borne by 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards from Windsor Castle's private chapel. 2 2.40pm. It reaches the castle state entrance. Accompanying the coffin will be the Dean of Windsor and the Lord Chamberlain. Those gathered in the quadrangle 'pay compliments'. Royal Marines place the coffin on a Land Rover. The procession sets off, led by Band of the Grenadier Guards, followed by the Major General's Party and the Service Chiefs. 3 The route is lined by representatives of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the RAF. Minute guns are fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn. The Curfew Tower bell tolls. 4 2.53pm. The procession reaches St George's Chapel West Steps. A Guard of Honour and Band from The Rifles receives the coffin at the foot of the steps. The National Anthem is played as the coffin enters Horseshoe Cloister. A bearing party of Royal Marines carries the coffin up the steps. 3pm. Pause for a minute's silence. The Archbishop of Canterbury and Dean of Windsor receive the coffin. Only members of the Royal Family and Philip's private secretary, Archie Miller-Bakewell, enter the chapel. The Service begins with the coffin carried to the catafalque in the Quire. Albert Memorial Chapel Philip's body is believed to have been moved here. The chapel was created by Queen Victoria in honour of her husband, Albert, in 1875. Portraits of the couple's nine children were included among decorations of gilding, marble, mosaics, precious stones and coloured glass. King George VI Memorial Chapel It is widely believed the Queen wishes to be buried alongside Philip here. The bodies of her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, as well as the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret, are interred here. Left, Philip's body is believed to have been moved here, to the Albert Memorial Chapel. Right, the King George VI Memorial Chapel - It is widely believed the Queen wishes to be buried alongside Philip here Prince Philip's Standard knits together his rich lineage and personal history. The flag is quartered into Denmark, Greece, Mountbatten and Edinburgh His personal standard Prince Philip's Standard knits together his rich lineage and personal history. The flag is quartered into Denmark, Greece, Mountbatten and Edinburgh representing the two royal families he descends from, as well as his surname and title. Born into the Greek and Danish royal families, he renounced his right to either throne when he became a British subject before his marriage to Princess Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey in 1947. Denmark is represented on the standard by three blue lions passant and nine red hearts on a yellow field, while Greece consists of a white cross on a blue field. Before his wedding, he adopted his mother's surname of Mountbatten, represented by five vertical stripes. After his marriage, he was designated a Royal highness and became the Duke of Edinburgh. The city is represented by a three-towered castle. Buried in his Naval finery Philip is expected to be buried in his ceremonial naval uniform. Traditionally, this includes a ceremonial day coat with aiguillettes long strands of weaved gilt thread worn on the right shoulder, the Royal Cypher and Sleeve Lace Distinction Marks of Rank consisting of rows of gold lace with a circle (or 'curl'); gold-laced trousers; white, long-sleeved shirt; black socks; black shoes; white gloves. His coffin will be draped with his personal standard, and decorated with a wreath of flowers and his naval cap and sword. Philip (pictured left on his honeymoon in Malta in 1947 and right at Sandhurst in 2006), is expected to be buried in his ceremonial naval uniform. 'Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor': Prince Philip is granted wish to be taken to funeral in 'specially modified' vehicle as nations prepares for a Royal goodbye like no other By Ian Gallagher for the Mail on Sunday In typically insouciant fashion, Prince Philip often remarked to the Queen when discussing his funeral: 'Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor.' Now it transpires that his wish will come true. Buckingham Palace yesterday announced that a 'specially modified' Land Rover, which the Duke himself helped design, will carry his coffin on its final journey on Saturday. In a Royal funeral like no other, the eight-minute procession will begin at the state entrance of Windsor Castle, ending at nearby St George's Chapel. Once there at 3pm there will be a national minute's silence heralding the start of a no-frills service attended by just 30 members of the Royal Family. The Duke had always insisted that he wanted minimal fuss but he was, nevertheless, a traditionalist and some may find his choice of hearse surprising. Aides are confident, however, that his playful final act will find favour with a nation that has long celebrated his occasional irreverence. Buckingham Palace yesterday announced that a 'specially modified' Land Rover, which the Duke himself helped design, will carry his coffin on its final journey on Saturday (Picture of the type of vehicle it could be) The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession to St George's Chapel, followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, reflecting His Royal Highness's close relationship with the military In 1948, King George VI, the Queen's father, was presented with the 100th vehicle off the first Land Rover production line and the Royal Family has had a love affair with them ever since. Such has been the Duke's close association that Jeremy Clarkson once dubbed the Land Rover 'an automotive Prince Philip'. Two years ago, the Prince had a remarkable escape after his Land Rover collided with another car near Sandringham House. Buckingham Palace confirmed yesterday that Philip will have a Royal ceremonial funeral similar to that of the Queen Mother in 2002. A period of national mourning, which began on Friday, will continue until Saturday. The funeral plans were approved by the Queen who, along with the rest of her family will wear a face mask at the service. The congregation will observe social-distancing rules for the service, which will be televised live. In a Royal funeral like no other, the eight-minute procession will begin at the state entrance of Windsor Castle, ending at nearby St George's Chapel Former MI5 chief in charge of 'Operation Forth Bridge' Lord Parker of Minsmere, who became Lord Chamberlain of the Household after previously serving as Director-General of MI5, is just ten days into his new job, but will play a key role in Operation Forth Bridge A former spymaster will be responsible for overseeing the Duke of Edinburghs funeral planning. Lord Parker of Minsmere, who became Lord Chamberlain of the Household after previously serving as Director-General of MI5, is just ten days into his new job, but will play a key role in Operation Forth Bridge the codename for the Dukes funeral plan. Once described as the safest pair of hands in Britain, he guided MI5 through a series of Islamist attacks in 2017 and the Salisbury poisonings in 2018. He hosted the Queens first visit to MI5s headquarters in London last February. While the Lord Chamberlain will remain in overall control, it is the Lord Chamberlains Office headed by its Comptroller, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon which will deal with the practicalities. A former Extra Equerry to the Queen, Col Vernon previously served in the Coldstream Guards. The Office draws up funeral plans years in advance and is expected to be working round the clock over the next week. Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, the Master of the Queens Household and one of 22 loyal staff who formed HMS Bubble around the Queen and the Duke during the pandemic, will also play a key role as will Sir Edward Young, the Queens private secretary, who will be the bridge between the Monarch and the Government. Advertisement The Land Rover bearing the Duke's coffin draped in his personal standard, a wreath of flowers and his naval cap and sword will be followed by the Prince of Wales and other senior Royals on foot. The Queen has decided that the Royal Family will enter two weeks of mourning and mourning bands will be worn by its members. The entire funeral will take place within the grounds of Windsor Castle. Public elements of Operation Forth Bridge the codename for the Duke's funeral plans were abandoned for fear of drawing crowds, including long-held arrangements for military processions through London and Windsor. A Palace spokesman said: 'This event will be much reduced in scale with no public access. In line with Government guidelines and public health measures, there will be no public processions and the Duke's funeral will take place entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle. 'The plans have been given final approval by the Queen and reflect appropriately Government advice. Despite these necessary changes, they still very much reflect the personal wishes of the Duke. 'Although the ceremonial arrangements are reduced, the occasion will still celebrate and recognise the Duke's life and his more than 70 years of service to the Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth.' On Saturday, the Duke's coffin, accompanied by the Dean of Windsor and the Lord Chamberlain, will be moved from the Queen's private chapel of worship to the State Entrance of Windsor Castle by a Bearer Party of The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. On the grass in the Castle's Quadrangle will be representative detachments drawn from Philip's military special relationships, including the Household Cavalry and The Foot Guards. The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession to St George's Chapel, followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, reflecting His Royal Highness's close relationship with the military. Minute guns will be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle for the duration of the procession, and the Curfew Tower Bell will toll. The Duke, who died peacefully last Friday, is believed to have requested his favourite seafarers' hymn, For Those In Peril On The Sea. At the end of the service a Psalm and the 'ashes to ashes' text will be read as a piper plays a lament. The coffin will lie in the Royal Vault until the Queen dies. She wishes to be buried beside him, her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and sister, Princess Margaret, in the tiny adjacent George VI Memorial Chapel. On her death, Philip's coffin will be interred alongside her there. St George's Chapel is the resting place of ten monarchs. Steeped in history, the 15th Century gothic church, set in the Lower Ward of the Queen's favourite residence, has seen many Royal funerals and weddings. They include the marriage of the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, in May 2018 and the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. As well as the scene of Royal celebrations, it has also been a place of sadness for the Windsors. The funeral of Princess Margaret took place there in 2002, as did the private committal service for the Queen Mother the same year. It was meant to be so much grander: How pandemic means Prince Philip's send-off will be even more low-key with the expected guest list of 800 people reduced to 30 By Caroline Graham for the Mail on Sunday Prince Philip had requested a no-fuss funeral with an aide once reportedly saying he did not see himself as important enough to lie in state. According to protocol, as the Queens consort, the Duke will still be honoured with a ceremonial Royal funeral, as the Queen Mother was given in 2002 and Princess Diana in 1997. But the pandemic means the send-off will be even more low-key with the expected guest list of 800 people reduced to 30 close family and friends. The original plans were drawn up years ago under the code name Operation Forth Bridge. His coffin should have been transported from St Georges Chapel in Windsor to the Chapel Royal at St Jamess Palace in London. There, the Royal Family and Household would have been able to pay their respects. A book of condolence would also have been opened at Buckingham Palace and other Royal locations. The day before the funeral, his coffin surmounted by his Naval sword, cap, personal standard and a wreath of flowers would have been moved from the Chapel Royal to the Queens Chapel within St Jamess Palace. The Prince of Wales and members of the Duke of Edinburghs household would have been present. At 12.15pm on the day of the funeral, eight days after the death, Prince Philip would have begun his final journey out of London. The coffin would have been moved to Wellington Arch on a gun carriage and transferred to a Royal Navy Land Rover. At 12.45pm, the procession would have departed the capital for Windsor by road, where it was scheduled to have driven through the Berkshire town before arrival at the castle. The procession would have been accompanied by the Royal Naval Pipers and the Duke of Edinburgh Rifles. Plans to have a mixed age choir of 12 men and up to 23 boys have also had to be abandoned. The occupancy inside St Georges Chapel is 1,000 and the guest list was due to include representatives from foreign royal families, Great offices of State, Parliament, the Diplomatic Corp, the Civil and Diplomatic Service, charities the Duke was involved with and his Household staff. The plans took years to arrange and the Duke was understood to have been wryly amused that many of those involved ended up dying before him. Yahoo Life is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. If you wrote the life story of Jamie Kern Lima for a fictional character in a novel, it might seem, well, unbelievable. Such is the nature of her stratospheric rise and indefatigable ambition. To start, she won the Miss Washington USA pageant in 1999 and went on to compete for the sash in the 2000 Miss USA pageant. She'd eventually win herself a guest spot on Baywatch and emerge as the lone female survivor on the first season of Big Brother. But the world was soon to know just how much brain was behind all that beauty. In 2008, she founded IT Cosmetics and would eventually notch more than 1,000 appearances on QVC, which not only moved a lot of product but demonstrated Kern Lima's inimitable ability to connect with people. In 2016 IT was sold to L'Oreal for $1.2 billion and Kern Lima became the first female officer of a L'Oreal brand in its history and wound up on Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women. Along with that success has come another few careers as a philanthropist, inspirational speaker and New York Times bestselling author. So, yeah, she's got some stuff going on. But she wasn't too busy to chat with us about some of the things that have kept life under COVID vibrant, spirited, and healthy. Who couldn't use a little inspiration during a pandemic...or anytime? (Photo: Amazon) Not surprisingly, getting your inspirational memoir written and published (this February) was the highlight of Kern Lima's pandemic experience. "I share the story of going from Denny's waitress to billion-dollar entrepreneur," she says. With IT, she explains, "I wanted to move the industry forward by using all different kinds of people, calling them beautiful and meaning it; to shift culture around the definition of beauty." She met with a lot of rejection in the company's early days. Looking back, she says, "I think sometimes those painful nos were a kind of serendipitous grace." Story continues Quarantine is no excuse not to put your best face forward. (Photo: Sephora) Just because you're somewhat socially isolated these days doesn't mean you should forgo foundation. "CC Cream is life-changing," says Kern Lima. "It's this one step that can be your skin care, your full coverage, your SPF 50." Available in twelve shades, it is, as she puts it, "definitely a quarantine skin saver." Don't wallow in despair...get covered in prayer! (Photo: Barefoot Dreams) "Sometimes in the middle of quarantine, we just need a hug," Kern Lima says. Ain't it the truth? Enter the folks at Barefoot Dreams, whose super-plush Covered in Prayer blankie comes in four color schemes, each bearing an inspirational message. "I spent the past two years writing my book," Kern Lima recalls. "I'd be just sobbing my eyes out, and it was either I'm going to binge-eat Lucky Charms or wrap myself up in this blanket, because it literally feels like a hug." Sounds like she made the right choice. A whole 'nother kind of "wrist watch." (Photo: Valencia Key) Nothing like keeping a message of inspiration and perseverance close at hand (as it were). "Every day, literally, I do not take this thing off," says Kern Lima of Valencia's Gold Tone bracelet. She's such a believer that she decided to double her daily dose of encouragement. "I have a couple now...I just think we all need reminders of who we are and where we're going." What's behind the mask, you ask? Sheer relaxation, that's what. (Photo: Plant Juice Oils) Who hasn't experienced an uptick in their stress levels this past year? Well, Kern Lima has found a way to make the best of a masked situation with the essential oils in Plant Juice's mask spray. There are five adult varieties (and two for kids!), but Kern Lima's fave is Relax. "This is a game changer," she gushes. "It's amazing you do a couple of sprays right inside your mask...if you're all stressed out." Get yourself some soothing victory over the agony of de feet. (Photo: Footnanny) "Let's talk about quarantine feet," says Kern Lima. Do we have to? Yeah, we have to, cuz padding around all day in our dry-heated or air-conditioned homes can put a beating on our tootsies, leaving them parched, cracked, and generally cranky. Footnanny lives up to its name; this package includes not just its stellar hydrating cream but a buffer and two ankle socks for a loving post-treatment swaddle. As Kern Lima puts it: "It's a whole pedicure in a box. I love the Eucalyptus cream in particular...definitely a quarantine must-have." Read More from Yahoo Life: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Life's newsletter. Dr. Zahi Hawass talks to media in a 3,000-year-old lost city in Luxor province, Egypt, on April 10, 2021. (Mohamed Elshahed/AP Photo) Famed Egyptian Archaeologist Reveals Details of Ancient City CAIROEgypts best-known archaeologist on Saturday revealed further details on a Pharaonic city recently found in the southern province of Luxor. Zahi Hawass said that archaeologists found brick houses, artifacts, and tools from pharaonic times at the site of the 3,000-year-old lost city. It dates back to Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty, whose reign is considered a golden era for ancient Egypt. This is really a large city that was lost. The inscription that found inside here says that this city was called: The dazzling Aten, Hawass told reporters at the site. Archeologists started excavating in the area last year, searching for the mortuary temple of boy King Tutankhamun. However, within weeks they found mud-brick formations that eventually turned out to be a well-preserved large city. City walls and even rooms filled with ovens, storage pottery, and utensils used in daily life are said to be present. Archeologists also found human remains that were visible to reporters and visitors on Saturday. We found three major districts, one for administration, one for the workmen to sleep, one for the industry, and (an) area for dried meat, said Hawass, who spoke to reporters at the site while wearing his iconic Indiana Jones hat. He said he believes that the city was the most important discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun was unearthed in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor nearly fully intact in 1922. Hawass also rejected the notion that the citys remains had already been discovered previously, as has been suggested in posts circulating on social media. Its impossible that I discover something that was previously discovered, he said. Paola Cartagena, a graduate student of Egyptology at the University of Manchester, said the discovery was of great importance. Settlement archaeology is extremely valuable for learning true historical facts and broaden our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians lived, she wrote on Twitter. The newly unearthed city is located between the temple of King Rameses III and the colossi of Amenhotep III on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. The city continued to be used by Amenhotep IIIs grandson Tutankhamun, and then his successor King Ay. Some mud bricks bear the seal of King Amenhotep IIIs cartouche, or name insignia. Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1391 B.C. and 1353 B.C., built the main portions of the Luxor and Karnak temples in the ancient town of Thebes. Egypt has sought publicity for its archaeological discoveries in the hopes of reviving its tourism sector, which was badly hit by the turmoil following the 2011 uprising, and now the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came a few days after Egypt moved 22 of its prized royal mummies in a gala parade to their new resting placethe newly opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. By Samy Magdy The La Soufriere volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent flared up for a second time Friday, according to the nation's National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO). The second explosive emission was smaller than the initial one, which transpired earlier on the same day. La Soufriere Volcano's 2nd Eruption The St. Vincent volcano on Friday erupted for the first time in 42 years. It sent over a two-mile-high cloud of ash billowing above the Caribbean island mere hours after nearby communities were ordered to evacuate. According to officials, low visibility caused by volcanic debris was hindering the effort to transport numerous residents to safety. Since December last year, an unusual and gloopy mass of lava had been emanating from the top of La Soufriere. This eruption posed no real threat to the around 110,000 citizens living on the island. However, events took a turn for the worse at the end of March. The volcano started shaking in a way that suggested a semblance of violence was coming, reported The National Geographic. The second strong emission transpired on the afternoon of April 9, around 2:45 P.M. This is reportedly similar in size to the one that happened in the morning. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington recorded an explosion reaching 20,000-ft (7 km) altitude and moving SE. Photos taken from the island confirmed that a tall ash column was rising at least 4-km, as stated by estimates from the volcano observatory, reported Volcano Discovery. The NEMO confirmed on Twitter that the volcano, standing at 4,049-foot, had erupted on Friday. It cautioned residents to flee the surrounding areas. Mount Etna Spews Ash Cloud Unto the Sky After Eruptions Photos posted on social media displayed towering plumes of volcanic and gas matter billowing into the sky, hovering over the volcano. Heavy ashfall was reported in the nearby areas, reported The Guardian. Numerous flights were canceled. Islands including St. Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada geared up for light ashfall as the volcano continued to rumble. According to Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center, more explosions could transpire. He added it was impossible to predict whether they could be larger or smaller than the initial or second one. The second eruption occurred six hours following the explosion earlier in the day. This shot a plume of ash over 6 miles into the sky raining down on the island in the eastern Caribbean. Witnesses reported a third eruption shortly after. However, the center stated it was just ongoing pulses from the second eruption. According to Dora James, director-general of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross, there have been no reports of property damage or injuries so far. She added scientists and several residents did not evacuate and remained in the area. Satellite photographs posted on social media displayed a thick column rising from the volcano. It began exploding at 8:41 A.M. Plumes of smoke, and brown ash drifted higher as they moved northeast. Plumes reached at least 38,500 feet into the atmosphere. This is near the altitude at which numerous commercial aircraft fly. Seafloor Sensors Detect Eruption of Underwater Volcano @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. PETERBOROUGH, ON, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19, on their families, their livelihoods and their way of life. Together, Canada and Ontario are working to reduce the impact of the pandemic, ensure health and safety, rebuild businesses, and promote job creation, growth and investment. Today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, and Member of Parliament for PeterboroughKawartha, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; Dave Smith, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Indigenous Affairs, and Member of Provincial Parliament for PeterboroughKawartha, on behalf of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure; David Piccini, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, and Member of Provincial Parliament for Northumberland-Peterborough South; and Steve Kylie and John Martyn, Board Chair and Vice Chair, from The Mount Community Centre, announced joint funding for four community and recreational infrastructure projects in Peterborough County. The Government of Canada is investing more than $3.3 million toward these projects, with the Government of Ontario providing over $2.8 million through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The recipients are responsible for the remainder of funding, with contributions of more than $2.2 million combined toward their respective projects. In the City of Peterborough, joint funding will support the renovation of the Mount Community Centre to improve accessibility and operations. Interior work includes upgrading washrooms and installing an elevator to allow clients to move around the facility with greater ease. Exterior renovations include measures to improve storm water management, replacement of sanitary lines, and the addition of new accessible parking spaces. This project will enable Peterborough residents and visitors to access the community centre more easily, providing a more enjoyable user experience. Other projects announced today will support upgrades and expansions to community and activity centres in two Peterborough County communities, creating modern, inclusive spaces for recreational events and programming. Additional funding will also support the improvement of a multi-use trail system to prevent erosion, providing a safer and more accessible experience for motorised and non-motorised trail users. All orders of government continue to work together for the people of Ontario to make strategic infrastructure investments in communities across the province when they are needed most. Quotes "Recreation and community spaces are essential to creating supportive and welcoming communities where people want to live, work and raise a family. Improvements to the community centres announced today for Peterborough City and County will provide residents with greater opportunities to engage with one another, be more active, and enjoy events and activities safely. Canada's infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country, and builds cleaner, more inclusive communities." The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, and Member of Parliament for PeterboroughKawartha, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities "Today's announcement is an important investment into the future of Peterborough-Kawartha, not just for the city but throughout the county as well. These infrastructure upgrades for recreation and community facilitates will help provide accessible housing in the City of Peterborough and enhance community engagement in Trent Lakes and Havelock-Belmont-Methuen for years to come. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our federal and municipal partners for their collaboration and recognition of the importance of these investments." Dave Smith, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Indigenous Affairs, and Member of Provincial Parliament for PeterboroughKawartha, on behalf of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure "The expansion to the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre will not only benefit residents of the Township, but the six other local municipalities that currently utilize the centre. This investment will help the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre expand its building to offer more services and provide improved access to recreational activities. This expansion will better meet the recreational and social needs of residents and the surrounding communities. I would like to thank Mayor Bonneau, representatives from the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre and our federal partners for their contributions to this joint infrastructure project." David Piccini, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Member of Provincial Parliament for Northumberland-Peterborough South "The Mount Community Centre is thrilled to receive this funding through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. We extend our gratitude to the Federal and Provincial Governments for making these investments in the future of our local community hub. Over the next many years all these improvements will enhance the experiences of hundreds of people who live, work and visit The Mount Community Centre." Steve Kylie, Board Chair, The Mount Community Centre Quick facts Under the Investing in Canada plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities. plan, the federal government is investing more than over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and rural and northern communities. Across Ontario , the Government of Canada has invested more than $8.3 billion in over 2,865 infrastructure projects. , the Government of has invested more than in over 2,865 infrastructure projects. Over the next 10 years, the Government of Ontario is investing approximately $320 million across the province, and the federal government is investing approximately $407 million in Ontario under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (e.g. community centres, libraries), recreational venues (e.g. arenas, recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (e.g. theatres, museums). is investing approximately across the province, and the federal government is investing approximately in under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (e.g. community centres, libraries), recreational venues (e.g. arenas, recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (e.g. theatres, museums). Ontario is investing over $10.2 billion under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green; and rural and northern community and other priority infrastructure. Related product Backgrounder Canada and Ontario invest in improved recreation infrastructure in Peterborough City and County Joint federal, provincial, and recipient funding through the Investing in Canada plan will support four community and recreational infrastructure projects in Peterborough County. The Government of Canada is investing more than $3.3 million toward these projects, with the Government of Ontario providing over $2.8 million through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The recipients are responsible for the remainder of funding, with contributions of more than $2.2 million combined toward their respective projects. Project Information: Project title Recipient Location Project Details Federal Funding Provincial Funding Recipient/ Other Funding Community Centre Expansion Project Township of Asphodel-Norwood Asphodel-Norwood The project will construct a 3,500 square foot expansion to the community centre. The expansion will include a studio space, fitness area and accessible change rooms and showers. The expansion will better meet the recreational and social needs of residents and the surrounding communities. $465,600 $387,961 $310,439 Enhancing Accessibility and Safety at the Mount Community Centre The Mount Community Centre Peterborough The project will upgrade the community centre by installing an elevator and upgrading washrooms to improve accessibility. Other work will include replacing sanitary lines, upgrading storm water management and creating additional parking spaces. The project will allow more community residents to access recreational activities. $846,285 $705,167 $564,261 Havelock - Belmont - Methuen Community Centre Improvements Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Havelock-Belmont-Methuen The project involves multiple upgrades, including the installation of an elevator and other access improvements. In addition, the roof system will be replaced, the refrigeration system improved, the basement area will be repurposed to create new space for recreational events and programming, and the fire alarm and suppression systems will be replaced. The project will support the continued delivery of recreational services and programming to the community. $2,030,900 $1,692,247 $1,354,103 Replacement of Existing Culvert on Trail E108 with New Engineered Steel Bridge Central Eastern Area Snowmobile Region Association Galway-Cavendish and Harvey The project will replace a deteriorated, 4' diameter culvert with a new 30' clear span steel bridge that includes bearing pads and buttress improvements. Work will improve water flow, and stabilize the existing trail bed and river banks from erosion. $37,393 $31,157 $24,931 Associated links Federal infrastructure investments in Ontario https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-on-eng.html Investing in Canada Plan Project Map http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html Ontario Builds Project Map: https://www.ontario.ca/page/building-ontario Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Web: Infrastructure Canada SOURCE Infrastructure Canada For further information: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-941-0660, [email protected]; Christine Bujold, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure, 416-454-1782, [email protected]; Sofia Sousa-Dias, Communications Branch, Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure, 437-991-3391, [email protected]; Steve Kyle, Board Chair, The Mount Community Centre, 705-748-6521 ext. 14, [email protected]; Media Relations: Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, Email: [email protected] Related Links www.infrastructure.gc.ca Imperial Valley News Center Three Men Indicted for $30 Million Foreign Exchange Fraud Scheme Miami, Florida - A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment Thursday charging two U.S. citizens and a Dutch national with conducting a foreign exchange trading scheme to steal $30 million from their investor victims. According to court documents, Patrick Gallagher, 44, of Middleborough, Massachusetts, Michael Dion, 49, of Orlando, Florida, and Emade Echadi, 41, a resident of the Netherlands, allegedly devised a scheme in which Dion and Gallagher would solicit victims to invest in their foreign exchange company, Global Forex Management, by promising them large returns based on fabricated prior trading results. The defendants allegedly told the victims that their funds would be traded using an online trading platform provided by Echadis company, IB Capital. However, according to the indictment, Gallagher, Dion, and Echadi instead were working together to steal the victim investors money. In May 2012, they allegedly executed their scheme by intentionally creating losing trades for the investors and stole $30 million from their victims. After fabricating the massive trading loss, the defendants allegedly concealed the scheme from victims by creating fraudulent trading records and then routed the stolen money through shell companies they had set up all over the world. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and 20 years in prison for each of the other charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, and Inspector in Charge Delany E. De Leon-Colon of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Trial Attorneys Brittain Shaw and Vasanth Sridharan of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. South Carolina has a teacher shortage that forced schools to rely on substitutes and international teachers even before COVID-19 sent them scrambling for extra teachers for now-smaller classrooms. We cant attract enough correctional officers to keep our prisons fully staffed, or enough social workers to keep an eye on the children and vulnerable adults we know are at risk. And the list goes on, in numerous unglamorous but essential jobs, because, as the market demonstrates with those shortages, we dont pay enough or offer attractive enough work environments to persuade qualified people to take the jobs. Yet while legislators make little adjustments that are mildly helpful but insufficient to address these actual problems, their main interest remains making the easiest-to-fill jobs even more attractive. On Wednesday, the House rushed through a bill to raise the pay for the now-appointed adjutant general as well as the attorney general, education superintendent, treasurer, secretary of state and other statewide elected officials whose jobs are established in the state constitution. (The sponsors, Ways and Means Chairman Murrell Smith and Judiciary Chairman Chris Murphy, wanted to raise the salary for the governor and lieutenant governor as well, but Gov. Henry McMaster asked them not to.) We don't know yet how much pay will go up, but the move comes two years after the Legislature increased salaries for judges, solicitors and public defenders by more than a third, raising the average pay from $140,000 to $190,000. Apparently legislators are embarrassed that the salary for our comptroller general is the lowest in the nation, our education superintendent is the third-lowest and the attorney general is fourth lowest. What ought to embarrass them is the pay for those crucial positions we cant fill. Its true that constitutional officers' pay hasnt been increased since 1994. But its also true that all but one of the constitutional officers (like every judge and solicitor) ran for office knowing what the pay was and knowing it was unlikely to increase. And that part about ran for office is key: Candidates had to pay a filing fee and grovel for campaign donations and in other ways subject themselves to the rigors of a political campaign sometimes fending off several challengers who also wanted the job in order to be allowed to take the jobs that our legislators believe are insufficiently compensated. Obviously the officeholders, and the candidates they defeated, dont consider the salary insufficient. Even given all that, we dont object to adjusting constitutional officers salaries more than once every 27 years. It would make sense to give them the same across-the-board pay raises (typically 2% or so) that the Legislature gives most state employees from time to time. 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! What does not make sense is the scheme envisioned by H.3786: to have a special panel determine an appropriate raise every four years based on each state constitutional officer's job duties and responsibilities as well as the pay of other state constitutional officers in other states. Current state law gives the same $92,000 salary to the secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, comptroller general, superintendent of education, agriculture commissioner and adjutant general with a higher salary to the governor and lower to the part-time lieutenant governor. H.3786 would set a separate salary for each officer. Now, it certainly makes sense to pay more to such vital officials as the education superintendent and attorney general than the secretary of state and agriculture commissioner. But any individualized salaries should be based on job performance which is not something an appointed commission should evaluate for elected officials. (We wonder how legislators would like the commission to set individualized salaries for them, based on how well it believes they do their jobs.) More significantly, the idea that what we pay our statewide elected officials should be in any way related to what other states pay is just as ridiculous as the idea that our judges salaries should be related to the pay for judges in other states. The fact is that unlike teachers, prison guards, social workers and just about every other state employee, people who want to be governor or attorney general or treasurer cant just pick up and move to Georgia or North Carolina to get a higher salary, because they dont have the political network to get elected in those states. As with judges, its a buyers market for elected officials. Unless our legislators want to make the argument that weve got a bunch of extra tax money we cant find a good use for or that we cant find any competent candidates to run for statewide elected offices, there is no way to justify raising these salaries by more than the modest cost-of-living increases other state employees sometimes receive. Heres how well know its time to give larger pay raises to constitutional officers: when we have as much competition for open positions as teachers and prison guards as we have for these elected offices. Police and prosecutors in New Orleans are crafting a special agreement to target serial car burglars and carjackers, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said at a community forum Thursday. The joint agreement will lay out the groundwork for investigations of groups that rifle through cars looking for guns or steal firearms outright for use in violent crimes. The District Attorneys Office and New Orleans Police Department are in the middle of writing an agreement outlining the details, Williams said. The initiative comes as crime, despite being down 19% overall this year, is spiking in certain categories like auto thefts, carjackings and shootings. Williams, who dismissed hundreds of charges he described as fat and bloat since taking office Jan. 11, said the agreement will be part of his laser focus on violent crime. The initiative will try to find any connections that exist between people who are breaking into cars or stealing them at gunpoint, Williams said. Its not gangs and its not organized crime, but its more organized than one-off cases, and were going to begin to prosecute those cases the same way you can see them prosecuted in the federal system, Williams said. The agreement won't mean personnel changes at the New Orleans Police Department, according to a spokesman for that agency. Rather, it will involve the preexisting Violent Crime Abatement Investigation Team, which Ferguson created last year amid a larger reshuffling of special units. Under former District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, prosecutors also had a memorandum of understanding with the NOPD's TIGER unit, which was focused on armed robberies and shootings. In a statement Friday, Williams didn't specify what sort of staffing shifts he will make at the District Attorney's Office. "We have been working together on every detail of this plan based on current city crime trends, national data analytics and best practices and community input to put, not just the right number of people, but the right people in this specialized unit," he said. "We are very close to finalizing the details and specific tenets of the initiative and we will be sharing much of this plan with the public in the coming weeks once it is ready for complete implementation." Recent auto crimes have alarmed residents in New Orleans East, where a gunman with an accomplice stole or tried to steal three vehicles at gas stations in 24 hours, and in Bayou St. John, where this week a man reported taking gunfire from thieves who stole his truck on Moss Street. Residents of the latter neighborhood planned to hold a community meeting at the Magnolia Bridge, sometimes known as the Cabrini Bridge, at 5:30 p.m. Friday. New Orleans City Councilman Joe Giarrusso told WWL-TV that he planned to attend. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Despite the worrying incidents, crime across the board is down 18.6% so far this year compared to last, as measured by a New Orleans City Council dashboard of 911 data. Some of the largest drops are in categories that may have been affected by the way the pandemic has changed tourism levels and residents daily lives. Pickpocketing reports are down 95.5% through this point of the year compared to last, for example. However, carjackings are up 64.4%, murders are up 31.6% and auto thefts are up 21.4% compared to this point last year. Those categories began their sharp upticks a few weeks after pandemic restrictions began last March. Vehicle burglaries, in which thieves steal items from inside cars rather than the vehicles themselves, are down 10.2% compared to this point last year. Progressive vote up for grabs? DA Jason Williams endorses Troy Carter in congressional race Troy Carter snagged a key endorsement in the congressional race Thursday when Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams offered his support. Police have previously connected auto thefts and vehicle burglaries to young offenders, many of them juveniles, searching for guns or acquiring cars to use in other crimes. On the campaign trail, Williams said he believes young auto thieves often act under the direction of adults. The initiative focusing on such crimes will involve prosecutors paired with police from the start, Williams said at the Thursday accountability forum hosted by the Peoples DA Coalition, which last fall pressed candidates to adopt progressive positions in the race to replace Cannizzaro. This will be the first time that were working hand-in-hand in building strong cases, rather than just waiting until we get a police report. Thats very different than what youve seen other folks do in the past, he said. Williams spoke at the forum about the different tack he's taking on juvenile crime. So far, Williams said, hes transferred almost all eligible cases from adult court to juvenile court. While Cannizzaro called for stepped up curfew enforcement and tougher penalties for repeat juvenile offenders, Williams emphasized a juvenile diversion program that would accept youths before they are formally charged. He was critical of Cannizzaros approach to juvenile crime when asked about community groups calling for harsher punishments for youths accused of serious crimes. Weve got just a very clear picture of what has not worked, Williams said. The guy who sat at this desk just before me did exactly what some of these groups asked for, and it did nothing for recidivism, it did nothing to reduce crime in this city. Crime kept rising. UK Deliveroos go on strike to demand fair pay Newsflare 90,288 views 2 months ago Deliveroo riders staged a nationwide strike calling for fair pay and better working conditions Wednesday, April 7. In London, hundreds of riders on scooters and bicycles took to the streets. STANTON President Biden recently stopped the Wuhan probe into what caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Why would he do that unless he was trying to cover up the cause? It is widely known that the Bidens profited heavily from their financial dealings in China and elsewhere during Joes vice presi Bollywood's beautiful actress Janhvi Kapoor was in the Maldives recently. However, she has now returned to Mumbai after spending her vacation there. You all must know that the actress has had a lot of fun with her friends in the Maldives. This can be gauged from the photographs of her which she has shared so far. However, the actress is now sharing her pictures on social media even after coming back to Mumbai. You can see the extremely glamorous avatar of the actress in these pictures. In fact, the actress is still sharing her pictures on social media even after returning to Mumbai. She has also shared her bikini pictures on social media in the past. The actress looks extremely glamorous in these pictures. But this style is not being heard by some people and they have started telling Janhvi evasions. There are many people who are calling Janhvi good and some calling her bad. You can see a user commenting on this picture of Jahnvi and wrote that ''Sridevi's name is spoiling'' while one user wrote that "Your good body is mine." Talking about work, the actress was recently seen with Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma in the film 'Ruhi.' Now the actress will soon be seen in several big films like 'Good Luck Jerry,' 'Takht' and 'Dostana 2.' Also Read: Rhea Chakraborty spotted with Saqib Saleem, enjoyed birthday After talking to Katrina Kaif, Virat Kohli became her fan the old video is going viral Ayesha Takia, who was extremely trolled after her surgery In June of 1997, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh decided to make a last-minute trip. In June of 1997, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh decided to make a last-minute trip. Leaving his official duties in Toronto, he travelled to Manitoba to visit with families and Canadian military personnel picking up the pieces left behind by the Flood of the Century in the small town of Ste. Agathe. "He felt this sense of service, with who he was and the position he held, in a time of crisis like this that he should be there to show the support," Don Leitch, former clerk of the Executive Council in Manitoba, recalled Friday. The tours The Duke of Edinburgh made several trips to Manitoba throughout his life, both at the Queens side and on his own: 1951 Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip make their first official visit to Manitoba during a tour of Canada. 1959 After Queen Elizabeths coronation in 1952, she and the Duke of Edinburgh returned to Manitoba as part of a Canadian tour. click to read more The Duke of Edinburgh made several trips to Manitoba throughout his life, both at the Queens side and on his own: 1951 Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip make their first official visit to Manitoba during a tour of Canada. 1959 After Queen Elizabeths coronation in 1952, she and the Duke of Edinburgh returned to Manitoba as part of a Canadian tour. 1967 Prince Philip travelled to Winnipeg on his own to open the Pan American Games. 1970 Celebrating Manitobas 100th year of entering Confederation, Prince Philip joined the Queen and their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne to join the provinces celebration 1978 Prince Philip makes a solo trip to Manitoba, attending several functions, including the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Awards. 1984 Prince Philip presents the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards in Thompson. 1992 Prince Philip visits Churchill. 1997 Prince Philip flies last minute from Toronto to Ste. Agathe to review flood damage and visit with military officials. 2002 The Queen and Prince Philip make a trip to Winnipeg for the Queens Gold Jubilee. 2010 The Queen and Prince Philip make an official visit to Winnipeg. Close The British royal was nevertheless concerned about being "underfoot" during the tour, Leitch said, and was hesitant of any fanfare. "This visit to Ste. Agathe was not meant to be a high-profile royal visit, it was him coming because he felt that sense of duty," Leitch said. "His example of service and commitment and respecting your duty is a great lesson for everybody." On Friday morning, the Royal Family announced the death of 99-year-old Prince Philip. Those who met the Prince on his many trips to the province between 1951 and 2010, remember him as a charming and plainspoken man. "Royal visits to Manitoba have always been successful because Manitobans have always had a great love and affection for all members of the Royal Family," said Dwight MacAulay, former chief of protocol for the government of Manitoba. "I think the people of Manitoba are genuinely saddened by todays news because, over his many visits, hes met and seen thousands and thousands of people and Im sure each person that hes met has a very fond and very special place in their hearts for that meeting." CANADA ROYALS Prince Philip (left) surveys damage in the backyard of a home damaged by flooding of the Red River in 1997. MacAulay organized several of Prince Philips trips to Manitoba, including his final visit, along with the Queen, in 2010. Through those visits, MacAulay recalled the Prince as a man who engaged easily and warmly with veterans and active service members he himself had a long military career as well as with senior citizens and youth he honoured through the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards. The awards, founded by Prince Philip, are designed to challenge and empower young people to take control of their lives and future, according to the organizations website. "When he was here in 2002, and played a role in the opening of the Red River College downtown campus (in Winnipeg), he had the chance to engage with a lot of young people, and you could just tell by his smile, he just lit up talking to young people," MacAulay said Friday. "He was very curious about who they were, where they were from, and what they were hoping to do, and he had a very easy mannerism to engage with young people." Prince Philip in Manitoba On July 23, 1967, Prince Philip attends the opening ceremonies of the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. (Winnipeg Free Press files) - Winnipeg Free Press Tree-shaded Broadway Boulevard was lined 20 deep with cheering crowds on July 15, 1970 as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip drove in an open carriage escorted by horsemen of RCMP Musical Ride to the legislature building for Manitoba Centennial Day Ceremonies. (Peter Bregg / The Canadian Press files) - Canadian Press On July 16, 1970, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive at the Manitoba legislature. (Winnipeg Free Press files) - On July 16, 1970, Princess Anne and Prince Charles flank their parents, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, prior to the royal couples departure from Manitoba. (Dave Johnson / Winnipeg Free Press files) - On June 28, 1997, His Royal Highness Prince Philip (left), The Duke of Edinburgh, surveys damage in the backyard of the home of Elie and Anne Dorge with Liberal MP for Provencher, David Iftody, in Ste. Agathe, Man. The Prince was on a quick a tour of the town that was damaged by flooding of the Red River on April 27. (Reuters files) - Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip react as they watch a demonstration during ceremonies in Winnipeg on Oct. 8, 2002. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files) - CP On July 3, 2010, a member of the RCMP salutes as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive as the first passengers at the new terminal at the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg. (Fred Greenslade / Reuters files) - CNS REUTERS Prince Philip greets a contingent of The Queens Own Cameron Highlanders as Queen Elizabeth II is escorted by prime minister Stephen Harper on the Esplanade Riel during a visit in Winnipeg on July 3, 2010. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files) - CP On July 3, 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, share a smile at the concert in their honour at The Forks. (Janek Lowe / Winnipeg Free Press files) - During one cold October day of that visit, MacAulay was left gripping a broomstick-sized bar on the side of water taxi carrying the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen as their boat stalled in the middle of the Red River. In an event that made national news at the time and brought a chuckle from MacAulay on Friday the Manitoba liaison helped tow the royals boat to safety on the St. Boniface side of the river. Neither of the high-ranking passenger made a complaint about the stalled journey or the biting cold, he said. "I personally will have very fond memories of the royal visits that I was lucky enough to be involved with that involved His Royal Highness," MacAulay said. Edward Schreyer, who served as Manitobas premier (1969-77) and Canadas governor general (1979-84), spent many occasions with the Royal Family in Canada and abroad. In all their visits, he remembered Prince Philip as "very intelligent, feisty, plainspoken, blunt, and, at times, politically incorrect" though Schreyer counted it all a mark of good character for the Prince. "Ive always had a very high regard for him, and quite frankly, I used to look forward to the times I would get to see him," he said Friday. MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon signs a book of condolences for the late Prince Philip at the Manitoba Legislative Building Friday morning Schreyer recalled Prince Philips devotion to the Queen, with whom he had an easy and light-hearted rapport, and his legacy to Manitoba as a man keen on connecting with people across age and class boundaries. Darcie von Axelstierna, chairwoman of the Manitoba branch of the Monarchy Society, considers herself "very fortunate" to have met Prince Philip twice during his Manitoba visits. She remembered him for his poise, humility, and the support he provided to the Queen and to all Canadians. "His unwavering dedication to duty and all the work hes done through the years has been fantastic, and it certainly leaves an empty place for many people," she said. "There are many people who have personal recollections of seeing him. I think he leaves just that sense of devotion to all of us and to the Queen." julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The National Human Rights Commission in Libya has called on the 5+5 Joint Military Commission to speed up the completion of the implementation of the remaining provisions of the ceasefire agreement, the main one being the departure of mercenaries, experts and foreign forces from Libyan territory without exception Alex Kelly gained international infamy as the preppy rapist two decades ago while living an adrenaline-fueled life as a jet-set fugitive in Europe skiing, hang gliding and mountain climbing before surrendering to face rape charges in Connecticut. Today, the ex-convict indulges his love of thrills as a skydiving instructor. The man who spent eight years on the lam, living off money the FBI said came from his wealthy Darien parents, has made a post-prison career out of jumping from planes, often with customers strapped to his body. He recently bought a plane and is preparing to open his own parachuting business in Ellington. His new life has not been without turbulence. He was forced out of a skydiving company that employed him until last year, when a pilot accused Kelly of threatening to beat him up. Other members complained Kelly screamed at them and made lewd sexual comments. Kelly, now 48, declined interview requests for this article. But he did offer a reference who said Kelly is a professional who worked with her children at the skydiving company and has been a role model for her son. He has done everything in his power to turn his life around, said Mindy Machalick, a friend. If ever there was an individual that deserves a positive write-up, it's Alex Kelly. Kelly was a high school wrestling star in Darien in 1986 when he was accused of two rapes. In 1987, as his trial was about to start, he fled to Europe. His father, Joe Kelly, owned a plumbing company and also made money through real estate investments. A 1994 police raid on the family's Darien home produced photographs and letters that showed they were aiding their son. The family did not respond to messages seeking comment. Alex Kelly surrendered in Switzerland in 1995, returning as a staple of tabloids and an example of suburban entitlement. He was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the rape of a 16-year-old girl and later pleaded no contest to raping a 17-year-old girl four days after the first incident. He was released from prison in 2007, with credit for good behavior, and has not been arrested since. In 2008, he began taking classes at Connecticut Parachutists Inc., in Ellington, where he became an instructor. Company officials noticed the monitoring device he was still wearing on his ankle, and Kelly, who is registered as a sex offender, explained his past. The company hired him. We felt he had done the crime and done the time, said Brian Knight, treasurer of the club that runs the company. For ex-convicts like Kelly with access to wealth, New York University law professor Tony Thompson said, it is much easier to build a life after prison compared with those of lesser means. Thompson, who studies re-entry issues, said Kelly's trajectory is particularly unusual given that many states bar people convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude from obtaining certain professional licenses. The crime of rape is pretty high up on the ladder of moral turpitude crimes, he said. In the state of New York, until a few years ago, if you had a felony conviction, you couldn't become a barber. That was not an issue for Kelly, who climbed the ranks and eventually became the club's president and then drop zone manager, the highest paid position, in charge of running the business. He became an expert skydiver with several instructor ratings and a master's license for parachuting. The state and Federal Aviation Administration do not prohibit people with criminal records from operating skydiving schools. Kelly often did tandem jumps with male customers but, given his past, had a self-imposed restriction against jumping with women. He instead served as a videographer on those jumps, company officials said. His identity has come as a shock to some customers. Holly Tanneyhill of Agawam, Massachusetts, said Kelly was funny and engaging when he served as videographer on her jump, but she feels she should have been told he is a convicted rapist. I would never have chosen to go up in an airplane with him, she said. While club officials said Kelly had good business savvy and brought in new customers and members, several officials said in interviews that the relationship soured last year because of what they described as erratic behavior. They said Kelly punched one skydiver who tried to adjust Kelly's rig, and another alleged Kelly grabbed his genitals from behind. The club asked for Kelly's resignation. In the case of the pilot, Kelly was accused of threatening to pull him from the cockpit and pummel him in a disagreement over whether the pilot had authorization to use the club's airplane, according to Labor Department documents obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information request. Lots of people have been to jail; lots of people have done bad things, said Hollie Reno, who helped teach Kelly to skydive and later worked with him as an instructor. Today, if they're different, I evaluate them as they are. But, he has no regard for anyone else. Machalick, Kelly's friend, said the friction with Connecticut Parachutists' board was related to Kelly's management style and his insistence that safety be a top priority. Since parting ways with the club, Kelly has been pursuing his own business. He filed paperwork this spring establishing Freefall Aviation LLC and Para-Lease LLC, listing his parents' home in Darien as the base of operations. FAA records show Kelly also recently bought a Cessna 182 airplane. Officials at Connecticut Parachutists Inc. say he also is trying to buy Ellington Airport, which would give him control over the skydiving club's lease. Larry Durocher, part of the airport's current ownership group, said the airport is for sale with an asking price of $2.9 million and he has been speaking to several potential buyers. Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey shows fast economic growth in March, but gains may not last. Canada adds 303,000 jobs in March Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey shows fast economic growth in March, but gains may not last. Canada adds 303,000 jobs in March Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey shows fast economic growth in March, but gains may not last. Canada adds 303,000 jobs in March Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey shows fast economic growth in March, but gains may not last. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canadas economy grew even closer to pre-pandemic levels in March. Statistics Canada examined labour market conditions during the week of March 14 to 20, just as the third wave of the coronavirus was starting. Public health measures were less restrictive in several provinces. Stay-at-home orders had been lifted for all regions of Ontario, although personal care services, recreation and fitness facilities, and in-person dining remained closed in some areas, such as Toronto. The number of people employed in March was just 1.5 per cent lower than February 2020, the month before the pandemic hit, although unemployment was up about 32 per cent. CANADA EMPLOYMENT Employment gains were seen across the provinces, with the largest increases in Ontario, Alberta, B.C., and Quebec. Many jobs were recovered in hard-hit industries like retail trade, and accommodation and food services. Employment in information, culture and recreation services increased for the first time since September. Find Out if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration Employment up in industries with high amounts of immigrants Immigrants have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, in part because many are employed in industries that have felt the brunt of coronavirus-related closures. However, some of these hard-hit industries started to see a comeback. The retail trade industry, for example, employs some 450,000 immigrants, according to 2016 census data. The losses this industry felt in January were fully recouped in March. There were also 21,000 more people working in accommodation and food services, an increase of more than 2 per cent. This industry employs about 346,000 immigrants. Construction, which employs more than 238,000 immigrants, contributed the most to gains in the goods-producing sector. There was also much growth in immigrant-rich industries like health care and social assistance, which employs about 523,000 immigrants, and educational services where more than 264,000 immigrants work. These gains all contributed to the national employment increase last month. Employment rate for very recent immigrants remains stable Canadas travel restrictions have slashed the number of newcomers to Canada to a record low. In 2020, just 184,000 newcomers became permanent residents. Statistics Canada considers very recent immigrants to be people who have been in Canada for less than five years. Since the numbers of very recent immigrants are lower, and the rate at which their population has fallen is faster than their employment, the employment rate has remained steady for this group. In the three months ending in March, the employment rate for very recent immigrants was about 65 per cent, little changed from the three months ending in February 2020. Canada could lose employment gains in April As Canada enters the middle of the third wave this month, many provinces have implemented public health measures affecting employment. In Ontario, for example, non-essential businesses have been forced to close for the next month. Restrictions have also tightened in Quebec, B.C., and Alberta. The effects of coronavirus-related closures will likely be reflected in the Labour Force Survey for April, which is expected to be published on May 7. Find Out if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. The former Deputy National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahdi Jibril, has called on the Ghana Police Service to arrest the former Central Regional Chairman of the party, Bernard Allotey Jacobs who alleged that some unknown members of the NDC want him dead. According to him, such utterances must not be tolerated hence Police must act immediately by arresting him. His comments come after Allotey Jacobs alleged that some unknown members of the NDC have sent a death squad after him. He said he was alerted by a high-ranking member of the party and believes he would have already been dead if not for his guardian angels timely alert. "I've been calling people in Accra and I want the message to get to Ghanaians that this is what the NDC is planning to do, maybe they have been told by their juju men that my blood can win them elections in 2024. NDC is capable of doing it (killing me), I trust the NDC in some of these thingsI've been around for a long time in Ghanaian politics and I know of a lot of things," Allotey Jacobs said. However, Mahdi Jibril said the Police must invite and question him [Allotey Jacobs] about his unfold allegations against the NDC. "I'm pleading with the Ghana Police Service to arrest Bernard Allotey Jacobs as soon as possible, he cant make those allegations without evidence and go free. He must be called to justify why he made those allegations. "We have no time for Allotey Jacobs because we have a nation to rescue," he said on Accra-based Kingdom FM. Source: pulse.com.gh 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 Thanks for joining us today in our live coverage of the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Philip died at Windsor Castle on Friday at the age of 99, with the Queen reportedly by his side, after being released from hospital several weeks ago. He had been married to the Queen for 73 years. A tribute is projected onto a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London. Credit:AP Tributes have flowed from around the world from heads of state, politicians, celebrities, and members of the royal family, including Philips children Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and his grandson Prince Harry. A 21-gun salute is expected to take place in Canberra, with those wishing to express their condolences able to do so online. Stick with us as our coverage continues. The flag at Parliament House at half-mast following the death of Prince Philip. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen London, April 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Apr, 2021 ) :Prince Philip, the longest serving royal consort in British history who was a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth II's side for decades, died on Friday aged 99, Buckingham Palace announced. The death of the Duke of Edinburgh is a profound loss for the 94-year-old monarch, who once described him as her "strength and stay all these years". The Queen announced his death "with deep sorrow" after he died peacefully in the morning at Windsor Castle, west of London, the palace said in a statement. "The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss," the statement said, triggering an official period of national mourning before his funeral. Flags were lowered to half-mast on public buildings as part of a well-rehearsed protocol that included the pealing of bells, planned gun salutes on Saturday and the recall of parliament on Monday. As a mark of respect, political campaigning for May local elections was suspended. An image of the prince was projected in lights at London's Piccadilly Circus landmark. Philip, an outspoken former navy commander, devoted much of his life as the Queen's husband to charity work. Famed at one point for gaffes, some caused offence but supporters said they were simply ice breakers when meeting people in awkward situations. He was admitted to hospital on February 16, and went home after a month during which he was treated for a pre-existing heart condition and an infection. Announcing his death, BBC television played the national anthem over a picture of Philip in his prime, dressed in military dress uniform. "We give thanks, as a nation and a kingdom, for the extraordinary life and work of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh," Prime Minister Boris Johnson, dressed in mourning black, said outside 10 Downing Street. Johnson said Philip had "earned the affection of generations" at home, in the Commonwealth and across the world after first serving in the Royal Navy and then over nearly eight decades beside the Queen. Tributes poured in from political and faith leaders in Britain, and from the United States, Europe and Commonwealth countries including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Pakistan. Condolences were also expressed by leaders in Ireland, where in 2011 the Queen and Philip paid the first royal state visit for a century following generations of enmity with Britain. Philip is expected to be buried at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, according to the royal College of Arms, at a date to be determined. But restrictions for the coronavirus pandemic have seen the palace urge the public to stay away, although that did not prevent a sea of floral tributes and messages being left at royal residences. Government regulations are being eased from Monday to allow up to 30 people to attend a funeral, ruling out the attendance of foreign dignitaries. Philip's grandson, Prince Harry, is likely to make his first return to Britain since his shock move to the United States last year, British media reported. He and his American wife, Meghan, wrote on the website of their Archewell charitable foundation: "Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed." - Weathering shocks - Before this year's crisis over relations with Harry and Meghan, which saw them accuse the monarchy of racism, the royals had to weather the 1997 death in a car crash of Harry's mother Princess Diana. Tony Blair, who was prime minister at the time, lauded Philip "as a man of foresight, determination and courage" who was ahead of his time in the cause of environmental protection and setting up initiatives for young people. Chris Green, a 57-year-old local government officer, told AFP outside Buckingham Palace: "I came here when the Queen Mother (in 2002) and Diana died so I came here for a quiet thought and to pay my respects. "With his age and his recent health problems it hasn't come as a massive shock, but it is one of those moments we will look back on and say it was a significant event," he said. However, police at the palace and other royal sites discouraged well-wishers from lingering, owing to Britain's Covid restrictions on mass gatherings. Philip retired from public duties in 2017 at the age of 96 and died just before his 100th birthday in June -- a milestone that for Britons is typically marked with a congratulatory message from the queen, who is Britain's longest-serving monarch. - Few public appearances - The couple, who celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in November, had been living largely in isolation at Windsor Castle, because their age put them at heightened risk from Covid-19. Philip and the Queen -- isolated in what they called "HMS Bubble" -- received their first vaccinations against the virus in January. Philip was no stranger to health issues. He was previously fitted with a stent in 2011 after suffering from a blocked artery. He also had a hip operation in 2018 and in January 2019, he emerged unscathed after his vehicle was involved in a traffic accident that injured two people near the monarch's Sandringham estate in eastern England. The prince then spent four nights in hospital in December that year, receiving treatment for what was described as a "pre-existing condition". He was discharged on Christmas Eve 2019, in time to rejoin the rest of the royal family for the festive period. He was last seen at a staged appearance at a military ceremony at Windsor Castle last July, days after attending the wedding ceremony of his granddaughter Princess Beatrice. The Queen had four children with Philip -- heir to the throne Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward -- eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. - Shelved ambitions - Philip was born on the island of Corfu with Danish and Greek royal titles. He fled the country when he was just 18 months old with his parents and four sisters, after his uncle, king Constantine of Greece, was forced to abdicate. The family initially settled in France. Philip was formally introduced to the then Princess Elizabeth, in July 1939 and they kept in touch during the war, meeting on several occasions. The pair married in Westminster Abbey in London in 1947. A rising star in the British navy, Philip had reached the rank of commander by the time Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952. He eventually shelved his personal ambitions to support his wife in the role. Over the ensuing decades he was involved in numerous charities, including the World Wide Fund For Nature and the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme for young people. Shanghai: Chinese regulators have fined Alibaba 18 billion yuan ($3.66 billion) - around 4 per cent of its revenues in 2019 - for violating anti-monopoly rules and abusing its dominant market position. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said that after an investigation launched in December, it had determined that Alibaba Group had been abusing market dominance since 2015 by preventing its merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms. Alibaba founder Jack Ma only recently resurfaced online after months away from the spotlight. Credit:AP It said the practice violates Chinas anti-monopoly law by hindering the free circulation of goods and infringing on the business interests of merchants. The ruling Communist Party is tightening control over Chinas biggest e-commerce and other internet companies and has warned them not to use their industry dominance to stifle competition. Brisbanes bridges and City Hall will be lit in red, white and blue from Saturday night to mark the passing on Friday of Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99. There is an official Queensland government condolence book online here for people who wish to pay their respects to Prince Philip, a naval commander who subsequently accompanied Queen Elizabeth for seven decades after she ascended the throne on February 6, 1952. Brisbanes City Hall will also be lit in red, white and blue, the colours of the British flag. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth received large, receptive crowds when they last visited Brisbane in 2011. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Increasing demand of the automobile part by the car manufacture has led the manufacture to focus more on the automotive switches which is again the key driving factor impacting the overall growth of the product in the market positively. According to the Trends Market Research, the automotive switch market will register growth at the modest CAGR during the forecast period of 2021-2028. Market Dynamics The growth of the Global automobile market is expected to be fuelled by the several macroeconomics and micro economic factor. The growing adoption of the automobile switch system such as rotary, push button, toggle switches and knobs are increasing the demand of the product and significantly boosting the global automobile market. Click Here to Get Sample Premium Report @https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/13476 Incessant innovation in automobile sector are the key factor responsible for the growth of the automobile market. In order to make more reliable and efficient automobile manufacturer are using electronic device to meet the growing requirement of the company. Moreover, the manufacture who deals with the luxury cars are incorporating screen touch panel in their car for different operating system, so again this can hamper the growth of the global automotive switch market. After the prolong usage of the product, the quality starts deteriorating and delays in operation can again slowdown the growth of the automotive switch market. You can Buy This Report from Here @https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/13476/Single Segmentation analysis The global market is segmented on the basis of the product type and their usage in the region, as well as their distribution channels. Compare to other market regions, Europe holds the largest share in the automotive switch market owing to the ever increased automobile market in this region. Also, Asia Pacific is the second major contributor in the automobile switch market to serve the company such as Hero, Maruti and many other company. Also, Ford and General Motors are other company who contribute at the large pace in the automobile market sector making the North America a considerable player in this sector. The company which is anticipated to have a modest CAGR in the forecast period are Africa, Middle East as well as America. The develop regions will continue to remain dominant in the global market over the forecast period. Keeping in the mind about the usage of automobile applications the excessive demand of the products will continue to follow the same hold in the global market. Market players The key player in the global automotive switch market includes Salzer Electronics Limited, INENSY, Eaton, Top Quality Auto Electric Products Co.,Ltd,Yueqing Daier Electron Co., Ltd, Changzhou Leili Pressure Controller Co., Ltd, Radin Electric Technology Co., Ltd, Millborn Switchgears Pvt. Ltd, Sun Autoelektrik Private Limited, Gilard Electronics Private Limited. Major market players are focusing on the growing adoption of automotive switches in the operating systems of vehicles is the main key factor for the automotive switch market. Request For Report Discounts @https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/13476 About Us Trends Market Research has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality market research reports to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, applications, technologies, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to know more, see more, and do more, which further help answer the important questions you have about the industry. Our Research Analysts are eager to share their knowledge and assist you in making strategic decisions and to lead you company toward a greater endeavour. We bridge the gap between our clients and their clients by identifying and decoding just the target group, while generating leads with the highest accuracy. Why select TMR Trends Market Research can assist you with identifying the key opportunities to boost your business growth exponentially. We have a diligent team of analysts specialized in specific industries to assist you with your mission and vision for the future. From market reports to customer service to our internal mechanism, we live by quality and pour our heart and soul into maintaining it. Contact Us: One Vincent Square Westminster, London SW1P 2PN United Kingdom Email: sales@trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com A Louisiana woman who was vacationing in Florida helped bring a serial killer to justice after she noticed similarities between a string of murders in her home city and several that occurred in the Sunshine State. Cindy Juracich, from Shreveport, Louisiana, was on vacation with her husband and children in Gainesville, Florida in August 1990 when she happened to catch a news report about five local college students who had been slain over the course of four days. At the time, Juracich was still in shock about three gruesome killings that had taken place in Shreveport the previous year, in which a female victim was partially mutilated, cleaned and left posed in a sexual provocative position. The TV report in Florida mentioned that several of the victims there had also been mutilated, cleaned and posed - piquing the interest of Jurarcich. She is featured in a new episode of 20/20, which airs Friday on ABC, and reexamines the hunt for the Florida serial killer. 'I said to my husband [at the time] there's a connection between Shreveport and Florida,' Juracich states in the program. It's been revealed that Cindy Juracich helped bring a serial killer to justice after noticing similarities between a string of murders in both Louisiana and Florida The first two killings occurred August 24, when the assailant broke into an apartment shared by 17-year-old freshmen Sonja Larson and Christina Powell. The women were both brutally stabbed and posed in sexually provocative positions The Sunshine State slayings alarmed locals and baffled law enforcement officials who were left stumped as to the identity of the killer. All of the victims were young students in the Gainesville area. Four were students at the University of Florida, and the other was a student at Gainesville's Santa Fe College. Four of the five victims were female. The first two killings occurred August 24, when the assailant broke into an apartment shared by 17-year-old freshmen Sonja Larson and Christina Powell. The women were both brutally stabbed and posed in sexually provocative positions. The following evening, on August 25, 18-year-old Christina Hoyt was stabbed to death and decapitated inside her apartment. Her head was left on a shelf. Then, just two days later, Tracy Paules and her male roommate, Manny Taboada, both 23, were both stabbed to death when the assailant broke into their home. Paules was raped and her body was left posed. The killings rocked Gainesville, and news of the murders was played continuously on TV, attracting the attention of Juracich. 18-year-old Christina Hoyt was stabbed to death and decapitated inside her apartment. Her head was left on a shelf. Tracy Paules and her male roommate, Manny Taboada, both 23, were both stabbed to death when the assailant broke into their home on August 27 Three months later, after returning to Louisiana, Juracich still couldn't stop thinking about the similarities between the slayings in Shreveport and those in Florida. She also had a hunch that the man who committed the killings in Shreveport was a local named Danny Rolling. Rolling had spent time in prison for armed robbery and had reportedly told Juracich's husband that he 'liked to stick knives into people'. Chilled by that comment, Juracich decided to take matters into her own hands and contacted Florida police. 'My mind would not let me rest,' she states on 20/20. 'One day, I picked up the phone, I called Crime Stoppers, and I said, 'I think there's one guy y'all need to investigate -- Danny Rolling.' 'My mind would not let me rest': Juracich decided to take matters into her own hands and contacted Florida police in November 1990 When confronted by officers, Rolling confessed to the Gainesville killings Rolling is pictured during his trial in 1994. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to death Officers had arrested him for an unrelated burglary charge in September 1990. He was put behind bars and soon became a prime suspect. A short time later, police discovered a tape recorder left in a wooded area near the site of one of the Gainesville killings. A cassette found in the recorder featured Rollin alluding to the crimes. When confronted by officers, he subsequently confessed to the killings. Later, he also conceded that he had murdered the three people in Shreveport in 1989. Rolling was eventually convicted in 1994 and sentenced to death. He was executed in 2006. Now, 15 years on, Juracich says she she is still shaken by the murders in Shreveport and stunned that she linked them to the Florida slayings. 'After the gruesome murders, everybody just became scared, she states. 'Things like that aren't meant to happen here.' Yangon: At least 82 people were killed in one day in a crackdown by Myanmar security forces on pro-democracy protesters, according to reports Saturday from independent local media and an organisation that keeps track of casualties since the military's February seizure of power. Friday's death toll in Bago was the biggest one-day total for a single city since March 14, when just over 100 people were killed in Yangon, the country's biggest city. Bago is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Yangon. The Associated Press is unable to independently verify the number of deaths. The death toll of 82 was a preliminary one compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which issues daily counts of casualties and arrests from the crackdown in the aftermath of the February 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Their tallies are widely accepted as highly credible because cases are not added to their totals until they have been confirmed, with the details published on their website. In its Saturday report, the group said that it expected the number of dead in Bago to rise as more cases were verified. The online news site Myanmar Now also reported that 82 people had been killed, citing an unnamed source involved with charity rescue work. Myanmar Now and other local media said the bodies had been collected by the military and dumped on the grounds of a Buddhist pagoda. At least 701 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces since the army's takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The attack on Bago was the third in the past week involving the massive use of force to try to crush the persistent opposition to the ruling junta. Attacks were launched Wednesday on hardcore opponents of military rule who had set up strongholds in the towns of Kalay and Taze in the country's north. In both places, at least 11 people -- possibly including some bystanders -- were reported killed. The security forces were accused of using heavy weapons in their attacks, including rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, though such allegations could not be independently confirmed by The Associated Press. Photos posted on social media from Bago appeared to show fragments of mortar shells. Most protests in cities and town around the country are carried out by nonviolent demonstrators who consider themselves part of a civil disobedience movement. But as the police and military escalated the use of lethal force, a hardcore faction of protesters armed themselves with homemade weapons such as firebombs in the name of self-defense. In Kalay, activists dubbed themselves a 'civil army' and some equipped themselves with rudimentary hunting rifles that are traditional in the remote area. A Saturday report by Myanmar Now said residents of Tamu, a town in the same region as Kalay, used hunting rifles Saturday to ambush a military convoy, and claimed to kill three soldiers. The junta has taken other measures as well to discourage resistance. It recently published a wanted list of 140 people active in the arts and journalism charged with spreading information that undermines the stability of the country and the rule of law. The penalty for the offense is up to three years' imprisonment. Arrests of those on the list have been highly publicized in state media. State television channel MRTV reported Friday night that a military court had sentenced to death 19 people -- 17 in absentia -- for allegedly killing an army officer in Yangon on March 27. The attack took place in an area of the city that is under martial law, and the court action appeared to be the first time the death sentence has been imposed under the junta's rule. The UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, arrived Friday in the Thai capital Bangkok on a regional mission to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. She intends to sound out several Southeast Asian governments for their ideas but has been denied permission to visit Myanmar. Belagavi, April 10 : A day after invoking provisions of the Karnataka Industrial Disputes Act against the ongoing transport employees strike, Karnataka police on Saturday detained Kodihalli Chandrashekar who is leading the Karnataka state owned transport employees' strike, in this district headquarters town, sources said. As the strike entered the fourth day, Chandrashekar who is honorary president of the Karnataka State Road Transport Employees League (KSRTEL), that is steering the protest seeking pay hike on par with other government employees by incorporating the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations was detained by the Karnataka police in Belagavi. He landed in Belagavi as part of his tour to meet transport corporation employees and motivate them to continue their agitation without fear. The police detained him when he was about to address a press meet at the Milan Hotel in Belagavi prior to addressing a group of employees. Chandrashekahar told reporters that he was being taken away by the police for instigating the employees. "I have not met any employee here. I have not addressed any rally or meeting here. How can the police term it as an instigation? This clearly shows that the state government is rattled by my presence, but I still welcome their decision," he said. He added that the government cannot act unilaterally like this. "This is nothing but an act of suppression. Transport corporation employees will not and should not succumb to any pressure," he said while getting into the police vehicle. Police sources in Belagavi told IANS that Chnadrashekhar was detained as he had not taken permission to hold rallies or take part in protests here. "There was no information about his plans. Employees were gathering in large numbers. We decided to detain him," the police said. The Karnataka government headed by Chief Minister Yediyurappa on Friday not only banned the indefinite strike by employees of the road transport corporations with immediate effect but also referred the wage dispute to the Karnataka Wage Dispute Tribunal. Citing the inconvenience caused to commuters across the state, the Karnataka Labour department intervened and issued the ban orders besides directing all four state run transport corporations to take steps to start their operations. Chief Minister Yediyurappa appealed to the employees to resume work, even as he made it clear that it was not possible to meet their demand for wages as per the Sixth Pay Commission. The KSRTEL came into existence only last year and it had chosen Chandrashekhar as the honorary president to lead their agitation and negotiate with the government for the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission. It had led a four-day strike in December 2020, in which it had succeeded in getting a written assurance from the Yediyurappa government stating that it will "look positively into implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendation to transport staff" and it had set the deadline too. There are four state owned transport corporations and all of them have gone on strike demanding salaries on par with the state government employees. These four transport corporations -- Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC), North West Road Transport Corporation (NWRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) -- run a fleet of 26,000 busses with the help of more than 1.37 lakh employees. Among the four corporations, the BMTC is considered to be the lifeline of the Bengaluru public transport system connecting every nook and cranny of the city with its fleet of 6000 buses. The stalemate has caused inconvenience to the commuters, many of whom alleged that private transporters overcharged for the trips. The government has sacked trainee and probationary employees of various corporations, including 216 of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in the past two days for taking part in the agitation. The government also managed to run 652 buses till 10 a.m. Yet, it was way too short of the demand. The Railways too are operating nine special trains on Saturday. Tehran, April 10 : Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and lift all sanctions against Tehran. "Iran proposes logical path to full JCPOA compliance: the US, which caused this crisis, should return to full compliance first," Zarif wrote in a tweet on Friday. The remarks by Zarif followed the meeting of diplomatic representatives of parties to the deal, including Iran, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany, in Vienna on Friday with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda, reports Xinhua news agency. "Iran will reciprocate following rapid verification" of the US compliance measures, Zarif said. The Iranian foreign minister also urged the removal of all US sanctions against Iran, which according to him were "anti-JCPOA". On Tuesday, the senior diplomats held the first round of their meetings to discuss the current stand-off in the JCPOA implementation in Vienna. Under the deal, Tehran agreed in 2015 to roll back parts of its nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. The US under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran. The US and Iran are at a stalemate over reviving the nuclear deal. US President Joe Biden's administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, Washington would do the same. But Iran insisted that its compliance would only take place once US sanctions are removed. 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 Bishop Reginald Jackson announces a boycott of Coca-Cola products before the brand spoke out against a bill activists say aims to suppress votes. Jeff Amy/AP Photo Companies including Coca-Cola and Delta are speaking out against a Georgia voting law. Experts say a "race for talent" is driving companies to speak out in support of progressive causes. In-demand employees tend to be more concerned about voter suppression than voter fraud. See more stories on Insider's business page. Brand boycotts are back. A staple of the Trump era, the messy politicalization of brands has returned in full force with the passage of an election and voting law in Georgia. The regulation has been slammed by progressives as an attempt to suppress votes, with President Joe Biden calling the law "Jim Crow in the 21st century." After Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law on March 25, a number of companies - including Coca-Cola and Delta - have spoken out against the bill and voter suppression more generally. Companies faced boycott threats from civil rights groups prior to their explicit denouncement of the bill. Now, companies including Delta and Coca-Cola are facing the same threats from the right. With boycotts looming on both sides, taking political stances can seem like a lose-lose proposition. But, experts say that companies that spoke out against the voting law made the correct choice - in large part because employees want to work for companies that are willing to stand up for their values. "Companies have to be aware of the views of the people that they're trying to recruit," Tony Fratto, the founder of communications consulting firm Hamilton Place Strategies, told Insider. "And, the most competitive people that they're trying to recruit - those people can go work anywhere." The 'race for talent' is pushing companies to speak out A person waits for voters to arrive during Georgia's Senate runoff elections in January. Brynn Anderson/AP Fratto said that the "race for talent" is a constant discussion point among his clients. "They know that they are in a race for talent against their competitors, getting the best people, and ... being seen as an attractive place to work in all ways, not just on compensation," Fratto said. Story continues According to Fratto, employees in 2021 want to work somewhere that reflects their values. If a company does not align with their moral compass, they are willing to start looking for jobs somewhere else that does. Companies are battling to hire and retain highly-educated, skilled professionals with experience in their field. These in-demand employees are more likely to be concerned about voter suppression, and less likely to be worried about baseless claims of voter fraud, Fratto said. "If you are a college educated and, in particular, if you have a secondary degree, then you're far less likely to believe that there was fraud and the election was stolen," he said. "You're far more likely to be interested in issues of climate change, gun violence, and racial issues." Chris Allieri, founder at brand consultancy Mulberry & Astor, said that employees' concerns are especially relevant in the "distributed and virtual" post-pandemic workplace. "Large companies with young global workforces need to make decisions based on doing the right thing, vs. being overly concerned of a short-term blowback from a segment of the population, in one market," Allieri continued. "You can't pretend to be concerned about voting rights in places like Russia and China, but look the other way when it comes to Georgia." Companies are also closely listening to customers and investors Allieri said that employees are one of the many stakeholders companies need to take into account. Customers' concerns remain important. However, just as educated, skilled employees are in high demand, younger customers with disposable income tend to be company's top priority. And, as Insider's Josh Barro wrote in 2018, these target customers are more likely to be liberal. "As American politics gets more polarized by age and less polarized by income, most brands' target customer will tend to move left relative to the country's political median, even as the average voter sits to the right of the whole country's political median," Barro writes. Barro added: "There is also the problem that conservatives are desperately uncool." Fratto says that investors' values and priorities also need to be taken into consideration. Investors, especially institutional investors, have taken more interest in corporate values and social causes in recent years. For example, Amazon has faced criticism from pension groups in multiple states over its anti-union actions and worker safety concerns. There is no single factor that pushed executives to speak out against the Georgia voting laws, as they faced boycott threats from civil rights groups and unprecedented action by Black executives. But, in the case of Delta, employees speaking out reportedly served as a tipping point in convincing CEO Ed Bastian to denounce the law, after he had originally stayed quiet on the issue. Bastian has "been receiving a stream of emails about the law from Black Delta employees, who make up 21 percent of the company's work force," The New York Times reported. "Eventually, Mr. Bastian came to the conclusion that it was deeply problematic." Read the original article on Business Insider (Natural News) A variety of sweet potato emits a specific odor that not only deters incoming pests it also alerts neighboring plants of its kind to the presence of a threat. Thats according to researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPICE) in Germany and National Taiwan University, who examined a sweet potato cultivar called Tainong 57, which is known to release a distinct odor bouquet when attacked. Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports. The compound behind sweet potato varietys high pest resistance Past studies showed that the Tainong 57 plant is highly resistant to field herbivores compared to the cultivar known as Tainong 66. But prior to the present study, it was unclear whether the plants high pest resistance is due to its odor bouquet. To that end, the researchers exposed Tainong 57 to herbivores to identify compounds that activate its defense mechanisms when attacked. The plant emitted a bouquet of odors that activated the formation of a protein called sporamin on the unaffected leaves. Known as the main protein of sweet potatoes, sporamin inhibits digestive enzymes in attacking insects and causes them to lose their appetite. Among all odors the plant emitted, only a compound called DMNT was found to be abundant enough to activate sporamin formation. A volatile organic compound, DMNT smells almost like an herbal balm. To our surprise, only one single volatile is enough to induce a specific defense reaction in a sweet potato plant of the Tainong 57 cultivar, said Axel Mithofer, the chief of MPICEs Research Group Plant Defense Physiology and one of the study researchers. DMNT also triggered the formation of the defense protein in neighboring Tainong 57 plants that have not yet been attacked. These plants were able to perceive the smell quickly, allowing them to prepare for the incoming threat. The researchers noted that only Tainong 57 plants release high concentrations of DMNT and are able to perceive the compound. Tainong 66 plants, in contrast, release significantly less DMNT. Even when the amount of the volatile is increased, these plants still fail to mount adequate defenses. (Related: Stunning discovery reveals that plants and parasites engage in social media information sharing for self-defense.) Anja Meents, first author of the study and a doctoral researcher at MPICE, said about the studys potential applications: Our results are of great agricultural importance, because the consistent cultivation of resistant cultivars, such as Tainong 57, could help to considerably reduce the damage caused by herbivores in a natural way. Developing cultivars that release higher amounts of DMNT and perceive the compound efficiently can minimize the use of pesticides. Tomato plants eavesdrop on pests Sweet potatoes are not the only plants that can ward off pests. A study shows that tomato plants head off attacking snails at the pass by eavesdropping on them. John Orrock, an ecologist at the University of WisconsinMadison, said that tomato plants increase their levels of an anti-pest enzyme called lipoxygenase when exposed to snail slime a lubricating mucus that snails produce as they slide along. None of the plants were ever actually attacked, Orrock said. We just gave them cues that suggested an attack was coming, and that was enough to trigger big changes in their chemistry. In their latest study, Orrock and his team examined whether tomato plants defenses work against other kinds of pests. They squirted snail slime near the plants and then unleashed hungry caterpillars. But the bugs no longer had an appetite for tomato leaves after getting released. Orrock said that this nonspecific defense may be helping tomato plants improve their chances of survival. He recommended more studies that will determine the mechanisms that allow the plants to respond to relatively distant cues. Learn more about plants and their fascinating, anti-pest abilities at Ecology.news. Sources include: ScienceDaily.com ScientificAmerican.com Carl F. Bucherer and the New Era of Peripheral Technology Its very name is music. The Manero Minute Repeater Symphony is a tribute to technical innovation, the Swiss watchmaking tradition and artistic excellence. It is the most extraordinary timepiece Carl F. Bucherer has created in a long and impressive history that can be traced back to 1888. The COSC-certified chronometer takes peripheral technology to places no watch brand has ever been before, with three peripheral movement elements the rotor, the regulator, and a remarkable tourbillon that appears to float freely developed in-house and patented by Carl F. Bucherer. Manero Minute Repeater Symphony Carl F. Bucherer Not only does the Manero Minute Repeater Symphonys MR3000 manufacture movement have a peripheral winding system and a peripherally suspended floating tourbillon, it also features what is arguably the most sophisticated complication in the art of watchmaking, the minute repeater with a peripherally mounted regulator. This regulator, along with the peripheral winding system and the floating tourbillon, are patented by Carl F. Bucherer, and, together, these peripheral innovations combine to create a true horological symphony a composition which, in fact, inspired the renowned Lucerne Festival Orchestra to honor it with a brilliant new opus. Both masterpieces the musical and the watchmaking symphonies will be premiered during Watches and Wonders 2021. Sascha Moeri, Carl F. Bucherers CEO, points out that the Lucerne Festival Orchestras composition and the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony are ideal partners: The word symphony in the name of our watch expresses harmonic complexity and the delicate interaction among different parts qualities it shares with the orchestra. Their stunning new piece of music and our watch are a perfect pairing. We both share a commitment to artistic perfection and a dedication to craftsmanship. The MR3000 Manufacture Caliber: Setting New Standards Carl F. Bucherers MR3000 sets new standards in the field of peripheral technology. For the first time, the brands peripheral rotor is not only combined with a peripherally suspended and thus floating tourbillon, but also with the peripherally mounted regulator of a minute repeater mechanism. In this way, the Lucerne-based watchmaker not only demonstrates the highest level of manufacturing expertise, but also emphatically underscores its leadership in the field of peripheral technology. Manero Minute Repeater Symphony Carl F. Bucherer Sascha Moeri emphasizes the importance of the achievements in peripheral technology to the brand: Clearly, our accomplishments in peripheral technology have become our flagship. When we secured our patent on the peripheral winding system back in 2008, it sparked the passion that ultimately led to the creation of this new watch. We are proud of what weve achieved and excited about sharing it with the world. Patented Peripheral Technology: Carl F. Bucherers Leitmotif Peripherals, which the MR3000 uses three of, are among Carl F. Bucherers unmistakable leitmotifs. This technology premiered with the peripheral rotor, patented by the brand in 2008, when this in-house manufactured caliber became the first movement ever to implement this principle successfully in series production. Not only does the bidirectional automatic winding movement draw its energy from a peripherally rotating oscillating weight, its slim rotor also reveals the beauty of the movement. With the T3000 movement, which premiered in 2018, the manufacturer further extended its lead in peripheral technology when peripheral winding was combined with a groundbreaking Carl. F. Buchererpatented transparent peripherally mounted tourbillon that appears to float. Manero Minute Repeater Symphony Carl F. Bucherer As the heart of the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony, the elaborately finished and COSC certified MR3000 manufacture movement with a power reserve of 65 hours has ushered in an exciting new era of peripheral technology. A Minute Repeater with a Peripherally Mounted Regulator Repeater watches, with their sophisticated striking mechanisms, are among the most admired complications in all of watchmaking. With their acoustic qualities, they add a sensual dimension to time. The Manero Minute Repeater Symphony takes the classic minute repeater technique and puts this innovation to use in true Carl F. Bucherer style. Its mechanism is finely orchestrated to produce two different tones on two gongs which, along with the sculpted hammers, can be admired, most unusually, through cutouts at the edge of the dial. They are complemented by openings at 5 and 7 oclock, through which the work of the striking hammers can be observed. A window above 6 oclock showcases the watchs innovative regulator, which sets the beat of the chimes. This patented regulator is mounted peripherally via three low-friction ceramic ball bearings. However, the minute repeater from Carl F. Bucherer scores not only with outstanding technology, but also with genuine functionality. A protective mechanism built into the movement prevents inadvertent misuse: visible via the discrete display at 9 oclock, it indicates the current mode of the watch a blue dot shows that the crown is pulled out, and a musical note lets the wearer know that the minute repeater function is activated. Another safety measure further ensures the protection of the watch: the crown cannot be pulled out when the repeater mechanism is running it locks. Conversely, when the crown is pulled out, the repeater mechanism is locked. The Peripherally Mounted Tourbillon The tourbillon the classic complication originally designed by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the eighteenth century to offset the effects of gravity on the accuracy of the watch is another sublime expression of the art and craft of watchmaking. And the watchmakers at Carl F. Bucherer have made this epitome of their craft float: the cage of their minute tourbillon is supported peripherally and invisibly to the observer by three ball bearings. These frictionless ceramic ball bearings ensure stability and precise guidance. It is another ingenious technical feature on which Carl F. Bucherer also holds a patent. The tourbillon in the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony, which is proudly and prominently displayed at 12 oclock, not only floats, but also stops on command: thanks to the stop-seconds function, the rotating cage is locked when the crown is pulled, allowing the time to be set to the second. The Manero Minute Repeater Symphony: The Beauty Is in the Detail As breathtakingly complex as the interior of the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony is, its exterior, in contrast, is clear and structured: the classically elegant timepiece is clad in a 43.8 mm diameter case of 18-karat rose gold, whose open-worked and hand-angled lugs seductively follow the silhouette of the wrist. These spoke-shaped horns reduce the mass of the case and thus amplify the watchs melodious sound. The 18-karat white gold dial is hand-galvanized and features a fine graine texture. 18- karat rose gold hands and hour markers reflect the warm hue of the case. Connoisseurs of sophisticated watchmaking will appreciate the elaborate finishing: the carefully diamond beveled and highly polished chamfers, the sandblasted crown, the hand-angled dial edges and windows, or the Geneva-striped, angled, and diamond-beveled bridges that can be seen through the sapphire crystal case back. The individual numbering of the model, limited to 88 pieces, is engraved by hand on a small plaque in 18-karat gold at the 6 oclock position on the dial. The watch is presented on a hand-stitched alligator leather strap whose every individual scale has been finished by hand. It is secured with an 18-karat rose gold folding clasp. Manero Minute Repeater Symphony Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherers Customization: A Watch as Unique as the Person Who Wears It For those who wish to accentuate the unique character of this limited-edition masterpiece to create their very own symphony, Carl F. Bucherer offers further customization options. There are opportunities for the customer to choose from different designs and finishes, creating a timepiece that is as unique as he or she is. A Unique Resonator Sharing the Music! Inside the Manero Minute Repeater Symphonys luxury box is a stunning, specially designed resonator that will allow proud owners of this remarkable watch to share its unique music with their friends. The ingenious amplification system is meticulously crafted from spruce harvested from the forests in Switzerlands Jura Mountains. This spruce has long been regarded for its qualities as a tone wood and has been used for the tops of some of the worlds finest guitars, violins, and other stringed instruments. This unusual amplification system doubles the volume of the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony minute repetitions, making it easy to let others enjoy the phenomenon. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was due on April 10 to embark on a series of overseas meetings with U.S. allies amid rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia and what Washington calls Moscow's "destabilizing behavior." During the week ahead, Austin is due to meet with government and military leaders in Israel, Germany, at NATO Headquarters in Belgium, and in the United Kingdom. . A Pentagon statement late on April 8 said Austin will "meet with his counterparts and other senior officials to discuss the importance of international defense relationships, and reinforce the United States' commitment to deterrence and defense, burden sharing, and enduring trans-Atlantic security." The Pentagon says Austin's April 14 meeting in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will focus on "how the Alliance is tackling destabilizing behavior by Russia," as well as "rising China, terrorism, and global challenges such as COVID-19 and climate change." On April 13, Austin is scheduled to meet in Berlin with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Chancellery Foreign and Security Policy Adviser Jan Hecker. The Pentagon says the agenda of Austin's Berlin talks include "combatting the malign influence of our shared strategic rivals, and continued dialogue on U.S. force posture in Germany and elsewhere." Austin's embarkation comes a a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken consulted the German and French foreign ministers about the need for Russia to cease its military buildup in the occupied Crimean Peninsula and near Ukraines eastern borders. Washington has accused Russia of "provocations" in eastern Ukraine and using inflammatory rhetoric." A statement from the U.S. State Department said Blinken spoke separately with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian about the need for stepped-up consultations among NATO allies as fears grow of a major escalation in the eastern Ukraine conflict. Kyiv and the West blame the Russia-backed separatists holding parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions for a recent spike in hostilities, while Moscow has pointed the finger at Kyiv. A recent accumulation of photographs, video, and other data has revealed major movements of Russian armed forces toward or near Ukraine's borders and into Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. That has fueled concerns that Moscow may be preparing to send forces into eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops, denying they are a threat while adding that military movements within Russia are an internal sovereign issue. On April 9, the Kremlin issued a stark warning that Russia could take steps to "protect civilians" in the region in the event of a resumption of full-scale combat operations there. The first stop on Austin's four-country tour is Israel where he was due to arrive on April 11. During his two-day visit there, Austin is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz. The status of indirect talks in Vienna between U.S. and Iranian officials was expected to be on their agenda. The Vienna talks are focusing on steps that the United States and Iran each need to take to get back into compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers -- which the Trump administration abandoned in 2018. The final item on Austin's agenda, after visiting NATO headquarters in Brussels, is talks in the United Kingdom with Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace. The Pentagon says the purpose of that visit is "to reaffirm the continuing importance of U.S.-United Kingdom defense cooperation to meet global security challenges." With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP As history beckoned at Augusta, even a four-shot lead could not suppress the angst that swirled in the air and, for a second, threatened to blow Hideki Matsuyama towards the most disastrous of footnotes. For so long on Sunday, he had treated the whispers of collapse with deafening silence, with the chasing pack receding into the long afternoon shadows in Georgia. But on the 15th fairway, he evoked vestiges of golfs worst unravellings, recklessly taking on the par-5 and succeeding only in finding the water at the back of the green. From a position of imperious dominance, a one-paced Masters suddenly swung towards a knife-edge. Yet, at the crucial moment, Xander Schauffele, Matsuyamas playing partner and closest challenger, turned the sword on himself at the 16th, finding the water and making a triple bogey. With a two-shot cushion but nerves fraying like old feathers, Matsuyama drew on every ounce of resilience to cling to victory and become the first Japanese man in history to win a major. As he walked off the 18th green, the emotions finally told. Matsuyama has long been an icon for a country enamoured with golf. Finally, after so many agonising near-misses, he has fulfilled the prophecies that were born when he finished as the low amateur at Augusta a decade ago. Forever in a relentless spotlight, it is a shame that his most ardent followers were unable to see him reach the sports pinnacle in person. Hideki in Japan - hes a bit like a Tiger Woods to the rest of the world, Adam Scott, the 2013 champion, said after closing out his fourth round earlier in the day. Im really happy. My nerves didnt start on the second nine, it was right from the start and right to the very last putt, Matsuyama said. I was thinking about my family all the way round today and Im really happy that I played well for them. Hopefully Ill be a pioneer in this and many other Japanese will follow and Im glad to be able to open the floodgates hopefully and many more will follow me. It was a dramatic finale to what had otherwise been a day desperately short of suspense. After a 77-minute rain delay on Saturday, Matsuyama took advantage of the softened greens and stormed four shots clear of the field with a blistering back nine. There were, though, inevitably nerves on the first tee and his drive veered deep into the pine straw. Almost immediately, as Will Zalatoris started with back-to-back birdies, entirely undaunted by the prospect of becoming the first winning debutant in 42 years, Matsuyamas advantage was reduced to just one. But what promised to become a wide-open race instead became one mans procession. To end the early apprehension, Matsuyama responded clinically at the second with a wonderful up-and-down for birdie from the front bunker. From thereon, the tricky opening stretch was navigated in serene fashion, his irons once again steady and sublime. Without any serious charge from behind, the lead was consolidated again at the par-5 eighth before an exquisite approach at the far trickier ninth. Making the turn in 34, a healthy slice of daylight restored, it was little more than an exhibition. Matsuyama had already expressed his relief earlier this week that not quite so many Japanese reporters had made the journey to Augusta this year, his free hours spent at peace rather than faced with another firing line of questions. But soon the pressure started to tell as the horizon came into view on the back nine. The first cracks emerged at the 12th, where he dropped a shot after finding the back bunker. From there, he benefited from two huge helpings of luck as his drive kicked out of the trees and an overhit approach coursed over the back of the green on pure adrenaline and stopped only just short of the azalea bushes. Up ahead, Zalatoris remained steadfast in pursuit while Schauffele picked up the slipstream, even if the likes of Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth had long faded out of contention. If Matsuyamas anxiety was unsurprising, for a while his smile belied the gravity of the situation. Soon, though, the nerves became impossible to disguise. It would have been a dreadful and underserved ending had he not held on, but after Schauffele unravelled, Matsuyama regained his composure to come home with just one shot to spare. It might have been a stumble over the line, but such measured brilliance earlier this week afforded him the saving grace. This was a victory that will reverberate across the golfing landscape, no doubt inciting another boom of popularity in Asia, where there is already such a rich depth of exceptional female players. It is a burden of expectation Matsuyama has long attempted to live up to. With a sigh of relief and a few stifled tears, it was finally alleviated on the greatest stage of them all. Cheng and his apparatchiks subjected the Australian reporters to a two-hour exercise in authoritarian propaganda that even the old Soviet Communist Party would have been embarrassed to offer. It included five videos showing maniacally cheerful Uighurs dancing in traditional costume, soaring skyscrapers and snow-capped mountain peaks. An official denounced the accounts of mass incarceration as downright lies. He explained that the high-walled encampments where Uighurs are held are actually re-education centres that taught singing, dancing and computer skills to a grateful population. To which Human Rights Watch Australias head, Elaine Pearson, merely asked: If Xinjiang really is such a wonderful land, then why doesnt the Chinese government let journalists and UN human rights monitors go there? Loading Beijing officials first told the UNs human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile, that she was welcome to visit Xinjiang in June 2019. She is still waiting to be given a visa. It has to be said that the Beijing government does not have a good track record of truth-telling about its operations against the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. When the evidence of vast new prison encampments first the regime of Xi Jinping flatly denied that any such camps existed. They eventually conceded that the system did exist, but insisted that they were vocational education centres like TAFEs but with six-metre walls and watch towers. A leak of 400 pages of internal CCP documents would later confirm not only the existence of camps intended for mass repression, but that the system had been set in the motion by the President, Xi Jinping, himself with the exhortation to party officials to show no mercy. Yet the Australian reporters were professional enough to give Cheng the opportunity of answering some real questions in the midst of this confection of deception. For instance, Cheng told the press conference that the reports of an estimated 1 million Uighurs in the re-education centres were all fake news. So if 1 million was fake, my colleague Anthony Galloway asked, reasonably enough, what was the true number of Uighurs in the re-education centres? Cheng responded without answering. Galloway tried again. He got the same response. Uighurs are held in re-education camps in Xinjiang. Credit:Michael Smith So I turned to someone with a much better record of truth-telling about the Uighurs situation, Rebiya Kadeer. She was once Beijings model Uighur, a wealthy businesswoman, Communist Party member and a delegate to the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Congress. When she started to speak out against repression of her people, she was locked up for six years and eventually released into the protection of the US in 2005 as part of a diplomatic deal. She has lived in Washington ever since. She lost her positions, her wealth, her family. But she has never been silenced. She has been described as the Muslim Dalai Lama. A grandmother, now 76, tiny yet fierce, she has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize five times. The day of Chengs propaganda parade in Canberra happened to be three years exactly since Id last spoken to Rebiya Kadeer. In that 2018 interview in Sydney, she had shocked me. She told me then that at least 1 million Uighurs had been detained in the centres she calls concentration camps, including 37 of her relatives. This was her entire extended family in China. I reported her remarks but the number of 1 million detainees out of a total Uighur population of some 10 million seemed so outlandish that I made a point of including other estimates, all of which were lower, such as Radio Free Asias report of 120,000 Uighurs in detention. Of course, Kadeer was proved right, in this and every other detail. Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer Credit:Glen McCurtayne So this week I asked her what had happened in the three years since. I believe the Chinese Communist Party is achieving its goal, she told me through an interpreter. Their final goal is the total extermination of the Uighur people. Children aged two to 12 are taken from their families into state custody, girls are given forced sterilisation so they cant give birth to any more Uighur children. Some Uighur women are forced into marriage with Chinese men. A further method is forced transfer of Uighur workers into factories in other parts of China where the Chinese workers are allowed to leave the factories but the Uighurs workers are not. Luckily, recently the free world has woken up, including the US, Australia, and I hope they will prevent China achieving their final goal. How many Uighurs are detained in the camps? Some party officials have said that all the detained Uighurs had graduated and returned to their homes. Kadeer says that the people allowed are allowed to leave if they are in dire health, so their deaths will not be counted as camp statistics, or once their brains have been reformatted. But, she says, the people released are replaced with new Uighur detainees: The total number of people who are in the concentration camps or who have been through the process is about five million. Half the total population. Some die in the process, but most do not. This is the evil genius of the system of genocide with Chinese characteristics. By allowing the Uighurs to live, Xi expected to avoid the accusation of genocide, Nazi-style. But total extermination of a people through mass murder is not the only definition of genocide. The UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part a people. Loading Eminent experts, such as the 50 who co-wrote a report last month for Canadas Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, argue that Chinas treatment of its Uighur people does indeed meet that definition. An increasing number of parliaments around the world agree. And Kadeers family members? One sister, detained in 2014, died under torture in 2017. All 36 others have been released, she says. And Beijing has found a better way of using them: My relatives make forced accusations, they speak against me and against the US. My children make good material for them. I regard this treatment of my children and my grandchildren, forcing them to abuse me on video, to be the furthest extreme a dictatorship can go to. Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee has thanked the London Underground for their touching tribute to her baby daughter Azaylia amid her leukaemia battle. Safiyya took to Instagram on Friday where she shared an image of @allontheboard's white board message which featured a heartfelt poem about the tot. It comes as Saffiya, 34, and Ex On The Beach star Ashley, 30, took their daughter, eight months, home after doctors revealed there was no further treatment available for the tot after the discovery of multiple tumours in her body. Thank you: Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee has thanked the London Underground for their touching tribute to her baby daughter Azaylia amid her leukaemia battle Sharing her appreciation for the support, Safiyya wrote: 'The [heart emoji] is incredible. Thankyou to you all.' All On The Board's Twitter page had shared their message alongside a caption which read: 'Sending love, thoughts and prayers to the beautiful Azaylia Cain and her Mummy, Daddy and family.' While their heartfelt message on a board at North Greenwich Underground Station said: 'Sending love to Azaylia Cain, an 8 month old beautiful little princess and a hero. Lovely: Safiyya took to Instagram stories on Friday night where she shared an image of @allontheboard's white board message which featured a heartfelt poem about the tot 'Smiling despite being in discomfort and pain, fighting battles and shining like a diamond, providing light on the darkest of days; her determination and strength deserves everybody's love and respect in so many ways. 'No words can be written or spoken to fix hearts that are broken, all we can offer sometimes are thoughts, prayers and love; through the hardest and saddest times, Azaylia has shone brighter than any star up above.' Earlier that day, her partner Ashley shared footage of himself giving his ailing daughter Azaylia her final hospital bath, as he prepared to take her home. Kind words: All On The Board's Twitter page had shared their message alongside a caption which read: 'Sending love, thoughts and prayers to the beautiful Azaylia Cain and her Mummy, Daddy and family.' Just a day before, the reality star shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body. And as he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to the brave youngster as he admitted: 'I don't know what I will do without you.' In the video, the doting dad was seen gently splashing the water around Azaylia as she looked up at her dad adoringly while sitting in a small tub on the hospital ward. Heartbreaking: Earlier that day, her partner Ashley shared footage of himself giving his ailing daughter Azaylia her final hospital bath, as he prepared to take her home Captioning the footage, he wrote: Azaylias last bath in hospital, before we take her home where she belongs. '9 days ago consultants told us my daughter had 1-2 days to live, but thought she may pass that evening. Even with a barbaric disease consuming her blood, tumours in her brain and organs and amounts of pain I cannot imagine... 'She is still battling through 9 days later, with parts of the day with nothing but smiles despite her discomfort. Bonding: In the video, the doting dad was seen gently splashing the water around Azaylia as she looked up at her dad adoringly while sitting in a small tub on the hospital ward Sad: As he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to Azaylia as he admitted, 'I don't know what I will do without you' 'This is a testament of this little girls strength and the fight she has possessed all of the way through. She has fought a battle that not many, if any, of us could have endured and shes earned the love and respect of many on the way. 'The truth is though, I hope and pray that I have earned hers! Even through the hardest and saddest time of my life, she has found a way to make it better. 'She has shined light on the darkest of days and she has opened my heart to amounts of love I couldnt believe possible! 'The truth is, I dont know what I will do without you. But for now, I find strength in giving you the best of me, and the only me that you deserve! 'You are in my arms, my thoughts, my prayers and my heart everyday my princess. YOURE MY HERO! DADDY LOVES YOU! ' Sad: Ashley spent his last night in hospital with daughter Azaylia, as the family prepare to return home after learning she could have just days to live In a post on Thursday, Ashley said that Azaylia, who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia six months ago, can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'. After sharing his moving video, Ashley took to Instagram Stories to share a snap of him kissing his daughter as they lay in the hospital bed together. He wrote: 'Last night in here before we take you home baby,' along with a broken heart emoji. Safiyya then shared a similar image with her baby girl in the bed, writing: 'My hero.' Ashley marked his last night in hospital with little Azaylia after revealing the tot has just days to live amid her devastating battle with leukaemia. Upsetting: The reality star shared a heartbreaking Instagram video on Thursday revealing he and the tot's mum Safiyya Vorajee (pictured) were bringing their little girl home Devastating: In the emotional post, Ashley added that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can.' Adorable: The parents kept followers updated as they took their little girl home with them Sweet: Safiyya shared this sweet clip of her daughter on Instagram He took to Instagram on Thursday where he shared a heartbreaking video in which he explained what was happening, revealing to fans that they're taking their little girl back home from hospital to make her as comfortable as possible. Speaking outside of the hospital, the TV star told his followers: 'Where do I start? Where do I start? A lot has happened. A whole lot. Too much to write in a caption, too much to explain in a picture, so I thought I'd do a video. 'So last week we had the bone marrow test and the lumber puncture and bloods taken to send to Singapore in the hope that they could create a CAR T therapy to save Azaylia's life. 'Then we had to have a CT scan on her head and the results came back the next day, saying that Azaylia's got two very big tumours on her brain. 'They also said that the intrathecal treatment that is usually given to treat leukemia in the spine or the brain will not be available, because she has too much pressure with these tumours. Family: The reality star took to Instagram on Thursday where he shared a heartbreaking video in which he explained what was happening (Pictured with Azaylia's mum Safiyya Vorajee) Heartbreaking: Ashley revealed that little Azaylia cannot fly to Singapore for treatment as doctors have discovered tumours throughout her tiny body 'And if they tried to even go through the spinal tap it would kill her. At that point, obviously, our world came down. 'Because obviously, the current chemotherapy that we were doing was for her blood, not the tumours in her brain. 'Consultants said that they think she's only got one, two days to live, and it could even be that night. So, we took Azaylia home with the palliative care team and stuff. 'It was scary. You walk into your little daughter's room and there's big oxygen tanks and stuff like that and it was horrible. 'We took her home. She was on high levels of pain relief and we tried to enjoy every little bit we could, but it was tough. We got through the first night, we got through the second night, but we noticed that Azaylia wasn't really here properly. Poor baby: Doctors have found tumours in Azaylia's stomach, her spleen, her liver and her kidneys, in addition to tumours in her brain. And sadly, the chemotherapy isn't working 'As a parental instinct, I told my girlfriend, I said: "Let's take her off her pain relief". So we took her off the pain relief and the next morning she was as bright as a button, she had her sharpness back, she was responding to everything. 'And we sat there, and we thought: "this disease is not killing our daughter. We need to do everything that we can do to save this girl's life." 'And so I rang up the consultant at hospital and said: "We're coming back in, we're carrying on with treatment and we're getting her to Singapore." Ashley said he told consultants in hospital that he has always been a fighter and always will be, adding: 'My daughter is a product of me: through nature, via nurture. That means she'll be a fighter too.' Fighter: Ashley told consultants: 'My daughter is a product of me: through nature, via nurture. That means she'll be a fighter too' The TV star touched on how some parents might be more comfortable at home with their child, but explained that it would 'break him' to stay at home knowing his daughter is dying and he's not doing anything about it. The father-of-one continued relaying his conversation with doctors, explaining that he told them: 'Azaylia had one in four hundred trillion chance of being Azaylia, and you only get one chance at life... 'So we, I are gonna do everything we possibly can do preserve hers, 'cause when you're gone, you're gone... But it's how you wanna be remembered when you're gone. 'She's fought a hard tough fight the whole way through, so I wanna honour that and give her the best chance of survival.' Too rare: Ashley revealed to his followers that doctors in Singapore have now said that Azaylia's condition is too rare to treat Ashley then told his followers that they took Azaylia back into hospital and were exploring treatment options. He said: 'We've been back in hospital the last three four days. We've been pushing, fighting for options and we made steps forwards.' 'She's currently on the drug that we fought to get. We're talking about potential options of radiotherapy to target the tumours in her head. 'They don't usually get radiotherapy to children under three but they were potentially willing to make an exception potentially, after talks.' After taking a deep breath, Ashley explained that they had an ultrasound scan yesterday and the results came back today revealing that they found tumours throughout her body. Going home: Holding back tears, the doting dad said: 'So that means we're going back home. We're going back home and, we're gonna try and make our baby as comfortable as possible' Ashley told fans: 'They found tumours in her stomach her spleen her kidneys, as well as the tumours in her brain, and the chemotherapy's not working. 'Her disease is that aggressive that nothing they are doing... Nothing's working. 'And then, to make it worse, the consultants got an email from Singapore, and because Azaylia's literally one in a trillion - she literally is she's so special, she's one in a trillion - but unfortunately so is her disease. In Singapore they can't create a CAR T for her leukaemia. Holding back tears, the doting dad continued: 'So that means we're going back home. We're going back home and, we're gonna try and make our baby as comfortable as possible... 'And we're gonna have as much fun as we can with her as possible. And I thought that... Fighter! Ashley explained that he told his girlfriend: 'We're gonna smile, we're gonna be strong and we're gonna go out with honour' Champ! 'She's had a tough, tough life. From eight weeks old she'd been in hospital having chemotherapy, operations, transplants...' said Ashley of his incredible little girl When you hear of all the other kids in the hospital they just wanna be at home, but Azaylia doesn't have a voice yet. I think if she had a voice, she'd wanna be at home too. So we're gonna take her home.' Ashley told fans that he forced himself and his partner to get up, get dressed, eat and clean up, adding: 'We're gonna smile, we're gonna be strong and we're gonna go out with honour. At the end of the harrowing video, while on the verge of weeping the reality star said: 'She's had a tough, tough life. From eight weeks old she'd been in hospital having chemotherapy, operations, transplants... 'And I feel like, for the last part of her life I just want to take her home. See her like a baby and give her the best rest of her life that we can give her. And that's it. Sad news: Safiyya also took to Instagram to share the news in a lengthy caption alongside a photograph of herself and Ashley in hospital with baby Azaylia Ashley took a moment to collect himself, and then confessed: 'I've been strong the whole way through this, but this last week I've been numb... Numb to the core. 'I've been upset, I've been sad, I've been depressed, I've been heartbroken. Some days I don't even know where I am. 'But I think right about now I've got to step up more than ever and be stronger than I've been the whole time, because I'm doing it for her. She needs to see her daddy smiling, she needs to see her mummy smiling. And that's it. Ashley ended his video with a message of gratitude for his fans, saying: 'Thank you for all the love and support guys, honestly. I'm gonna go back into hospital now, to take my baby home.' The media personality and his partner Safiyya Vorajee recently raised more than 1.5 million to fund a trip to Singapore for potentially life-saving transplant, but she was being treated in the UK during the interim. Honoured: 'I am so proud of my baby girl she has been fighting for so so long... I'm incredibly honoured to have become a mummy to my precious girl' wrote Safiyya Safiyya also took to Instagram to share the news in a lengthy caption alongside a photograph of herself and Ashley in hospital with baby Azaylia. She penned: 'With a heavy painful heart I share the saddest news of my life...' before confirming that which her boyfriend had told his followers. Of the planned treatment in Singapore which is now no longer possible, Safiyya wrote: 'This was our last, our only and our final option to save Azaylia and her disease was even too complex for them. 'So we will be now returning home with our beautiful baby to give her the best possible time left that we can. Devoted: Beneath Safiyya's heartfelt caption, Ashley wrote of their daughter: 'She has made me a better man, a proud, strong father and imprinted on me for life!' 'I am so proud of my baby girl she has been fighting for so so long, and doesn't deserve for this to happen to her! 'There isn't enough words out there to describe the heartache and pain I'm feeling but I'm incredibly honoured to have become a mummy to my precious girl.' Beneath Safiyya's heartfelt caption, Ashley commented: 'We have fought an incredible fight. None of us more than our beautiful baby girl. She made us smile, she kept us strong and she always gave us hope. 'I've never ever been happier, more devoted and in love than this last 8 months. She has made me a better man, a proud, strong father and imprinted on me for life! You gave us so much, now it's time to go home!' Supportive friends: Ashley's celebrity pals rushed to send messages of love and support to him amid what is the most devastating time Ashley's celebrity pals rushed to send messages of love and support to him amid what is the most devastating time. Charlotte Crosby wrote beneath his video: 'God ash I am so so so so so sorry. Wow my heart is breaking,' while Holly Hagan added: ' Im so so sorry and sending all the love and prayers in the world.' Love Islander Shaughna Phillips penned: 'No sense, no reason and no justice in this world at all. Your beautiful darling girl has the heart of a lion, and she could not have been more blessed to have parents like you and @miss_safiyya_ . 'You have both shown the world what the true meaning of love is, everything that was asked of you, you did. I pray so much you that you find strength to enjoy your precious daughter at home, and just know you all have the love of the country and beyond.' Theo Campbell wrote: 'Really no words,' and Alex Bowen added: 'I'm so so sorry brother sending love to you all.' Lauren Goodman shared: 'Im so sorry! My heart is broken for you all. Sending you all my love and strength. Youve done the best you could xx she has been so brave and tough!' while her sister Chloe Goodman added: 'No words completely heartbroken for your family.' New mum Charlotte Dawson commented: 'Ash no Im so so sorry. She is the most bravest little angel, fought so hard. You are the best parents ever.' Pop star Aston Merrygold wrote: 'So sorry man! sending you guys love,' while Olivia Bowen penned: 'I am so sorry, there are no words. You have all been so brave, sending all my love you and your beautiful baby girl Azaylia - she stole the hearts of us all.' Other celebs flooded Safiyya's heartbreaking post with messages of love goodwill amid Azaylia's last days. Lisa Maffia wrote: 'Sending you so much love and strength. I am praying so much for you all. Your beautiful babygirl will be well looked after and I pray to meet her in another life. I hope you get as long as possible together and just know that my whole family are thinking of you every second. Love you all.' Jessica Hayes shared: 'Im so sorry just no words sending love and strength always . Holding you all in my thoughts xxxxxxxxxx.' Wayne Lineker commented: 'There are no words. My daughter tia had to have a blood test today as she has bruises to her little finger and as A devoted parent I was naturally concerned but what you guys are going through and have been through is incredible compared. Ashley has been my friend for many years and he is a beautiful man I am just so so sorry.' Comments from celebs: Other celebs flooded Safiyya's heartbreaking post with messages of love goodwill amid Azaylia's last days At the end of March, Ashley revealed that his daughter Azaylia would be required to undergo another round of chemotherapy amid her battle with leukaemia. And in a heartbreaking update, Ashley revealed that doctors have found 'blasts of leukaemia forming in her cerebrospinal fluid' forcing yet more chemo for his daughter. Taking to Instagram to share a snap of himself with his daughter, Ashley wrote: 'Azaylia had to go into theatre yesterday, for a bone marrow test to read her leukaemia count, plus, a lumber puncture to extract samples to send off to Singapore. Treatment: Last month, Ashley revealed that Azaylia would be required to undergo another round of chemotherapy amid her battle with leukaemia 'After that, doctors had to take 60ml of blood from her followed by a 4 hour blood transfusion. Later, she had chemotherapy with two separate drugs: Azacitidine and the drug we've been working tirelessly to get hold of, Venetoclax. 'That was a tough enough because of Azaylia's pain and discomfort from the multiple procedures. Until we got told by consultants, that they had found blasts of leukaemia forming in her Cerebrospinal fluid, which can result in it finding the brain!' He explained: 'This now means that Azaylia will now have to have another form of chemotherapy intrathecally, through the spinal tap to attack the leukaemia and protect her brain. Update: In an update, Ashley revealed that doctors had found 'blasts of leukaemia forming in her cerebrospinal fluid' forcing yet more chemo for his daughter 'This means today she will be having a CT scan on her head to make sure we can go through with this intrathecal procedure tomorrow.' Touching on the strain of the experience on the family, he concluded: 'With 3 hours sleep in 2 days, the reality is that, there are no days off on this journey, no time out periods and no single second without worry or fear. 'If you asked me a year ago, I would've never imagined how strong I could or would have to be. That being said, you never really know how strong you are, until being strong is your only option. ' A day before, his partner Safiyya Vorajee revealed their daughter Azaylia is 'in a lot of pain' ahead of her planned treatment in Singapore. Upsetting: Ashley's partner Safiyya Vorajee revealed their daughter Azaylia was 'in a lot of pain' Keeping her followers updated on their journey, Safiyya detailed the blood transfusion and surgery which Azaylia underwent. Addressing her followers from the hospital, Safiyya explained: 'We've got a heavy morning today, we are getting a bone marrow test done and then Azaylia needs 60ml of blood taken from her. 'She needs to have a blood transfusion so that they can send the blood over to Singapore. She's very swollen this morning, she's on lots of fluid as that keeps the leukaemia from sticking.' Determined: Safiyaa and partner Ashley Cain recently raised more than 1.5 million to fund the trip but she was being treated in the UK during the interim Speaking about the emotional toll it has taken on her, Safiyya continued: 'Watching your daughter being put to sleep, again, really pulls another level of heartstrings. 'These days feel so long and tough, but you'd do anything for your child - you don't care about how you are yourself. 'So many people ask how are you feeling, and we have one destination and that is to get to Singapore and get through this.' Thankfully, the blood transfusion and operation went smoothly, with Safiyya later updating fans: 'The procedures are all done and we are currently on a blood transfusion. Azaylia has recovered, she had to have blood taken from her. Update: Keeping her followers updated on their journey, Safiyya detailed the blood transfusion and surgery Azaylia underwent '60ml can leave you very anemic and your blood pressure and heart rate can go anywhere while blood's being taken from your body but luckily Azaylia was very stable.' She then wrote: 'What a tough day she's had, bless her. She's been in a lot of pain today.' While Ashley shared a clip of his little girl captioned: 'The amount this little girl has battled through today.' He later added: 'One hour sleep with this little one last night. She went through the whole lot of procedures yesterday and she's really feeling it. Heartbreaking: Ashley later shared a clip of his little girl in hospital captioned, 'The amount this little girl has battled through today' 'Three hours sleep in the last two days. There are no days off or times out on this journey. We're going to get you across that line baby'. It comes after Ashley revealed pharmaceutical companies were not releasing the life-saving drugs needed to beat his daughter Azaylia's leukemia battle. Ashley, whose baby girl was undergoing her fourth round of chemotherapy at the time, took to Instagram to admit he's in 'heavy talks' with consultants and doctors in an attempt to change the businesses' decision. The reality star said: 'We found out today that one of the essential drugs we need tomorrow to bring her leukemia counts down and get her into remission is not being released by the pharmaceutical companies. Update: The following morning, Ashley revealed it had been a sleepless night for all as Azaylia recovered, with the EOTB star promising to get his daughter 'across the line' 'Not only today have I been looking after Azaylia, but going through heavy talks with consultants, doctors and the companies themselves to try and get this essential drug that Azaylia needs.' The media personality had previously asked fans for help in donating, explaining the treatment his daughter needs is only available in Singapore. The total of his fundraiser for his eight-month-old's treatment reached over 1.5million, following donations from Love Island's Molly-Mae Hague and Maura Higgins. Ashley penned a detailed account of Azaylia's health battle on his GoFundMe page and said that any extra funds the couple receive will be donated to other families in a similar situation to them. Fighting for her: Azaylia was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia when she was just two months old and her parents have fought to save her life According to the NHS, it is a 'highly complex and potentially risky treatment' but has been shown in trials to cure some patients when other treatments have failed. Azaylia was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia when she was just two months old. Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer. Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia. U.S. says Vienna nuclear talks productive, voicing hope for more "constructive attitude" from Iran Xinhua) 14:16, April 10, 2021 WASHINGTON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. official said Friday that the Vienna talks over the Iran nuclear deal were productive, and hoped that Tehran would show a more constructive attitude in talks scheduled next week. The indirect talks between the United States and Iran over respective steps to revive the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), were just preliminary steps but "productive and businesslike," a senior state department official told reporters in a phone briefing. "At the same time, a question still remains about whether the seriousness of purpose and the intent of coming back into compliance that the U.S. showed will be reciprocated by Iran," the official said. "We saw some signs of but certainly not enough." The official reiterated that Washington is prepared to lift those sanctions that are inconsistent with the nuclear deal. "Without getting into specifics, I would say that that's our position, all sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA and are inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expects from the JCPOA, we are prepared to lift," the official said, but adding "that doesn't mean all of them because there are some that are legitimate sanctions." Also on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that all sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump were "anti-JCPOA" and must be removed. "Iran proposes a logical path to full JCPOA compliance: the United States, which caused this crisis, should return to full compliance first," he said. The senior U.S. official told reporters that "if Iran sticks to the position that every sanction that has been imposed since 2017 has to be lifted or there will be no deal, then we're heading towards an impasse." The official also expressed his frustration about the indirect talks over sanctions issues as Europeans shuttled between U.S. and Iranian delegations. "It would be infinitely easier if we had direct conversations with Iran ... It's impossible for the EU to have a discussion about our sanctions," the official said. The official noted that the parties of the Iran nuclear deal would reconvene next week in Vienna, to clarify steps that Washington and Tehran need to take to revive the deal. "Our hope is that we'll see from Iran greater indication of what they're prepared to do and greater indication that they will take a constructive attitude in getting there," he said. The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) together with the EU. Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran under the Trump administration. In response, Iran suspended the implementation of parts of its obligations under the deal. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) For Subscribers Mom shares story of son's suicide, shines light on teen mental health After Aiden Alexander's suicide, his family wants to break the stigma associated with suicide so more youths can be helped. Keep your hands outside the window! My hands are right here. Whats going on? Get out of the car now! Officer Crocker: Get out of the car! Whats going on? Get out of the car now! Get out of the car now! Im serving this country and this is how Im treated? Guess what? Im a veteran too. I learned to obey! Thats Get out of the car! Whats going on? Get out of the car now! Whats going on? Whats going on is youre fixing to ride the lightning, son. Im sorry, what? Get out of the car now! Whats going on? Get out of the car now! Get out of the car! Sir, just get out of the car! Work with us, and well talk to you. Get out of the car. You received an order. Obey it! Im honestly afraid afraid to get out, can I Yeah, you should be! Get out! Whats going on? What did I do? Get out now! I have not committed any crimes. Youre stubborn. A traffic violation. Youre not cooperating. At this point, right now, youre under arrest. Youre being detained. For a traffic violation. I do not have to get out of the vehicle. You havent even told me why Im being stopped. Get your hands off. Get out of the car now. Get out of the car. Get your hands off me, please. Get your hands off me. You know what? Get your hands off me. Get your hands off me. I didnt do anything. Dont do that. Get out of the car, now. Dont do that. Im trying to talk to you. OK. Im trying to talk Get out of the car. Can you please relax? Can you please relax? Get out of the car right now. Now. That is not how you treat a Im actively serving this country and this is how youre going to treat me? I didnt do anything. Whoa, hold on. Whats going on? Hold on. Watch it. Get out of the car! Get out of the car now! [strained speech] Thats fucked up. Thats fucked up. Get out of the car now! Sir, just get out the car. Im trying to breathe. Get out of the car, now! Thats fucked up. Thats really fucked up. Yeah, get out of the car and get on the ground now or youre going to get it again. I dont even want to reach for my seatbelt, can you Take your seatbelt off and get out of the car! Can you please Get out of the car now! World leaders, including President Joe Biden, honored the memory of Britain's Prince Philip after news of his death on Friday at age 99. Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. The Bidens had extended their condolences to the royal family and acknowledged Prince Philip's remarkable life, Buzzfeed News reported. "From his service during World War II, to his 73 years alongside the Queen, and his entire life in the public eye - Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the UK, the Commonwealth, and to his family," Biden and his wife, Jill, said in a statement. President Biden added that the Duke of Edinburgh's legacy would live on not only through his family but in all the charitable endeavors he shaped. Previous U.S. presidents have also offered their condolences, including Donald Trump and Barack Obama. Trump hailed Prince Philip for his exceptional example of "service, constancy, and patriotism," noting his military career as part of the Royal Navy. Trump said that he and his wife, Melania had the opportunity to visit the United Kingdom, and they saw firsthand how the Monarchy epitomizes and carries on British people's virtues - "and no one did so more than Prince Philip." On the other hand, the Obamas said they remembered the Duke of Edinburgh as warm and kind, "with a sharp wit and unfailing good humor." "At the Queen's side or trailing the customary two steps behind, Prince Philip showed the world what it meant to be a supportive husband to a powerful woman," the Obamas said in their statement. Former U.S. President George Bush also published a statement, saying that he and his wife are saddened to hear Prince Philip's death. READ NEXT: The British Royal Family vs COVID-19 World Leaders Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also sent his condolences to the Royal family and the United Kingdom on behalf of Mexico's people and government. Russian president Vladimir also sent out his message through a telegram to Queen Elizabeth II, offering his deep condolences in light of Prince Philip's passing, English Pravda reported. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reminisced his memory with the Duke of Edinburgh, saying that he met him when he was just a child. He also noted Prince Philip's service and sense of duty to others, adding that he will be remembered as a champion for young people, The Globe and Mail reported. Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia also sent a telegram of condolence to the Queen, affectionately addressing her as "Aunt Lilibet." "We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing away of dear Uncle Philip," the Spanish royals said in a The Telegraph report. Prince Philip's Funeral Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle updated their website, Archewell.com, to share a message honoring the Duke of Edinburgh's memory. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had been living in Canada and the U.S. since 2019. The couple was keeping in touch with Prince Harry's grandfather through video calls in recent months, according to a Yahoo News report. Before his death, Prince Philip has been involved in planning his funeral with a code name Operation Forth Bridge. But Prince Philip's funeral is likely to be smaller due to the current COVID restrictions, limiting rules about large gatherings. There will not be as many heads of state in attendance or politicians. However, his family will be the ones to be at the funeral, including Queen Elizabeth II, to lead the family in mourning, according to another Yahoo News report. Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, will also be at the funeral, including the Cambridge family and the Sussex family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would have to test negative in their COVID tests in compliance with COVID restrictions if they would fly to go to Prince Philip's funeral. READ MORE: Meghan: Kate And The Royal Family Are "So Uptight" WATCH: Biden Praises Prince Philip's Years of Public Service in Letter to Queen Elizabeth - From Bloomberg Quicktake: Now With the support of IT BT & ST Dept., Government of Karnataka A collaborative initiative of the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) & Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) - with the support of IT BT & ST Dept., Government of Karnataka, a portal for scientific information for scientists & the public has been launched, called Covid-Kosha. "Covid-19 continues to cause deaths globally. A single online centre for all scientific information can enhance the speed and efficiency of communication among scientists, health professionals, policymakers and the public. We developed such a unique information source, the Covid-Kosha. The beta version of this database is now available at covidkosha.org OR resource.ibab.ac.in/ covidkosha. The database is a result of a collaborative effort between IBAB, BBC and BdataA. Efforts are on to expand the collaborations", said Kshitish K Acharya, Faculty Scientist, IBAB, & Founder, BdataA, Bengaluru. The main features of this database include a painstaking compilation of scientific information, multi-lingual versions, new software for data analysis, and access to all other standard online sources of scientific information related to Covid-19. There are plans to create additional features in the database. "To maintain the database and develop more useful features, we need further support financially and otherwise, Acharya added. Help India! The Matua community, with 1.5 crore voters, has always been politically active in West Bengal. Amid political drama and family feuds with fiery statements, it is evident that the Matua community, which has a significant vote share, remains a political tool for every party but one that might determine the fate of the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021. Suprakash Majumdar, TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles West Bengal: On March 27, Prime Minister visited the Orakandi temple in Bangladesh on March 27. The visit came amid the ongoing West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021, and was seen as an apparent move to reach out and gain the support of the Matua community. The community, which has nearly 1.5 crore voters in West Bengal, hold significance for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), who are looking to wrest control from All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) to rule the eastern Indian state. Matua is a Dalit community in West Bengal, who have migrated from Bangladesh during and after the Bangladesh war of 1971. Most of the Matuas dont have citizenship rights in India. There is no official data of how many Matuas live in West Bengal, but it is believed that 20 to 30 per cent of Bengals population consists of Matuas and has a hold on over one-fourth of the entire legislative assembly seats in the state. Prolay, 40, who is a Matua, told TwoCircles.net that he wants citizenship rights. He has all the documents an Indian citizen has: an Aadhaar, voting ID, ration card but still isnt regarded as a citizen. He says his ancestors came to Thakurnagar, the epicentre of the Matua community in West Bengal, in the mid-70s. When someone asks us our nationality, what do we say? I was born here, but I cannot say I am Indian because nobody has given us that right in so many years, he rues. The Matua community has always been politically active in West Bengal, where all parties have always tried to woo them to exploit their vote share. The Thakur family of Thakurnagar is considered to be the most prominent family with great influence over how the community thinks. Kapil Krishna Thakur became the face of the movement politically. He was supported by TMC and given a ticket to contest elections in the 2014 General Elections, but he passed away few months into his term. His wife, Mamata Thakur won from the same seat on a TMC ticket. Eyeing a big voter share of the community, and Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) promise of implementing the controversial CAA-NRC, some groups within the community started shifting towards the BJP. Among these, one was Shantanu Thakur, nephew of sitting MP Mamata Thakurwho got a ticket from the BJP in the 2019 General Elections, now an MP from Bongaon. Both sides claim to have the communitys support, and both sides also support citizenship rights but disagree on the means. While talking to TwoCircles.net, Shantanu Thakur said, We have the support of all Matuas. As promised BJP brought Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for the community but unfortunately due to the pandemic, the implementation has been stalled. But as soon as the cabinet is formed BJP will implement it and Matuas shall get the citizenship they have waited for. Another member of the Matua community Bapi, 60, says, We want citizenship but I dont think BJP will be able to implement anything. It seems that they are lying to us about this. See how many promises they have made to the people? They havent fulfilled any! When asked about TMC and Mamata Banerjee, he says, They only care about Muslims. No one talks about us Matuas? Mamata Thakur of TMC believes that, citizenship rights are an absolutely important issue. It is definitely our concern. The Matua Mahasabha and TMC have similar stances on citizenship rights, he said. According to her, the current version of CAA gives rights to only Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians but not specifically Matuas. Matuas are not Hindus, we have our own religious beliefs, and it seems like an attempt to Hindu-ize Matuas, she said. Commenting on the PMs visit to Orakandi temple, she says It is a political gimmick. We welcome the PM visiting our sacred place, but we have to note the timing of this visit too, she says. She accuses BJP of being a casteist party, saying, We know what they have done to our Dalit sisters. It is better if they do not speak about us at all. Mamata Banerjee is the only leader who has talked about us properly. Although most of the Matua people dont have citizenship, some have managed to get it illegally. Ravi (name changed), who lives in Barasat of north 24 Parganas is one of them. His father came to India in the mid-70s and lives in India as a refugee. He managed to get Indian citizenship by bribing the officials. Amid this political drama and family feuds with fiery statements, it is evident that the Matua community, which has a significant vote share, remains a political tool for every party but one that might determine the fate of the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021. Florida officials have been scrambling over the past week after a wastewater pond at the former Piney Point phosphate mining facility sprung a major leak a situation officials described as a potential "catastrophe." While officials have managed to drain the reservoir enough so that a "tidal wave" of wastewater did not flood the area, experts told CBS News that the threat to the environment remains. Residents who live immediately around the area are physically safe for the time being, state officials said, but millions of gallons of water have flowed into the ground and local waterways, and millions more were pumped directly into Port Manatee, an entrance to Tampa Bay on Florida's west coast, to prevent the reservoir from collapsing. From March 26 to April 9, approximately 237 million gallons of water either leaked or were intentionally discharged from the reservoir, the state's environmental department said. Officials stopped discharging water into the port on Friday, according to the state's water quality dashboard. Its now a no fly zone so I cannot get any additional drone video. The county live stream drone is offline. #PineyPoint pic.twitter.com/Yedq05GPoX David Allen (@DWAinFL) April 5, 2021 The water was determined to not have harmful levels of radioactive material, and officials have said the water in the reservoir meets marine water quality standards "with the exception of pH, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and total ammonia nitrogen." When questioned by CBS News, the state's environmental department did not specify what the water quality standards are for both the facility and marine waters. "It is slightly acidic, but not at a level that is expected to be a concern," the department said in a statement. "Field operation teams are now deploying nutrient reduction and removal treatments of the water on-site to address any required discharges in the future. This will significantly reduce nutrient loading to Port Manatee and help minimize water quality impacts." Story continues Dr. Henry Briceno, a professor and water quality researcher at Florida International University who has several degrees in geological engineering, told CBS News that despite what officials say, the water does not meet water quality standards and officials should not "try to play games with people." "The concentrations of the nutrients are way higher than the receiving water body," he said, referring to Port Manatee. "Those waters are not within normal, regular criteria of water quality for Tampa Bay. " The nutrients most of concern when it comes to the wastewater which is a combination of saltwater from a local dredge project, process water and stormwater are nitrogen and phosphorus. While both are essential to plant life, excessive amounts can destroy ecosystems, experts say. A joint statement issued this week by the environmental groups Suncoast Waterkeeper and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper estimated that the amount of nutrients entering Tampa Bay were equal to "approximately 100,000 bags of fertilizer" and that the wastewater "has approximately ten times the nitrogen of raw sewage." These figures, the groups said, are based on recent samples and levels of nitrogen may vary throughout the water column. Jenna Stevens, state director of the organization Environment Florida, described the impact of this "nutrient pollution" to CBS News. "Each body of water has a certain amount of pollution that it can take before things get really, really bad and we start seeing large water quality problems. And this amount of nutrient pollution can be really damaging," Stevens said. "When [officials] were like, 'Oh, well, it's no more acidic than a cup of coffee,' well, it still doesn't meet water quality standards for marine waters. It's too acidic for our waterways and it's too loaded with these pollutants." The Tampa Bay Estuary Program, which is tracking water data near Piney Point, says on its online database that they are most concerned about increased total nitrogen and ammonia going into the coastal waters because of the drastic impact these nutrients can have on the ecosystem's health. Nitrogen concentrations higher than 5-10 milligrams per liter may be problematic, the program says, and reports show that water near Piney Point was recorded with nitrogen levels significantly higher than that. On March 31, five days after the company that owns Piney Point submitted a report to the state that water was seeping into the gypsum stack that holds the water, one water sample from Piney Point Creek, which wastewater was initially leaking into, registered 191.5 milligrams per liter of nitrogen, an amount more than 19 times higher than the noted limit. Another point nearby registered 214.4 milligrams per liter, which is more than 21 times higher, according to the database. According to environmental officials, the total nitrogen concentration in marine water should be limited to 0.74 milligrams per liter. A week later, on April 7, officials said "elevated levels of phosphorus" were detected in Port Manatee, where wastewater from the Piney Point reservoir was being discharged. An April 5 water sample detected 2.1 milligrams per liter of orthophosphate, a form of phosphorus. That level is 21 times higher than the marine quality standard for phosphorus, which is 0.10 milligrams per liter. Other samples taken from the port on that date also had levels at least double the standard threshold. Stevens, from Environment Florida, fears what this spill, or any in the future, could do to Tampa Bay, which for decades has been the focus of restoration and protection after being disastrously polluted in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, locals, the state and the federal government took on extensive efforts to revitalize the area. A history of protection and restoration efforts in Tampa Bay. / Credit: Tampa Bay Estuary Program A priority of those efforts was maintaining appropriate levels of nitrogen. Excessive amounts of the nutrient leads to more algae, which reduces the amount of light able to enter the water. Algal blooms, Briceno explained, create a devastating cascading effect for marine life, as the algae changes oxygen levels as it continues to expand, and even when it dies and rots. "It's a mechanism that feeds itself and is continuous," Briceno said, adding he "will not be surprised" if it happens. Environmental officials told CBS News on Saturday that there are "visual observations" of increased algae in the water. "Algal bloom samples have been collected in an abundance of caution and are currently being processed," they said. And if it does, it will also take a negative toll on seagrass, a vital plant for Tampa Bay's ecosystem. Seagrass, along with being a vital food and habitat source for manatees and other marine life, is essential for improving overall water quality. It's taken decades and millions of dollars to restore seagrasses, and all it takes, Stevens said, is extra acidity to wipe it all out. "So much of our way of life here in Florida is about our time on the water... It's where we get outside and enjoy our lives," Stevens said. "Scientists and advocates alike have been saying for decades that this is a problem, and polluters were not held accountable. And now, Floridians have to pay the price for their mess." And if the seagrass goes, it could jeopardize Florida manatees, which are a threatened species that are in the midst of an unexpected die-off event, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. More than 600 manatees were found dead between January 1 and April 2. Between 2016 and 2020, the population averaged 203 deaths per year. Experts believe that manatees' access to food is a contributing factor, though not the sole reason, for the sudden die-off. "There needs to be more studying obviously done to totally determine what are the causes of all these deaths," Stevens said, "but what we are seeing leads us to believe that these manatees are running out of food, that they are potentially starving to death because of seagrass loss around the state." The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has made similar statements, nothing that food loss is a "contributing factor" to manatee deaths. "Seagrass like many plants requires sunlight to grow," the commission says on its website. "Since 2011, persistence of algal blooms has resulted in reduced water clarity and light penetration which led to a dramatic reduction of seagrass. Seagrass is the primary food for manatees in these systems." In the first six weeks of 2021, there were 317 manatee deaths across the state. Thats almost half of all deaths reported in Florida for all of last year. @MyFWC is investigating this huge increase in deaths. https://t.co/vVYsvmYiC4 CBS4 Miami (@CBSMiami) March 10, 2021 The Florida Senate voted to allocate $3 million for the 2021-2022 fiscal year to help clean up the wastewater at Piney Point. But the funds, if they are included in the final budget, would not be available until July 1 a month after hurricane season officially begins. Tropical storms and hurricanes pose a larger risk to local and environmental safety around Piney Point, as strong storms could cause damage overflows in ponds and infrastructure. These storms have become more frequent and more intense over the years, and this year, the National Hurricane Center will start routinely monitoring tropical weather. Todd Crowl, director of the Institute of Environment at Florida International University, said that while the wastewater dump into Port Manatee is bad, normally ecosystems can recover as long as they are not continuously infiltrated. "But if you whack it once, and then you whack it again in a pretty short amount of time," he said, "it never has time to quite recover." Tampa Bay, he said, "is getting dangerously close" to such a problem, and a hurricane hitting before the system can recover may create more permanent damage. It could take months to see the full effects of the wastewater dump, but Briceno fears that the ramifications will impact South Florida's already fragile waters. "That's what I am afraid that we could have in those ecosystems... that we go beyond those tipping points," he said. "And then we don't know what's gonna happen, but it's not gonna be good, for sure." Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark dies at 93 Activists fear environmental impact after toxic wastewater dumped in Tampa Bay Record numbers of migrants attempt to enter U.S. amid worsening economic conditions at home April 8 marked one month that 700 nurses have been on strike at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. The main demand of the nurses is the implementation of safe staffing ratios at the hospitalan urgent necessity to protect the health and lives of nurses and patients alike. The need for safe staffing ratios has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to an increased influx of seriously ill patients and placed tremendous strain on nurses and other health care workers at St. Vincent. As at other hospitals across the US during the pandemic, nurses have been forced to work with woefully inadequate personal protective equipment, staffing and medical equipment. They have taken on the roles of both nurse and family liaison as patients sufferstruggling to breathe, undergoing treatment, being intubated. Those who die do so without their family members at their sides because they are barred from entering the hospital due to the contagion. Even before the pandemic, medical-surgical nurses would regularly have to care for six or seven patients, even though their contract calls for a maximum of five. Striking Worcester nurses. Pictured left to right: Louisa Moraes, Mary Marengo, Joe Stafford (Credit: WSWS) Nurses taking a stand against these horrific conditions have been met with callousness by hospital management, which has failed to even respond to their demands. St. Vincent is owned by Tenet Healthcare, the Dallas, Texas-based health care conglomerate, which has so far spent at least $22 million to hire strikebreaking replacement nurses. The hospital has installed two surveillance towers to monitor strikers and are paying the Worcester Police Department $30,000 a day to keep hospital entrances open. But despite this well-financed and coordinated campaign of intimidation and strikebreaking by hospital management, striking nurses are not receiving strike pay from the Massachusetts Nurses Association union (MNA). Strikers are being forced to demonstrate financial need to access the unions ad hoc relief fund for assistance. The union has set up a Venmo/PayPal fund to receive private donations that the MNA matches dollar for dollar, which has raised a little more than $70,000 in donations. If matched, the approximately $140,000 will make a pitiful dent in the millions owed to the hundreds of nurses who soon will have been without a paycheck for a month. As strikers confront the multibillion-dollar Tenet behemoth, many do not have health care insurance themselves. They are also waiting for a decision by the state over whether they will even be eligible for unemployment benefits. Why is it, then, that striking nurses are being hung out to dry financially as they demonstrate a determination to fight for the rights and conditions of nurses and patients, both at St. Vincent and across the country? Is it because the MNA is lacking in resources, or because the strikers have no support among fellow health care workers and the public? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding no. According to a filing by the MNA with the US Department of Labor for the period covering July 2019 through June 2020, the union had assets of $13,889,584 at the end of the reporting period. Union members dues payments and nonunion workers so-called agency fees accounted for $21,236,682 of the unions $22,667,948 total receipts. Regular union dues range from $69 to $89 a month for the MNAs more than 23,000 members. This means that nurses pay $828 to $1,068 annually for MNA representation, yet are receiving no strike pay. Fifty MNA officers and employees received gross annual pay of more than $100,000 (20192020). The highest paid officers included: Julie B. Pinkham, executive director: $190,246 David Schildmeier, director of public communications: $162,876 Shirley Thompson, director of operations: $153,324 Roland Goff, strategic campaign director: $153,021 Maryanne Bray, director: $149,316 Judith Pare, nursing director: $145,353 There were also 22 associate directors who were each paid $110,000 to $152,000; three community organizers who received between $131,000 and $139,000 each; and three strategic campaign directors who were each paid between $131,000 and $140,000. The combined compensation for all officers and employees totaled more than $9.4 million. Yet striking nurses are supposed to survive on charity and an uncertain relief fund! This is not because there is no money in the MNAs bank account, or because the unions bylaws do not authorize strike pay. The withholding of strike pay is a deliberate policy of sabotage on the part of the union to drive the strikers into submission. There is no other logical explanation. The striking St. Vincent nurses have received overwhelming support from the public in Worcester. The city, an industrial powerhouse in the mid-19th century, was in economic distress even before the pandemic. Services, particularly education and health care, make up a large portion of the citys economy, with the operation of hospitals and many universities and colleges in the area. Restaurants and other small businesses have fallen on hard times during the pandemic, with state-imposed restrictions and little assistance from the misnamed Payroll Protection Program from the federal government. Meanwhile, Tenet Healthcares 65-hospital system recorded an operating income of $1.99 billion in 2020, up from $1.54 billion in 2019. Tenet ended the year with a net income of $399 million compared to a net loss of $215 million in 2019. Tenet received more than $1 billion in stimulus funds via the CARES Act. The MNA is begging for this same Tenet to accede to the nurses demands for safe-staffing ratios. In a recent online appearance, Dominique Muldoon, co-chair of the MNA bargaining unit at St. Vincent, said: Tenet makes profit out of sick people. In the states we dont think its a bad thing to make money, but we dont think we should be taken advantage of. They have to put money back into the business and take care of people who are coming in for care. But this is not going to happen. The health care giant has responded to its good fortune in the pandemic by laying off more than 10 percent of its 113,000 employees. Can anyone really believe that a company that is spending $5 million a week to break the St. Vincent strike is going to take care of people who are coming in for care by agreeing to the safe staffing ratios that nurses are fighting for? Tenet is a capitalist enterprise that is seeking to make the maximum profit off its workforce. It is not in the health care business to improve peoples health or protect its workers from unsafe conditions. And the MNA, as a union, defends the so-called right of Tenet Healthcare to profit off of health care and therefore accepts their deepening exploitation of workers. If the MNA were truly seeking to fight for the rights and conditions of its members, it would not be denying them strike pay. It also would not isolate the nurses from the other unions at St. Vincent. There has been no struggle to mobilize other staff at the hospital behind nurses. The United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), for its part, sent its members back to work in the midst of the nurses strike, agreeing to a sellout agreement. The MNA has not called out the rest of the 23,000 nurses and other health care workers represented by the union to support the St. Vincent nurses, even though understaffing is a grave problem throughout the health care industry. Rather, it has promoted a continuous stream of Democratic Party politiciansMassachusetts two US senators and various US congressmen and local representativesin an effort to channel the anger of nurses behind this big-business party and foster the illusion that they can pressure Tenet into being a kinder and gentler capitalist corporation. In this, the MNA functions as an arm of management. The unions play a similar role in the struggles of autoworkers, teachers, miners and other workers. On Friday, over 1,000 striking coal miners at Warrior Met Coal in Alabama overwhelmingly and courageously rejected a sellout contract backed by the United Mine Workers union. The deal pushed by the UMW failed to make up for earlier wage cuts accepted by the union and would have maintained brutal working conditions. Nurses at St. Vincent are fighting not just for themselves, but for their patients and the working class as a whole. They must not allow the MNA to starve them back to work through denial of strike pay. Nurses should advance the following demands: The MNA must provide nurses with $750 a week in strike pay for the duration of the strike. Nonessential union bureaucrats should be furloughed for the duration of the strike. No MNA employee should receive more than the nurses strike pay. Expand the strike! Mobilize the 23,000 members of the MNA to support the St. Vincent nurses! Nurses at St. Vincent should form a rank-and-file strike committee, independent of the unions and the Democratic Party, to begin the fight for these demands. In addition, an urgent appeal should be made to other health care workers, Amazon workers, educators, and broader sections of workers, in Massachusetts and beyond, to join nurses in the struggle for safe working conditions, higher wages, and more. For more information and assistance in forming a rank-and-file committee, contact the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party today. Mumbai, April 10 : Beset with an acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Saturday urged the Centre to formulate a 'criteria-based policy' for distribution and disbursement of doses to different states. "The policy should take into account the state's population and the number of 'active cases' on the policy of equitable distribution and disbursement of vaccines," state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. Three days after the state and Centre had a major spat on the issue, the MVA has reiterated its demand for 1.60 crore vaccine doses per month to ensure 40-lakhs inoculations per week and combat the pandemic. "We have a daily requirement of inoculating upto 600,000 people This comes to around 1.60-crore doses per month. We need the vaccine stocks accordingly and the Centre should provide it to us," Tope said. He pointed out that the Centre must consider the fact that 60 per cent of all the Covid-19 'active cases' currently in the country are in Maharashtra, and the vaccines quota must be enhanced suitably. "Where there are more cases, it is necessary that we develop immunity for which vaccination is the only answer It is the 'kavach-kundal' that we need, a 'Ram-baan'," said Tope in an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he was in regular contact with the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and others and requesting them to help replenish the state vaccine stocks. Besides Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar and other MVA leaders have been repeatedly urging the Centre to allot more doses to the state in view of the serious pandemic situation here. Tope said that out of the latest dispatch of 3.50 crore doses, Maharashtra got 7.50 lakh and after much persuasion it was hiked by another 10-lakh doses. Presently, the state has around eight-lakh doses available from its earlier stocks, and the Centre has assured another four-lakh doses in a day or so, followed by more later, the minister said. In contrast, he said that many smaller states with less population and lesser incidence of 'active cases' like Gujarat have got more doses than Maharashtra. While Gujarat population of 6-crore with a total of around 3.50 lakh cases and 70,000 active cases, the Maharashtra tally has crossed 32-lakhs with over half-million active patients. A healthcare worker administers a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine to a woman in Manhattan, New York City on Jan. 29, 2021. (Mike Segar/Reuters) More Side Effects With Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine: CDC Study People who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine reported more side effects than those who got the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The studypublished online in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on April 5looked at data collected from over 3 million participants vaccinated from Dec. 14, 2020, through Feb. 28, 2021, in the CDCs v-safe active surveillance system. However, only 1,920,872 participants reported getting the second vaccine dose. More than 46 million Americans had gotten at least one dose of the vaccine by Feb. 21. The participants were asked about their postvaccination experience, including occurrences of adverse events within seven days after being vaccinated. The report included only local or systemic reactions and did not include severe side effects like anaphylactic shock, which will be addressed in a later study. Of those who received one dose of the messenger RNA vaccine, 74 percent of Moderna recipients reported injection site reactions of pain, swelling, redness, and itching, as opposed to 65.4 percent of the Pfizer/BioNTech recipients. Furthermore, 52 percent of those who received the Moderna vaccine said they had a generalized reaction like fatigue, headache, and body pain, compared to 48 percent of recipients who had the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Both local and systemic reactions occurred more frequently after the second dose for both vaccines: Moderna recipients reported 82 percent and 74 percent, while Pfizer/BioNTech recipients reported 69 percent and 64.2 percent, respectively. For both doses of both vaccines, the percentage of v-safe participants who reported local and systemic reactions was highest on day 1 after vaccination and declined markedly through day 7, the authors said. In addition, people aged 65 and older were less likely to experience adverse reactions than those younger than 65, regardless of which vaccine was given. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, on Jan. 21, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that most adverse reactions occur between 15 to 45 days following vaccination. Its very, very, very unlikely that youre going to have an effect, 5 or 10 years down the pike, Fauci said in an interview on March 13. The reason we say that is that we have decades of experience in the field of vaccinology and virtually all of the effects if they even occur, and theyre very rare, occur within 15 to 45 days following the dose. Fauci was addressing concerns of whether people may file a lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturers if they experience adverse reactions five or 10 years after receiving an inoculation. He said that there is a fund that allows the compensation for injury. Pharmaceutical companies are granted immunity from liability by the federal government under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act (pdf) that was passed in 2005. People injured or who die from a COVID-19 vaccine must instead file a claim and prove their injury or death within a year after receiving the shot under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, a federal government program established as a result of the PREP Act. Two days after the publication of the CDC study, the NIAID announced that it was funding a Phase 2 trial to examine whether people with a history of allergic reactions or who have a mast cell disorder are at increased risk of an immediate, systemic allergic reaction to the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. The public understandably has been concerned about reports of rare, severe allergic reactions to the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, Fauci said in a statement. The information gathered during this trial will help doctors advise people who are highly allergic or have a mast cell disorder about the risks and benefits of receiving these two vaccines. Signs of severe allergic reactions include throat tightness, nausea, dizziness, agitation, and a sudden increase in secretions from the eyes, nose, or mouth. Symptoms of anaphylaxis often occur within 15 to 30 minutes of vaccination, though it can sometimes take several hours for symptoms to appear. More than 114 million people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over 68 million people have been fully vaccinated as of April 9, according to the CDC. The Epoch Times has reached out to Moderna for comment. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. India and are planning to hold a '2+2' format meeting of foreign and defence ministers in Tokyo later this month, Japanese media reported. According to NHK, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Defence Minister Kishi Nobuo are due to attend the meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. This will the second such meeting between the two countries as the inaugural meeting of the India- Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was held on November 30, 2019, in New Delhi. According to Asia Nikkei, this comes as China ramps up its activities in the disputed East and South China Seas. Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is also making arrangements to visit India. The ministers are expected to discuss ways to cooperate more closely on defence. and India signed an agreement last year to allow the Self-Defence Forces and the Indian military to provide each other with food and fuel. The NHK, in a report, said that the Japanese government is increasingly looking to India as an ally that shares basic values and can help work toward a free and open Indo-Pacific as China continues to assert itself across the region. Both India and Japan time and again have asserted that they are committed to efforts to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. Last month, the leaders of the Quad alliance -- India, the US, Japan and Australia had underscored the importance of a "free and open" Indo-Pacific region during the group's first-ever leaders' summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that Quad has now come of age and will serve as an important pillar in ensuring the stability of the Indo-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region features several territorial disputes in the South China and East China seas which involve Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Beijing claims most of the region. Other issues to be discussed by the Japanese and Indian ministers will likely include joint efforts toward strengthening supply chains in the Asian region, Japan Times reported quoting a Japanese government source. In October last year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited Tokyo to take part in the second India-Australia-Japan-USA Ministerial Meeting. The grouping of India Australia, Japan and the US is also known as 'Quad'. Last year in September, the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force jointly held the fourth edition of India-Japan maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX in the North Arabian Sea. JIMEX series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 22:49:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Despite COVID-19 restrictions, mourners have continued to travel to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh who passed away on Friday at the age of 99. Britain's Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, died at Windsor Castle on Friday morning. All British government buildings have been told to fly official flags at half-mast in tribute to the duke until 08:00 BST on the day after the duke's funeral. Gun salutes have been fired across Britain on Saturday, on land and at sea in memory of the duke, the BBC reported. Saluting batteries began firing 41 rounds at one round every minute from midday on Saturday in cities including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well from Royal Navy warships. The royal family website has asked people not to leave flowers and tributes at royal residences. The website encourages members of the public to consider making a donation to a charity instead of leaving floral tributes. No official details have been announced yet about the duke's funeral, but it is understood the Duke of Edinburgh will be given a royal ceremonial funeral rather than a state funeral according to his wishes, Sky News reported. The Buckingham Palace is expected to release during the weekend details about the days to come and the duke's funeral. Prince Philip was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921. He married Princess Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became Queen, and was the longest-serving royal consort in British history. The couple had four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. In May 2017, the 96-year-old duke retired from his own program of royal duties after carrying out more than 20,000 solo public engagements. The duke left hospital last month after a month-long treatment. He underwent a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition, according to Buckingham Palace. Enditem COLUMBIA With time running out on their 2021 calendar, South Carolina lawmakers have made little progress toward closing ethics loopholes for big-spending special government district leaders. Nor have they given the states top law enforcement agency the money it says it needs to better investigate public corruption. But influential legislators say they remain committed to tackling those concerns, which were highlighted earlier this year in The Post and Couriers Uncovered series, a yearlong project with community newspapers aimed at unearthing corruption and abuses of power in small-town South Carolina. Some of the fixes, like bolstering the State Law Enforcement Divisions crime-fighting budget, are still achievable before the Legislature adjourns for the year this summer even amid a legislative session dominated by guns, abortion and how to classify transgender student athletes. Other efforts, like substantially reforming the hundreds of special government districts that spend taxpayer money with scant oversight, likely will bleed into 2022, the second half of the General Assemblys two-year session. Gov. Henry McMaster and influential lawmakers have called for these changes since shortly after the newspaper published its first installment of Uncovered on Feb. 14. That story showcased how unethical and illegal behavior by public officials has flourished throughout South Carolina as news outlets have closed or laid off reporters and law enforcement has paid less attention. Closing ethics loopholes The newspaper highlighted how the leaders of South Carolinas little-watched natural gas authorities spent hundreds of thousands of public dollars treating themselves to excursions that featured winery tours, glass-blowing lessons and zip-line rides. Days later, several senators proposed requiring special district commissioners, including those gas authority leaders, to publicly disclose more about their spending for the public to see. But that bill has languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it hasnt been taken up for debate. Donate to our Investigative Fund to support journalism like this Our public service and investigative reporting is among the most important work we do. Its also the most expensive reporting we do. We cant do it without your support. Donate Now The bills sponsors blame the slow-moving committee for the delay. Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin, a Myrtle Beach Republican, said he too supports S. 548, but its sponsors hadnt pushed him to fast-track it. Either way, the proposal now has missed crossover, the General Assemblys April 10 deadline for bills to pass either the House or the Senate. That means it faces a tougher road to passage this year. All sides agree the bill should get a Senate hearing soon and could pass the chamber by the end of the year. But after missing crossover, it would need widespread approval in the House of Representatives in order to become law this year. Typically, only noncontroversial bills survive missing the crossover deadline. Transparency and accountability for ratepayers and taxpayers has to be among the highest priorities for the General Assembly, said state Sen. Wes Climer, a Rock Hill Republican who sponsored the bill. This particular legislation is low-hanging fruit. This is an obvious problem that has an obvious solution. Hiring a forensic auditor The Uncovered series also exposed how SLED, the states top crime-fighting agency, needs more help pursuing white-collar offenses and public corruption cases. The agency has investigated some 1,443 cases of government misconduct over the past decade but lacks a single forensic auditor or white-collar crime unit. That means all of its agents share the responsibility of working those cases, often while juggling investigations into drug trafficking, violent crime, arsons and police-involved shootings. SLED Chief Mark Keel asked state lawmakers to set aside $159,000 in next years $9 billion budget so his agency can hire an agent who specializes in financial crimes. But House budget writers didnt include the money in its first draft of the budget. House budget committee chairman Murrell Smith said the coronavirus pandemic limited what lawmakers could spend. The House believed it had $189 million to spend and dedicated it all to pay raises for teachers and law enforcement, the Sumter Republican said. But lawmakers received good news on April 8. State budget analysts found the S.C. economy had outperformed projections over the past year, meaning lawmakers will have nearly $386 million more in recurring funds to spend in next years budget. That means lawmakers will take another look at SLEDs request before finalizing their second draft of the budget, Smith said. This is absolutely an unusual type of budget scenario, he said. The Senate also gets a say. And Spartanburg Republican Shane Martin, who leads the Senate Finance Committee panel that decides SLEDs budget, said he will fight to help SLED with the request. I do think its a good initiative, and I know Chief Keel to be fiscally responsible, Martin said. If he says itll help him, then I believe him. A task force on special districts Meanwhile, Upstate legislators are embarking on their own effort to bring more accountability to special government districts after reading a Feb. 28 Uncovered installment on abuses of power at a Simpsonville fire department. The story revealed a trove of scandals at Clear Spring Fire District in Greenville County, where top officials were accused of showering themselves with costly benefits, wasting public money on lavish parties, interfering in fire department operations, tripling the pay of a commissioners spouse and retaliating against whistleblowers. In response, Greenville-area lawmakers are working with Greenville County Councilman Lynn Ballard, who has studied special districts for years, to start a task force. They hope to ensure the problems at Clear Spring dont happen somewhere else. The group could assess whether additional screening is needed for special district commissioners, many of whom are elected without background checks in contests that draw only a few dozen voters. It also could delve into more difficult questions, such as whether some of these tiny districts should continue to exist at all. This is something thats long overdue to be talked about, Ballard said, noting those talks wont be easy. Youve got to go in for the long game because its not going to be solved quickly. State Rep. Bruce Bannister, one of the organizers, said it will be important to give special purpose district leaders a seat at the table. District officials, especially fire department chiefs, have tremendous political sway in their local communities, Bannister said. They also can draw from decades of experience about what aspects of special districts are worth saving, and which can be improved, he said. Getting them on board early in the process will help ensure they don't wind up fighting the reform effort at the Statehouse, Bannister said. We want to make sure were not messing up a system that is working for them, Bannister said. We want the good ones involved, so they have some buy-in and dont make a political mess out of it. ADVERTISEMENT The ECOWAS Parliament will in Monrovia meet for the first time in 2021 to discuss ways of fostering women empowerment in the West-African sub-region. The meeting which will hold from April 13 to 17 has the theme, Empowerment of Women in the ECOWAS Region. Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mohamed Tunis, will chair the meeting which will see joint committees on Social Affairs, Gender and Womens Empowerment/ Education Science and Culture and/ Health go into special sessions. The meeting sessions will be taking place from April 13 to 17 in Monrovia and will see representatives from the ECOWAS Parliament and other important ECOWAS bodies come together to map out strategies on empowering women in the sub-region. Meanwhile, womens empowerment and gender equality concepts are important in fostering health and human development. This is achieved when both men and women enjoy the same socio-economic rights and opportunities and have equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making, the communications department of the parliament said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that studies have shown limited commitment by state actors toward achieving womens empowerment in the sub-region. This is even when Article 63 of the ECOWAS Treaty urges state actors to formulate policies and develop programmes that will enhance womens economic, social, and cultural conditions. (NAN) Opinion The disconnect cant be more stark. During the vigil for Eishia Hudson Thursday the 16-year-old Indigenous girl shot by a Winnipeg police officer one year ago attendees released gold balloons that spelled "murdered" and "missing." Marked with red handprints across their faces the symbol of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls activists carried signs announcing: "Winnipeg police killed my sister," "Not another Indigenous life stop killing" and "Justice for Eishia." The grassroots organization Winnipeg Police Cause Harm, which has more than 10,000 followers on social media, was present. It encouraged attendees to support the Hudson familys online fundraising campaign as they challenge the Independent Investigative Units conclusion that no member of the Winnipeg Police Service should be held legally responsible for Hudsons death. "In the murder of my daughter," the family writes on its GoFundMe page, "the officer was let off, with no charges or penalties." The vigil was about the beauty of Eishia and her life. Attendees were encouraged to attach flowers to a mural in her favourite colour: lavender. The opening song honoured her spirit with young dancers in jingle dresses. Loving words were shared by her family and her father William Hudson, standing with local leaders such as NDP MP Leah Gazan. The rain resembled the tears of the 200 people in attendance, with grey clouds drifting over the tragedy of another senseless Indigenous death. The true shadow though, was created by the Winnipeg Police Service, which may have not had much presence there but was definitively there. One year ago this week, Winnipeg police shot three Indigenous people over 10 days. Eishia was the first. The following day, 36-year-old Jason Collins was shot. Nine days later, 22-year-old Stewart Kevin Andrews was shot, too. At the time, police chief Danny Smyth called the shootings "unrelated" and an "anomaly." As I wrote a year ago in this piece: "The problem is, all three officer-involved shootings arent an anomaly, and they are related." No one has been held accountable and, worse yet, IIU investigations have supported the "innocence" of all involved even though its clear bias was present at least in Eishia's shooting. The IIU report into the shooting, for instance, stated that her friends were saying: "Were done bro, were done," "Were not getting out of this" and "They got us now" before the officer opened fire. In fact, Hudsons final words were: "Ok, Stop." Winnipeg police dont consider her death evidence of murder, missing, or anything illegal. All officers in the three shootings have been exonerated and are likely working now (but we dont know because their names are protected). So, all that remains is a widening gap between Indigenous lives and the police with the space filled with politics, racism, and a whole lot of death. Its clear that "anti-racism training," the "Indigenous partnerships" division of the WPS, and the Indigenous relations division of the City of Winnipeg are not saving Indigenous lives. The police service is a signatory to the Winnipeg Indigenous Accord, which is supposed to "strengthen relationships with First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples." Thats not working either. Buying an expensive police helicopter and armoured rescue vehicle isnt helping, but its probably part of the all-time high of Indigenous people in Manitoba jails today. Can we face reality? Police cant fix Canadas racist legacies, which continue to hammer Indigenous peoples into dire poverty, dangerous situations, and life-and-death struggles. Police are the least equipped to deal with the effects of residential schools, the brutal Indian Act, and racist beliefs held by Canadians. The mere fact that police hold guns should convince everyone trauma is not repaired by inserting more trauma. We need far less police and far more community organizations and entities invested in relationship-building, peace, and addressing the biggest epidemic of this countrys 150-plus years of trauma: health. Health comes when people find a balance between their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual selves. This is why rebuilding Indigenous cultures, ceremonies, and languages are key because they bring all four together. We need these entities to help Winnipeggers understand how Canadas racism has built beautiful, wealthy lives for some and incredible trauma for others. This knowledge must come with the message that this may not be the fault of Winnipeggers, but it is an inheritance so everyone must therefore do something about it. Call this movement "defunding the police" if you want. I dont care. I just know that more police, violence, and a lack of action is producing Indigenous deaths. Indigenous peoples are saying it. They are even releasing messages into the sky. The question is whether we can connect to it. niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca ADVERTISEMENT Many things fuel the kidnap economy, chief of which are poverty, unemployment, and inequality. But ultimately, there are five pillars on which the kidnap industry thrives: Ungoverned spaces, gang formation, weapons acquisition, communications, and collusion. All of these are issues that can be dealt with if we are serious about solving the problem. At the end of May 2020, SBM Intelligence published a report which points out that nearly $20 million was spent by Nigerians in ransom payments to kidnappers between 2011 and 2020. What is very important in that report is the observation that the bulk of that money was paid towards the end of that period, indicating an accelerating trend at some point. It is important to stress that the above figure is only from official reports. Unofficial ransom payments by even the state, such as the nearly one billion naira the government paid to Buharin Daji, a prominent militia leader who operated in Zamfara in the North West, was not captured. Since that report was published, kidnaps have made the news over and over, and I have been forced to contribute money towards ransom payments in three cases already this year, for people that I know, who live in three different geopolitical zones of the country. Nigerias current security crises are multifaceted, all of which add to the growth of a shadow economy that looks set to rival the countrys informal economy. The growth of Nigerias shadow economy disproves the maxim that crime does not pay. In our clime, it pays and very handsomely too, which is why persons like Evans, Hamisu Bala Wadume, Gana, amongst others, are accorded a god-like status among those seeking to carve a share of this national cake. Many things fuel the kidnap economy, chief of which are poverty, unemployment, and inequality. But ultimately, there are five pillars on which the kidnap industry thrives: Ungoverned spaces, gang formation, weapons acquisition, communications, and collusion. All of these are issues that can be dealt with if we are serious about solving the problem. In the immediate, short term, the solution to the problem of gangs is to invest in security. Between September 2020 and as recently as yesterday, there have been no fewer than three statements from senior government officialsthat the President is about to restructure or rejig the national security architecture The absence of political will has stifled innovation and exacerbated insecurity. Ungoverned spaces could be in urban or rural areas; for example, Orile in Nigerias commercial capital is, in reality, one huge ungoverned space. The absence of government means the presence of non-state actors competing with the government (NURTW as an example) to take over the roles of the state, and in turn, set up economies that rival that of the state. The issue of ungoverned spaces can be solved by genuinely bringing the government closer to the people. This could be achieved by identifying what each region needs, plugging these gaps and setting a target to improve the lives of the people. China had a target to eliminate extreme poverty. Within a generation, the country lifted a hundred million people out of the depths of poverty. They were able to do this by identifying the areas most vulnerable and by using data, they faced the problem head on by getting to work. Ungoverned spaces will not disappear overnight. However it is critical to tackle these because they help in gang formation. In the immediate, short term, the solution to the problem of gangs is to invest in security. Between September 2020 and as recently as yesterday, there have been no fewer than three statements from senior government officials, from the National Security Adviser to the Vice President, that the President is about to restructure or rejig the national security architecture. Weve heard all that before. The absence of political will has stifled innovation and exacerbated insecurity, which members of the elite class are currently paying for with their lives and money. Equipping the security services to rise to the challenge goes beyond buying weapons. It calls for restructuring. Restructuring of the police force to ensure effective response to crime through the creation of community-controlled policing initiatives. A situation as it regularly obtains in South-East Nigeria, where a good number of the police are foreigners who dont speak the language, lends itself to both ungoverned spaces, and gang formation. Furthermore, investment in security means infrastructure. The National Identification Number is a good step in creating a database of Nigerians. However, its implementation has left a lot to be desired. You cannot resort to putting cameras on the highways (assuming the highways where an intriguing number of kidnap incidents take place are motorable) without being able to identify who exactly carried out the attack. The infrastructures are, and should be interlinked for optimisation. The economy has to work for all on the long term and this cant be done through protectionism and state capture. Economic liberalisation and innovative solutions are among the surest ways to achieve growth for a population looking set to be among the worlds largest by the end of 2050. Education that sets young people on the path to success in competing with their peers should be adopted, alongside repealing legislation that stifle growth. The ease of doing business is not worth the paper it is written on if its implementation is antithetical to its parent goals. The economy has to work for all on the long term and this cant be done through protectionism and state capture. Economic liberalisation and innovative solutions are among the surest ways to achieve growth for a population looking set to be among the worlds largest by the end of 2050. Cheta Nwanze is a partner at SBM Intelligence. The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Photo: Fox When Nazis marched in Charlottesville in 2017, they chanted You will not replace us! and, somewhat more clarifying, Jews will not replace us! The terrorist who gunned down 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, used this slogan (The Great Replacement) in his manifesto. Last night, Tucker Carlson appeared on a prime-time Fox News show to defend this theory, not only in substance but also by name. Replacement theory imagines that an elite cabal, frequently described as Jewish, is plotting to replace the native white population with non-white immigrants, who will pollute and destroy the white Christian culture. Carlson likes to complain about the liberal habit of anathematizing conservative ideas as racist as a substitute for engaging with their substance. So, lets analyze. Carlsons argument is cretinously stupid even by the standards of a Tucker Carlson monologue. He simply asserts that immigration expands the electorate, and therefore dilutes the political power of the existing population: Its a voting-rights question. In a democracy, one person equals one vote. If you change the population, you dilute the political power of the people who live there. So every time they import a new voter, I become disenfranchised as a current voter. Note that he is not merely arguing against illegal immigration. He is arguing against any immigration. Carlson proposes that any new U.S. citizen reduces the political power of the current population. When the Constitution was ratified, the United States had fewer than 4 million people, and 13 states. By Carlsons standard, the last 200 years have been a continuous process of disenfranchisement of that original population. Immigration is a complex issue, and it is obviously possible to support restrictions on either legal or illegal immigration without being racist. But Carlsons point implies that any immigration, legal or illegal, politically disempowers all Americans. Yet hes not arguing for zero immigration. All hes doing is framing immigration as some kind of zero-sum attack on the native population. Anti-immigrant demagoguery is, of course, not new to conservative media. The most significant part of Carlsons monologue is his decision to name-check replacement theory as the description of his ideas: I know that the left and all the little gatekeepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term replacement, if you suggest that the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate the voters now casting ballots with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World. But they become hysterical because thats what happening, actually. Lets just say it. Thats true. Its actually not true. The most generous possible read of this comment is that Carlson lacks the intelligence to understand the word replacement. I dont think the word is especially complex, but allow me to define it. When you replace someone, you remove them from their current position. My employer hires new writers pretty often. If they fired me and gave my job to a new writer, that would be replacement. If they just created a new job, and assigned the writers to work alongside me, that would not be replacement. Immigration is not like replacement, because it does not involve deporting the current population. Of course Carlson is intelligent enough to understand the definition of a grade-school term like replacement. The reason hes using it is quite sinister. He could simply make standard issue, non-racist arguments for lower levels of legal immigration, or perhaps more stringent border security. Instead he actively wants to frame his ideas in terms that appeal to white supremacists. One of the most profound and dangerous developments of the Trump era is that the Republican Party and its affiliated media has extended the rightward boundaries of its coalition to include self-styled white supremacists. They may not be the mainstream of the Republican Party, but they are a part of it. Carlson has been appealing to them for years with wink-and-nod messages that dovetail with their paranoid themes. Last night his embrace of white supremacy crossed an important and dangerous new threshold. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. is pushing for a revision in the country's Mutual Defense Treaty with the US to include armed attack against civilian passenger vessels as a "trigger" for military assistance. "Will work to expand definition of trigger to include civilian passenger craft which is logical," Locsin tweeted Saturday. It was part of a series of tweets discussing ABS-CBN's report that its news crew, onboard a Filipino civilian vessel, was chased down by two missile attack craft of the Chinese Navy, as well as a China Coast Guard ship, when the group tried to enter Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. READ: PH probes reported Chinese attack craft's chase of Filipino civilian vessel in WPS "Wrong vessel," Locsin said over Twitter on Friday. "MDT triggered only by an attack on Philippine public vessel," he added, even mentioning ABS-CBN's lack of a legislative franchise. The MDT, signed by Manila and Washington in 1951, states the two countries will come to each other's defense in case their metropolitan areas or territories in the Pacific are attacked by a foreign force. "[A]n armed attack on either of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or on the Island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean, its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific," the treaty reads. "Im not being sarcastic. Seriously, what if Filipinos on a pleasure craft, one of many yachts out there, crosses an invisible line drawn by China IN Philippine waters? What if they are fired upon or heaven forbid rammedno, not that; those yachts cost millions of dollars," Locsin said in another tweet. Professor Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines' Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said Locsin's tweets show the potential threat posed by China's actions against freedom of navigation. "PH civilian ships in PH waters should not have to worry about unknowingly tripping some invisible wire that makes them targets of China's cannons and missiles," Batongbacal said. Locsin responded it is China that "should worry more." "Trip over the wire it's WW3 (World War 3)," he said. He went on to say the MDT should also cover civilian vessels. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also proposed amending the MDT earlier to provide a clear answer to whether or not the US would come to the Philippines' rescue in case tensions escalate in the disputed South China Sea. In November 2019, Lorenzana said the two countries' officials were still in "low-level discussion." However, in February 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte moved to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement, which complements the MDT, but he has since suspended the abrogation. His foreign policy has been seen as a pivot toward China and away from traditional allies like the US, although his administration officials call it an independent "friend to all, enemy to none" policy. In a recent phone call with Locsin, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reaffirmed the applicability of the MDT to the South China Sea. Blinken's spokesperson, Ned Price, disclosed the two diplomats "welcomed enhanced bilateral and multilateral cooperation" in the wake of the presence of suspected Chinese militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea. The US does not claim any part of the South China Sea but conducts freedom of navigation operations, and calls out Beijing's alleged militarization and expansive territorial claims. Meanwhile, China claims almost the entire global waterway, including areas Manila considers the West Philippine Sea, through a historic nine-dash line that an arbitral ruling had already invalidated. The Nation Speaks (April 10): Time to Worry Yet About the Debt?; Critical Race Theory Creeps Into Classrooms; Roe v. Wade the Movie The spending spree continues in Washington, D.C., with each new spending bill over the last year costing in the trillions. When the government spends dollars that it doesnt have, it adds to the ballooning national debt. But how many of us think about how the debt impacts our own lives? Our two guests do think about it and tell us why we should too. Adam Andrzejewski is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit OpenTheBooks.com, which tracks spending at all levels of government. Andrzejewski helps shed light on whether that money is well-spent or not. Then Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget for three years in the Trump administration, explains how servicing a growing debt will affect Americans in the pocketbook down the road. Next, we look at the increasing influence critical race theory has on whats happening in classrooms at all levels of education. To help us understand how pervasive it is, we have Dr. Peter Wood, the president of the National Association of Scholars and author of a new book, 1620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project, and Dr. Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation. In 1973, the Supreme Court decided the landmark case Roe v. Wade that essentially legalized abortion in America. Most people know that much, but few know the intrigue-filled backstory. A new feature film, Roe v. Wade, seeks to fill that gap. Were joined by Nick Loeb, the films star, director, writer, and producer. And finally, we have America Q&A. This week, we ask people across the country how much effort they think the government should make to ensure each vote represents one citizen. And we ask how far back people can trace their family history. The family of Kori Gauthier, the LSU student from Opelousas who disappeared Wednesday, held a prayer service for her on the Mississippi River levee Friday evening. UPDATE: Kori Gauthier, missing LSU student, identified as body found in Mississippi River Gauthier, 19, disappeared before 1 a.m. Wednesday. Her abandoned car was struck by a motorist on the Mississippi River bridge. At Friday's service, a large group of LSU students signed a thoughts and prayers board for Kori. "It's easier during the day than it is at night, but it's always in the back of your head, like, is she hurt?" Taylor Gauthier, 20, her older sister said at the service. "When you're really close to people, you feel things, and I don't feel like she's hurt. But it's the worry of where she is." 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 +6 Search broadens for missing LSU student from Opelousas mysteriously gone from I-10 bridge The search for a missing Opelousas woman who attends LSU in Baton Rouge grew Friday, with members of the United Cajun Navy joining the family Taylor said she lives about five minutes from Kori's dorm. She said if something was wrong, Kori would have called her. Gauthier's family stood in the middle of a circle of students as one of the family members led a prayer for her. The students began singing gospel songs as the sun set behind them. Ronald Riggs, an LSU freshman, is friends with Kori and is best friends with her brother. He said he had been out on the levee since 1 p.m., and has handed out flyers in LSU's student union and near Kirby Smith Hall, Kori's dorm. +23 Photos: People gather in prayer hoping to bring missing LSU student Kori Gauthier home Friends, family and loved ones gather for a vigil for missing LSU student Kori Gauthier, 19, Friday, April 9, 2021, along the Mississippi Rive Gauthier's family started searching for her when they learned she had not shown up to class, work, a doctor's appointment or her dorm Wednesday. They tracked her cell phone to a Baton Rouge salvage yard, where they found her totaled car. Some members of Gauthier's family have criticized BRPD for not informing them more quickly about the wreck or the fact that she was missing. Local police and volunteers with the United Cajun Navy combed the area Thursday to try and find Gauthier. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. This years spring cleaning for Staten Islanders isnt just about clearing out the garage or throwing away old clothes. Its also about cleaning up the community by painting over the abundance of graffiti that covers public spaces across the borough. On Saturday, hundreds of community volunteers from throughout Staten Island partnered with the NYPD to kick off the departments Graffiti Clean-Up campaign, a new initiative where residents help police identify and eliminate graffiti for the betterment of the community. Among the first locations was the back wall of Mona Lisa Pizzeria in Annadale, where NYPD Assistant Chief Frank Vega, borough commander, and District Attorney Michael E. McMahon met with young volunteers to help clean up the graffiti-ridden facade. Its an opportunity for the NYPD, along with its community partners, to come out and give back by cleaning up this ugly graffiti thats been plaguing our neighborhoods, Vega said. NYPD Assistant Chief Frank Vega, borough commander of Staten Island, and District Attorney Michael E. McMahon joined volunteers in Annadale for a community graffiti cleanup on Saturday, Apr. 10. The cleanup was part of a new NYPD initiative to combat graffiti throughout the city with the help of community residents. (Staten Island Advance/Erik Bascome) One of the keys to fighting crime and making the community stronger is a feeling of community wellbeing. Nothing defeats that feeling like graffiti and the sense that the community doesnt care about how it looks. So having all these volunteers out across the Island today sends a strong message that Staten Islanders care about their community, said McMahon. Vega and McMahon, who personally participated in Saturdays cleanup in Annadale, were joined by dozens of teenage volunteers who said they were grateful to be able to do their part in making Staten Island a cleaner, better place to live. Its important because we want our community to look good, said volunteer Gaby Herbst. We want to have a nice community because Staten Island already doesnt get the best representation, so making it look better might help. Small things can go a long way and eventually small, little acts of kindness like this can add up and make a big difference, said volunteer Sofia Oliveri. McMahon has encouraged residents to address graffiti in their communities as quickly as possible to help send a message to vandals and discourage them from repeat action. We also call on all Staten Islanders, business owners and all residents, to immediately paint over graffiti whether its on their storefront or their telephone pole because thats the best way to demoralize the vandals and beat the scourge. We need everybody to get involved in this fight to make our borough safer and stronger, McMahon said. Graffiti clean up rear of 839 Annadale Road!! Great job by our explorers and our own Chief Vega who worked hard to clean this up!! #123precinctgraffiticleanup @NYPDnews @NYPDCommAffairs @NYPDstatenIslnd @NYPDChiefOfDept @NYPDChiefPatrol pic.twitter.com/Tv3J8gnyzX NYPD 123rd Precinct (@NYPD123Pct) April 10, 2021 ABOUT GRAFFITI CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN The NYPDs new Graffiti Clean-Up campaign is the latest in a long line of community-based initiatives that relies on New York City residents to help keep the community safe, clean and crime-free. In addition to reporting graffiti to 311, residents can now reach out to a new NYPD dedicated email account, Graffiti@nypd.org, where they can send photos and suggestions of graffiti-ridden locations in their community. So far, the majority of this years complaints have still come through 311, but NYPD officials say that it doesnt really matter how residents reach out to them, so long as they do. Unfortunately, were still seeing most of our complaints come through 311 because I think so many people are just used to sending their complaints that way, which is fine, said Vega. You can call 311, you can notify us at the Build the Block meetings, send emails. Whenever you see graffiti, just let us know and well do our best to clean it up as expeditiously as possible, Vega added. While some graffiti can be chalked up to mostly-harmless vandalism, other times the illegal markings can be related to drug and gang violence, making it increasingly important for officials to intervene and clean it up as quickly as possible. Its used as turf markers primarily and different crews have different markers, different designations, whether its the use of a number or a certain word in the corner of their tag, said McMahon. So by eliminating that, you can kind of disrupt their rhythm. Sometimes youll see Person A will graffiti a wall and then somebody will write over it. Thats an indication that there could be some sort of physical altercation down the road so we want to nip that in the bud as much as possible, said Vega. Other high-priority graffiti includes any tags that include hate speech, like the racist graffiti recently discovered on a North Shore City Council candidates campaign signs. We clean that stuff up automatically. Theres no room for hate on Staten Island or anywhere in the city, said Vega. We have great partnerships with our religious leaders, faith-based groups and other organizations and we stand together to get the message out loud and clear. NYPD Assistant Chief Frank Vega, borough commander of Staten Island, and District Attorney Michael E. McMahon joined volunteers in Annadale for a community graffiti cleanup on Saturday, Apr. 10. The cleanup was part of a new NYPD initiative to combat graffiti throughout the city with the help of community residents. (Staten Island Advance/Erik Bascome) ADVERTISEMENT The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it will set up a registration appeal committee to consider complaints from members on the conduct of its ongoing membership registration, revalidation and update exercise. John Akpanudoedehe, National Secretary, APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), said this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja. He said that the decision was part of the resolutions reached at the committees ninth meeting, held at the partys national secretariat. MR Akpanudoedehe said the meeting discussed the forthcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections and reviewed the committees activities in the last quarter. He added that the meeting also evaluated the partys ongoing membership registration, revalidation and update exercise across the federation and discussed its affairs. He said the meeting reviewed the Federal Governments interventions in security challenges in some parts of the country and commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts at addressing the situation. He lauded the president for the counter-actions taken against the spate of insecurity across the country. Mr Akpanudoedehe said the meeting passed a vote of confidence on Mr Buhari and urged leaders at all levels to show restraint in comments that would not unite the country in the face of insecurity. The meeting also commended the chairman of CECPC, Gov Mai Mala Buni, for his peaceful mien and dexterity, which have endeared high profile defections to APC, he said. Mr Akpanudoedehe said the resolutions reached at the meeting were in line with the CECPCs commitment to implementing all decisions of the partys National Executive Committee (NEC), particularly the task of ensuring internal democracy. An Illinois man who believed he was giving phones to help the Islamic State group commit violence was sentenced Friday to 13 1/2 years in federal prison. Edward Schimenti was convicted of one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS and one count of making false statements to the FBI in 2019 for providing phones to an informant that he thought the Islamic State would use as detonators. Schimenti was first charged alongside Joseph D. Jones back in 2017, four years ahead of Friday's sentencing. U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood said Schimenti was more culpable of the two men, who were convicted by a jury in 2019. Joseph D. Jones (left) and Edward Schimenti (center) posing in front of an ISIS flag But she also said the crime was 'on the less serious end of a scale that starts at a very serious level,' the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Last month, Jones was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison following his conviction on a conspiracy charge. Schimenti didn't know that he was dealing with a government informant when he agreed to get phones to use as detonators, according to prosecutors. 'Drench that land with ... they blood,' Schimenti told the man before taking him to an airport for a purported trip to Syria, according to the government. The FBI began investigating the Zion, Illinois, man based on social media posts in favor of the Islamic State. Pictured: Edward Schimenti, who sometimes went by 'Abdul Wali' online Prosecutors allege Schimenti wrote on social media, 'Islamic State will control your country, matter of fact, Islam will dominate the world!!' Schimenti also allegedly prominently displayed the Islamic State flag on his Google+ account. The feds set up a 'ruse scenario' to help determine the intentions of Jones and Schimenti, though their lawyers claim they were entrapped. The U.S. District Court released several social media messages allegedly posted by Schimenti An undercover agent who referred to himself as Omar allegedly struck up a friendship with Jones after the latter was summoned to a police station in regards to the murder of a friend. According to prosecutors, Omar informed Jones that he knew someone who could help Jones travel to the Islamic State, although that turned out to be another undercover agent, called Bilal. Jones and Schimenti then met with Omar and Bilal on December 29, 2015, a meeting prosecutors say Schimenti left when he became suspicious upon being asked about pledging allegiance to the Islamic State. In November 2016, an informant was allegedly sent to Schimenti's employer, where he earned a job and started socializing with Schimenti. An alleged social media post from Schimenti threatens to 'slaughter Pagans' Another alleged post from Schimenti appears to link to Boko Haram, another terrorist group The informant learned that Schimenti had a brother in the Islamic State and that he aimed to join his brother in Syria, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors claim Schimenti trained the informant at a local gym, where Schimenti expressed a desire to 'cut the neck' of non-believers. Additionally, the informant allegedly relayed to Schimenti about how Islamic State fighters could use cell phones as bombs and told the two men about a YouTube video demonstrating the tactic. Schimenti later allegedly helped gather cell phones for the informant while declining payment for his work. 'I know where theyre going,' Schimenti said. Schimenti also said 'I want to see blood flowing, either way' during a shopping trip with the informant. On April 7, 2017, Jones and Schimenti dined with the informant before driving him to O'Hare Airport, where they believed he was traveling to Syria. Pictured: Joseph D. Jones, who was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison last month His lawyers said Schimenti was 'consistently manipulated' by the government 'until he took the bait.' Schimenti's defense attorneys also claim he was never taken seriously by a terrorist group, as they never reached out to him. 'In the end, your honor, really I guess I'm just asking for another chance at life,' Schimenti told the judge while apologizing. Prior to their arrests in 2017, Jones was a part-time chef and college student, while Schimenti worked at a cancer treatment center. Thiruvananthapuram, April 10 : A day after the Kerala Lokayukta told the state's Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel that he has no moral right to continue in office as he "misused" his powers and indulged in "nepotism", the BJP asked why is Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan silent as he should have asked Jaleel to tender his resignation. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan told the media here on Saturday that it appears that Vijayan is afraid of Jaleel. "Vijayan if he has any scruples left should have asked Jaleel to quit the moment the Lokayukta came out with its verdict. But he has not done it. All are asking if Jaleel enjoys his full confidence more than three other State Ministers (E.P. Jayarajan, A.K. Saseendran and late Thomas Chandy) who had to quit when allegations against them surfaced, but when it came to Jaleel, all through, Vijayan has been strongly defending him. So it means Vijayan is afraid of Jaleel," said Muraleedharan. "We now hear that Jaleel is going to seek legal redress on the Lokayukta verdict and we wish to know if this was suggested by Vijayan himself. Jaleel became the first State Minister to be questioned by central agencies and here also Vijayan supported him. We wish to know what's the secret bond between Vijayan and Jaleel," added Muraleedharan. Earlier in the day State Law Minister A.K. Balan dismissed the opposition demand to ask Jaleel to quit. "There is no need for him to quit and moreover there is a time frame of three months for action on the Lokayukta verdict. Jaleel has done no wrong, as in the past relatives have been appointed to posts and the only question is if they were qualified," said Balan. The case pertains to an appointment made by Jaleel in 2018 when he had appointed his close relative K.T. Adeeb as General Manager of the Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation. Since then the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League, the second biggest ally of the Congress-led UDF, has been up in arms. Jaleel contested the April 6 Assembly polls from the Thavanur assembly constituency in Malappuram district. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Germany records strong increase in trade with China in February Xinhua) 13:29, April 10, 2021 BERLIN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- German exports to China in February rose by 25.7 percent year-on-year to 8.5 billion euros (10.1 billion U.S. dollars), the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Friday. China remained Germany's biggest import country in February as imported goods totaled 9.9 billion euros, an increase of 32.5 percent year-on-year, according to Destatis. German exports to the United States decreased slightly to 9.5 billion euros in the month, while imports were even down 12.6 percent. "It is worrying that the economic recovery in the United States is currently having little impact on German exports there, while foreign trade with China continues to grow steadily," said Anton Boerner, president of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), in a statement on Friday. Trade with the United Kingdom (UK), which withdrew from the European Union (EU) single market and customs union at the turn of the year, was also down significantly. Exports to the UK dropped by 12.2 percent year-on-year, while imports even plummeted 26.9 percent. Since 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum, German exports to Britain have "steadily declined," Destatis already noted at the beginning of March. German exports to Britain in 2020 declined to 66.9 billion euros, after 89.0 billion euros in 2015. With 107.8 billion euros, Germany's total exports in February were 1.2 percent lower than in the same month last year, just before COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in Germany. At the same time, the country's imports increased slightly by 0.9 percent to 89.7 billion euros, according to Destatis. Germany's foreign trade was slowly approaching pre-crisis levels again as trade with EU member states recovered considerably, said Boerner. "This is a good indication of the EU's economic recovery." (1 euro = 1.19 U.S. dollars) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) The man who took the famous photograph that led to global speculation that Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth were expecting their second child has paid tribute to the Duke. Frank Attard, now 93, snapped the young couple in 1950 at their Villa Guardamangia home in Malta, where they enjoyed an idyllic two years unrestrained by Royal protocol before Elizabeth's Coronation three years later. Recalling the photocall, he told The Mail on Sunday: 'Prince Philip gave this two-finger signal as I took their photograph. 'When I sent the photo over to the British newspapers, they said it expressed how they were expecting their second child.' Princess Anne was born five months later. The man who took the famous photograph that led to global speculation that Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth were expecting their second child has paid tribute to the Duke. Frank Attard, now 93, snapped the young couple (above) in 1950 at their Villa Guardamangia home in Malta, where they enjoyed an idyllic two years unrestrained by Royal protocol before Elizabeth's Coronation three years later. Recalling the photocall, he told The Mail on Sunday: 'Prince Philip gave this two-finger signal as I took their photograph. When I sent the photo over to the British newspapers, they said it expressed how they were expecting their second child' The Duke served with the Navy's Mediterranean Fleet between 1949 and 1951 and his wife would join him for extended stays while their son Charles stayed in Britain with his grandparents. (Above, Princess Elizabeth and Philip on Malta during their honeymoon in 1947) The Duke served with the Navy's Mediterranean Fleet between 1949 and 1951 and his wife would join him for extended stays while their son Charles stayed in Britain with his grandparents. 'They had their best years in Malta,' said Mr Attard. 'They used to go to the cinema and the Princess would go and watch Prince Philip play polo. They were very popular in Malta and still are.' Locals remembered how the young Princess would sit reading by the sea while her husband was at work, as second-in-command of HMS Chequers. Princess Anne was born five months after the 'two-finger signal' photo was taken The future Queen was a hit with Maltese fishermen who chatted to her after she waved off her husband from Marsamxett Harbour. Doris Mallia, 73, said: 'My late father would have been 100 today and he used to go fishing for crabs where the yacht club was in Floriana. 'The Prince would go out on his yacht from there but Princess Elizabeth said she didn't like to go, so she used to find a nice rock and sit with her book.' The couple's impressive residence in Malta had belonged to Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip's uncle. The couple enjoyed dancing the night away at the island's grand Phoenicia Hotel in the capital, Valletta. On Friday, Malta's Prime Minister, Robert Abela, said: 'We are truly saddened by the loss of Prince Philip, who made Malta his home and returned here so often. Our people will always treasure his memory.' The United States is closely monitoring the situation in eastern Ukraine in coordination with Ukrainian officials as well as its allies and partners in the region. Jalina Porter, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, said this at a press briefing on Friday, April 9, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. The United States is concerned about the actions Russia has taken to escalate the tensions in Ukraine. We continue to monitor the situation closely in coordination with Ukrainian officials as well as our allies and partners in the region, Porter said. At the same time, she stressed that the American side made it clear to Moscow that the Russian Federation needs to refrain from any escalatory actions. And we will continue to hold them [Russians] accountable, the principal deputy spokesperson assured. As Ukrinform reported, the United States, other Western countries, as well as the EU and NATO, have come out in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity against the background of Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine, as well as the pulling of Russian troops to the Ukrainian border. ish Kolkata: West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury ruled out the possibility of extending support to the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC or seeking her support in case the high-octane assembly elections throw up a fractured mandate. Accusing the chief minister of trying to communalise the elections, Chowdhury said that the TMC and the BJP might join hands if both the parties fall short of the requisite numbers to form the government. "BJP and communal politics have found a foothold in West Bengal because of Mamata Banerjee. There is no question of supporting the TMC in a post-poll scenario if it falls short of a majority. "Similarly, there are zero chances of the Congress- Left-ISF Sanjukta Morcha or United Front alliance seeking her support to form the government. There is no possibility of any post-poll tie-up with the TMC," Chowdhury told PTI in an interview. When asked whether the Congress and Left's refusal to extend support to the TMC will help the BJP, the two-time state Congress chief said, "In such a scenario, you will see the TMC and the BJP joining hands to form the government." "Just like old wine tastes better, old friends are also trustworthy. The TMC and the BJP, who were earlier alliance partners, will join hands. They are like two sides of a coin," he said. Chowdhury, however, mocked Banerjee for "surrendering" before Congress president Sonia Gandhi through her letter seeking the support of all the opposition parties. "Mamata Banerjee had deliberately destroyed the Congress in West Bengal in the last 10 years despite the grand old party helping her come to power. Now see the irony, she has become so nervous that she surrendered before the same Congress, which she tried to finish off politically," he said. The TMC had joined hands with the Congress to oust the Left Front from power in 2011. However, the alliance fell apart after coming to power. "The Congress leadership is well aware of the political character of the TMC. Earlier the TMC had called the Congress a spent force, but now it is begging before us," he said. Terming Banerjee the "biggest and most-trusted ally" of RSS-BJP, Chowdhury said her party lacks the credibility as an anti-BJP force and time has come to bid farewell to TMC's "misrule". "Sanjukta Morcha is fighting the elections to win it and form the next government. We are not here to play second fiddle to anyone. The credibility of the TMC as an anti-BJP force is completely zero. The BJP, on the other hand, is inducting corrupt leaders and is a communal force," he said. Expressing happiness over the "massive response" that the Sanjukta Morcha is getting during campaigning, Chowdhury said that despite efforts of the TMC and the BJP, a triangular contest is being witnessed in the elections and not a bipolar one, as expected by the two parties. He accused both the TMC and BJP of taking West Bengal's political discourse to an "all-time low" through a "vitriolic and communal" campaign. "I have been in politics for a long time. I have never seen the political discourse stooping to such a low level. Such kind of vitriolic and communal campaign by both the TMC and the BJP is against the culture and ethos of West Bengal. Personal attacks are unacceptable," he said. Accusing the TMC of fuelling identity and appeasement politics, Chowdhury said that Banerjee, through her comments that Muslims should vote en masse for her party "is not only communal but also a reflection of her frustration". "She has been doing this for the last 10 years. I fail to understand how a chief minister can make such a comment that goes against the principles of our Constitution. It is shameful and distasteful," he said, referring to Banerjee's comments at a recent election rally that prompted the Election Commission to issue her a notice. Chowdhury, the five-time MP from the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat, claimed that the Sanjukta Morcha is fighting the elections to bring the state out of the "dark days" of the TMC rule and take it to a "new era of development". He dismissed allegations both from within and outside that the Congress and Left Front have compromised with communalism by allying with Abbas Siddiqui's Indian Secular Front (ISF). "The ISF has publicly stated its policies and principles, and it is no way a communal force. It is a secular party just like ours, and all of us are fighting to save West Bengal from the communal onslaught," he said. He said the alliance has been stitched well and possibilities of "friendly fights" in some seats are only "exceptions". "Only in one seat, we are having a friendly fight with the Left. In some seats allotted to us, the ISF has expressed the desire to contest the polls. Nothing has been decided yet," he said. Elections for the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal are being held in eight phases. The votes will be counted on May 2. Live TV The State Commission on Environmental Safety, Manmade Disaster and Emergency Response at an extraordinary meeting on Saturday took the Zakarpattia region out of the "red" zone of epidemic danger, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Oleh Nemchinov said. "Based on the results, the state commission decided to cancel the 'red' level of the epidemic danger of the spread of COVID-19 in Zakarpattia region from 00:00 on April 11, 2021, and apply restrictive anti-epidemic measures on the territory of Zakarpattia region, provided for the 'yellow' level of epidemic danger," Nemchinov said on the Telegram channel. Former Beatle John Lennon was gunned down in front of his New York City home in December of 1980. Of the three remaining Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr only the bands drummer, Starr, immediately went to visit Lennons widow, Yoko Ono. Ono, however, refused to see Starrs fiancee Barbara Bach. The Beatles (L to R): Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney | Hulton Archive/Getty Images Lennon was murdered in 1980 Shot several times outside his Dakota building home by a deranged fan in December of 1980, Lennon died almost immediately. The night of his shooting, an ABC producer was injured in a motorcycle accident and like Lennon, was rushed to St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan (now called Mount Sinai West). He may have been injured almost at the same time as the ambush on Lennon outside of his home at The Dakota building. Alan Weiss was a WABC-TV producer in New York, according to The New York Post. He was laying on a gurney that evening, waiting for treatment. Another patient in the next room was given higher priority to Weiss, as that patient was a shooting victim. Weiss soon learned that the victim around whom several doctors were gathered was the former Beatle and that there was nothing that could be done to save Lennons life. Starr immediately flew to Onos side According to a Starr biographer, The Beatles former drummer had been on vacation when he received the news about Lennons death. He wasted no time in getting on a plane to see his friends widow. Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono onstage at the 2014 Grammy Awards | Michael Kovac/WireImage RELATED: Ringo Starr Became Emotional After Listening to John Lennons Message to Him on This Lost Recording On December 5, [Starr] and [fiancee Barbara Bach] left for a vacation in the Bahamas, With A Little Help author Michael Seth Starr (no relation to Ringo) wrote. On December 8, the phone rang. It was Barbaras daughter Francesca, calling to tell them the horrible news: John Lennon was dead. Starr right away chartered a plane to get to Ono as quickly as possible. McCartney and Harrison stayed put and Ono wouldnt see Barbara Bach While Starr cut his vacation short to console Ono, according to Seth Starr, McCartney after hearing of Lennons death went to work in a fog at a recording studio. On his way out, reporters asked for a comment and the former Beatle said, Im very shocked. Its terrible newsdrag, isnt it? Harrison explained in The Beatles Anthology that he had been asleep when he was told by phone of Lennons death. He fell back asleep and didnt realize what had actually happened until he woke again. As for Ringo Starr, for him it was simply a matter of common courtesy in paying his respects to Ono and the Lennons young son Sean: We flew up to New York, not that you can do anything, but you just have to go and say helloTheres nothing you can do, his biographer reported Starr as saying. Ono, however, would not see Starrs fiancee Bach. When they were ushered into the Lennons apartment, Yoko only wanted to talk to Ringo; Barbara, she said, should remain in another room. Ringo was quoted as saying, I told her, Look, it was you who started all this. Were both coming in. Barbara and I do everything together.' A cattle farmer has admitted to buying nearly 20,000 images from an illegal child sex abuse website. Edward Gundry, 38, from Tarago in New South Wales' Southern Tablelands, was caught buying the images by the FBI - most of which showed pre-pubescent girls. He attempted to hide the disturbing content by storing them in USB sticks, which were then wrapped in blue electrical tape and stuffed inside a cupboard. Edward Gundry, 38, from Tarago in New South Wales' Southern Tablelands, was caught by the FBI buying the images which mainly showed girls who were yet to go through puberty Gundry had even used his own name to register for the website, eventually finding himself arrested by Australian Federal Police officers. The farmer pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material and using a carriage service to access it over two years at the Darlinghurst District Court on Friday, the Daily Telegraph reported. 'I stopped on occasions. I tried to delete material off my computer. I felt immense shame in hiding it from my family,' Gundry had said at an earlier hearing. The farmer had been in custody for three months before being released on bail. His lawyer said he was seeing a psychologist and was living with his 'supportive' mother. Gundry suffered from gender dysphoria - which meant he struggled because he identified with a different gender than his own, the court heard. The farmer pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material and using a carriage service to access it over two years at the Darlinghurst District Court on Friday He also suffered with paedophilia and depression, fearing he may take his own life if he was to be sent behind bars again. Gundry's lawyer said his family, who consoled each other in court, had supported him '100 per cent'. The 38-year-old is due to appear in court again in May. Syracuse, N.Y. -- Pfizer and BioNTech announced today they will seek emergency federal approval to give their Covid-19 vaccine to children ages 12 to 15. The companies are seeking an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Thats what they were granted last year to administer the vaccine to people 16 years and older. Upstate Medical University was one of the trial sites for the 12- to 15-year-old age group. The university is now launching a trial for children ages 6 months to 11 years. While young people are far less likely to suffer severe effects from Covid-19 than older people are, they can still get sick, and they can pass the virus to others at greater risk. Experts say its important to vaccinate children to control the novel coronavirus pandemic. In a joint statement today, Pfizer and BioNTech said their trials in 12- to 15-year-olds showed the vaccine to be safe and effective. No severe cases of Covid-19 were reported in those adolescents who got the actual vaccine, the companies said, and those who received the vaccine had robust antibody response. More than 2,000 adolescents were part of the trial. Side effects in that age group -- most commonly arm soreness, fatigue and headaches -- were similar to those in trial participants 16 to 25 years old, the companies said. The drug makers said they would seek similar approval in other countries. Upstate was one of more than 60 research centers nationwide that began the 16-and-up trial last July. Upstate had enrolled more than 300 adults ages 18 to 85. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Upstate one of first sites in world to test Pfizer Covid vaccine in kids under 5 CNY colleges bring Covid vaccines to campus to stem rising cases among the young Covid-19 in Onondaga County: Nearly 700 new cases found during past week For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. Dwayne Johnson has responded to a poll finding that nearly half of Americans would support him for president, teasing his potential ambitions for higher office. 'Not sure our Founding Fathers ever envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club - but if it ever happens it'd be my honor to serve the people,' the former pro-wrestler wrote in a tweet on Friday. Johnson, 48, who used the stage name 'The Rock', linked to a news report on a poll finding that 46 percent of Americans would support his presidential run. The Jumanji star has often been asked about running for president, and repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility. Dwayne Johnson has responded to a poll finding that nearly half of Americans would support him for president, teasing his potential ambitions for higher office Johnson's latest TV project is an NBC series based on his life called Young Rock, where, in the year 2032, he launches a presidential run. In 2016, Johnson told GQ magazine that the idea of being president was 'alluring,' but said there were 'a lot of other things' he would like to do first. He has repeated the sentiment as early as this past February. 'I would consider a presidential run in the future if that's what the people wanted,' the star, who is wed to 36-year-old Lauren Hashian, told USA Today. 'Truly I mean that, and I'm not flippant in any way with my answer,' Johnson added. The star said it is 'up to the people' if he would be White House bound: 'So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground.' The recent poll from Piplsay was conducted online from April 2 until April 4 and included just over 30,000 potential voters. Johnson was not the only celebrity on the list. Angelina Jolie got 30 percent support while Oprah landed 27 percent and Tom Hanks 22 percent. The Jumanji star has often been asked about running for president, and repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility He is a major movie star: In the hit Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle in 2017 with Karen Gillan and Jack Black Other celebrities who have entered politics include Donald Trump, Clint Eastwood, Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura and Al Franken. This comes after Johnson announced a release date for Black Adam. The actor - who will play the film's central character - took over New York's Times Square last weekend to unveil the US release date for the eagerly-awaited flick. The actor and Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed a July 29, 2022 release date for the movie. Alongside a picture of the motion picture's billboard in NYC, he teased on Instagram: 'A disruptive and unstoppable global force of a message from the man in black himself BLACK ADAM is coming July 29, 2022. Filming is due to start in the coming weeks. Johnson's latest TV project is an NBC series based on his life called Young Rock, where, in the year 2032, he launches a presidential run Dwayne revealed last week: 'We are approximately three weeks away from shooting Black Adam and I can't believe we are at the finish line with this thing. And what a journey it has been. Actually I can believe it considering how hard we've worked over the years.' The Hollywood star first signed on to play Black Adam in 2014, following the release of Man Of Steel, and amid plans to create a DC Extended Universe of films. The shoot was actually supposed to begin last year but was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The release date news comes after it was revealed that Pierce Brosnan is set to play Dr. Fate, the son of an archeologist and one of DC's oldest characters. The big-name duo will be joined on set by Aldis Hodge, who is playing Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone. Little is known about the plot, although it's anticipated to share part of Black Adam's origin story. Michigans Thumb region is the hottest of U.S. hot spots for coronavirus right now. But at Marks Barbershop in the small downtown of Sandusky, masks are optional. Just so you know, you dont have to wear that if you dont want to, owner Mark Heberling says as a masked visitor walks through door. Across the street at the Downtown Deli, an sign at the entry says: If we see you without a mask, we will assume you have a medical condition and we will welcome inside. The same philosophy holds true down the road at the Sandusky Family Diner, a former Big Boy that had its franchise terminated after violating states the indoor dining ban in November. I didnt sign up to be the mask police, says restaurant owner Troy Tank, as a handful of maskless employees clean up after the lunch rush. Tank casually mentions one worker is home quarantining after a positive COVID test. Big Boy restaurant in Michigans Thumb stays open, owner says hell fight cease-and-desist order Past the diner is the Sandusky Walmart, where mask use has been 50/50, Tank says. After a coronavirus outbreak among workers, the Walmart was closed for part of the day Monday and all day Tuesday for deep cleaning. Troy Tank talks with MLive about the COVID-19 outbreak in the Thumb area of Michigan and how it has affected his business Sandusky Family Diner, while at his diner in Sandusky, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com Sandusky, population 2,500, is the county seat of Sanilac County, 40 miles north of Port Huron and in the heart of the Thumb, a region known for its expansive Lake Huron shorelines, its rolling farmlands and its friendly small towns. In recent weeks, its also become known for its coronavirus rates. On Friday, five of the nations top 15 counties in per-capita coronavirus cases were in Michigans Thumb -- St. Clair, Huron, Sanilac, Tuscola and Lapeer. Collectively, the five counties have reported 3,167 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the past seven days, a per capita daily rate of 1,216 cases per million residents -- six times the national average and eight times the benchmark for the states highest risk level of 150 cases per million residents. The region also has an eye-popping 32% positivity rate as a seven-day on coronavirus diagnostic tests, more than six times the level considered safe. These communities are literally on a COVID wildfire, said Dr. Mark Hamed, public medical director for Lapeer, Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. Patients wait for their COVID-19 vaccine dose at a Sanilac County Community Mental Health building in Sandusky, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The facility can handle about 300 vaccines a day. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com Ask the regions health experts for the reasons behind the spike, they point to multiple factors. Compared to the rest of Michigan, the Thumb was less impacted by previous surges, which meant fewer people had natural immunity coming into the spring. The area appears to be hard-hit by the new B.1.1.7. variant which is much more contagious and also more lethal. Restrictions implemented in November have been eased, increasing social interactions. And fanning the flames is widespread resistance among local residents to coronavirus mitigation strategies such as masking and avoiding indoor gatherings, said Bryant Wilke, Sanilac County public health director. Theres been a defiance towards masks, Wilke said, and I think it was because it got so political at the beginning of the pandemic. People said, We dont trust this. We never had to do it before, even through its been proven that it is a protective factor. People havent gotten over the hump to say, We need to do this, and now were seeing the causation of not doing it and thats the skyrocketing numbers in cases. I compare us to a potential wildfire, Wilke said. Youve got fuel out there and the virus hadnt hit us that bad yet. Now its hitting us and were dealing with the U.K. variant, and its just moving through the population rapidly. At the same time, Thumb residents -- like many in Michigan -- are thoroughly sick of more than a year of various coronavirus restrictions. They are ready to move on, whether the pandemic is over or not. Were just f----- done with it, Heberling said. At the beginning of the pandemic, Tank said, people were scared enough about the virus to pay attention to emergency orders issued by the state. But people have moved beyond that now, he said. Theyve had it. Joseph Schlichting, a 29-year-old who grew up in Sanilac County and moved back just before the pandemic, said hes not surprised that the Thumb has become an epicenter for coronavirus. Some people who took the restrictions seriously saw the numbers go down, so they stopped working with the restrictions, he said. But I think theres a large group of people who just never followed the rules from Day 1. Its been kind of eye-opening to see people that youve known all your life, people you would think would take this kind of risks seriously or take precautions seriously, but they dont or seem to just flat out think its a lie. The politics of COVID Hamed has long worried that the Thumb is vulnerable because of residents disdain for coronavirus restrictions. Still, good luck and geographic isolation meant the Thumb wasnt hit as hard as other parts of Michigan in 2020. I think that allowed people to discount how serious this is, Hamed said. But as COVID-19 numbers came down statewide in January, the numbers dropped less in the Thumb. So we were still at a higher level, higher than average, Hamed said. Then gradually as the variants became more predominant, combined with the behaviors on mask use and distancing, the numbers took off. We kind of saw this coming, he said. Fueling the attitude around the pandemic are the regions political leanings. In the November election, 72% of voters in Sanilac County cast their ballots for Donald Trump, one of the highest percentages in the state. In the five-county Thumb region, it was 67%. Trumps popularity in the region certainly didnt help with public health messaging around COVID-19, considering the former presidents skepticism of the masks and the seriousness of the pandemic in general, Hamed said. It created mixed messages that muddied the waters for a lot of rural Michigan where Trump is revered, Hamed said. No question, echoes of Trumps talking points about the pandemic are apparent in talking to his supporters about the pandemic. That said, the rhetoric of conservatives has shifted over time. A year ago, some were suggesting the pandemic was a hoax, something no more harmful than seasonal flu. Today, skeptics are less likely to offer that argument. I definitely dont think its a hoax, Tank said. I do think the virus is real. I know people who have had it. I know people who have gotten very sick from it. My father got it, and he was very sick. My brother, whos a couple years younger than me, relatively healthy guy in his 30s, had it quite bad. But Tank is among those who question whether the mitigation strategies have made any difference. We all just need to live our lives, he said. My opinion is that youve either had coronavirus or youre going to get it. A sign posted on the door of Downtown Deli & Catering in downtown Sandusky states that if customers are without a mask, staff will assume they have a medical condition and do not need to wear one. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com He points to states such as Florida that have far less restrictions than Michigan and currently lower caseloads. In his reading on the topic, he said, it appears that coronavirus particles are too small to be contained by cloth masks. Hes highly skeptical that indoor dining contributes to coronavirus transmission rates. The vaccine makes him a little nervous and he questions whether it really works. Tank said he greatly resents what he feels is government overreach. He sees Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as extremely power hungry who is just using the pandemic as an excuse to be an authoritative leader. He especially doesnt trust government officials after a November election that Tank is convinced was stolen from Trump. Another thing thats fueled his skepticism, he said, is the changing advisories from the federal Centers for Disease Control. One day, a mask is great, and the next day, its not great. One day, you should be six feet apart. The next day, its three feet, he said. Theyre just all over the map. So when the people who are supposed to be the professionals are so unclear, that kind of leaves enough doubt in my mind to where Im just going do what I feel is best for me and my family. Were strong. Were healthy. We take care of ourselves and do the proper things that I think prevents us from getting sick, he said. That fact that more than a year after the pandemic started, the state is still under emergency orders proves to Tank that experts really dont know what theyre doing. It started out as two weeks to flatten the curve and here we are, 13 months later, he said. Like Tank, Heberling said that he doesnt question whether the virus is real. But he does think the pandemic has been grossly mismanaged. Mark Heberling poses for a photo at his business, Mark's Barber Shop, in Sandusky, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com On a mirror in Heberlings barbershop is a sticker that reads MI COVID POW. Hes scornful of lockdowns and mask use, saying keeping people indoors and masked has hurt their immune systems. You need fresh air in your lungs every day, he said. And people are constantly touching their masks, so theyre transporting bacteria to the next thing they touch. Heberling also thinks the United States has ignored medications such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as coronavirus treatments. I think there are medications out there if used early on could have greatly decreased the number of cases, he said. Hamed is clearly frustrated by the misinformation being passed around. Because COVID-19 is a new disease, the science is evolving and advisories have changed as experts have learned more, he said. But its clear by now that masking reduces transmission rates, as do other mitigation strategies such as a restrictions on indoor dining. Researchers have yet to come up with medications that can prevent coronavirus. The vaccines have proven to be highly safe and effective. As for the emphasis on individual liberty, thats fine when the individual decisions affect you and only you, Hamed said. But when battling a highly contagious, lethal disease, you have to be mindful of others. When it involves decisions that impact others around you -- your employees, your colleagues, your family members -- that changes the dynamics entirely. A sense of urgency But even as people such as Tank and Heberling say theyre done with governmental attempts to address the pandemic, the medical professionals on the frontline in the Thumb see a deepening crisis. A big concern is that COVID-19 variants seem to be spreading infection more rapidly and causing more serious illness. Anecdotally, were seeing people are getting sick from teenagers to 50-year-olds in age brackets where they didnt get that sick before, Wilke said. Now theyre getting sick and were seeing more hospitalizations. In his daily conversations with the countys communicable disease nurse, Wilke said, shes reporting that increase in contagion. At the beginning of the pandemic, one or two people in the family may have gotten COVID, Wilke said. Now were seeing the entire family get it, because its so contagious. His contagious disease nurse also is reporting that some people are catching COVID for the second time, Wilke said. Current trends upend the idea that communities simply need strategies to protect the elderly and those with serious health conditions, Hamed said. The fact is, were seeing a lot of otherwise healthy people get very sick. So its no longer just about protecting the vulnerable. Hamed said he also worries about the strain on hospital resources, for both COVID and non-COVID patients. At one point this week, he said, it took five hours for the emergency department at the small Sandusky hospital to find an inpatient bed for a patient because every one of our local hospitals that accept patients was absolutely full. So this is a reality that we need to accept, Hamed said. Its affecting us all. It really is. Wilke said that hes convinced the road out of this current surge is through vaccinations, and hes trying to vaccinate as many Sanilac County residents as fast as he can. But theres resistance on that front, too: 31% of adults in Sanilac County and 33% in the five-county Thumb region have gotten at least one vaccine dose so far compared to a state average of 39%. Heberling, the Sandusky barber, is among those suspicious of COVID-19 vaccines. Its not a vaccine thats been proven. Its basically in test form now, he said. I know very few people who have gotten the vaccine. I bet 80% of people in this community wont get it. Wilke acknowledges that many are hesitant to get the vaccine. But he also sees that hesitance eroding. He pointed to the Sanilac County Sheriffs Office. During the first vaccine clinic for the department, about 10 deputies come through. The next time, another 10 signed up. And then another 10 the next time, he said. So it takes a little time for people to get used to the idea. Initially, there was quite a bit of hesitance, Hamed said. Were seeing less now. I think the reasons are twofold: I think people are seeing others getting vaccines without developing weird side effects, and people also are seeing others get very sick with this illness. At the vaccination clinic Its a hopeful sign, Wilke said, that he had no trouble filling up the schedule for several mass vaccination clinics being held in Sanilac County this past week. Jennifer Gierman, a stay-at-home mother, was among those at a vaccination clinic Tuesday. Im pretty excited about getting her first shot of the Moderna vaccine, said Gierman, who is 49. Gierman said shes taken the pandemic much more seriously than many others in the Thumb. I havent seen my mom or dad since Christmas, she said. My daughter calls me COVID mom because theres friends where shes very close to them and we dont allow them in the house. Its dismaying to see the dismissive attitude that many have adopted about the pandemic, she said. I dont feel like wearing a mask is a political thing. I think its a respect thing, she said. Yet here you get looks for wearing a mask. And like at school, my younger daughter said that in the beginning, the school was good about enforcing the masks but kids push the limits and by the end of the day theyre wearing them as chin diapers, Gierman said. For sure, teenagers are going to push boundaries no matter what. But they also mimic what they see at home and in the community. Even at this point, with community people getting sick and hospitalized, she said, people still dont take it seriously. I dont know what it takes to convince them. Hamed is more optimistic. Were getting hit hard right now, and I think behaviors definitely will change, he said. Thumb residents care a lot about each other. When their neighbors are sick, when theyre hospitalized, thats a motivator right there. These are small communities and they all know each other. What were doing right now is focusing on prevention, treatment and education. We think having reliable information from reliable sources can be key to combatting misinformation, Hamed said. I think people are going to come out of this knowing that the information they heard from the people who downplayed it was absolutely false. People accuse us of trying to feed a narrative, trying to fix a narrative, Hamed said. Thats no narrative to fix. Lets save lives. More on MLive: Sports, spring break & sleepovers: COVID chaos as outbreaks increase in Michigan schools 4.5M vaccine doses administered as Michigan prepares to expand eligibility to people 16 and older Michigan grocers quickly adapted to the pandemic, and the changes are stick Myths and facts about the COVID vaccine shot as Michigan opens access to all Meyersdale takes down Shade for fifth district title in six seasons Meyersdale took down Shade in the District 5 Class A softball championship on Friday, marking its fifth overall title win in the last six years. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. The death of Alonzo Brooks has been ruled a homicide by a federal forensic examiner after the case was featured on Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries show and his body was exhumed last year. Brooks, 23, disappeared from a party in Kansas in 2004 and his body was found in a creek a month later in La Cygne. He was buried in a Topeka cemetery and his case went cold over time. The FBI and federal prosecutors reopened the cold case into Brooks' death in 2019. The case was featured in the Unsolved Mysteries episode No Ride Home on July 1, 2020. The FBI then exhumed his body and offered a $100,000 reward for any information last year. 'We knew that Alonzo Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances,' said Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard in a news release announcing the development. 'This new examination by a team of the world's best forensic pathologists and experts establishes it was no accident. Alonzo Brooks was killed.' He added: 'We are doing everything we can, and will spare no resources, to bring those responsible to justice.' The death of Alonzo Brooks has been ruled a homicide by a federal forensic examiner Brooks, 23, disappeared from a party in Kansas in 2004 and his body was found in a creek a month later in La Cygne Brooks' body was taken to the Dover Air Force Base to be examined by an Armed Forces Medical Examiner - who focused the new autopsy on injuries to parts of his body that were concluded to be 'inconsistent with normal patterns of decomposition,' investigators said. Investigators did not reveal further details about the autopsy citing the ongoing investigation into Brooks' death. Last June, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas said in a press release that the FBI was investigating Brooks' death 'as a potential racially-motivated crime.' Investigators said that Brooks was 'one of only three African-American men' out of about 100 revelers at the farmhouse party. According to investigators, some partygoers said Brooks 'may have flirted with a girl' while others recounted 'drunken white men' wanting to fight a black male. Others told investigators that 'racist whites simply resented Brooks' presence' at the party. Former U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister, who pushed to reopen the case, said last year that 'his death certainly was suspicious.' 'I have stood under the trees on the bank of Middle Creek where Alonzo's body was found,' McAllister said. 'It is a quiet place of profound sadness to one who knows its history, but no answers are there.' He added: 'I am convinced, however, that there are people who know the answers, people who have been keeping terrible secrets all these years and bearing a horrible burden.' The case was featured in the Unsolved Mysteries episode No Ride Home on July 1, 2020. Brooks, pictured, is seen an episode of the show A scene in Unsolved Mysteries shows a missing poster for Alonzo Brooks, who disappeared after a farmhouse party Brooks, left, is pictured in the Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries which aired last year Maria Ramirez, Brooks' mother, is pictured in the Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries after his death The night Brooks went missing, he had ridden to the party with friends who left before him, and eventually had no ride home. His family and friends contacted the Linn County Sheriff's Department when he failed to come home the next day. Law enforcement searched areas around the farmhouse, including parts of nearby Middle Creek, but did not find his body. His family and friends organized another search party after Brooks had been missing for almost a month and found his body on top of a pile of brush and branches in the creek. 'In the initial investigation, a coroner in Linn County said he was unable to determine a cause of death and witnesses' interviews failed to produce any arrests,' prosecutors said this week. However, Linn County investigators had ruled the case a homicide at the time, the Lawrence Journal-World reported in 2004. The FBI released a notice that described Brooks as being 'mild-mannered and a good-humored person.' A Facebook page titled Justice for Alonzo Brooks posted a message on behalf of Brooks' family on Thursday. 'On behalf of Alonzo's family we would like to thank everyone who has liked, shared, comment on his page, as well as private message. We really appreciate the great amount of support we have received from all over,' the post reads. 'We especially like to thank the FBI agents and the US Attorney for doing all that has been done and continue to do to bring the person(s) to justice.' It continued: 'Keep Alonzo's name alive and keep the tips coming in. Continue the prayers and please say a prayer for our FBI agents. The amount of work and time they spend away from their families is unnoticed and again we can't thank them enough.' We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 12:50:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Cao Kai, Zhang Yisheng and Ding Le BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's national flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines has recently transported a batch of COVID-19 vaccines from Beijing to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. So far, China has provided COVID-19 vaccines to more than 30 African countries. Smooth logistic routes between China and Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic have helped African countries fight the pandemic, promoted two-way exchanges of products and ensured that the continent's economic recovery is on the right track. VACCINE FLIGHTS Vaccines have been the fastest growing and one of the most important items in logistics and transportation between China and Africa. Fitsum Abadi, managing director of cargo and logistic services of Ethiopian Airlines, said that the frequency of flights to and from China has doubled from about 63 times per week before the pandemic to about 120 times per week now. "We have been transporting PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from China to the rest of the world. In Africa, we have transported (PPE) to 52 countries," said Abadi. Cross-border air transportation of medicine requires strict timeliness of transportation and storage safety. Therefore, the construction of a vaccine route between China and Africa became a strong logistic guarantee amid the pandemic. Last year, Ethiopian Airlines announced its partnership with Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, the logistics arm of China's Alibaba Group, to launch a cold chain air freight service for transporting temperature-controlled medicines twice a week from China's Shenzhen to other countries via Dubai and Addis Ababa, according to Ethiopian Airlines. The company said it has worked with governments, international organizations, vaccine manufacturers and other partners to provide fast and efficient logistics solutions for the export and transportation of nucleic acid testing reagents and vaccines produced in China. GROWING TRADE Apart from vaccines and other epidemic prevention materials, the channels and products seen in China-Africa trade are becoming more diversified. In 2020, Guangzhou Port Group opened two new African routes. As one of the largest comprehensive main hub ports and container trunk ports in southern China, the company is committed to expansion in the African market and has managed more than 20 African routes. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport currently has five regular routes to Africa, covering countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda. In 2020, there were about 580 flights to and from Africa, transporting 100,000 tonnes of cargo, said the airport, adding that the value of trade with Africa was about 20 billion yuan (3.05 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 10 percent year on year. According to Guangzhou Customs, exports to Africa through Baiyun airport are mainly electronic products and daily necessities, while imports are mostly African agricultural products and seafood. Since last year, supplies for epidemic prevention and other daily necessities have been greatly increased. In the first two months of this year, the value of trade with Africa through the Baiyun airport reached 3.87 billion yuan, about 1.9 times more than that in the same period last year, Guangzhou Customs said. Official data showed that China has been Africa's largest trading partner for more than a decade. Over the past three years, China's agricultural imports from Africa have grown at an average annual rate of 14 percent, making China the second-largest agricultural importer in Africa. As China-Africa trade has expanded, Kenya Airways has been considering adding new cargo flights to China, said Dick Murianki, director of Kenya Airways Cargo, told Xinhua in Nairobi. "We currently fly into Guangzhou but are looking at going to other Chinese cities," he added. Micah Cheserem, head of the Equator Flower Farm in Eldoret, Kenya who manages about 30 hectares of rose fields and 20 hectares of avocado fields, said China's demand for flowers, avocados and other agricultural products has been growing, and the farm has been increasing shipments thanks to improved cold chain transportation. BRIGHTER FUTURE Amid the pandemic, Chinese enterprises shared their technical experience in the digital economy with African partners, held various online exhibitions and invited African countries to sell products through livestreaming. Africa's major e-commerce platform Jumia said that it expects more cooperation with China amid robust sales during the epidemic. "I think the Chinese merchants have played a large role in supporting us and our platform to become relevant for the African consumers because they have a huge assortment, and almost everything that a consumer might need is produced and manufactured in China in a variety of ranges and colors," Apoorva Kumar, executive vice president of logistics services at Jumia, told Xinhua in Nairobi. Philip Wu, president of the Guangzhou Inter-Africa Express Co., Ltd., said the company carries more than 16 million cross-border e-commerce parcels every year. "Cross-border e-commerce is a new growth point in China-Africa trade," said Wu. Liu Jisen, executive dean of the Institute for African Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said the difference in industrial structure has provided an endogenous impetus for the development of China-Africa trade. China and Africa can meet each other's needs in trade, overcome barriers in trade channels, strengthen connectivity and ensure the development of industrial and supply chains, said Liu. Greenroad International Logistics, a company based in Shanghai with branches in 25 African countries, said it plans to open new overseas branches in South Africa and Zimbabwe this year. "I think China and Africa are in a very strong cooperation," said Yves Ndizeye, a Rwandan intern in the company. "So my future plan is going to be related to what the company is willing to do ... it is green logistics we are doing. We are seeing a brighter future between China and Africa." Enditem (Xinhua reporters Wang Ping, Li Hualing, Li Sibo and Zhang Yuliang contributed to this story.) DMX Passes Away At The Age Of 50; Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra Pay Their Last Tribute DMX, the raspy-voiced hip-hop artist who produced the songs Ruff Ryders' Anthem and Party Up (Up in Here)" and who rapped with a trademark delivery that was often paired with growls, barks and What! as an ad-lib, has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 50. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DMX (@dmx) The Grammy-nominated performer died after suffering catastrophic cardiac arrest, according to the hospital in White Plains, New York, where he died. He was rushed there from his home April 2. The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, had struggled with drug addiction since his teenage years. His lawyer, Murray Richman, had earlier said he could not confirm reports that DMX overdosed. Bollywood celeb Ranveer Singh paid his last tribute to the rapper. Priyanka Chopra too tweeted about him and wrote, "He was one of my favourite artists growing up, and then to have had the opportunity to work with him was such a dream come true. Such a big loss for the music industry. #RIP DMX. Sending my thoughts and love to his family." He was one of my favourite artists growing up, and then to have had the opportunity to work with him was such a dream come true. Such a big loss for the music industry. #RIP DMX. Sending my thoughts and love to his family. PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) April 9, 2021 Rest in peace, DMX. The University of Nebraska KUDOS award recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding employees and is presented six times a year during NU Board of Regents meetings. Is there an employee you feel is deserving of the KUDOS award? Nominate them today! The Nebraska Board of Regents presented a KUDOS Award to Lori Arias, Associate Director of International Advising for the University of Nebraska at Omahas International Programs Office, as part of its April Meeting. Lori has been a part of the international advising team since 1988, which she joined after serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in community development. In her role, she helps lead the team that supports students navigating the process of beginning their studies at UNO as they arrive from different countries, which includes assisting students upon arrival with settling in needs such as airport pickup, shopping, and housing, advising students on a variety of matters including person, visa, and culture throughout their time at UNO, and, among other needs, serving as a 24-hour on-call resource for any crises students may encounter. The support Lori provides students has been extremely vital during times of international crisis, but especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where many international students were unsure of what the future would hold and how they could stay enrolled as travel was grounded in and out of the United States. Loris ability to be an advocate for international students is tied to her own experiences as an exchange student at UNO. She traveled to Bolivia and Peru during her time as a student and was the first student to travel to under a now 42-year partnership with Shizuoka University, located in Omahas oldest Sister City, Shizuoka, Japan. Generations of students have since traveled between the two countries with Lori serving a vital role in bridging the two universities. She has served as coordinator of the annual Shizuoka Summer Tour, where students from Japan spend two weeks in Omaha, exploring the city and state, since its inception. In 2019, during a 40-year celebration of the partnership, Lori was publicly honored for her years of commitment to the international student experience. For all these reasons; the countless hours spent advocating for global engagement and global partnerships; the care with which she treats each student regardless of background; and the passion for the work done by UNO and the University of Nebraska system, Lori is a truly invaluable asset not just to the University of Nebraska, but to the city and state. Newsfrom Japan Tokyo, April 10 (Jiji Press)--The Japan Karatedo Federation has decided to dismiss a key official over his alleged physical abuse of former world champion Ayumi Uekusa. The federation made the decision Friday to dismiss Masao Kagawa as head of its committee responsible for training without accepting his resignation. Meanwhile, the federation let him resign from its board. Uekusa, set to compete in the womens over 61-kilogram kumite category in this summers Tokyo Olympics, claimed that she got her left eye hurt with a bamboo sword by Kagawa in a training session Jan. 27. The federation gave both Uekusa and Kagawa a hearing at an ethics committee meeting March 31. It concluded that Kagawa injured Uekusa, saying his act was very dangerous and intolerable. Uekusa also alleged that Kagawa hurled verbal abuse at her from around September last year and excluded her from special camp training in March this year. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] San Francisco, April 10 : Tech giant Google said it has blocked several terms associated with hate speech from being used as ad keywords on YouTube videos. According to The Verge, the move follows a report by The Markup, which found that advertisers could search for terms like "white lives matter" and "white power" when deciding where to place ads on YouTube. At the same time, the report found, Google was blocking advertisers from using terms such as "Black Lives Matter" to find videos and channels to run ads against. After The Markup reached out to YouTube parent company Google for comment, it said the company actually blocked more racial and social justice terms, including "Black excellence" and "civil rights." "We take the issue of hate and harassment very seriously and condemn it in the strongest terms possible," The Verge quoted a Google spokesperson as saying. "Though no ads ever ran against this content on YouTube, because our multi-layered enforcement strategy worked during this investigation, we fully acknowledge that the terms identified are offensive and harmful and should not have been searchable. Our teams have addressed the issue and blocked terms that violate our enforcement policies. We will continue to be vigilant in this regard," the spokesperson added. YouTube said it has several layers of protection in place to prevent offensive or harmful ads from running on its platform, and that it regularly removes videos containing hate speech. Last year, the company said it blocked or removed more than 867 million ads for trying to evade its detection systems and more than 3 billion bad ads in total. In 2019, it banned white supremacist content, and the company said it would restrict channels from monetizing videos that "repeatedly brush up against our hate speech policies," preventing them from running ads. This is the most important policy in generations. Australia is relying on the federal government to get the population vaccinated as quickly as possible so we can move past this pandemic. And its not delivering. It is a massive blow to a government already feeling the heat over a botched vaccine rollout that has allowed only 600,000 people to be vaccinated so far, instead of the original target of 4 million. That calculation changed significantly on Thursday night, when the government said Australians aged under 50 should only get the AstraZeneca vaccine when the benefit outweighs the risk of a rare clotting disorder that affects between four and eight people for every million who receive the vaccine. Theres always some risk, renowned immunologist Peter Doherty said of COVID-19 vaccine trials eight months ago . Phase three will involve 30,000 people and maybe everyone is OK, but then you give it to 30 million and you may well get some negative consequences. But its relative risk the risk of the vaccine versus the risk of getting the disease. Until all our frontline health and quarantine workers are vaccinated, many of whom are aged under 50, we remain at risk of COVID-19 leaking into our community. And until most of our population is vaccinated, especially our vulnerable residents, we cannot risk re-opening our national borders, which is key to reviving both our pre-COVID way of life and all sectors of our economy, especially tourism and education. Last year, the federal government had to decide which vaccines would prove effective, safe and able to be delivered efficiently. It took a big punt on AstraZeneca, entering agreements that would see 3.5 million of the doses imported from Europe and a further 50 million produced locally, starting from early this year. Right now, that bet is not paying off. Those aged under 50 can still receive the AstraZeneca vaccine if they choose to, given the very low risk of suffering the blood clot condition. But Europe has blocked the export of our order. Local manufacturer CSL is struggling to produce its target of 1 million doses a week. And now all of those doses come with a caveat for almost half the population. Critics warned the government not to rely too heavily on one vaccine solution. Other countries have reached agreements with five or six vaccine providers, but last year Australia chose to make deals with only four AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novovax, which is not yet available, and the University of Queensland candidate, which was abandoned during trials. We also limited ourselves to local production of only one vaccine, leaving us vulnerable to international supply problems. The government must immediately accelerate plans to establish a facility that could produce our own supply of mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer. Monash pharmacy professor Colin Pouton, who is leading a federally funded effort to build an mRNA vaccine, says it is not too late to set up a facility that could be part of the vaccine rollout. He says it would cost $2 million to $5 million for the equipment, and another $2 million to $10 million to run. This is a small outlay compared to the cost of the vaccines and the cost to the economy of extended border closures. One start-up in Brisbane says it can do it with more government support. Kolkata, April 10 : Scores of desperate job-seekers are falling prey to mushrooming 'placement' agencies and loosing money in Covid-hit Indian cities. For one whole year, 3 Steps Aviation in Kolkata's New Town has been marketing their aviation training courses as a prelude to placement in the aviation sector. They charge between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 lakh for monthly courses, promising to arrange selection tests and interviews for job-ready candidates in different segments of the aviation industry. The lowest rates are for the ground utility sector, while the highest is for cabin crew. Batches after batches of students are trapped by tele-callers operating on the databases of job sites. Once the job-seekers pay, they are pressurised for upgradation to more expensive courses and then told to wait for job interviews. IANS spoke to 11 students of the December and March batches of 3 Steps Aviation and found none in either batches had actually been put up for a job interview, let alone get a job. Enquiries revealed that the company has not arranged for a single job interview since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. "But they have been fleecing batches after batches, promising the moon," said a March batch student, who had half-a-dozen job offers in top hotels through campus interviews which were revoked due to the Covid pandemic. "How can they offer interviews and jobs when no one is recruiting and even the existing staff are forced to take huge salary cuts," asked veteran aviation executive Samit Ghosh, adding: "This is plain cheating." Ghosh said that there are at least half-a-dozen such 'placement' agencies in Kolkata alone, and many more elsewhere, operating in tandem with the job websites which trap and dupe job-seekers. Some of them like Frankfinn did provide jobs in the past, but ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, jobs in hospitality and aviation sectors have dried up. While Ghosh said that it is understsndable, he resented why the placement agencies are not upfront in admitting that the "well is dry". Sixty-year-old Nguyen Thi Tam has been making fish sauce for nearly half a century and has developed her own brand - Tam Tuoi - within the line of fish sauce made by the Cua Khe cooperative. FAIR TRADE: A stall introducing Cua Khe fish sauce at a fair in Hoi An ancient town. Photo courtesy of Cua Khe fish sauce cooperative The name Cua Khe derives from the Khe estuary, used last century by fishing vessels heading out to and returning from sea, and the fish sauce has been developed for more than a hundred years. Tam, born in Duy Ha fishing village in coastal Binh Duong Commune in Quang Nam Province, said she learned the trade from her father and is the fourth generation of villagers involved in production, and even continued to work in the craft after marriage. Most women in the village know how to make fish sauce, as we have fish reserves year-round and the trade developed over such a long period of time, she said. Artisanal fish sauce has been hit hard by mass-produced brands in recent decades. There are about 70 families in our village still in the trade, producing 11 brands that meet high-quality standards and are readily found on supermarket shelves. Premium recipes LATEST CATCH: A local villager carries fresh grey anchovies for fish sauce production in Duy Ha Village. VNS Photo Kim Ngan Tam said making traditional fish sauce is still done based on unique recipes and strict selection of fish and salt. Grey anchovies and salt from the De Gi salt field in Binh Thuan Province, she explained, are the best raw materials when making premium Cua Khe fish sauce. March is the anchovy fishing season, and Tams family can buy 40 tonnes of top-quality fish between March and June, which are mixed with salt for fermentation. We follow our unique formula, of three kilos of fish for one kilo of salt, she said. The salt must be stored for 12 months before being mixed with anchovies or other fish to produce the best fish sauce. Anchovies must be brought directly to our workshop as soon as boats dock at dawn. No ice or additives are allowed in preservation. Tam said the first drops of amber liquid leaking out from wooden barrels after 12 to 13 months of fermentation are 'premium' quality, or nuoc mam nhi in Vietnamese, and sell for VND70,000 (US$3) a litre. Two kilos of fish are needed to produce one litre of premium fish sauce for sale in the high-end segment. Even a small amount of chemical or some rotten fish can spoil a huge batch, she explained. The process requires sunlight, as cool weather can result in the fish sauce taking on a black colour. Most of the production is done in the scorching days of summer, until the wet season arrives in the central region some time during October. Together with premium fish sauce, local craftspeople also produce an option in the lower-price segment that is a combination of different batches. PREFERRED KIT: Terra-cotta vats are used to ferment fish in salt, with the first drops of sauce appearing after several months. VNS Photo Vo Tung Ha Van Thuan, 31, said this lower-price fish sauce is produced after the premium process is completed, to use all available materials. We offer different types of fish sauce, with prices ranging from VND15,000 ($0.7) to VND40,000 ($1.7), he said. The lower-quality sauce is often used by street vendors as well as low-income families. High protein fish sauce is quite rare and so ideal as a gift on special occasions like Tet (the Lunar New Year festival). This is a special variety that collects all of the protein from fermented anchovies, he said. It is also much savoury. Fish residue that remains at the end of the production process can also be used as livestock feed or fertiliser. He said that mam nem, or salted fish paste, another product made from anchovies but with less salt, is also popular in dishes in the central region. Traditionally, villagers used terra-cotta vats or jackfruit wood barrels to ferment fish, but some households replaced these with cement-cast barrels to cut costs amid a lack of wood and a growing absence of earthenware makers in recent years. Thuan said the Cua Khe cooperative encouraged producers to use wooden barrels or terra-cotta vats. Good for health FAVOUR FOUND: Customers visit a Cua Khe fish sauce stall at an organic fair in Da Nang. VNS Photo Kim Ngan The village produces 150,000 litres of premium fish sauce each year for sale at traditional markets in Quang Nam, Da Nang, Hanoi and HCM City. The sauce is also sold at Co-Op Marts in the central region, according to Vo Nguyen Tung, a member of the Cua Khe cooperative. Ha Thi Nguyet, an agent in Da Nang, helps deliver Cua Khe fish sauce to consumers around the city. Central coastal villages are seen as producing the best fish sauce, she said. The careful selection of top-quality fish and salt wins over choosy customers. They prefer premium fish sauce because they know for certain there are no food additives used. She added that fish sauce is considered a healthy organic product. Tung, who owns the Cua Khe-Quang Nam fish sauce company, said local villagers recognised the importance of the product for the local markets. We plan to develop community-based tourism to preserve our craft and advertise Cua Khe fish sauce, he said. The village, which is close to the Hoiana resort and the ancient town of Hoi An, could be linked to them as a craft destination. Some household brands have been built under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme. FRESH BATCH: A local craftsman collecting the first drops of fish sauce from vats at a workshop in Duy Ha Village. VNS Photo Cong Thanh The Quang Nam Tourism Association has indeed been building up the village as a destination linked to Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary, other craft villages, farming tours, and cultural and educational experiential tours. Boosting promotions in line with community-based tourism would help preserve the craft and create stable incomes for local villagers, Tung believes. Cua Khe fish sauce, he added, was also seeking export opportunities to European markets. VNS Fish sauce producers in a tight spot Traditional fish sauce is one of the most typical components in Vietnamese cuisine and while its nutritional value has been analysed thoroughly, getting EU customers to consume it more regularly remains a challenge. Young fish sauce entrepreneur enjoys sweet taste of success A young man in Thanh Hoa Province decided to return home after studying and working abroad to develop a traditional product, fish sauce. Two Mercer County Prosecutors Office detectives have been pulled from their assignments and given desk jobs while the office investigates an allegation they trespassed at county facility to snap a pic of Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes car. The photo appeared the next day in the Trentonian newspaper. The development comes after several weeks of the Trentonian reporting multiple stories on Hughes driving record, which includes several crashes in the past 20 years, none which were reported by the media. They were not serious, nor injured anyone. On Friday evening, Hughes told NJ Advance Media he called the prosecutors office himself after seeing security video of the two officers inside the county lot. I [made the call]. I got a little bit mad, Hughes said. He said he knows one of the detectives, who makes about $120,000 annually. And it was 11:40 a.m. on a weekday and hes snapping a picture of a car I hadnt even driven for four months. The incident occurred Tuesday, April 6, Hughes said, and the next day a picture of his former car in the lot appeared in the Trentonian. I just dont think that is a fair appropriation of taxpayer money, the county executive said. The prosecutors office said they just learned of the allegations Friday, and immediately opened an Internal Affairs investigation and taken interim, administrative action against the detectives. They have been relieved of their current assignments and placed on modified duty pending the outcome, office spokesperson Casey DeBlasio said in a statement. Before Friday, The office had no knowledge of the alleged actions of our investigators, nor do we condone them, DeBlasio said. The office did not identify the officers, nor did Hughes. NJ Advance Media is aware of the officers names. One is a sergeant, and the other is the president of the detectives union, and currently assigned to an FBI task force, according to his LinkedIn page. The detectives union is currently in contract negotiations with the Mercer County administration. Hughes driving record comes after significant shifts and internal battling in the Mercer County Democratic party. Once the driving stories started appearing in the Trentonian, Hughes was summoned to a recent county commissioner meeting, and said hed give up driving county vehicles. Hughes years ago publicly acknowledged he has a medical condition, trigeminal neuralgia, which requires medication, and for which hes had surgery in the past. The condition causes occasional pain in his face. The county executive said he understands the publics concern over his driving, which is why he will not drive county cars. He said he enjoys driving, and said his wife has a nice car. And she offered to share it with me, he quipped. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. One of the candidates for a flight to the Moon became known in the US - a native of Azerbaijan, US Air Force officer Alekber (Allen) Tarlan oglu Mirgadirov. It is known that Allen Mirgadirov is 42 years old, he was born in Baku, graduated from the 45th school, and in 1991, he left for the United States with his family. In the United States, he graduated from the University of San Diego, studied the intricacies of aerodynamics, and then served for more than 10 years in the United States Air Force. Since 2014, he has been a candidate for a flight to Mars, and since 2019 - to the Moon. Highlights Google employees asked Sundar Pichai to stop protecting the harassers in an open letter. The open letter demands demands Pichai to provide a safe environment for employees who face harassment in the company. The letter highlighted how Emi Neitfeld, the ex-Google engineer, was made to sit next to her harasser. Over 500 Google employees have signed an open letter addressed to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, asking the company to stop protecting the harassers. The open letter which has now been published on Medium, demands Pichai to provide a safe environment for employees who face harassment in the company. The letter was written days after ex-Google engineer Emi Neitfeld wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, narrating how Google handled her harassment case. The open letter which was signed by 500 Google employees highlighted how Emi Neitfeld, the ex-Google engineer, was made to sit next to her harasser. Neitfeld in her op-ed titled "After working at Google, I'll never let myself love a job again" wrote how she was forced to have one-on-one meetings with her harasser and made to sit next to him. "Every time I asked for an update on the timeline and expressed my discomfort at having to continue to work in proximity to my harasser, the investigators said that I could seek counseling, work from home or go on leave. I later learned that Google had similar responses to other employees who reported racism or sexism," she writes. The letter alleged that Neitfeld's case is not the first case to take place in Google, the company has a history of protecting the harasser instead of protecting the person who is harassed. "The person who reports harassment is forced to bear the burden, usually leaving Alphabet while their harasser stays or is rewarded for their behavior," the letter says. Andy Rubin, the creator of Android mobile software, was awarded a $90 million exit package after a woman accused him of coercing her into performing oral sex. Amit Singhal, a former search executive, was awarded $35 million when he was forced to resign after a sexual assault investigation. In 2018, more than 20,000 Google employees protested against the sexual harassment cases and against the protection of harassers. But the letter reveals that the company has not changed the way it functions and did not meet any of the Google Walkout demands. The employees demanded the company to prioritize the safety of their workers by prioritizing the concerns of those harmed. Google in its defense said in a statement to The Verge that the company has made improvements. "We've made significant improvements to our overall process, including the way we handle and investigate employee concerns, and introducing new care programmes for employees who report concerns," the statement read. 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. Navy seizes illegal Indonesian fishing boat off Phuket PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, based in Phuket, has seized an Indonesian fishing boat for illegally entering Thai economic fishing zone waters off Phuket, using a sieve net for hauling in its catch. militarymarine By Eakkapop Thongtub Saturday 10 April 2021, 02:09PM Thai fishing boats in the area on Thursday night reported three Indonesian fishing vessels operating 122 miles (some 219km) directly west of Phuket, the Third Area Command reported. Personnel at the Navy base in Phang Nga relayed the report to the Third Area Command headquarters at Cape Panwa, Phuket, at 8:30pm that night.1 The Navy responded by dispatching Navy patrol boat Tor 994 and a reconnaissance aircraft to confirm the report. At 6:30am yesterday (Apr 9), the aircraft patrol reported several Indonesian fishing boats were still illegally in the area, and directed the Tor 994 to intercept. The Navy boat managed to seize one of the fishing vessels, given the name KM RIZKI LAOT, and its sieve net equipment. The boat and all 32 people on board, all Indonesian nationals, were brought back to Phuket to face legal proceedings, the Navy confirmed. BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) Protesters in Serbia rallied Saturday demanding that the government protect the environment in a Balkan nation that has seen record levels of air pollution and scores of other ecological problems following decades of neglect. Several thousand people gathered outside the Serbian parliament building in the capital of Belgrade for an ecological uprising against what organizers say is a widespread environmental devastation in the nation aspiring to join the European Union. Some wore face masks to ward off coronavirus but not all. Serbia has faced mounting problems that include poor garbage management and high air pollution caused by the use of poor-quality coal and other pollutants. Rivers have been polluted by toxic industrial waste and many cities, including Belgrade, lack good sewage and waste water systems. We came to say No! to those who jeopardize our rivers and our nature every day, said Aleksandar Jovanovic, who belongs to a movement opposed to building small hydropower plants on Serbia's rivers. Protesters carried banners reading Cut corruption and crime, not forests! or Water is life and Plant a tree!" referring to shrinking green areas in the cities, particularly in Belgrade, where huge concrete residential areas have sprung up in recent years. I think this is the most important topic in our lives, said protester Bojana Jovanovic. The protesters demanded a ban on building small hydroelectric plants, better environmental education, greener urban areas and cleaner air. International studies have suggested that air pollution is shortening the lifespans of people living in the Western Balkans. Hours before the rally, the Serbian Environment Ministry said that Serbia's many problems are not new and insisted the government has launched projects aimed at finding long-term solutions to pollution. Environment Minister Irena Vujovic later described the protest as political, saying organizers wanted to make quick political gains rather than work to solve problems. Story continues Activists from Bosnia joined the protest, saying that everyone in the region shares the same concerns. The Balkan nations must substantially improve their environmental protection policies if they want to move forward in their bids to join the 27-nation EU. Impoverished and marred by corruption after years of crisis in the 1990s, many Balkan countries have pushed environmental issues to the sidelines. Last winter, Bosnia and Serbia drew world attention after pictures were published of rivers clogged with tons of plastic bottles and other garbage that washed away from poorly-managed landfills and illegal dumpsites. While much of the region's air pollution comes from outdated coal power plants, activists also accused Serbian authorities of turning a blind eye to pollution generated by foreign-funded projects. This is our country!" said Jovanovic. "You are all welcome, the Russians and Chinese, Americans. But under one condition: there must be no poisoning of our children. UPDATE: Man who exchanged gunfire with Flint police charged with 18 felonies FLINT, MI A man is in custody after shooting at Flint police officers, only to be wounded himself when they returned fire, officials said. Police responded to a 911 call reporting a man with a gun in the area of Garland Street and Fourth Avenue just after midnight Friday, April 9. They located the man driving in the area and tried to pull him over, police said. When the officers activated their emergency equipment, the motorist fled and refused to stop, leading to the vehicle chase, police said. The man eventually exited the vehicle and began firing an assault rifle at the officers, police said. Officers returned fire, police said, striking the suspect at least once. The man continued fleeing, but was soon caught by police. The man was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his non-life-threatening wounds. He remains in police custody. Police did not disclose the mans age or where he lives. Read more: Bay County man faces 10-year felonies in child porn case Gunfire on Saginaws West Side leads to police chase, 3 arrested Catalytic converters being stolen off vehicles, Saginaw police say Apr. 10SANTA FE Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday rejected 17 bills passed by lawmakers, blocking bipartisan proposals that sought to raise utility fees and reshape the training of law enforcement officers. But, overall, she continued to use her veto powers sparingly. Altogether, the governor vetoed just 18 of the 158 bills sent to her by the Legislature in the regular session a rejection rate of 11%. Nonetheless, Lujan Grisham clashed with the Legislature this year on a host of bills, many of which had passed with bipartisan support. Supporters of a proposal to revise law enforcement training in New Mexico objected strongly Friday to one of the vetoes. The measure, Senate Bill 375, would have required annual training in de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention and responding to people in a mental health crisis, among other changes. Lawmakers had passed it without a dissenting vote. Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said the proposal was a response at least in part to the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee onto his neck. "We thought we were doing something there to make sure our police had extra training," Ingle, a co-sponsor of the bill, said Friday. In her veto message, Lujan Grisham didn't object to the extra training. Instead, she said she couldn't support the bill because it would have changed the composition of the Law Enforcement Academy Board, weakening civilian oversight. The proposal, the governor said, called for eliminating some members of the board, including two citizen representatives unaffiliated with law enforcement. "Eliminating these members would insulate the board from any civilian oversight, a necessary accountability measure," Lujan Grisham said in a message to legislators. AJ Forte, executive director of the New Mexico Municipal League, a group that represents cities, said he hopes a revised version of the measure can win Lujan Grisham's support in time for the 2022 legislative session. Story continues The governor's approval would be needed to take up the matter next year. In New Mexico, a governor has some control over the legislative agenda in even years, when lawmakers meet for just 30 days. "This was really a holistic approach to law enforcement reform for us," Forte said of the bill. In addition to training changes, Senate Bill 375 also called for establishing a database to share information among agencies about excessive use of force. 'It was a lifeline' The governor's veto of a proposal aimed at bringing a 24-hour emergency health care facility to Valencia County also drew strong opposition. The measure House Bill 240, passed by lawmakers without dissent would have allowed certain property tax revenue in Valencia County to be dedicated to the effort. "This was not just a piece of legislation it was a lifeline for a community in need," Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen, said in a written statement. "Our community has been working on this for almost 15 years and we hoped this was the year the Governor would look beyond the city and see the needs of her rural constituents." County voters approved a property tax to support a hospital in 2006. The legislation passed this year would allow the revenue to be used for a 24-hour emergency health care facility in the county, even if it doesn't precisely meet the definition of a hospital. Lujan Grisham's veto message cited the discrepancy in rejecting the bill. "To now use the mill levy funding for a purpose that was not presented during the election would abuse our democratic process and render the community's decision irrelevant," she said. Veto rate about 9% The 18 vetoes issued by Lujan Grisham this year continue a trend for the Democrat in her first term. She has generally rejected fewer bills than her recent predecessors. Lujan Grisham has vetoed about 9% of the bills sent to her during the first three regular legislative sessions of her tenure. Her rate has ranged between 5% and 11%. By contrast, Republican Susana Martinez, who served from 2011-18, vetoed about 28% of the bills passed during regular sessions of her administration, and Democrat Bill Richardson, who served from 2003-10, rejected about 15%, according to legislative records. Democrats have controlled both chambers of the Legislature for all but two years since 2003. Friday was the signing deadline for Lujan Grisham. Any outstanding bill she didn't sign by noon was automatically rejected, a procedure known as a pocket veto. In total, she vetoed 12 bills this year, with messages outlining her objections, and she pocket vetoed six more bills without taking action. Seventeen of the vetoes came Friday. One was issued earlier. Rejected Among the bills Lujan Grisham rejected at the deadline: n House Bill 103, which sought to raise about $179,000 in revenue through changes to fees paid by water and sewer utilities. Lujan Grisham described the fee increases as unreasonable. n Senate Bill 328, which would have allowed for the extension of a water and sanitation gross receipts tax beyond the initial six years approved by voters. Lujan Grisham said voters should decide whether to extend the tax. It has been almost 10 years since Bonnie Kate Olson led exercise classes inside a mechanics garage near the railroad tracks off 24th Street and Quincy. Fitness and general wellness had always been an interest of hers and the garage owner kindly allowed her to rent the space to conduct her classes. The program was more of an exercise boot camp, she explained while rocking her newborn in a stroller while seated at a table at The Broadway Brew. We would do six weeks at a time and start over, Olson said. It was fun. At the time she started the program, the 2011 Plainview Christian Academy graduate was a new college student. Exercise provided an outlet to relieve stress for her an outlet she hoped to teach to other women. She continued teaching exercise classes here in Plainview and in Lockney through her college years at Wayland Baptist University and then Texas Tech University slowing down just a bit when she became a mom. When baby number two came along, Olson gave up teaching. While running her own gym was a dream, she was busy and never imagined an opportunity coming to fruition. Fate stepped in last summer in the way of lucky connections, leading to the creation of The Studio 8th, which officially opened its doors on March 1. I had a friend kind of approach me and say hey, Ive got a spot that I think would be really neat for you to use if you want to use it, Olson recalled. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and her generally busy life with two toddlers, Olson wasnt quite sure about timing but she was curious. She visited the space at 111 8th St. behind The Radiant Lily and couldnt help but see its potential. She gave it some thought, lots of prayer and talked it over with her husband, Tanner Olson (a Plainview High School graduate). Its kind of funny how you can just pick up on your spouses language and I guess different tones of voice, Olson said. He said I think youre very excited about it. I think its something you should pursue. Things started falling into place. Olson, who is a Plainview native, began work to renovate the interior of the building to tailor it to her needs. She also reached out to those who would join her as fitness instructors. Prior to this, shed pictured her ideal gym to be more traditional in the sense that it would have some exercise equipment providing an opportunity for gym goers to use the equipment on their own or take part in classes. She didnt realize her preference for a more intimate gym experience until she started preparing for the opening date. The studio provides opportunity to have a personal experience with our instructors who care about more than just their physical experience in the gym, Olson said. Thats something Ive always wanted my business to be an opportunity to invest in whole health, not just physical. I know its also the other ladies (instructors) desire to leave people better than we found them, to pour into whoever comes into the door in all aspects. The studio offers barre, yoga and toning classes with multiple options each day. Interested clients can book classes or stop in to see what its about. Classes are taught by certified instructors an important aspect to Olson including: Anndi Marshall (yoga), Shay Webb (toning), Molly Sue (barre), Camy Brunson (yoga) and of course, Olson (toning and barre). Sessions can be booked to attend in-person or virtually, according to The Studios website. While Olson teaches toning and barre, she has a newborn so shes not ready to teach again just yet. Launching a wellness studio, embarking on her first real business venture and finding a balance with her duties as a wife and mother of three now (a 4-year-old, 2-year-old and 2-month-old) has not been easy. Her business venture has been one big learning experience with lots of moving parts. Handling it all boils down to a strong support system, she said. Her husband and both of their parents have helped her along her path to manage it all. The experience has also made Olson realize her strengths. I feel like Im capable of doing those hard things that I always thought I was incapable of, she said. New Delhi, April 10 : Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed deep concern over the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic hitting India and said that virus attacks the poorest and disadvantaged the hardest. He also reiterated his demand for the basic income support by the Central government. He made the remarks here during a meeting of Congress ruled states and party's ministers from alliance states to review the efforts to fight Covid-19 including availability of vaccines, access to medicines and ventilators which was chaired by party interim chief Sonia Gandhi. The meeting comes at a time when India is witnessing a massive surge in Covid cases. On Saturday, India recorded over 1.45 lakh fresh Covid cases and 794 deaths in the last 24 hours. Even several states have red flagged the government over the shortage of the Covid-19 vaccines. During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi expressed deep concern over the second wave of Covid-19 hitting the country and asked for a concerted approach. He asked the state governments to look at new mutations, which are the source of second wave and also called for joining hands and energies, instead of complacency and premature victories. Rahul Gandhi also pointed towards a direct connection between Covid-19 spread and nutrition and livelihood. He pointed out that the virus attacks the poorest and disadvantaged the hardest. He also reiterated the demand for 'basic income support' by the Central government. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel during the meeting highlighted the steps taken by his government to fight Covid and mentioned the state has only three days of vaccine left, drawing the Central government's attention to ramp up the supply. Even Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot pointed out Covid vaccine shortage in their states. Gehlot also pointed out the spurt in Covid infections, and said the Centre must take states on board as stakeholders and not as adversaries. Maharashtra Minister Balasaheb Thorat during the meeting pointed out that state can vaccinate 5 lakh people daily provided the Central government supplies the vaccine. He said that the Covid vaccination centres will shut down and also listed urgent need for 1,200 ventilators, remdesivir injections and oxygen. During the meeting, Jharkhand Minister Rameshwar Oraon listed various measures undertaken to tackle Covid-19 situation in the state. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The Dodgers announced that right-hander Ashton Goudeau has been claimed off waivers from the Giants. Goudeau was designated for assignment by San Francisco earlier this week. In less than five months time, Goudeau has now been a member of five different organizations. After making his MLB debut with the Rockies last season, Goudeau went to the Pirates, Orioles, Giants, and now the Dodgers in a series of waiver claims. The 28-year-old has also previously pitched in the Mariners and Royals farm systems during a pro career that began when the Royals selected Goudeau in the 27th round of the 2012 draft. Over 563 2/3 innings in the minors, Goudeau has started 70 of 171 games and posted a 4.81 ERA, 20.44% strikeout rate, and 6.23% walk rate. His first taste of Major League action resulted in a 7.56 ERA over 8 1/3 innings over four appearances with Colorado in 2020. Washington: The Biden administration has opened the door to lifting Trump-imposed sanctions against Iran that are inconsistent with the 2015 nuclear deal, but also those that prevent Iran from accessing broader economic benefits under the agreement, according to a senior State Department official. The formulation, offered after a first round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States this week, is designed to break a roadblock between what Iran has demanded and what the administration is prepared to give for both to return to compliance with the accord. The official described the talks as businesslike and the atmosphere as very constructive. Discussions are expected to resume in the middle of next week. Russias Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mikhail Ulyanov, relayed messages between iran and the US during their indirect talks in Vienna. Credit:AP At Irans insistence, there was no direct communication between the Iranians and the US delegation headed by President Joe Bidens special envoy Robert Malley. Messages were carried back and forth by other participants in the nuclear deal - Britain, Germany and France, as well as Russia and China. San Francisco native Tongo Eisen-Martin was recently named the eighth poet laureate of San Francisco. He also cofounded Black Freighter Press, a small press open to publishing Black and brown poets, which he hopes will create a world where the collective determines cultural reality. BookLife recently spoke with Eisen-Martin about his poetry, his poet laureate distinction, and his revolutionary goals for BFP. What or who inspired you to become a poet? I read a Langston Hughes poem in elementary school, and original lines of poetry immediately started running through my mind on what seemed like, physically, different bridges of thought. I was also lucky to be raised by a radical village in which art was just another mode of communication. So I dont really recall a moment when I wasnt in dialogue with the mass imagination. The journey thenas facilitated by the poets and poetry collectives Im indebted towas an education in doing the necessary political, internal, and spiritual work to be a decent instrument of poetry. The content of your work is clearly driven by your activism and questioning of Americas social justice issues, particularly those affecting Black and brown communities. When did you know that your literary aspirations would dovetail with your activism? Was it an organic or conscious choice? Definitely organic. Both the journey of my craft and its political praxis were like major organs in my bodycooperating with everything else that made me human in the face of a society with genocidal tendencies. Then and now, humanization is the goal. Because I was born during a time of low mass resistance to oppression, art offered my psyche protection that would otherwise be provided by unity with others. With the masses shifting toward hyperindividualism, we found in artboth produced and enjoyedthe collectives that made our evolution conversational, which was crucial because true transformation is dialogical. Interest-ingly, though, both the potentials of language and the science of social transformation have basics that you cannot make a hybrid out of. And so the meditation is to do right by both, letting the synthesis of a radical arts practice take place almost spontaneously. What motivated you to cocreate Black Freighter Press? We wanted to capture a sliver of the means of cultural productionto create a part of what can be a peoples power structure. We believe that all reality is determined by collectives of various sizes and gravity, and that no matter how much water an individual can walk on, no individual effort transforms a societys structural landscape. Power is in the facilitation of process. A structure of power can grant me all kinds of concessions of material gain and safety, but, if the actual processes of production are never in my hands, I will remain fundamentally powerless. How does your work as poet laureate inform your goals for BFP? My favorite potential of the position is the opportunity to create cultural learning circles with more people than Ive ever had access to before. I do believe in the roles even local renaissances have in developing mass culture, but nothing raises consciousness like cultural efforts generated by educational projects. Through educational projects for all ages, you can create the sea for liberation that artists can swim inthe sea that a liberation press is both an instrument of and accountable to. Youve said you want BFP to showcase poets whose voices are anti-imperialist and who belong to the revolutionary imagination. Can you describe what that means? The revolutionary imagination has several tributaries, and we are interested in publishing all of them. Poems synthesized from an analysis of how the well-being of the biosphere is in contradiction with the well-being of current power structures in society. Also, poems synthesized from the belief that reality is a constantly evolving product of collective determinations and not just a status quo we must acceptand/or rage againstas if it were immortal. I also believe that liberation lies in the writers craft reflecting their ability to search for and recreate phenomenal meaning. I think there are beautiful poems in which the poet teaches us about realities, especially of oppression, but there is a special electricity that comes when the poet, through a poem, is actually just teaching themselves somethingand we, as readers, get to experience this beauty firsthand. What advice do you have for new and aspiring poets who are looking to find their audience and build communities with their peers? How can they make their voices heard? The foundation is developing a critical relationship to the craftfinding the process that pulls the world to you. Also critical is a commitment to internal cultivation and political praxis on their own terms, without your life as an artist involved. Again, I think theres no shortcut or individual orientation to progress that can get us around the need to build the sea. Only from a transformed mass imagination and mass practice will we get the audience that your personal journey truly needs and deserves. Create as many collectives as you can, and organize your unities around nonindividualistic aspirations. As of now, BFP is not accepting unsolicited manuscripts. Do you anticipate opening up opportunities for new and aspiring poets in the future? Yes, for sure, as soon as we have the means. In the meantime, we implore all able-spirited writers to build our unities, the necessary cultural structures for taking care of all of our people who need and deserve light. Diana M. Dean is a freelance writer who shares book pics, reviews, and commentary on her blog Reading While Mommying. Despite violence and bloodbath in the fourth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal on Saturday, which saw five people get killed at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district, the state recorded a relatively low turnout of 76.16 per cent till 5 p.m. A total of five people were killed in two separate incidents in Cooch Behar district on Saturday. Four persons were killed when central forces opened fire on an unruly mob in Sitalkuchi Assembly constituency in Mathabhanga block, while in another incident in the same constituency, a first-time voter was killed. Though the police have claimed that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on duty opened fire in self defence that led to the death of four persons, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sought an explanation and said that she would visit the village on Sunday. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a note on Friday evening that may stall the Chief Minister's plan to visit Sitalkuchi. "In Cooch Behar district where voting shall be over by today, no political leader from any national, state or other party should be allowed to enter the geographical boundaries of the district for the next 72 hours with immediate effect," the ECI said. The four persons who died on Saturday have been identified as Amjad Hossain (28), Chalmu Mian (23), Jobed Ali (20) and Nameed Mia (20). Seven others were injured in the incident, who were rushed to the nearby hospital. They are all residents of Jor Patki village and voters of Booth No. 126, where the incident took place. Following the incident, the Election Commission adjourned the polling in the booth and sought a report from the special observers and Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab by Saturday evening. According to the preliminary reports, when an unruly mob tried to snatch the firearms from the central forces at Booth No. 126 at Amtali in Jor Patki village, the CISF personnel opened fire in self-defence which left four persons dead. "A 14-year-old boy, who had come with his mother to the polling station, suddenly fell ill following which a QRT (quick response team) van that was parked nearby took the boy to the hospital. Suddenly, the incident triggered a rumour that the boy was shot at by the central forces and soon hundreds of people started to gather around the booth. They started agitating and also tried to snatch the firearms from the force personnel. Unable to control the unruly mob, the CISF jawans on duty opened fire on the mob, killing four persons," Annappa E, the DIG of Jalpaiguri range, told the media. Ariz Aftab, however, was not ready to divulge the details. Speaking to the media on Friday evening, he said, "Voting has been adjourned in the particular booth and there may be a repoll. We have sought a detailed report from the District Election Officer (DEO) and the SP and a magisterial enquiry will be held in connection with the incident." In another incident, a first-time voter, Ananda Baraman (18), son of Jagadish Barman from Pathantuli village in Sitalkuchi, died after he was shot by unknown miscreants. The incidents snowballed into a political controversy with the Trinamool Congress demanding a probe into the highhandedness of the central force in poll management. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that armed central police shot four people dead who were standing in a queue to exercise their franchise in Sitalkuchi. Speaking at a public meeting at Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas district, Banerjee asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain why lives were lost in central forces' firing during the fourth phase of polling. "After killing so many people, they (Election Commission) are saying the firing was in self-defence. They should feel ashamed. This is a lie," she said. According to Election Commission data, the fourth phase of elections in Bengal held across 44 Assembly constituencies in five districts saw an overall voter turnout of 76.16 per cent till 5 p.m. Cooch Behar registered the highest poll percentage at 79.73, followed by Hooghly (76.02 per cent), South 24 Parganas (75.49 per cent), Howrah (75.03 per cent) and Alipurduar (73.65 per cent). A totalof 373 candidates from different political parties are in the fray in nine Assembly constituencies in Cooch Behar, five in Alipurduar, nine in Howrah, 11 in South 24 Parganas and 10 in Hooghly. Talks are underway in Istanbul between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived on a visit today, the Turkish leader's administration informed. "The talks between the presidents of Turkey and Ukraine have begun," the report reads, RIA Novosti reports. The parties plan to comprehensively discuss issues of bilateral relations and steps to strengthen them, as well as regional and international issues. Istanbul will also host the 9th meeting of the Turkish-Ukrainian High-Level Cooperation Council chaired by the presidents of both countries, Erdogans administration added. Reporter Ben Zigterman is a reporter covering business at The News-Gazette. His email is bzigterman@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@bzigterman). Alfonso Garcia put the finishing touches on the downtown mural back in December. On Wednesday morning, members of the Plainview Downtown Association, the Plainview Chamber of Commerce and other business leaders gathered with Garcia to thank him and to cut ribbon at whats been one of his biggest projects to date. Prior to cutting the ribbon, PDA President Phyllis Wall spoke briefly about the project. The mural was funded in partnership with PDA and the Plainview Area Endowment, which is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of West Texas. The initial goal was to liven up downtown Plainview. It has since started to become a photo attraction and one that Garcias proud of. Now that hes done with it, Garcias keeping busy with other work, including a project in Silverton, touching up murals around Hale Center and other projects around the region. The ribbon cutting event was the first for 2021. Seoul, April 10 : Consumer electronics giant Samsung is reportedly in talks with LG for a huge order of OLED TV panels, media reported. GSMArena, citing more than one Korean news outlet, reported that Samsung may be close to closing a deal where LG will supply Samsung with millions of these TV panels, further evidencing its shift away from LCD panels in its QLED TVs, which use a combination of a quantum dot filter and an LCD backlight. The reports said that one million panels would be supplied to Samsung in the second half of this fiscal year, with that number rising to 4 million in 2022. It is noted that it's not usual for Samsung to order panels from its biggest rival, but the event could be a result of the company's recent decision to shift from using LCD technology in its QLED TVs and use OLED panels from LG instead, the report said. The recent rise in LCD panels due to the semi-conductor shortage is certainly a factor at play. In the meantime, The Elec reported that Samsung is working on a prototype for a Quantum Dot OLED TV which doesn't use LCD panels. These prototypes reportedly were rejected by Samsung Electronics back in January for their brightness being too low, the report said. ADVERTISEMENT Clement Sagwak, the security guard assaulted by the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), asking for a probe into the March 29 incident. Mr Sagwak, in an April 9 petition signed by his lawyer, Samuel Ihensekhien, accused the CCT chairman of abuse of power, assault, torture, and xenophobia. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr Umar was caught on camera physically assaulting Mr Sargwak, at Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja, on March 29. Mr Umar, who presides over the trial of public officers accused of breach of code of conduct, was seen in the five-minute viral video clip, slapping and kicking the security guard following an altercation that ensued between them over a parking space on the premises of the plaza. Mr Sargwak, with a bruised lip, later revealed to PREMIUM TIMES that he was attacked by the CCT chair after he approached him over wrong parking on the plaza premises. A phone repairer, Peter Onyiuke, with an outlet at the plaza, was also detained for one week allegedly on Mr Umars instruction, following a quarrel they had on the sideline of the scene created by CCT chairmans attack on the plazas security guard. Demands In the petition dated April 9, 2021, and addressed to the Secretary of the NHRC, Anthony Ojukwu, Mr Sargwak urged the commission to investigate the assault he suffered in the hands of Mr Umar and his driver, and the subsequent slur campaign the CCT launched against him and tenants of the plaza after the incident. In a statement filled with blunders, the CCT press and media unit, accused Mr Sargwak of being rude in his encounter with Mr Umar. The unit also alleged that CCT chairman was mobbed by Biafran boys, a characterisation that was widely condemned as a slur on an ethnic group. Mr Sargwark said, through his lawyer, thar the slur in the statement after he was attacked by the CCT chairman violated section 26 of the Cybercrime Probation and other Offences Act, 2015. The petition reads, in part, As if that was not enough, that the said Umar Danladi through his press office issued a press statement at Code of Conduct Tribunal wherein he complained in defence of his atrocious act of Umar Danladi said that the tenant of Banex Plaza and the Clement Sagwak attacked him and some tenants of Banex Plaza who witnessed the ugly incident and nominal complainant/our clients assault are Biafra boys, wherein same publication is contrary to 26 of Cybercrimes Prohibitions and Other Offences Act 2015, as same act as Umar Danladi and his press officer constitute use of racist terms and the aftermath distribution of the same through (an) electronic medium by all persons, constitute a distribution of xenophobic material in this regard. Whereof the act of Umar Danladi and all persons associated with him is contrary to the provisions and sections under the Penal Code Act section 26 of Cybercrimes Prohibition and other Offences Act 2015. Intimidation The petitioner also accused both Mr Umar and officers of the F.C.T police command of intimidating and threatening tenants and all eyewitnesses in an attempt to cover up Mr Umars dirty tracks of the March 29 event. That the F.C.T Police Command officers are busy inviting and threatening to arrest banex plaza tenants and all those that (who) witness(ed) the unruly behaviour of Umar Danladi to cover up Umar Danladi criminal and dirty tracks. That the IPO of the Police Command has again invited a colleague of Clement Sargwak who is one of the eyewitnesses to the event on Monday, March 29, 2021. That the Umar Danladi is bent on intimidating everyone around Clement Sagwak who has any useful information to indict our client, the petition partly reads. Efforts to reach the F.C.T police spokesperson, Mariam Yusuf, were unsuccessful. She did not respond to calls and text messages sent to her known phone number. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 16:05:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People walk past ambulances at the Royal London Hospital in London, Britain, on April 9, 2021. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) If divided, the community will fail to conquer the virus, and this rings true not only for the continent of Europe, where varied values and ideologies coexist in a multicultural landscape, but also for the wider world. BRUSSELS, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Europe reached an agonizing milestone as its death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic topped 1 million on Friday. The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe reported more than 47 million infections, 1,001,313 of them fatal, underlining the seriousness of the health crisis in the region. Behind these numbers are huge human, economic losses and many heartbreaking moments. What lies ahead is an uphill battle, whose victory hinges on stronger international collaboration with true respect for science. When a cunning, contagious and previously little-known virus strikes, a well-targeted and science-based approach is crucial for humankind to win a complete victory. Passengers are seen at the Brussels Central Station in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng) European countries have adopted a variety of measures to fight the pandemic, including testing, contact tracing, imposing quarantine measures, travel bans and lockdowns, as well as scrambling to get more vaccines. However, the exponential spread of the disease, variants with advantageous mutations, and the slower-than-expected vaccine rollout have made the battle more arduous. In an article published by The Lancet in January, a group of 17 medical experts called for a pan-Europe action plan to defend against the new variants. "Such variants could quickly exacerbate the crisis, long before enough people are vaccinated," they warned. Europe has made progress in research development. The region has done innovative work such as developing vaccines, providing theoretical contribution to understanding the dynamic of transmission, and laying out the theory behind risk control and assessment, as some European scientists have pointed out. But they also noted that the region needs to do more to develop a common policy to reduce transmission and keep it low. Undated file photo provided by the University of Eastern Finland shows the nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine produced in a bioreactor being further processed in a sterile laminar flow cabinet. (University of Eastern Finland/Handout via Xinhua) International health professionals have also called on politicians and the public to jointly commit to a European strategy that builds on vaccination, green zones, as well as testing, tracing and quarantine. In this age of an unprecedented level of interconnectivity, it rings more true than ever that humankind shares one common future. Cooperation is the only way for the human race to navigate this unprecedented crisis. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has reiterated that "the two essential ingredients" for conquering this virus are national unity and global solidarity. To cope with the devastating effects of the virus, countries worldwide have carried out cross-border coordination over the year, by sharing disease control and prevention information, providing medical aid to those caught in the crosshairs of the pandemic, and establishing the COVAX mechanism to ensure global equitable access to vaccines. People wearing face masks chat in the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels, Belgium, April 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) These efforts, however, are still not enough. The approaches the global community adopts must be truly global in design and implementation. If divided, the community will fail to conquer the virus, and this rings true not only for the continent of Europe, where varied values and ideologies coexist in a multicultural landscape, but also for the wider world. Joint international prevention and control can be realized only if the global community is committed to working in solidarity despite differences among countries. Maximum efforts by the international community to pool resources and global synergy are imperatively necessary, and they represent the only viable way to end the pandemic in Europe or any other places in the world. With solidarity and cooperation and by giving full play to the power of science, humankind will surely stop the coronavirus from inflicting more deaths and sufferings on countries worldwide. [April 10, 2021] EQUITY ALERT: Rosen Law Firm Files Securities Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Champignon Brands Inc. Investors - SHRMF Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Champignon Brands Inc. (OTC: SHRMF) between March 27, 2020 and February 17, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Champignon investors under the federal securities laws. To join the Champignon class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2057.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Champignon had undisclosed material weaknesses and insufficient financial controls; (2) Champignon's previously issued financial statements were false and unreliable; (3) Champignon's earlier reported financial statements would need to be restated; (4) Champignon's acquisitions involved an undisclosed related party; (5) as a result of the foregoing and subsequent reporting delays and issues, the British Columbia Securities Commission would suspend Champignon's from trading; and (6) as a result, defendants' statements about Champignon's business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true detais entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 9, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2057.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim, Esq. of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via e-mail at pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com. NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. AN INVESTOR'S ABILITY TO SHARE IN ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE RECOVERY IS NOT DEPENDENT UPON SERVING AS LEAD PLAINTIFF. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn (News - Alert) : https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter (News - Alert) : https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook (News - Alert) : https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm. Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm's attorneys are ranked and recognized by numerous independent and respected sources. Rosen Law Firm has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210410005042/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ST. PAUL, Minn. A Rochester doctor charged with trying to assist the terror group ISIS is going to plead insanity at his trial. Muhammad Masood was arrested in March 2020 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Federal investigators say Masood was planning to fly to Los Angeles and meet with someone there who he believed would help him get on a cargo ship that would take him to territory controlled by ISIS. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the State of Minnesota says between January and March, Masood made statements pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, also known as ISIS, and expressing a desire to travel to Syria to fight for the terror group. Investigators say Masood also indicated a willingness to conduct lone wolf terrorist attacks in the United States. Masood, a licensed doctor in Pakistan, was formerly employed as a research coordinator at a Rochester medical clinic. Hes facing a federal indictment for attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. Masoods attorney filed notice with the U.S. District Court on April 6 of his intent to assert a defense of insanity. No trial date has been set. David Jason has found himself at the mercy of a Twitter mob today after social media users unearthed clips of him sharing an anecdote about the Queen calling a US Ambassador a 'gorilla' and wrongly branded him a 'racist'. The Only Fools and Horses actor was trending online after footage resurfaced of his appearance on the BBC during commemorations for Her Majesty's 90th birthday in 2016. In it, the star said the Monarch had a 'cheeky' sense of humour and recounted an incident where she had referred to a US Ambassador as a 'gorilla'. While social media users were quick to jump on the comments and brand the 81-year-old a 'racist', others argued there were no racial undertones to the comments because the Queen had been referring to a white man and giggling about his gait. It is largely understood she had been joking about the US Ambassador to the UK in 1969, Walter Annenberg. The Queen made Prince Charles laugh by referring to the US Ambassador to the UK as a 'gorilla'. It's believed she may have been referring to Walter Annenberg, pictured left with his wife and right in 1990 Social media users were quick to share their views on the footage of the Only Fools actor Her Majesty had recounted the anecdote to her son Charles and husband Philip in the 1969 TV documentary, 'Royal Family' which aired over two weekends to rave reviews in June 1969. In it, the Queen makes Prince Philip and Prince Charles roar with laughter as she describes the US Ambassador as a 'gorilla'. As the family gossiped over a cup of tea, the Queen explained how difficult it was sometimes to keep a straight face during engagements. She says: 'It's extremely difficult to keep a straight face when the Home Secretary said to me: 'There's a gorilla coming in'.' 'So I said: 'What an extraordinary remark to make about someone - very unkind'. I stood in the middle of the room and pressed the bell and the doors opened and there was a gorilla. He had a short body and long arms - I had the most appalling trouble [not laughing]'. The Home Secretary in 1969 was James Callaghan and the US Ambassador to the UK was Walter Annenberg - and while it is largely understood she was talking about those two men, it remains unclear. It could have been Annenberg's predecessor David K. E. Bruce, sent to London by John F Kennedy in 1961. Appearing on the BBC in 2016, David Jason joined a small panel of guests as they celebrated Her Majesty's 90th birthday and was asked by host Kirsty Young about the Queen's sense of humour. He replied: 'I remember seeing an off-the-cuff piece of television, where she was talking to family about an Ambassador that came from another country and she said, 'actually, I thought I was talking to a gorilla'...it was cheeky.' Kerry-Anne Mendoza, the editor of a hard-left online news website, claimed Jason's comments were 'peak English racism'. She tweeted: 'They do it right in front of you with a smile on their face, and youre the a**hole for not joining in.' Walter Annenberg with wife Lee (left) and the Queen (right) in 1973 - four years after she made the 'gorilla' joke Many pointed out that the actor - and Her Majesty - had not made any kind of racist remark Kerry-Anne Mendoza, the editor of a hard-left online news website, claimed Jason's comments were 'peak English racism' In 1969 the US Ambassador to the UK was Walter Annenberg (left). His predecessor was David K. E. Bruce (right) Appearing on the BBC in 2016, David Jason joined a small panel of guests as they celebrated Her Majesty's 90th birthday - but the footage resurfaced and appeared to have been taken out of context today The Queen had made Prince Philip and Prince Charles roar with laughter as she described the US Ambassador in 1969, as a 'gorilla' The Royal Family took part in the 1969 documentary, which was a combined effort between the BBC and ITV, in a bid to show they were just like their subjects. The idea for the documentary, which aired in June 1969, came from the Palace's new royal press secretary William Heseltine, who wanted to encourage public support for a monarchy that was increasingly seen as out-of-touch. The programme was met with praise and proved so popular that it was aired again that same year and once more in 1972. 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! Kim Strassel's column in the April 9 Wall Street Journal calls to mind the observation of a Tennessean quoted in The New York Times, after the November 1994 GOP House victory, that the Republicans are "the party of the people now." Ms. Strassel seems to put an exclamation point on that observation of nearly three decades past. In pointing out that big corporate donors fill the coffers of the radical left, Ms. Strassel indeed suggests that the Democrats have changed places with Republicans and now are the party of Big Business. Since 1994, I have tried to draw attention to the first half of Federalist No. 57, which, in the opening sentence, seems to have anticipated the mindset of today's Democrat party "that class of citizens which will have least sympathy with the mass of the people, and be most likely to aim at an ambitious sacrifice of the many to the aggrandizement of the few." These efforts have yet to influence Republican leaders. Hamilton, in the first Federalist Paper, explained the shrewdness of aggrandizing politicians: "a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidding appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government." He went on to warn "that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants." I daresay that Madison and Hamilton would recognize Pelosi, Schumer, and their ilk for threat they present to the liberty of this Republic. And the demagoguery of these anti-liberty Democrats is manifest by their false assertions that it was Donald Trump and the Republicans who threatened to undermine American democracy with the added lie that the Republicans were colluding with the Russians to take down the spirit of liberty in the United States. But would the radical Democrats, marching under the banner of Alinskyism, have succeeded in becoming a clear and present danger to American liberty but for the Republican tendency to attack...other Republicans? That Mitch McConnell, among GOP leaders in Congress, denounced Donald Trump is not only unforgivable but hugely puzzling. Arguably, it is political malpractice that Republicans have failed to call the wisdom of Hamilton and Madison to the attention of the American people, in underscoring the clear and present danger that the Democrats pose to the Republic. The failure of GOP leaders to cite the Framers in responding to radical demagoguery leads one to the sorry conclusion that Republicans lack "zeal for the rights of the people ... under the forbidding appearance of [lassitude, even gross ineptitude]." Indeed, it is not encouraging that the Framers, some 230 years past, would have better understood Schumer, Pelosi, and their ilk than today's GOP leadership we count on to, in the words of the new Trump PAC, "save America now." To borrow from the late Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca, it is time for congressional Republicans to lead on the basis of our founding legacy or get out of the way. And that necessary leadership calls for reliance on the political wisdom apparent if only a Republican office-holder opened the pages of a volume of The Federalist Papers. After all, isn't it the work of the Framers that needs defending against the "woke" culture, so antithetical to the founding vision? Or will Republicans remain passive while the radical Democrats transition from demagoguery to tyranny? Image via Max Pixel. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. [April 09, 2021] Alibaba Group Has Received the Administrative Penalty Decision Issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988, "Alibaba" or "Alibaba Group") today announced that it has received the Administrative Penalty Decision issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China. Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination. To serve its responsibility to society, Alibaba will operate in accordance with the law with utmost diligence, continue to strengthen its compliance systems and build on growth through innovation. The company will hold a conference call on Monday, April 12, 2021 to discuss the Administrative Penalty Decision at 8:00 a.m. Hong Kong Time (8 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Sunday, April 11, 2021). Details of the conference call are as follows: Interational: +65 6713 5330 U.K.: +44 203 713 5084 Hong Kong: +852 3018 8307 China Landline: 800 820 2079 China Mobile (News - Alert) : 400 820 6895 Conference ID: 6934098 (English) A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/t76yro7p. An archived webcast will be available through the same link following the call. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week (dial-in number: +61 2 8199 0299; same conference ID as shown above). About Alibaba Group Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210409005494/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A public health expert has said that the family, as a unit of the society, is facing an unprecedented threat in Nigeria. Jessica Charles, a public health practitioner, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, said the extended family system, for instance, was gradually going into extinction in some parts of Nigeria. Ms Charles is the Executive Director, Save the Family Foundation, a non-profit organisation that focuses on public health, gender-based violence, and family issues. In the good old days, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, and other relatives were some sort of available and willing help for individuals who were struggling to survive, people who desperately needed shelter, medical assistance, school fees or financial assistance to start a small business. They were the shoulder for young people to lean on in troubling times. They served as mentor and positive influencers, Ms Charles said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday. There are many Nigerians today with great and inspiring stories of how they were able to scale through life hurdles to become successful in different fields of endeavour because of the help they received from extended family members. She said the situation has so deteriorated and that it was even more worrisome that people and institutions appeared not bothered about it. The extended family has either been extinct in some communities in Nigeria or it is at the verge of collapsing. Young people no longer see nor connect, let alone bond with their uncles, aunts, cousins or nephews. Even the nuclear family that consist of father, mother, and children is also facing some serious socio-economic threats in our country. Ms Charles blamed the situation on the high cost of living, high rate of poverty, low moral values, and fake prophecies that label Nigerian children, parents, and grandparents as witches. Fake prophets, I must emphasise, have put asunder and breed fear and hatred in many Nigerian families, she said. Sexual violence against minor is on the increase and needs to be tackled urgently, she added. Thirty per cent of girls and women, aged between 15 and 49, is said to have experienced sexual abuse in Nigeria, according to a report by the United Nations. The report published in May 2020 said there has been a sharp increase in gender-based violence in the country. Ms Charles said, NAPTIP (the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons) is doing an amazing work to check gender-based violence and human trafficking around the country, but there is an urgent demand for other groups to step up the intervention. The Family Empowerment and Youth Reorientation Path-Initiative, is doing some great work too in Akwa Ibom State. She said she was convinced there was a link between the collapse of family values and the current security challenges in Nigeria. After all, charity, they say, begins at home, she added. Ms Charles called on sociologists to do extensive research on the state of the family in Nigeria to determine how we got here in the first place and the way forward. ADVERTISEMENT She also called on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and respected pastors around Nigeria to add their voices against fake prophecies and obnoxious doctrines that have destroyed families. The family is in peril. The time to act is now, she said. Why CAN cant take action against fake pastors former CAN leader Places where people and families are given fake prophecies are magic centres, not churches, Cletus Bassey, an archbishop and past chairman of CAN in Akwa Ibom told PREMIUM TIMES in 2019, when asked what the association was doing to deter pastors from accusing children of being witches. Mr Bassey said all kinds of nonsense things happening in the magic centres cannot happen in the church. How can you be in a church where they would bring Coke and Fanta and they will say they are doing anointment, then anoint people with Coke and Fanta? How do you have a man who says he is a man of God and he would be putting his legs on a woman and would say he is doing deliverance? People who run such centres are mostly uneducated, lack theological training, and are not members of CAN, Mr Bassey said. Theres nothing CAN can do about it, you cannot go to a family in which you are not a member and say sit down here or dont do that again. You dont have the instruments of taking charge of those things, you are not empowered by the constitution, he said. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday raided seven locations in Hyderabad and recovered Rs 3 crore in cash, jewelery and property documents. The ED raids were conducted in a money laundering case related into Telangana IMS (Insurance Medical Services) ESI Department. The raids started early Saturday morning and continued till late in the night. The case is related to allegations of financial irregularities in the purchase and supply of medicines and surgical kits, huge price escalation, creation of fake indents, fake bills, diversion of medicines and falsification of records. It is alleged that a scam was generated proceeds of crime (POC) approximately of around Rs 200 crores in the purchase of medicines and surgical kits. As many as eight cases were registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch in Telangana, after which the ED registered a case of money laundering. The ED conducted the raids on the son-in-law of former Telangana Labor and Employment Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, V Srinivas Reddy, relative M Vinay Reddy, former minister's personal secretary Mukunda Reddy and IMS directors Dr Devika Rani and her husband Srihari Babu and Burra Pramod Reddy. In the raid, the ED seized Rs 1.50 crore from V Srinivas Reddy's house, Rs 1.15 crore from Burra Pramod Reddy and Rs 45 lakh cash from M Vinay Reddy. The ED also recovered several incriminating evidence documents and digital evidence. Political advisors discuss boosting employment in ethnic minority regions Xinhua) 09:09, April 10, 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 National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), presides over a biweekly consultation session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, April 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese political advisors on Friday discussed measures to expand channels for employment in ethnic minority regions during a consultation session in Beijing. The biweekly session, held by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, was presided over by Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. Wang stressed the importance of giving full play to the country's political and institutional advantages to ensure fuller and higher-quality employment in regions with great ethnic diversity. Noting China's efforts in improving employment policies and keeping employment stable, political advisors underscored that there are still many difficulties and challenges such as insufficient job opportunities and the low level of vocational training in ethnic minority regions. The political advisors proposed that ethnic minority regions should develop distinctive industries tailored to local conditions, increase support for flexible and new forms of employment and strengthen vocational training. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Apr. 9Students at Boulder's Fairview High School walked out Friday to show support for survivors of sexual violence, two days after a former student was acquitted in a sex assault trial. At 11 a.m. hundreds of students, most of them dressed in black to show solidarity with survivors, streamed out of the school and walked to the football field. There, they observed five minutes of silence in honor of survivors before several speakers, including Dr. Janine D'Anniballe, the director of Boulder's Moving to End Sexual Assault. April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and D'Anniballe said one challenge has always stood in the way of seeking justice for victims of sexual violence. "That challenge rests in this fundamental issue of not believing survivors," she said. "Here we are in 2021, facing that same challenge." D'Anniballe said institutions needed to fix what is too often "this culture of disbelief." "If we are going to change the culture, move from a rape culture to a culture of consent, a culture of safety, it starts by believing," she said. While none of the speakers mentioned him by name, former Fairview High student Aidan Atkinson's case hung heavy over Friday's walkout. Even as the speakers addressed the crowd, a maintenance worker could be seen behind them cleaning off a building where someone had painted, "Aidan is guilty," a message that officials said had been painted in several spots around campus. Prosecutors had alleged Atkinson sexually assaulted one Fairview student and attempted to assault another while they were on a party bus celebrating homecoming in 2018, but a jury on Wednesday found Atkinson not guilty on two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault and two counts of unlawful sexual contact. The jury was unable to return unanimous verdicts on two counts of unlawful sexual contact, while Atkinson also has a pending sexual exploitation case later this month. Story continues Beatriz Sanchez, who graduated from Fairview last year and who is one of the cofounders of BVSD Survivors, called out her former school while addressing the crowd. "Fairview has failed massively," Sanchez said. "It has continued to fail through inaction, lies and empty promises." BVSD Survivors asked students to sign a list of demands, including asking the district for more consent and Title IX rights education. "Today our focus was on our students and listening to what they had to say on this important topic," Boulder Valley spokesman Randy Barber said Friday. "The district has been working closely with current and former Fairview students in addressing concerns around sexual violence prevention. We have made some significant progress, updating policies, providing resources and offering training for our staff, parents and students." Barber noted Boulder Valley Superintendent Rob Anderson also sent out a letter to parents about sexual violence last week. "We want you to know that the Boulder Valley School District takes sexual violence seriously," Anderson wrote. "Sexual violence affects hundreds of thousands of Americans each year and, unfortunately, Boulder Valley is not immune." Fairview senior Amelia DiGiano remembers the day Atkinson was arrested that school officials seemed more concerned with the impact to the upcoming football game rather than showing support for the named victims in the case. "It just showed they didn't care about the girls," DiGiano said. "It just perpetuates the cycle." Fellow senior Anna Luna Grant said that is why she felt it was so important for survivors to see how much support they had from classmates as they all stood on the field Friday. "Having the physical impact of everybody together was powerful," she said. Students from other schools attended to show their support. Azilee Ball, a student at Watershed in Boulder, is a survivor herself and joined the Fairview students on the field Friday. "I felt it was important to show support for those who didn't get the support that I did," Ball said. "Everyone coming together like this is a beautiful thing to see." But while the walkout served as a gesture of support and awareness for victims, DiGiano said Fairview and other institutions needed to take actual steps toward providing support for survivors. "It didn't solve anything yet," she said. ------ Resources for victims of sexual violence Moving to End Sexual Assault hotline: 303-443-7300 or text BRAVE to 20121. Boulder Valley School District: Support for students: bvsd.org/parents-students/student-help More than 500 employees have sent an open letter to Alphabet and CEO Sundar Pichai, demanding that the company stop protecting the harassers and provide workers an environment free from their abusers. The letter came after former engineer Emi Nietfeld wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, alleging that she was forced to have one-on-one meetings with the man who harassed her. "My harasser still sat next to me. My manager told me H.R. wouldn't even make him change his desk, let alone work from home or go on leave," she wrote. The letter that was published on Medium late on Friday, read that "This is a long pattern where Alphabet protects the harasser instead of protecting the person harmed by the The person who reports is forced to bear the burden, usually leaving Alphabet while their harasser stays or is rewarded for their behaviour". The employees said that Alphabet has a history of such workplace Andy Rubin, the creator of Android mobile software, was awarded a $90 million exit package after a woman accused him of coercing her into performing oral sex. Amit Singhal, a former search executive, was awarded $35 million when he was forced to resign after a sexual assault investigation. "Even after more than 20,000 Alphabet workers walked out to protest sexual harassment and protection of harassers, Alphabet has not changed, and did not meet any of the Walkout demands," the letter stressed. "Alphabet workers deserve the right to work in an environment free from their abusers. Alphabet must prioritise the safety of their workers by prioritising the concerns of those harmed," it added. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said: "We've made significant improvements to our overall process, including the way we handle and investigate employee concerns, and introducing new care programmes for employees who report concerns". --IANS na/rs (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.) Clayton Kershaw shows off his World Series ring Friday during an on-field ceremony before the home opener at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) No more piped-in crowd noise, cardboard cutouts and Dodger Dog-less nights. For the first time since October 2019, fans attended a game at Dodger Stadium on Friday, celebrating the teams 2020 World Series title before the Dodgers went on to defeat the Washington Nationals 1-0. The Dodgers' Justin Turner belts a sixth-inning homer in a 1-0 win over the Nationals on Friday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Fans have fun in the left-field pavilion seats late in the game as Dodgers beat Washington in the home opener at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Dodgers right fielder Zach McKinstry tumbles over the wall after missing a second-inning foul ball hit by the Nationals' Andrew Stevenson. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) A fan with an extra-large glove is congratulated after catching a ball in the left-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) A pair of fans pose for pictures beside a display of former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who died in January, during the home opener Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Dodgers fan Alberto Valenzuela of Huntington Park checks out the sights in the center-field pavilion. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts shows off his World Series ring during a pregame ceremony. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Justin Turner celebrates after getting his championship ring during a ceremony before the Dodgers' home opener Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Manager Dave Roberts embraces pitcher Kenley Jansen as he receives his World Series ring before the home opener. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Dodgers players, from left, Austin Barnes, Matt Beaty, Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts try on their championship rings. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Socially distanced fans attend the Dodgers' home opener Friday. The announced attendance was 15,036. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Washington's Juan Soto is tagged out trying to steal by Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux in the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Fans are socially distanced in the upper deck at the Dodgers' home opener at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Dodgers fans watch a flyover of military planes before Friday's home opener. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) The Dodgers pay tribute to former manager Tommy Lasorda, who died in January, before Friday's game. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw celebrates after getting his championship ring during a ceremony before Friday's home opener. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) See more visual journalism from the Los Angeles Times photography staff This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. In view of the upcoming National Budget 2021/2022, MIPA organised a Virtual Pre-Budget Forum, in collaboration with ACCA. This event was held this Friday 9th April 2021 via Zoom Webinar, with the aim to give participants a chance to raise priority issues and discuss about their pre-budget expectations. The forum saw the participation of four key panellists, namely Mr. D. Ramdin, Director of the Medium and Small Taxpayers Department at the Mauritius Revenue Authority, Mrs. P. Chinien, Consultant at the Registrar of Companies, Mr. V. Tuhobol, Officer-In-Charge at the Financial Reporting Council and Dr M. L. F. Pompeia, Head Business Support Services at SME Mauritius Ltd, along with Mr. Clensy Appavoo, the chairperson of MIPA SMP Committee as the moderator. Speaking, Mr. Sanjeev Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of MIPA, reiterated the importance of this forum. He highlighted that this platform allows individuals and organisations representing the community have the opportunity to voice their views and priorities in relation to government actions in the context of the forthcoming National Budget. He stated that adopting a unified approach is the best way of overcoming the current and future challenges Mauritius faces. Representations and the views heard during this forum were collected by MIPA and will be relayed to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development for consideration. In her address, Mrs. Madhavi Ramdin-Clark, Head of ACCA Mauritius, thanked all the participants for the presence and added that their presence provides the assurance that Professional Accountants recognize their own value and impact in shaping the future of our country. She encouraged all accounting professionals to be innovative and bold but to also keep in mind the need for inclusive development, trust and economic justice. And to add that in the wake of rising uncertainties, we rely on our professional accountants to play an even more strategic role in supporting our countrys economic performance. Mr. Vivek Gujadhur , Chairman of MIPA, stressed on the different actions and initiatives that MIPA has undertaken in the course of the year. He elaborated on MIPAs strong response in addressing the strategic deficiencies in our anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism ( AML/CFT ) regimes. He added that MIPA has been active despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic. He stressed on the fact that MIPA has been on the constant lookout for illegal and unethical accounting practices. Discussions during this 6th Annual Pre-Budget Forum focused on AML/CFT measures and the need for a compliance culture. Numerous measures were proposed against the prevalence of Rogue Accountants. Among the subjects discussed was the need for representation by MIPA to the MRA, to in order to review the list of tax agents. Discussions were also centered around the need for policies to help SMEs who are currently struggling with the COVID-19 impact. The MAURITIUS INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS (MIPA) was founded in January 2005. MIPA acts as an umbrella professional body for professional and Public Accountants who are members of Professional Accountancy Institutes and Associations specified in or contemplated by the Financial Reporting Act 2004 (The Act). Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn The full Board of Estimate and Taxation this week will take up the issue of paying for emergency repairs needed at North Mianus School after a ceiling collapse and flood in February. The BET will hold a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. April 16 to consider a $2.1 million allocation, which was recommended by the BET Budget Committee, to begin work on the emergency repairs. The allocation, however, is far below the $8.1 million the Board of Education and school district had requested. In addition to repairing the ceiling and flood damage, the work will also include fixing other parts of the ceiling to prevent another collapse. Students in kindergarten, second grade and third grade are attending class in parts of the North Mianus building that were not damaged by the flood. Due to the extent of the damage, first- and fourth-graders were moved to Cos Cob School; fifth-graders to Old Greenwich School and Advanced Level Placement students to Parkway School relocations that are expected to continue into the fall while the building is repaired. The $8.1 million request includes transportation costs for the relocated students as well as the repair work. The recommendation came after a partisan split on the four-member Budget Committee over the partial funding, with the two Republicans calling for the school district to return with more information about the project and its cost. We can make sure the resources are available, Budget Committee Chair Leslie Tarkington said during Wednesdays Budget Committee meeting. We want this project to move rapidly ahead. But BET Democrats expressed concerns that the decision could delay the repairs, with BET Democratic caucus leader Leslie Moriarty calling the cut appalling. To get a link to the Zoom meeting, visit the towns website at www.greenwichct.gov/680/Board-of-Estimate-Taxation and check the agenda section for the BET. The BETs goal is to send the allocation to the Representative Town Meeting for consideration. While the item could be considered in May, that meeting is traditionally only for discussion and approval of the municipal budget. The item is likely to be discussed at the RTMs June meeting, its last meeting before a break until September. Downtown The deadline is 4 p.m. April 21 for business owners to submit applications to the Department of Parking Services for the new downtown parking permit program. Merchants and employees working within the established downtown central business district are eligible. Only 100 permits will be sold. They will entitle drivers to park all day in 12-hour parking spots throughout central Greenwich. If there are more than 100 applicants, a random lottery will be held. The annual cost of the yearly permits, which will last until Dec. 31, will be $725 plus a $5 processing fee. For 2021, the cost will be prorated to the first day of the month that the permit is issued. An application form, along with a list of the regulations and defined boundaries, are on the departments webpage at www.greenwichct.gov. The form can also be obtained in person at the department, which is located at the back of Town Hall, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call the department at 203-618-3060 or send an email to parkingserviceslottery@greenwichct.org. Old Greenwich Volunteers are invited to take part in the Live Like Luke beach cleanup at Greenwich Point held in memory of a Luke Meyers, a Greenwich High student. The cleanup is set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 24. The worlds wildlife and even our food supply are threatened by the trash, the organizers said in a statement. We must provide anti-littering education on land or from boats. However, community volunteerism is constantly needed to pick up pollutants carelessly left by others. A committed environmentalist, Luke Meyers passed away after a battle with cancer in 2019 when he was a sophomore. He had been a board member of the GHS Environmental Action Club and a volunteer at the Bruce Museum Seaside Center. Lukes courage and commitment not only inspired the first beach cleanup, but also spurred multiple cleanup projects worldwide and motivated hundreds to make personal pledges to help the environment, said his mother, Kerry Meyers. He is remembered for his immeasurable kindness, his remarkable creativity, his passion for learning and his determination to effect positive change in the world. To volunteer for the annual cleanup, visit https://tinyurl.com/BeachCleanupLiveLikeLuke2021 or send an email to info@greenwichgreenandclean.org. Walk-in volunteers will also be welcome on April 24 at Greenwich Point. Volunteers are encouraged to bring buckets and gloves. Masks will be required, and volunteers will work in small groups to assure social distancing. Check-in will be in the parking lot across from the first concession stand. Cos Cob The Greenwich Historical Society will hold a virtual lecture on April 20 with historian Teresa Vega about the rise and decline of Hangroot, a little-known community of Native Americans and African Americans that preceded the 1640 founding of the town. Ms. Vega will provide a fresh perspective on the local inhabitants experiences in Hangroot, drawing from her ancestors who lived there for generations, the historical society said. The Hangroot community was in the general area between Lake Avenue, Pecksland Road, Clapboard Ridge Road and just north of Glenville Road. The name Hangroot refers to using root cellars and storing winter vegetables by hanging them from rafters. The seminar will offer a fascinating glimpse of the struggles of the Native and African Americans who resided in Greenwich when the town was primarily composed of European settlers, the society said. Teresa Vega will also discuss her extended familys fight to save their Colored Cemetery in Byram. The seminar is part of a series of events from the Greenwich Historical Society designed to shine a light on the history, humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who resided in Greenwich. The final event will be the installation on May 27 of Witness Stone markers to recognize four enslaved persons who once lived and worked on the historical societys current site. For more information or to register, visit greenwichhistory.org. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com Imperial Valley News Center Abatement Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Illegally Removing Asbestos New York - A New York woman pleaded guilty today to illegally removing and disposing of asbestos. According to court documents, between 2015 and 2016, Stephanie Laskin, 45, of Newburgh, along with several others, conspired to illegally remove asbestos from a former IBM site in Kingston, now known as TechCity. The facility in question contained over 400,000 square feet of regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM), as well as an additional 6,000 linear feet of RACM pipe wrap. Laskin, the owner of A2 Environmental Services (A2ES), who had special asbestos abatement training, hired numerous workers and supervisors to conduct the asbestos removal. She and her co-conspirators pressured these workers to expedite the removal of asbestos at the site to meet contract deadlines. In doing so, she led them to cut corners, violate their remediation training, and handle RACM in dangerous and illegal ways. At times, she and other A2ES supervisors, including Gunay Yakup who pleaded guilty in March, instructed workers to remove RACM dry. Wetting is required by law and helps to prevent airborne asbestos fibers. When the workers questioned her, Laskin gave them the choice of following her directions or losing their jobs. This resulted in numerous violations of the Clean Air Acts work practice standards, which address how asbestos can be stripped, bagged, removed, and disposed of with relative safety. Laskin is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Defendant Laskin went into this project with her eyes open, planning to do it on the cheap, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). But, that meant doing this project in knowing violation of the law and her supervisor training, placing others at risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. This criminal prosecution holds her accountable. Laskin admitted that she and her supervisors, workers, and other co-conspirators removed substantial amounts of RACM from the site in violation of the work-practice standards and were issued numerous notices of violation (NOVs) associated with dry removal, storing bulk quantities of RACM waste on-site in open containers, failing to properly contain work areas to avoid discharges of RACM to the outside air, sweeping dry RACM in ways that produced visible emissions, and conducting work outside containment and other dry removal abatement techniques. In light of the repeated violations, New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) inspectors issued red tags for the site on Aug.1, 2016, which stopped all work and ended Laskins companys illegal abatement efforts. The site was later deemed to be contaminated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and municipal authorities. Cleanup costs associated with asbestos contamination at the site are estimated to be in the millions. Asbestos has been determined to cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma, an invariably fatal disease. The EPA has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. Special agents of the EPA and individuals from the New York Departments of Labor and Environmental Conservation investigated the case. Todd W. Gleason and Gary N. Donner of ENRDs Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case with the assistance of paralegal Chloe Harris. WeWork, the pioneering coworking company, has hired Transwestern Real Estate Services to help it market the nearly 300,000 square feet of space it has leased across its four Houston properties. The global workplace provider is targeting larger tenants, businesses that need anywhere from 1,000 to 60,000 square feet of space. Houston-based Transwestern will support WeWorks leasing efforts for the 298,751 square feet of space it has downtown in 609 Main and the Jones Building at 708 Main, at the Galleria Office Tower I at 2700 Post Oak Blvd. and at 1725 Hughes Landing in The Woodlands. While WeWork will remain a home for anyone looking for a single desk, we are dedicated to accommodating the needs of midsize to larger tenants, as well, Jeff Bodenman, Texas portfolio director at WeWork, said in an announcement. WeWork tenants include Vroom, Compass and Standard Charter Bank in Houston, and Microsoft and Slack globally. Tenants have access to conference and event rooms, onsite staff and tenant concierge and use of WeWork's coworking spaces worldwide. The marketing effort comes as WeWork has cut expenses and closed facilities recently after a period of rapid growth since its founding in 2010. Last month, the company reached an agreement to merge with BowX Acquisition, special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that will enable it to go public. A previous IPO in 2019 was canceled amid questions about the company's financial stability. It also comes as the flexibility of coworking presents an option for corporate leaders seeking to reconfigure their workplaces in the post-pandemic era. Offices across Houston are beginning to refill as employers bring back workers, often in phases, as COVID gets under control. Youre seeing a lot of companies coming back to the office, or at a minimum, starting to put their plans in place for coming back, said Kevin Saxe, a broker with CBRE. At some point this year, youll see the vast majority of people back to work. Flexible workspaces can make sense for companies trying to manage their space needs. We are excited to partner with WeWork to offer the ultimate flexibility and convenience in office space, giving tenants the opportunity to grow, shrink, densify or de-densify for terms of one to 10 years, said Kristen Baker, leasing associate at Transwestern. Additionally, these spaces include high-quality furniture, cabling and internet at competitive rental rates. WeWork has 800 locations globally, including 400 in the U.S. and Canada. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser Imperial Valley News Center Man Wanted by Los Angeles Police Department for Murder at a Northridge Fast-Food Restaurant Los Angeles, California - A man suspected of murdering a victim outside a fast-food restaurant in Northridge in 2017 was returned to Los Angeles by members of the FBIs Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force to face prosecution announced Kristi K. Johnson, the assistant director in charge of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office and Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department. Derek Bryan Dominguez, a convicted felon, was wanted for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a man in California on the evening of December 31, 2017. According to detectives and a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court in the Central District of California, Dominguez was inside a fast food restaurant in Los Angeles, California, with his girlfriend and two sons when he made eye contact through the restaurant window with another male. The male was outside of the restaurant with the victim and another man. Dominguez allegedly exited the restaurant and, after a brief verbal altercation involving the man with whom he made eye contact, punched the victim in the face. The victim attempted to defend himself, according to investigators, and punched back before Dominguez allegedly produced a handgun and fired multiple rounds, ultimately killing the victim. Dominguez fled the scene. Homicide detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department believed he fled to Mexico at the time. Dominguez was charged with murder by the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, and a state warrant was issued for his arrest on January 26, 2018. A federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 2, 2020, after Dominguez was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. A wanted poster of Dominguez was posted on the FBIs website at: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/derek-bryandominguez Following the arrest, Dominguez was booked into a Los Angeles jail and was expected to have an appearance in state court on the murder charge. The Los Angeles County District Attorney is expected to pursue the homicide prosecution. The United States government is expected to dismiss the federal warrant charging Dominguez. The fugitive investigation concerning Dominquez was conducted by detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBIs Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles. The Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles is comprised of FBI Agents and Task Force Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and Los Angeles County Probation. The FBI continues to work with local law enforcement as well as counterparts in other countries to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov. Back in the days when university teachers could breathe the same air as their students, one of my students submitted a draft article containing this turn of phrase: By then it was too late Pandora was out of her box and there was no putting her back. Reading my media students metaphor, I realised that all of us go around with heads full of myths, images and reference points half-remembered from childhood. For millennia humans have been repeating these jumbled narratives to their grandchildren. King Arthur and the Lady of the Swiss Lake. Credit:Matthew Martin Last year I decided to pass what I thought would be a few weeks of home isolation by writing down what I remembered of the stories I grew up with. Each time I wrote one of these fractured fairytales, I would send it to my friend Matthew Martin, who passed his time in lockdown by illuminating my words. I would post the tale and the cartoon on Facebook at 7am the next day, introduced with one of these phrases: A story at dawn till the COVIDs gone or Tales to inspire us till were done with the virus. Three people were fatally shot in a 24-hour period in Oakland, part of a broader surge in violent crime this week, which included dozens of robberies, authorities said Friday. One woman was fatally shot on Wednesday, and two other people were fatally shot on Thursday, Oakland police said. No arrests have been made, but the department said homicide investigators continue to follow up on each killing and are following up on leads. Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said in a statement Friday that, Three families are forever changed by this senseless gun violence. On Wednesday night, police responded at 8:57 p.m. to a report of a shooting on the 1100 block of 77th Avenue and found a woman with a gunshot wound, police said. Oakland firefighters and Falck ambulance crews rendered life-saving measures, but the woman whose name is being withheld until her family is notified died at the scene. At 7:47 a.m. Thursday, Oakland patrol officers responded to a report of someone with a gunshot wound in the area of Edes Avenue and Nevada Street. The victim, whose name is being withheld until his family is notified, died at the scene, police said. Hours later at 3:41 p.m., officers responded to reports of gunshots on the 9800 block of Stanley Avenue and found a man with a gunshot wound. Police did not immediately provide additional information on this case. All three killings are under investigation, police said. Armstrong said he is committed to reducing the violence in Oakland. However, this isnt a mission for one person or one department, he added. We rely on our partnership with community members to help bring an end to the violence. The departments Friday announcement comes just days after authorities released data showing that Oakland police have recorded 34 homicides through March 31 more than triple the number of homicides during the same time frame last year. Police also said they investigated 32 robberies within a 24-hour period this week, crimes they say ranged from armed robberies to carjackings across the city. Officials did not release details on these incidents, but said in multiple cases, individuals used the stolen vehicles to commit additional robberies. Based on the information provided by victims and witnesses, many of these cases appear to be crimes of opportunity, Oakland police said. Police said usually two or more suspects in a vehicle look for people who are distracted. A suspect behind the wheel of a vehicle stays in the car when other suspects approach a victim, police said. The victim is robbed and carjacked while sitting in their parked vehicle or just as they arrive at their destination, police said. Police ask that anyone with information about the homicides to contact the Homicide Section at 510-238-3821. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on April 9 said that he was the victim of judicial activism after Supreme Court ordered the Senate to launch an inquiry into his governments handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Luis Roberto Barroso ruled on April 8 that a potentially damaging inquiry should be set up into Bolsonaro governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country which the far-right leader has already downplayed several times even as the disease claimed more than 345,000 lives in the South American nation. "Barroso suffers from a lack of moral courage and an excess of judicial activism," Bolsonaro told supporters outside the presidential palace in Brasilia. "That's not what Brazil needs. We're at a critical moment in the pandemic, there are people dying, and a Supreme Court justice is playing politics along with the Senate." Similar to other nations across the globe, Brazil is presently also gripped with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and is recording a dramatic surge in the novel coronavirus infections. This has pushed the medical care in the country to its limits as Brazil already has the second-highest death toll of COVID-19 in the world just after the United States. Meanwhile, the South American nation is also battling to secure enough vaccines for the 212 million population. SC order against Bolsonaro's govt The judges ruling had stated that the Senate commission will be tasked with investigating the actions as well as the omissions of Bolsonaros government, particularly with regard to the worsening of the health crisis in the state of Amazonas, after the lack of oxygen for hospitalized patients. earlier in January, several dozens of people lost their lives in Manaus, the states capital as hospitals ran out of oxygen to treat the patients admitted with COVID-19. "It is not to investigate deviations of resources of governors or some mayors. It is to investigate government omissions", said Bolsonaro as the Supreme Court ruling also stated on Thursday that regional authorities can prohibit in-person religious services under the coronavirus restrictions. It was also something that Bolsonao, who himself had contracted COVID-19 last year, has strongly opposed. Image credits: AP Edward Kennedy is stepping down as CEO of The North West Company Inc. after what may be the longest tenure of any current CEO of a TSX company. Edward Kennedy is stepping down as CEO of The North West Company Inc. after what may be the longest tenure of any current CEO of a TSX company. The North West Company is unique in many ways. In addition to having a CEO who has been in the position for 25 years as Kennedy has, its likely the only company whose timeline on the history page of its website begins with the year 1668. Kennedys longevity would be amazing regardless of the enterprise. But considering the NWC has more than 200 stores mostly in remote locales with no road access, many of a size typically avoided by mainstream retailers Kennedys accomplishments are unparalleled in the annals of Canadian corporate history. Kennedy, 61, started with the company in 1989 when the newly independent former Northern Stores division of the Hudson Bay Company changed its name to the North West Company. Prior to that, the Northern Stores was an almost forgotten part of the Hudson Bay Companys aggressive diversification. That changed when it was spun off. One of Kennedys first responsibilities was forging relationships with the Indigenous communities the company operated in. Those relationships are now fundamental to the companys success. It is now in partnership with about 50 First Nations with more in the works. He said it was always hard to get people to understand the company when they couldnt just walk down the street and see one of the stores. The company benefited from the happy coincidence that Kennedy grew up in The Pas and has always been aware of the companys role in a community. Regardless of his tenure, Kennedy has had a singular career. He had a rare ability to make the retail trade sound fascinating with as much passion for the technical elements as for the people side of things. Kennedy comes to mind when you think of the concept of leadership as service. On this weeks analysts call, Michael Van Aelst of TD Securities said, "I dont think theres too many, any, CEOs that Ive dealt with that has spent as much time talking about the negatives as the positives in the company." There were far more positives over his 25 years. Company chairman, Sandy Riley, happily reminded analysts on the call this week that Kennedy is not just about stamina (although he is an accomplished distance runner). "When Edward became CEO North West Company sales were just slightly under $600 million, and this year we will be in excess of $2.4 billion. The EBITDA growth has grown from nearly $60 million to over $300 million, (and there has been) nearly $1.2 billion of dividends paid out to shareholders over that time," Riley said. When you ask Kennedy about how satisfying it was to have been the leader of a company with that sort of financial success, he preferred to talk about the privilege of being able to get a deep sense of the people the company serves. "I am mostly pretty grateful," he said. "I had this freedom over my time as CEO to grow as a leader, to take a longer view which is sometimes harder to do as the CEO of a public company." Among other things, it has allowed him to work with the board for almost four years to plan his succession. Kennedy said because of the special make-up of the company serving customers from coast to coast across northern North America and in more than 10 countries, its broad product range, uncommon logistics challenges and cultural uniqueness they worked hard on getting the internal succession right. When Kennedy steps down Aug. 1, he will be succeeded by Dan McConnell, a 19-year veteran of the company who is currently head of international operations. (In addition to about 34 stores in Alaska, the NWC also owns a chain of about 12 stores in the Caribbean and Pacific islands.) Kennedy is as intense and serious as required to run such a complex business but has always been in the thick of things when it comes to community involvement . "Edward is a great example of a made in Manitoba success story and has contributed greatly for his stakeholders and for our community," said Paul Soubry, the CEO of NFI Group Inc. "All you have to do is Googles Edwards name and youll quickly see a long list of significant personal and professional accomplishments, and numerous examples where hes provided his time, expertise and leadership to make Manitoba a better place." As the leader of such a far-flung organization whose people he is as proud of as the financial success of the company, he is hoping travel restrictions might be loosened by August so that he may visit some of the stores to say goodbye to his team, and maybe even visit his grandchild in Vancouver. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Global Automotive TIC Market is expected to reach US$ 34.00Bn by 2026 from US$ 17.00Bn in 2017 at CAGR of 9.5%.Global automotive TIC market is segmented by service type, sourcing type, application and region. Service type is divided into testing service, inspection services, and certification services. Sourcing type are split into in-house and outsourced. Application are classified as electrical Systems and Components, telematics, vehicle inspection services, homologation testing, interior & exterior materials. Region-wise divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.Automotive testing, inspection, and certification services (TIC) are done to check roadworthiness of a vehicle. Automotive TIC authenticates the test and inspection results against the standard set by the government, international standardization. Presently, it is commonly used by the manufacturer to show that their products are manufactured according to the government standardization and regulations. The major driving factor of the TIC market are growth in automotive production is global and increasing awareness about safety among consumers. Changing regulations and standards across regions and time consuming for the overseas qualification test is the restraint of automotive TIC market.Based on service type, testing services dominating in the automotive TIC market. Quality testing is very important for automotive manufacturing operations and for additional safety, testing, and reporting measures, which require advanced test equipment and instruments in automotive manufacturing facilities and laboratories. Testing services help manufacturers in improving the marketability of their products and lowering costs in pre-production phases. Maximum of these tests are performed as per standard analytical methodology.On the basis of sourcing type, outsourcing and increasing end-user quality expectations have resulted in a higher demand for independent TIC services. The outsourced automotive TIC market is likely to witness a rise in demand. This can be attributed to automotive companies more and more opting for expert service providers, attractive service portfolio of third-party service providers, well-established facilities of third-party service providers, and time and cost constraints of automotive companies. Businesses are targeting to ensure that products, infrastructures and processes meet the required standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility decreasing the risk of failure, accidents and disruption. In terms of region, Asia Pacific (APAC) accounted for the largest share of the automotive TIC market, by region in 2018. The automotive industry is subject to strict safety regulations in a few Asia Pacific countries such as Japan and South Korea demands passenger cars are also on the increase these countries. Increased production of motor vehicles in countries which are India, China, Japan, and South Korea is significantly contributing to the growth of the automotive TIC market in the APAC region. Key players operating on the automotive TIC market are, UV Nord Group, Eurofins Scientific, ASTM International, Element Materials Technology, Lloyds Register Group Limited, Mistras Group, Inc, DNV GL Group AS, Rina S.P.A., Norges Elektriske Materiellkontroll, Dekra Certification GmbH, ALS Limited, BSI Group, SAI Global Limited, and UL LLC. Scope of the Global Automotive TIC Market Report are, Global Automotive TIC Market, by Service type Testing service Inspection services Certification services Global Automotive TIC Market, by Sourcing type In-house Outsourced Global Automotive TIC Market, by Application Electrical Systems and Components Telematics Vehicle inspection services Homologation testing Interior & exterior materials Global Automotive TIC Market, by Region You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11387/Single North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Latin America Key players operating on Global Automotive TIC Market, UV Nord Group Eurofins Scientific ASTM International Element Materials Technology Lloyds Register Group Limited Mistras Group, Inc. DNV GL Group AS Rina S.P.A. Norges Elektriske Materiellkontroll Dekra Certification GmbH ALS Limited BSI Group, SAI Global Limited UL LLC. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) questioned the US Navy's statement of April 7 about the freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) by the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones. US Navy conducted a freedom of navigation operation in Indian waters without prior consent. US Navy conducted a freedom of navigation operation in Indian waters without prior consent to challenge Indias excessive maritime claims. Making it an unusual move, the Pentagon has defended its Navy and asserted its navigational rights within Indias exclusive economic zone without taking New Delhis permission. Pentagon maintained that their move was consistent with international law. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) questioned the US Navys 7th Fleet statement of April 7 about the freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) by the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones. Replying to Indias remark Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that USS John Paul Jones, a Navy destroyer, asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Republic of the Maldives by conducting innocent passage through its territorial sea in normal operations within its exclusive economic zone without requesting prior permission. Kirby further added that it is the responsibility of the US to uphold the freedom of navigation and the rights and freedom and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law. Meanwhile Indias statement read that UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is that the Convention does not authorise other states to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state. Also Read: Covid India SOS: Over 1.45 cases reported in last 24 hours; Are we running out of vaccines? The Republic Of False Truths Alaa Al Aswany Faber 16.99 Rooted in first-hand experience, this searing account of the short-lived 2011 Egyptian revolution blends knockabout satire with real polemical anger. The villains of the piece are the leaders, who torture opponents while looting the economy and professing piety. Ranged against them are a motley crew of students, factory workers and middle-class liberals. They dream forlornly of freedom but, as Aswany reminds us, such dreams can prove lethal. Max Davidson Madame Burova Ruth Hogan Two Roads 12.99 For 50 years, Imelda Burova has been telling fortunes on Brighton seafront. Now, wearied by a lifetime of keeping other peoples secrets, shes determined to retire, but she has one last promise to keep. Meanwhile, in London, Billie, freshly divorced and mourning the death of her parents, is about to become embroiled in Madame Burovas world in the most unexpected of ways. A joyful novel filled with warmth and wisdom. Eithne Farry First Person Singular Haruki Murakami Harvill Secker 16.99 Dreams, memory and apparently trivial incidents that echo throughout life are the themes of this semi-surreal short story collection. Its narrator puts up at a ramshackle hotel where he is served by a talking monkey. He strikes up a musical friendship with a fraudster and is berated by a stranger for an incident he cant remember. Some of the tales are disturbing, some are haunting, and all are thought-provoking: the essence of life, Murakami suggests, is grappling with the inexplicable. Anthony Gardner Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery Rosalie Knecht Verve 9.99 New York in the mid-1960s: Vera Kelly has just left the CIA, split up with her girlfriend and started working as a private detective. Business is slow until shes paid to track down an orphan lost in the child welfare system. The case will eventually drag Vera into extreme danger in the Dominican Republic, but its real pleasure lies in getting to know this wonderfully sardonic yet compassionate heroine. Definitely a series to watch. John Williams As the Macron government is enacting a series of anti-democratic laws and promoting anti-Muslim hysteria, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has launched a new campaign against the construction of a mosque in Strasbourg, in the Alsace-Lorraine region. On March 22, the Strasbourg city council, led by Green mayor Jeanne Barseghian, voted to approve a 2.5-million-euro subsidy for the construction of the Eyyub Sultan mosque. The following day, Darmanin published a provocative tweet denouncing an organization that refused to sign the Charter of Principles of Islam in France and that defends a political Islam. He said on BFMTV: I had the opportunity to tell the mayor of Strasbourg ... that we did not find this friendly to French interests, to say the least. TheEyyub Sultan mosque under construction is pictured in Strasbourg, Eastern France, Wednesday, March 24, 2021.(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) The Macron governments intervention is part of a wider attack on Muslims, which is designed to promote an extreme-right movement and justify attacks on the working classs democratic rights. The French state is currently seeking to pass the anti-separatist law, which gives the government enormous control over associations and religions, under the pretext of defending secularism. The plans to construct what would be the largest mosque in Europe in Strasbourg were initiated in the 1990s. More recently, the Green-majority mayors office granted 2.5 million euros for the construction of the mosque, the total cost of which is estimated at 31 million. Since 2008, the city has already spent 22 million euros on financing religious buildings for different religions. The spending allocated toward the Muslim construction is less than for the other religions. In Alsace-Moselle, the public authorities can legally provide public subsidies up to 10 per cent of the total cost of construction of religious buildings. This is prohibited elsewhere in France by the 1905 law, but it is not applied in Alsace, which was part of Germany when France adopted the 1905 law. According to Darmanin, the Islamic Confederation of Milli Gorus (CIMG), which is behind the construction project, has refused to sign the charter of principles of Islam in France and ... defends a political Islam. The Charter of Principles of Islam in France is a document drafted by the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), but whose content was imposed by Macron and Darmanin, in clear violation of the separation of church and state. The CFCM leadership did not even consult French imams and practising Muslims and hastily prepared the document. This has provoked a crisis in the CFCM, which is likely to break apart, as several constituents have refused to sign the charter. For the Macron government, the charter is a cynical attempt to present itself as a defender of the principle of equality for Muslims, while reducing their rights. It allows the police to impose an opinion on Muslims and take away their freedom of political expression. It states: From a religious and ethical point of view, Muslims ... are bound to France by a pact. This pact commits them to respect national cohesion, public order and the laws of the Republic. According to the Charter, Muslims duties towards the State take precedence over their conscience: No religious conviction may be invoked to evade the obligations of citizens. The Charter of Principles prohibits political discussion in places of worship: We do not allow places of worship to be used to spread political discourse or to import conflicts that are taking place in other parts of the world. Our mosques and places of worship are reserved for prayer and the transmission of values... This is aimed at critics of imperialisms neo-colonial wars as well as police repression inside France, as terrorist actions are already proscribed by existing laws. The Macron government is seeking to whip up a xenophobic atmosphere. Referring to the construction of the mosque, Darmanin declared his opposition particularly in Strasbourg ... to extremely strong attempts to interfere in our country, notably by Turkey .... We have a number of indications that the Turkish government wants to interfere in French affairs, especially religious ones. Yet it is the French government that is responsible for interference abroad. Since 2011, when Sarkozy launched a war in Libya with NATO to overthrow the government of Moammar Gaddafi, successive French presidents have supported Islamist militias to take over the country, leading to the complete societal breakdown of Libya. In Syria, France and the United States followed the same procedure, supporting Islamist militias to try to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. This war triggered a humanitarian catastrophe across the region, killing almost half a million people and forcing over 10 million to flee their homes. Darmanins intervention in Alsace is part of a campaign by the Macron government against Muslim rights. Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, the Macron government is attempting to position itself to the right of Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally. In February, Darmanin took part in a debate with Le Pen, during which he criticised the latter for not voting for laws, such as the 2017 anti-terrorism law, which allowed the closure of places of worship. Attacking Le Pen from the right, Darmanin said that Le Pen, as she attempts to de-demonize her party, has come to act with softness. You should take vitamins, I find that you are not tough enough! On 20 October 2020, Darmanin denounced the presence in supermarkets of kosher and halal sections. I have always been shocked to walk into a supermarket and see an aisle with the cuisine from some community and some other on the other side, he said, referring to halal, kosher and other foods that satisfy religious requirements. That is how communalism begins. This thinly disguised appeal to anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiments suggests that separated supermarket shelves can contribute to the threat of terrorist attacks. Darmanin himself has been close to the far-right royalist party Laction francaise (AF). In 2008, he wrote articles for the monthly La restauration nationale (which is close to the AF) and participated in a royalist summer camp. In his early days in politics, Darmanin defended a traditionalist Catholic ideology and was attracted to the AF, which in the 20th century was a hotbed of political antisemitism and French fascism. He refused to marry same-sex couples during his tenure in the Tourcoing local government and continues to call for the abolition of marriage for all. The governments effort to pass laws attacking democratic rights, including the global security law, is motivated by the fear of a revolt by the working class, which has already carried out strikes and demonstrations for three years, including the yellow vest protests. The global security law, which aims to criminalise photographing police, has been denounced by the United Nations as an attack on fundamental democratic rights. Macron has intensified his anti-Muslim campaign throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed the governments murderous indifference towards lives of the working class. Its policy, which permitted the virus to spread through the population, has resulted in the deaths of almost 100,000 people in France. Its incitement of anti-Muslim hysteria is aimed at dividing the working class and blocking a united workers movement against its deadly policy. Chinese authorities have slapped Alibaba with a $2.8 billion fine after finishing an antitrust investigation that looked into alleged monopolistic practices. The State Administration for Market Regulation launched a probe into the e-commerce giant's "suspected monopolistic conduct" in December, particularly its policy that forces merchants to sell on its platforms exclusively and prevents them from selling on rival e-commerce websites. In a release posted on the watchdog's website, it said its investigation proved that the policy eliminated and restricted competition in the country and hindered innovation in the online retail platform sector. As a result of that conclusion, the regulator penalized the company in accordance with China's antimonopoly law, ordering it to stop its illegal activities and to pay a fine equivalent to 4 percent of its domestic sales in the country. As The New York Times notes, the $2.8 billion fine won't put Alibaba's finances in danger, but it exceeds the $975 million penalty the Chinese government imposed on Qualcomm back in 2015 for violating the antimonopoly law. In a statement sent to NYT, Alibaba said it would accept the penalty and would make sure "to better carry out its social responsibilities." China started keeping a closer eye on tech giants last year, with lawmakers proposing an update to the antimonopoly law to add rules specifically for them. Jack Ma's businesses, in particular, seem have become a target in his home country after he called Chinese banks "state-owned pawnshops" for giving unnecessary loans during a finance summit. His executives even had to form a task force to deal with regulators on a daily basis. Aside from the antimonopoly probe into Alibaba, Shanghai Stock Exchange blocked the planned IPO for Ant Group, the financial services company he founded, back in November. Before the year ended, regulators ordered the company to "return to its origins" as a payment provider and to shut down the investments, lending, insurance and wealth management services it introduced over the years. BRANFORD The site where bowlers once scored strikes and spares is gone. In its place a church will rise to serve as an anchor for a growing congregation in Connecticut and beyond. Vox Church, a nondenominational Christian group that launched as City Church in 2011 in New Haven, will build its first anchor location on Commercial Parkway, a 27,000-square-foot church where the congregation will be able not only to hold services, livestreaming them to its nine satellite churches, but have the space to hold ministry programs and meetings. Tecton Architects In addition to marriage and mens and womens conferences, there will be other types of training and other types of ministry gatherings, in addition to our normal Sunday services, and we hope to have a Thursday night service as well, said Tom Holeva, chief financial officer, who is overseeing the building project. Tecton Architects Now, Lead Pastor Justin Kendrick gives his message from College Street Music Hall on Sundays, which is streamed to the satellite campuses in Fairfield, Stamford, North Haven, Middletown, Hartford, New Britain, Springfield and Worcester, Mass. While he said everythings written in pencil, Holeva said our hope and our mission is to expand to New London, Boston and Providence in the next two to three years, and to build another anchor site in Hartford (the rest are rented spaces). Waterbury also is being considered. We hope by 2025, our mission is to have 25 locations throughout New England, Holeva said. While the concept of a parish meeting in multiple locations is not the traditional model in the Northeast, its pretty common in the rest of the country, Holeva said. Everyone in your membership is hearing the same message, so it allows you to unify even though youre miles and miles apart. Kendrick said the basis of the message is the teachings of Jesus and the prime role of the Bible, building an intentional community and serving the people in its local area, especially in the cities, by forming partnerships with existing organizations that are helping the needy. Theres a lot of people who are open to a different kind of church, he said. We want to serve the Branford community and the shoreline, no doubt about it, Kendrick said. For us this provides a hub. While in the world of COVID its hard to track membership, he said the church had about 3,000 people attending services before the pandemic, and weve seen that nearly double through our online participation since COVID started. The long-closed Cherry Hill Bowling Lanes has been demolished and Holeva said Babbidge Construction Co. of New Haven will begin to pour concrete in June for the $4.5 million church. We hope to be open for church services for the holidays, he said. Its such a monumental part of our church growth. Well be celebrating our 10th year in September, so its a big moment for our church, Holeva said. It is going to be a modified, pre-engineered metal building with a 500-seat auditorium/sanctuary, he said. Stewardship is really important to us. Tecton Architects of Hartford will be renovating the exterior to give it a little curb appeal, he said. The land is being leased from Cherry Hill Construction of North Branford, so it will remain on the tax rolls, according to First Selectman James Cosgrove. That specific site has been an area we were hoping to be redeveloped for a number of years, so its good to see activity, Cosgrove said. While the onetime City Church will be headquartered in the suburbs, College Street Music Hall still will be used for services, Holeva said. We spent several years trying to find a location in New Haven, he said, but a site with adequate parking and space to build couldnt be found. He said many of those on the project team are volunteers, the Body of Christ working together to bring forth this project has been really great to be involved with, he said. One of the major advantages will be to have space to expand the parishs childrens ministry. Maria Conrad, kids ministry director, said, were really ready to teach them about Jesus. The program includes children from 6 months through fifth grade, she said. Even at 6 months, these kids are being prayed for. There also will be a preteen group. We believe that community will allow for profound spiritual impact for our kids, she said. Charles Maynard of Madison started attending services two years ago and joined Vox Church six months later. I graduated school and was an adult and was really looking for a place to root my life, he said. I stumbled across Vox and it felt like home because of how loving everyone was. He has led two community groups, a place for people to come and meet new people and interact with the family of God and not just [on] Sunday, he said. Its just awesome to see the smiles. edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382 Nearly three years after the Santa Fe High School massacre that left 10 dead, the young man charged with capital murder in the shootings is no closer to standing trial and may end up committed long-term to a mental health facility. The accused gunman, 19-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was ordered by a state district court in Galveston in February to remain committed for at least 12 months to the maximum-security North Texas State Hospital in Vernon, where he has been in custody since November 2019. The order was signed by Judge John Ellisor after Pagourtzis received a minimum of 60 consecutive days of inpatient mental health services and was still found incompetent to stand trial. The latest delay to the capital murder trial highlights a quirk of state law that allows defendants who are declared incompetent to remain confined to mental health facilities for up to the maximum sentence for the offense. Evaluations of competency to stand trial speak to a suspects state of mind at the time that a trial would begin. Pagourtzis is charged with capital murder and faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years if convicted. Nick Poehl, one of Pagourtzis defense attorneys, raised the possibility that the charges could eventually be set aside or dismissed if he continually remains unfit to stand trial at future civil commitment hearings. From my standpoint, were just kind of in a bit of limbo, Poehl said. Weve got to get him further along to reach competency. They've gone through various combinations of (medication) and it's kind of a trial and error approach. Jack Roady, the Galveston County district attorney and lead prosecutor on the case, played down the notion that charges might be dismissed, maintaining that the state intends to hold a trial no matter how long it takes for Pagourtzis mental state to be restored. Our position is, in the law, if it takes up to the maximum sentence for him to be committed for purposes of competency restoration, then that may end up being (what happens), Roady said. But the case is not going to go away. Pagourtzis is charged in the shooting rampage that killed 10 and wounded 13 in May 2018. A junior at the high school at the time, Pagourtzis admitted to being the mass shooter after his arrest, according to court documents. Witnesses said Pagourtzis entered the school with a long dark trench coat that he frequently wore, concealing what police later identified as his father's sawed-off Remington shotgun and a .38 pistol. He planted explosives that did not detonate and selected his targets so as to spare students he liked, he later told police. His parents are also defendants in a civil lawsuit alleging they knew their son was exhibiting extreme behavior but failed to prevent him from accessing their firearms, which authorities say were used in the shooting. The parents maintain they were not negligent and that they did as much as they could for their son. Pagourtzis was originally evaluated independently by three psychiatric experts in October 2019, with one each selected by the defense, prosecution, and Ellisor, the judge presiding over the case. All three agreed that he was not fit to stand trial. Poehl has spoken to Pagourtzis periodically during his stay at the hospital in Vernon, but declined to characterize the nature of those conversations. He said that while the hospital is a high-security facility, Pagourtzis is not in solitary confinement and undergoes extensive treatment as part of a multi-track therapeutic approach. He can move around, he does interact with other patients, he participates in therapy and classes that are designed to restore him to competency, Poehl said. Pagourtzis parents have visited him occasionally, though less frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Roady acknowledged that the years-long delay to get a trial has been difficult for the victims families, but that his hands are tied by the law. We're all extremely frustrated, and certainly our victims and their families are and we're anxious and ready to get this case tried, he said. nick.powell@chron.com A still taken from body cam footage of the incident showing officer Joe Gutierez approaching US Army lieutenant, Caron Nazario, in his car in Windsor, Virginia, in December last year (Bodycam Windsor Police) A US Army officer has filed a federal lawsuit against two Virginia police officers who reportedly pepper-sprayed and assaulted him, before warning that he was risking death by the electric chair. Caron Nazario, 27, who is a black and latino second lieutenant, was pulled over on a traffic stop in the small town of Windsor, Virginia, in December last year, after officers Joe Gutierez and Daniel Crocker claimed his SUV had tinted windows and no rear licence plate. Body camera footage shows Mr Nazario, who was returning from a drill weekend, dressed in uniform with his hands in the air and telling the armed officers who are pointing guns at him: Im honestly afraid to get out. Yeah, you should be, officer Joe Gutierrez is heard replying, as reported by The New York Daily News. Moments earlier, Mr Gutierrez was told the driver that he was fixin to ride the lightning; a nickname for execution by electric chair, according to the lawsuit and a police video obtained by The Virginian-Pilot . Holding his hands in the air, Mr Nazario can be seen asking the officers to relax and explaining that he believes he has a right not to exit the vehicle. He said: I am actively serving this country and this is how youre going to treat me? Hold on. I didnt do anything. Hold on. In response one of the officers appears to pepper spray him in the eyes four times and demand he get out of the car now. Nazario, suffering from the effects of the spray with closed eyes and hands raised, said: Thats f***** up. The officer then opens the door and repeatedly demands he get out of the car. You made this way more difficult than it had to be if you just complied, said the officer. He then appears to push Mr Nazario, who is tearful, to the ground as the lieutenant asks: Pease talk to me about what is going on? The body cam footage ends there but the officers are accused of urging Mr Nazario to chill and let this go or he could be charged with assault on a police officer. Story continues Mr Nazario filed his civil suit at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last week, claiming they violated his constitutional rights and that his race played a factor. The lawsuit states: These cameras captured footage of behaviour consistent with a disgusting nationwide trend of law enforcement officers, who, believing they can operate with complete impunity, engage in unprofessional, discourteous, racially biased, dangerous and sometimes deadly abuses of authority. Mr Nazario also accused the officers of threatening to destroy his military career by charging him with multiple crimes if he complained about their conduct. In an interview with The Associated Press, Mr Nazarios attorney said his client graduated from Virginia State University and was commissioned out of the schools ROTC programme. Hes an officer in the United States armed forces, Jonathan Arthur said. These guys decide to do this to him ... Hes definitely not doing too well. Read More US soldier and 16-year-old charged in the murder of US Army Corporal Hayden Harris George Floyd brother says case going great but its all up to the jury Advertisement Two men charged in connection with riots in Northern Ireland were today denied bail on grounds that they could re-offend - as police were pelted with stones and missiles on an eighth night of violence. Matthew Shaw, 32, and Jonathan Maitland, 25, both from Belfast, appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court, having been arrested following the riots on Thursday night. Shaw was charged with rioting while Maitland was charged with rioting and possessing petrol bombs in suspicious circumstances. It came after another chaotic night on Friday which saw 14 police officers injured, bringing the total number of officers hurt in the recent disorder to 88. Seamus Bannon, representing Shaw, told the court his client had found himself at the scene of the riots on Lanark Way at 'the behest and encouragement of others'. Scroll down for video Riot police are seen looking on as a hijacked car is set alight in the Tiger Bay area. Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill voiced her concern that the violence of recent days (pictured - Friday) will continue throughout the weekend A Loyalist rioter is seen holding a paint bomb amid rioting in the Tigers Bay Area yesterday . He is seen above with white paint splatters over his balaclava and his outfit More fireworks are seen exploding by the closed peace gate in Lanark Way in West Belfast. Young people were being lured into joining the rioting through social media A rioter is seen spraying a substance towards police lines. Miss McKee Corner, whose 29-year-old sister was shot dead by the New IRA at a riot in the Creggan area of Londonderry in April 2019, called on the mobs to withdraw A rioter, holding what appears to be a brick or rock, is seen above looking towards police lines amid the unrest in Northern Ireland A police officer is seen using a water cannon as they clash with nationalist youths in the Springfield Road area of Belfast on Thursday night Mr Bannon said his client 'has no sectarian axe to grind' and was 'at a loss to explain how on earth he found himself in this position'. 'It's clear to me that he has no axe to grind in terms of what's going on. His wife is actually Catholic and he was found at the Unionist/Protestant side of this divide' he said. 'He has no sectarian axe to grind at all.' The court heard Shaw is a father to two children, while his partner is heavily pregnant with their third child. Mr Bannon said: 'She is absolutely appalled and disgusted that he has found himself in the position he now is in. It's brought embarrassment on her and embarrassment on his children.' Applying for bail, Mr Bannon noted that his client was charged only with being present at the scene and had not harmed or injured anybody. He said the single reason for opposing bail would be risk of further offences. He added: 'Given the conversation that I have had with his wife, he is going to have very significant explaining to do when he's speaking to her next. 'She is a very stabilising influence, she runs a good house and she keeps him and everybody in the house in check. I submit that if he is granted bail, that in itself will be a significant factor on any particular issue that the court might have.' However, Judge Rosalie Prytherch said the offences he is charged with are very serious, and that the situation in relation to the riots is ongoing. She noted that he had made the decision to travel some distance at the encouragement of others to be present on Thursday night. Denying bail, she said the risk of reoffending was too high and that the community needs to be protected. He was ordered to appear before the court via videolink on April 21. A car is seen burning in Belfast amid the unrest. Yesterday, details were revealed of how Facebook and other social media platforms have been used by agitators On Friday night PSNI officers attended the scene at Tiger Bay, a loyalist area in north Belfast with riot vans and police dogs in tow Fireworks are seen exploding on police vehicles after being fired at police officers during clashes with nationalist youths in the Springfield Road area of Belfast on Thursday Shaw, who is in receipt of employment benefits, was granted legal aid. Maitland was charged with rioting and possession of petrol bombs in suspicious circumstances. He was also denied bail over fears that he could reoffend, with the court hearing he lived just a 15-minute walk form the scene of the disorder. His solicitor Higgins Hollywood Deazley told the court his client attended the scene after being sent footage of what was happening on social media. Lyra McKee was shot dead by the New IRA at a riot in the Creggan area of Londonderry in April 2019, called on the mobs to withdraw He said his client had found a plastic bag at the scene, and picked it up thinking there was alcohol in the bag. Another man wearing a balaclava approached him and asked if he was going to do anything with that bag to which he said 'no', and then provided the bag to them. He said an allegation that his client had lit a petrol bomb was under dispute in his police interview. Shaw told police he could not remember if he had lit the petrol bomb or passed his lighter to them, but believed he had passed his lighter as it was no longer in his possession. The reason for his lack of memory, Mr Deazley said, was that his client was intoxicated having taken about '12 beers, tins of Harp'. He said his client had only been at the scene for a short time, was suffering from PTSD after being the victim of an assault some years back, and was struggling with family issues. Judge Prytherch denied the application in view of the seriousness of the charges, the ongoing situation in relation to public disorder and the risk of reoffending. It came as the sister of killed Northern Ireland journalist Lyra McKee called on rioters last night to end the violence in west Belfast before someone dies. Nichola McKee Corner spoke after water cannon were used for the first time in six years. Yesterday, details were revealed of how Facebook and other social media platforms have been used by agitators. Postings list dates and times of protests where hundreds of rioters some as young as 12 have gathered to attack each other and police. Hours before some of the worst violence on Wednesday, a Facebook post urged people to 'join the fight and keep us British'. A police officer is seen trying to put out a fire during protests in the Loyalist Tigers Bay Area of Belfast. Loyalist leaders had urged the community not to participate in protests on Friday after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh Riot police are seen protecting themselves with a riot shields amid the unrest. The street is seen above covered with debris Debris thrown by some of the rioters is seen on the streets of the Tigers Bay Area. There were sporadic incidents of unrest in Northern Ireland on Friday evening That night, a bus was set alight and a burning car was driven at the 'peace walls' dividing loyalist and nationalist areas. Inflammatory online posts include phrases such as 'no surrender' and 'f*** the PSNI' Police Service of Northern Ireland. Loyalist paramilitaries suspected of smuggling drugs are allegedly behind some of the violence, which has also broken out in Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Ballymena and Londonderry. Ulster Unionist Doug Beattie, a Northern Ireland assembly member, said: 'The South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association is nothing more than a criminal drug gang who put kids on the streets to cause violence on their behalf.' Loyalist parades planned for the coming days are thought to have been cancelled following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. On Friday night PSNI officers attended the scene at Tiger Bay, a loyalist area in north Belfast with riot vans and police dogs in tow. Some officers have come under attack, with missiles such as stones and bottles thrown at them, and reports of petrol bombs being used. Officers are seen standing behind riot police lines. Some officers have come under attack, with missiles such as stones and bottles thrown at them, and reports of petrol bombs being used Bill Gates book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, is still on the best-sellers list. Looking over the many research projects in his book, it strikes me as a bit duplicitous to suggest that any, or all, of them could help us avoid a climate disaster. Bill McKibben, perhaps the most in-depth climate analyst, and founder of 350.org, recently told The New Yorker, Were not playing for stopping climate change, were playing maybe for being able to slow it down to the point where it doesnt make civilization impossible. James Lovelock, independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist, also is worth listening to. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system. A lifelong inventor, Lovelock created and developed many scientific instruments, some of which NASA employed to determine whether Mars could support life. He also invented the electron capture detector, which ultimately assisted in the discoveries about the persistence of CFCs and their role in stratospheric ozone depletion. In his latest book, Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence, Lovelock proposes that artificial intelligent systems may take over and save the ecosystem. On the other hand, if human life becomes extinct, he writes, so be it: We played our part and newer, younger actors are already appearing on stage. PHILIP J. MURPHY Ventura Place Mount Pleasant SC bills suppress voting State Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, recently introduced S.365 that requires verification of a voters registration every three years. Under the bill, if voters fail to verify their registration, they will be purged from the voter rolls. Since some voters who support both major parties vote only during presidential elections, which occur every four years, they may learn that they have been purged from the rolls only when they show up to vote. Others will be discouraged from voting because of the difficulties associated with verifying their registration every three years. Like Senate bills S.113, which prohibits election boards from allowing absentee votes more than 30 days before an election, and S.236, which increases the number of voters at pooled precincts in municipal elections. Sen. Senns bill is voter suppression disguised as voter security. These bills seem designed to limit voter participation by making it harder to vote rather than to address problems that arose in recent elections. I call upon Sen. Senn and the legislators supporting these bills to reverse course and promote democracy through ready access to voting. MARTHA BECK Betsy Road Charleston Stop open carry bill I watched in horror as the South Carolina House passed the open carry of guns bills, moving them on to the Senate. I am counting on the Senate to stop this insane legislation. 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! Law enforcement does not support this legislation for obvious reasons. As the legislation is written, it would exclude open carry from government offices. Dont you think we, the general public, should also have such protection? If this becomes law, I will not patronize any business allowing open carry. If I am in a business, a restaurant or any other location when a person comes in with a sidearm on display, I will immediately leave that business and never return. For me, the COVID-19 lockdown will turn into an open carry lockdown. SARAH REDMOND Innisbrook Bend Summerville Thanks for COVID care I recently spent a week at Roper Hospital in downtown Charleston. I had COVID-19 pneumonia and lost 23 pounds in 7 days. I want to thank the staff members and caregivers for their kind and compassionate care. More than a dozen staff members helped me around the clock. Ashley helped me in every way she could. Arnold, the muscleman, was especially kind as well. Bri, Kaitlyn and Dr. Irish treated me with every ounce of professionalism in their repertoire. I have never seen teamwork like theirs and I would not have made it without them. Thank you one and all. Thank you one and all. DAVID ENGELMAN Julia Street Charleston Why no boots on tree? It would be nice to have some insight into the thinking of those responsible for the proposed official South Carolina flag design. Specifically, why were the boots on the palmetto tree omitted? Boots are the old frond stems that wrap around the trunk. They are one of the most characteristic things about the tree and give it a readily identifiable silhouette. There might be a good reason to omit them, its just hard to imagine what it is. DAVID WALSH Coastal Marsh Road Mount Pleasant Its the talk of the town (well, some parts of it) in Byron Bay: which of the seaside settlements throng of Instagram influencers will appear in Netflixs forthcoming docu-soap Byron Baes? Model and influencer Elias Chigros has signed on to star in Byron Baes. Credit:Instagram The program, Netflixs first Australian reality TV commission, will follow a feed of hot #nofilter types as they create content amid fights, flings and heartbreak. What a treat. Byron has been dubbed Aussiewood thanks to its growing contingent of international celebrity residents including Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky, Matt Damon, Zac Efron and Simon Baker. But it wont be those mega stars gracing the small screen on Byron Baes. Among those who have that dubious honour are model and former Love Island contestant Elias Chigros, who Emerald City can reveal has signed on to star in the reality show after being scouted by producers. This wont be a TV first for the 30-year-old personal trainer - it wasnt so long ago the long-hair Lothario swore off starring in another reality show after a failed attempt at happily ever after on Love Island. Advertisement A volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted for a second time as thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate. A second explosion of the La Soufriere volcano was observed on Friday, six hours after it erupted for the first time in more than 40 years yesterday morning. While out conducting fieldwork, the University of the West Indies Seismic Center team witnessed the volcano explode for a second time, with a vertical ash column estimated to have reached around 2miles (4km) into the atmosphere - smaller than the first which is estimated to have risen as high as 10 kilometers (6 miles). Experts have warned that explosive eruptions could continue for days, or possibly weeks, and emergency aid supplies, such as cots, tents and respirator masks, have poured in from neighbouring nations. La Soufriere volcano exploded for a second time yesterday afternoon (pictured), just six hours after the volcano exploded for the first time in more than 40 years A large ash column rose above the volcano on the Caribbean island of St Vincent on Friday (pictured), with the first explosion estimated to have risen as high as 10 kilometers (6 miles) During the night, scientific teams from the University of the West Indies Seismic Center witnessed lightning in the ash column, which it said was due to its highly charged nature Ash and smoke plunged parts of the island into near total darkness, blotting out the bright morning sun, said witnesses. The thick ash later covered the area, including people and vehicles. Updating the public at 8pm, the University of the West Indies Seismic Center said vigorous ash venting had resumed at La Soufriere at approximately 2:45 pm. Lightning was also seen in the ash column during the night, which the center said was due to its highly charged nature. Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center, said a column of ash from the initial explosion is estimated to have risen as high as 10 kilometers (6 miles) on Friday - forcing the cancellation of several flights while falling ash limited evacuations in some areas due to poor visibility. She said: 'This is just the beginning. There is heavy ashfall in the near vicinity. More explosions could occur.' She added this kind of activity could go on for weeks if not months and said it was impossible to predict whether any potential upcoming explosions would be bigger or smaller than the first. The volcano last erupted in 1979, and a previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. This volunteer was covered in ash from the second eruption of the volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent The ash covered roads on the island, making driving difficult for those who had yet to evacuate the danger zone closest to the eruption This handout from the UWI Seismic Research Centre shows a street completely covered in ash in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption An explosive eruption has rocked La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent following mandatory evacuation orders from the local government The eruption is said to have plunged parts of Kingstown on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent into darkness at first as the evacuation got under way by terrified islanders Roughly 16,000 people live in the surrounding red zone and will need to be evacuated, an official said 'The first bang is not necessarily the biggest bang this volcano will give,' Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, said during a press conference. The eruptions followed mandatory evacuation orders issued on Thursday for people who live near the volcano. Officials planned to place them aboard cruise ships, send them to nearby islands or take them to shelters elsewhere in St. Vincent outside the danger zone. Roughly 16,000 people live in the red zone and will need to be evacuated, Joseph, said. Nations ranging from Antigua to Guyana offered help by either shipping emergency supplies to their neighbor or agreeing to temporarily open their borders to the fleeing ash-covered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves asked people to remain calm, have patience and keep protecting themselves from the coronavirus as he celebrated that no deaths or injuries were reported after the eruption. 'Agriculture will be badly affected and we may have some loss of animals and we will have to do repairs to houses, but if we have life, and we have strength, we will build it back better, stronger, together,' he said in an interview with NBC Radio, a local station. The pandemic could hamper evacuation efforts. Gonsalves said in a press conference that people have to be vaccinated if they go aboard a cruise ship or are granted temporary refuge in another island. He said two Royal Caribbean cruise ships are expected to arrive by Friday and a third one in the coming days, as well as two Carnival cruise ships and another from Celebrity Cruises. The location of the volcano on the island of St Vincent is seen on the graphic above A cruise ship arriving at St. Vincent following the eruption of La Soufriere volcano on Friday morning to transport evacuees to nearby islands in the Caribbean for their safety Government officials warned it could be months before people are allowed back to their homes on the island, depending on any damage caused by the falling ash and rock Islands that have said they would accept evacuees include St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Antigua. 'Not everything is going to go perfect, but if we all cooperate ... we will come through this stronger than ever,' Gonsalves said. He noted that he was talking to Caribbean governments to accept people's ID cards if they don't have a passport. 'This is an emergency situation, and everybody understands that,' he said. Gonsalves added that he highly recommends those who opt to go to a shelter in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island chain of more than 100,000 people, be vaccinated. He added some 4,500 residents near the volcano have already been evacuated ships and by road. As of Friday, 2,000 people were staying in 62 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take other evacuees to nearby islands. Those staying in shelters were tested for COVID-19, and anyone testing positive would be taken to an isolation center. Heavy ash fall had halted the evacuation efforts somewhat due to poor visibility, according to St. Vincent's National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO). Lavern King, a shelter volunteer, said: 'The place in general is in a frenzy. 'People are still being evacuated from the red zone, it started yesterday evening and into last night.' Gonsalves said that depending on the extent of the damage, it could be four months before evacuees could return home. Thousands of residents on the island have been ordered to evacuate to safe zones after the volcano erupted Friday morning for the first time since 1979 Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center, said on Friday that the ash column is estimated to have risen as high as 10 kilometers (6 miles) A masked official from the National Management Organisation of St Vincent and the Grenadines makes a few checks before sending evacuees on their way The sky was turned a moody grey colour as evacuees escape a red zone in village Rose Hall in the back of a farmer's truck amid warnings the eruptions could continue for several days and weeks Thousands of evacuees have already escaped the worst affected areas on the Caribbean island as officials work to keep people safe following the volcano's first eruption in more than 40 years Emergency management teams have been going to communities in the red zone and providing transportation to safer locations, including prearranged shelters, according to Joseph. 'They know who doesn't have transportation because all of this has been canvassed before,' she said, adding that those who board the cruise ship would not be taken elsewhere but would remain there for an unspecified period of time. People were seen evacuating the area in vehicles after the government ordered them to escape By late Thursday evening, shelters were filling up as a string of car lights making their way to safer ground twinkled through the darkened mountains. John Renton, a school principal who was in charge of one shelter, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that it had plenty of masks and other personal protective equipment but needed more cots. While talking, he was interrupted by a phone call from a government official asking about the state of things. 'We're over capacity,' he responded, noting that the shelter could hold 75 people and was already filled up. Government officials tweeted that the dome of the volcano located on the island's northern region could be seen glowing by nightfall. The alert issued on Wednesday follows days of seismic activity around La Soufriere. Gonsalves urged people to remain calm and orderly. 'I don't want you panicked,' he said. 'That is the worst thing to do.' Evacuee Zen Punnett, who lives on the 18-mile long island, said people panicked Thursday night as the evacuation orders came out but things were calmer Friday. He said: 'I can feel and hear rumbling here in the green safe zone. We can see a huge ball of smoke. Keeping calm as much as possible and praying.' The volcanic activity forced the cancellation of several flights while falling ash limited evacuations in some areas due to poor visibility. Officials warned that Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada could see light ashfall as the 4,003ft (1,220m) volcano continued to rumble. The majority of ash was expected to head northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. Scientists alerted the government about a possible eruption after noting seismic activity at 3 a.m. on Thursday. It indicated 'magma was on the move close to the surface,' Joseph said. 'Things are escalating pretty quickly,' she said of the volcanic activity, adding that it was impossible to provide an exact forecast of what might happen in the next hours or days. An image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the eruption of La Soufriere Philmore Mullin, director of Antigua and Barbuda's National Office of Disaster Services, said the twin island nation was ready to receive evacuees from Saint Vincent. He said: 'I know for sure they will be scared out of their wits. The question is, what will happen after they move? Volcanoes don't tell you what they are thinking. 'If it continues to erupt for a long time, it will be life-changing for them. And, depending on the type of eruption, they might not be able to get back home for years.' A team from the seismic center arrived in St. Vincent in late December after the volcano had an effusive eruption. They have been analyzing the formation of a new volcanic dome, changes to its crater lake, seismic activity and gas emissions, among other things. The eastern Caribbean is home to other active volcanoes. Seventeen of the region's 19 live volcanoes are located on 11 islands, with the remaining two underwater near the island of Grenada, including one called Kick 'Em Jenny that has been active in recent years. The region's most active volcano in recent years has been Soufriere Hills in Montserrat, which has erupted continuously since 1995, destroying the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997. (@fidahassanain) A very close contest is expected between PTIs Ali Asjad Malhi and PML-Ns Nosheen Iftikhar in todays NA-75 by-polls. LAHORE: ( UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-April 10th, 2021) Polling in National Assembly constituency Daska NA-75 by-election is underway today (Saturday). The seat fell vacant after the death of PML-N MNA Iftikharul Hassan. Polling started at its due time 8 am in todays morning and will continue till 5 pm without any break. As many as 360 polling stations have been made for the 4,94000 registered voters in the constituency. A close contest is expected between PTIs Ali Asjad Malhi and PML-Ns Nosheen Iftikhar in todays NA-75 Daska by-polls. Strict security arrangements have been made for todays by-election. Pakistan Rangers personnel will be deployed along with police at the polling stations while the army will be on standby. CCTV cameras have been installed at the sensitive polling stations, while Section 144 has been slapped in the area. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja is present in the Election Commission Office Punjab to monitor the by-elections. A control room has also been set up in the Sialkot Commissioners Office. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Feb 25 had ordered re-election in the NA-75 Sialkot-Daska constituency over alleged rigging and irregularities. Nosheen Iftikhar had expressed concern over bogus voting at 100 polling stations with the help of presiding officers and the non-installation of cameras in a letter she had written to ECP. The ECP in its reply had said that no action can be taken against someone on mere assumptions. Mumbai: In view of the unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases across the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold an all-party meeting on Saturday (April 10) to discuss the pandemic situation. During the meeting, which will be held this afternoon, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the state. The meeting will be attended by prominent leaders of the three parties involved in the MVA government, leaders of BJP, leaders of MNS, API, SP, and others. The government is said to be mulling a lockdown just like last year, according to government sources. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar said the decision to organise the all-party meeting was taken this afternoon. "This decision was taken during the meeting held today to decide the postponement of MPSC exams scheduled for Sunday," he was quoted as saying by PTI. When asked about the weekend lockdown, Darekar said the government should take a decision on financially supporting small businesses. The state government has announced a 'strict lockdown' over the weekend which will start from 8 pm on Friday (April 9) and be in place till 7 am on Monday (April 12). A night curfew has also been imposed in the state which will be in effect from 8 pm to 7 am daily. Essential services will be exempted from the restrictions. As per the notification, essential services including medical, grocery, fruit, milk shops will be allowed to open. Hotels can run the delivery system. Section 144 has also been imposed prohibiting the assembly of five or more people throughout the day. Maharashtra had on Friday reported 58,993 new cases of coronavirus, which pushed its overall tally to 32,88,540, while the death of 301 patients took the toll to 57,329, the state health department said. The state has been recording more than 55,000 cases over the past few days. The highest single-day spike of 59,907 cases was reported on April 7. With a record number of 2,45,707 tests conducted during the day, the count of people who have been tested so far in the state has grown to 2,16,31,258. Of the total number, 15.2per cent has tested positive for the virus. The state's recovery rate is 81.96 per cent, while the fatality rate is 1.74 per cent, it said. Mumbai city registered a one-day spike of 9,202 cases. Live TV What Alliance Pharma does: ( ) is an AIM traded company that focuses on the acquisition and licensing of pharmaceutical and healthcare products. Over the past 20 years, the group has made over 35 acquisitions, which include healthcare and pharma businesses and rights to products. Alliance has a clutch of so-called "star" brands, which are managed and marketed centrally and sold internationally. These include: Lice treatment Vamousse; Kelo-cote, a scar reduction product; MacuShield, a supplement recommended by eye experts and anti-fungal shampoo Nizoral. The company runs its business across three broad regions: Europe, where the company sells a combination of prescription and OTC products; the newer US business, where it is focusing on the promotion of Vamousse; and the fast-growing Asia Pacific business, which has a tilt towards dermatology. How it's doing: Alliance tripled its dividend for 2020 and said the new year started well as it integrates the substantial acquisition of Biogix and eyes other opportunities to add to its portfolio. The AIM-listed company, which focuses on the acquisition and licensing of pharmaceutical and healthcare products, has proposed a final dividend payment of 1.074p per share for the past year, giving a total dividend of 1.610p compared to 0.536p a year ago. This follows a year when sales of consumer healthcare brands improved to partly offset a decline in prescription medicine as routine treatments were delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Sales of Kelo-cote, for scar prevention and treatment revenues, were up 12% and Nizoral, a medicated anti-dandruff shampoo, rose 4% to contribute to a 1% increase in overall consumer healthcare see-through revenues to 93mln. But a 12% fall in prescription medicine to 44.5mln led to statutory revenues falling 4% to 129.8m. Underlying profit before tax, excluding the costs of the Biogix deal and non-cash impairments, increased 2% to 33.5mln, while reported pre-tax profits fell 58% to 13mln. What the boss says, Peter Butterfield chief executive Through maintaining good control of our operating costs, we have continued to deliver a resilient underlying operating performance and our free cash flow has also remained very strong, enabling us to pay down more of our debt than expected ahead of completing the Biogix acquisition, he said. This strategically significant acquisition bears testament to our ability to continue to deliver on our longer-term growth strategy, notwithstanding the global pandemic. What the broker says Alliance Pharma has transformed its exposure to consumer healthcare over the last 5-6 years, something that the market is overlooking says broker RBC. Almost three-quarters of Alliances revenues now come from consumer healthcare with superior growth to legacy prescription products and helped by a playbook of internationalisation, new distribution channels, packaging and line extensions. The switch has also reduced the exposure to risk from government pricing and regulatory decisions. Revenues should grow by 8% over the next four years driving profits up by 12% a year, with more if the company flexes its balance sheet fully. Outperform with a 106p price target is the broker's view. Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News Vince Bacote is associate professor of theology at Wheaton College. He is also the director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE). The following interview revolves around his just released book, Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News. Interview by David George Moore Moore: What was the impetus to write this work? Bacote: I was invited to write on evangelical theology for the Brill Research Perspectives series, with the encouragement to write about it from a different angle than what one would normally expect from a book on evangelical theology. I then decided to address the challenges with questions of race for evangelical theology and the evangelical movement. Moore: Your book addresses the American scene. Are the ways evangelical gets used here in America more problematic for the Christian faith than other places outside the United States? Bacote: While the meaning of the term has been long debated, we are in a time when the label has negative connotations because of certain political associations, including connections to Christian nationalism. While the evangelical movement is global, there is big problem to the extent that evangelical, or more specifically white evangelical is understood less as a theological and more as a political and cultural identity in the United States. Moore: Many Christians are shedding the label evangelical. Two related questions: Does the word still have any value, and is it possible for the word evangelical to evoke good news for minority groups? Bacote: The Good news of the gospel is what is meant by the main idea of the label, and for that reason I think it still has value if the movement, theology, and institutions associated with the label actually better live up to it. Put another way, evangelical can still mean good news when it means those persons and institutions who are conveying the fulness of gospel, including aspects of the evangel that identify and address the various theological and ethical questions of minorities. Moore: You helpfully offer four d words to describe a persons relationship with the church. Would you briefly summarize those for us? Bacote: The first is a delight phase where a person is excited to be part of group that is focused on learning and practicing a faith rooted in the Bible. The dissonance phase occurs when one discovers cultural norms in the evangelical movement, but often a failure to recognize that some things regarded as biblical (like an approach to preaching) are cultural, and often that presumptive Christian political commitments are different from ones own. The distress phase occurs when the dissonance is intensified and when one experiences apathy or resistance to their theological concerns (often questions connected to race, etc.). The decision phase is when a person arrives at the choice to either stay with or go from their evangelical or church associations. Moore: We have talked before about the problem of treating theology as a separate field from ethics. In just about every seminary I know, theology is always required whereas classes on ethics are typically filed under the elective courses. How has treating theology and ethics as totally separate fields of study hurt our ability to navigate the issue of race in America? Bacote: Perhaps the best way to put it is to note that Jesus told us not merely to believe in him but also to follow him. Our beliefs and our practice of life should be clearly connected. As your question suggests, for many Christians there may be a fervent commitment to believing certain truths but not a sense of how those truths open up trajectories of ethical practice. Regarding race, a failure to practice good news as expressions of neighbor love has been a result of not going where our beliefs about doctrines such as sanctification could take us, or not recognizing that our beliefs about sin ought to lead us toward a disposition where we are always asking how we the vestiges of depravity remain in our engagements with others. If we really believe sin can blind us and we also believe that we are always on a path of growth, then we certainly ought to ask whether our sin creates problems in our perception of what is happening with matters of race. If people say I dont see a race problem, perhaps they should ask is it because I am blinded to it because of parts of my perception that need to be transformed by Gods sanctifying work? Moore: I have read and done interviews with both your colleague at Wheaton, Esau McCaulley and the historian Jemar Tisby. Their books, Reading While Black and The Color of Compromise are terrific. I am grateful for these voices and certainly for yours. I am under no illusions that all African Americans are in total agreement on how to address the vexing problem of race in America. Thabiti Anyabwile would disagree on various points with Voddie Baucham. It is the same outside the church with John McWhorter and Ibram X. Kendi. How do we know who to listen to when there are so many voices? I think it would be helpful for you to tell us how you navigate this very challenge. Bacote: In the book I encourage a posture of dependent yieldedness to Gods transforming work, which is essentially a willingness to be open to new ways God may transform and change us. We ought to be willing to seek truth wherever it can be found, and if we know that we are not omniscient, then we ought to have a disposition of humility that orients us to learn rather than a disposition of defensiveness that thwarts an openness to learning. Chances are there are truths articulated by all of those you have mentioned and many others; we can better assess the contributions of each if we approach them by asking questions like what point are they trying to make? and what brought them to this approach? and how does this help me to be more truthful about the complexities of race and the range of responses we need to address this with faithfulness? This will help us to be learners first who seek to discover more truth and respond better to questions of race. Moore: What kinds of conversations and action do you hope will be spawned by those who engage with the arguments of your book? Bacote: I hope the book will encourage conversations about how churches can facilitate a more holistic approach to discipleship, a catechesis for a life of clear commitment to God expressed in love of all neighbors. In additions I hope for conversations about how Christians can lead the way on questions of race as well as paths to hopeful prospects for the evangelical movement. I hope that individual Christians as well as institutions will cultivate a Christian faith that more readily connects theology and ethics, a truly living faith that demonstrates the good news, particularly by not only becoming better at discussing race but also doing the long, hard work of life together that includes learning how to live well together as Christians from every tribe, tongue and nation. David George Moore is the author of the forthcoming Stuck in the Present: How History Frees and Forms Christians (Leafwood/Abilene Christian University Press). Stuck in the Present: David George Moore: 9781684264605: Amazon.com: Books The world's premier interfaith convening organization is accepting program proposals for its 8th global gathering focused on a theme of opening our hearts and compassion in action CHICAGO, April 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parliament of the World's Religions (PoWR), the world's premier interfaith convening, invites proposals for programs, presentations and religious observances at the 2021 Parliament of the World's Religions, to be held virtually, October 17-18. Parliament convenings have featured luminaries such as His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, Nobel Laureates President Nelson Mandela, President Jimmy Carter, Shirin Ebadi, and United Nations Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall. The 2021 Parliament Call for Programs provides featured presenters the opportunity to join a historic group of select scholars, religious and spiritual leaders, and activists from around the world. The Call for Programs for the Parliament of the World's Religions opened on Friday, April 2nd inviting people of faith and conscience from around the world to propose a program, presentation, or religious observance for the upcoming 2021 Parliament of the World's Religions. The program will be anchored in a deep acknowledgment of the grief, setbacks, and hardships faced by communities around the world and the critical hope and compassion offered by the faith and spiritual traditions of the world in healing, restoration, and the promise of a just, peaceful and sustainable future. The theme of the 2021 Parliament is Opening our Hearts to the World: Compassion in Action . This theme aims to encompass the truly global opportunity provided by the virtual nature of the 2021 Parliament and the critical emotional and spiritual needs of people around the world, while acknowledging the critical need of a just and compassionate plan to move the world forward. The theme and call for programs are a special ask from the Parliament, which invites diverse peoples of faith, conscience, and spirituality to share their hopes, sorrows, and hearts with the global interfaith movement. Programs can be proposed as panels, lectures, oral presentations, academic papers, seminars, religious and spiritual observances, workshops and training, art, films, virtual tours, music and performances. All interested individuals are welcomed and encouraged to register and submit a program proposal by May 31, 2021. Presenting is only one of the ways in which interested individuals, communities, and organizations can get involved. The 2021 Parliament of the World's Religions provides a cost-effective way to maximize an organization's exposure to thousands of participants from 80 different countries and over 50 faith and spiritual traditions by serving as a sponsor and exhibitor. Individuals can network with leaders from communities around the world and connect with thousands of multi-generational, media-savvy, and culturally aware participants. Interested parties can take advantage of the discounted pricing available until May 31st for registrants; and till August 31 for exhibitors and sponsors. Learn more at ParliamentOfReligions.org/parliament/2021-virtual For more information about the Parliament of the World's Religions, please visit www.parliamentofreligions.org Follow the Parliament on Twitter @InterfaithWorld, Instagram @InterfaithWorld and Facebook @Parliament of Religions About The Parliament of the World's Religions The Parliament of the World's Religions cultivates harmony among the world's spiritual traditions and fosters their engagement with guiding institutions in order to achieve a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. Its origins are rooted in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the historic first convening of the World Parliament of Religions created a global platform for engagement of religions of the east and west. Headquartered in Chicago, Il, USA, the Parliament of the World's Religions is an international 501c3 NGO affiliated to the United Nations Department of Public Information. The Parliament hosts the world's premier interfaith convening in cities across the globe. Past Parliaments have convened nearly 60,000 people across the world in Chicago, IL, USA; Cape Town, South Africa; Barcelona, Spain; Melbourne, Australia; Salt Lake City, USA; and Toronto, Canada. For More Information Please Contact: Miriam Quezada Program & Communication Manager [email protected] 312-971-3096 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1484674/PoWR_2021_Logo.jpg Related Links https://parliamentofreligions.org SOURCE The Parliament of the World's Religions VICTORIA, BC, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. The COVID-19 crisis has made it clear that affordable housing is key to Canada's recovery as communities across the country, including those in British Columbia, are dealing with the devastating impacts of rising levels of homelessness and housing need. Today, Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and Ron McKinnon, Member of Parliament for CoquitlamPort Coquitlam, announced details of an approximately $5.76 million investment through the Projects Stream of the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) for the immediate construction of 20 units of affordable homes for First Nations in British Columbia. 20 new homes will be built in the following three Indigenous communities: Cook's Ferry Indian Band, Leq'a:mel First Nation, and Xaxli'p First Nation. Delivered by CMHC, under the National Housing Strategy (NHS), RHI provides capital contributions to develop new, permanent affordable housing by covering costs associated with modular multi-unit rental construction; conversion of non-residential to affordable multi-residential homes; and, rehabilitation of buildings in disrepair and/or abandoned to affordable multi-residential homes. Investments made under the RHI are expected to support thousands of construction-related jobs for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Quotes: "Our Government is taking steps, right now, to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home. Our investments will go a long way to effectively support those who need it most by quickly providing new affordable housing units to vulnerable individuals and families, while addressing the unique barriers faced by communities such as First Nations in British Columbia. Our Government's plan under the National Housing Strategy continues to provide affordable housing for those who need it most from coast to coast to coast." The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation "Improving Indigenous housing outcomes must be a priority for the Government of Canada. That is why First Nations are a priority group under our government's National Housing Strategy, and why we are working with Indigenous partners to build rapid housing. Together we are building a generation of new, permanent housing that we can all be proud of." Adam Vaughan, Member of Parliament for SpadinaFort York and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development "The National Housing Strategy is working to ensure more affordable housing for Indigenous peoples. This funding is part of our commitment to addressing severe housing needs across the country. It will provide immediate support to create safe and stable housing for First Nations across British Columbia while assisting those most vulnerable." Ron McKinnon, Member of Parliament for CoquitlamPort Coquitlam "After a historic 20+ years of housing construction inactivity, the Rapid Housing Initiative advances Cook's Ferry Indian Band's desperate need for new affordable housing in a significant way through a capital investment in units we would otherwise not be able to afford at this time. Cook's Ferry Indian Band welcomes Canada's investment and is thankful to receive recognition regarding our dire need for new housing." Christine Minnabarriet, Chief at Cook's Ferry Indian Band "On behalf of the Leq'a:mel First Nation we are excited to have been approved for 10 modular units under the Rapid Housing Initiative which is part of the National Housing Strategy. As many nations struggle to provide affordable housing for their members this program will begin to address some of the housing shortfalls our community is experiencing, and to meet the needs of members who have been waiting to return home, who have lived in overcrowded situations and who have not been able to afford a home before now. Our community continues to look for innovative ways to fulfil the needs of our community and it was timely that the Rapid Housing Initiative presented itself. We look forward to seeing our new housing village take shape in Skweahm and being filled with families and lower income persons." Alice Thompson, Chief Councillor of Leq'a:mel First Nation "There is a critical need for the Government to address Indigenous housing, homelessness and continue to collaborate with municipal partners like the Regional District, to provide opportunities for long-term housing options. Moving forward Xaxli'p welcomes the opportunity and looks forward to continued partnerships with the Government to build a vibrant community that consists of new, safe, healthy and affordable homes to vulnerable individuals and families." Xaxli'p First Nation Chief & Council Quick facts: Under the RHI Projects Stream $500 million was available through an application-based process, which closed on December 31, 2020 . Funding was available to Provinces, Territories, and Municipalities, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations, and non-profit organizations. . Funding was available to Provinces, Territories, and Municipalities, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations, and non-profit organizations. Nationally, at 4,700 units, the RHI has exceeded its initial target of 3000 permanent affordable housing units thanks to the support of the provincial, territorial and municipal governments as well as Indigenous governing bodies. The RHI has received significant interest from Indigenous groups, which resulted in nearly 40% of all units created under the program to be targeted to Indigenous peoples. The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and others who are among the most vulnerable, including: women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people dealing with mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ2+, racialized groups, Black Canadians, and recent immigrants or refugees. Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a 10-year, $70+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call homethis includes more than $13 billion committed through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement. Associated links: As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC's aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation For further information: Mikaela Harrison, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, [email protected]; Leonard Catling, Media Relations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, [email protected] Related Links www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca The episode has sent shockwaves and paranoia through the senior ranks of the Australian government and diplomatic corps. It should serve as an early warning that were about to enter a new world of deep fakes, where we will need to go the extra step in verifying the person were talking to is, in fact, who they claim to be. The activists quickly realised something was up when Birmingham requested they transfer money into a Hong Kong bank account. It was, in fact, a cyber hacker who had somehow managed to verify a Telegram account with Birminghams phone number, thereby stealing his contact book. This phishing scam also hit Health Minister Greg Hunt , Australias ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos and a number of other senior diplomats. Applications such as Telegram, Signal or WhatsApp require you to verify your phone number with your phone before you can set up an account. In this instance, the cyber hackers somehow attained the phone numbers of scores of senior Australian politicians and officials and went on a phishing expedition on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that was widely used in the Hong Kong protests. Numerous politicians and diplomats received messages asking them to verify Telegram. Senior security sources also confirmed WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, was a target but the hackers were less successful on that application. Loading Extremely busy and perhaps in a momentary lapse of judgment, some clicked on the link to download the Telegram app. Once they did this, they were verifying the account for the cyber attacker uploading their contact book and giving the hacker the ability to impersonate them. One of the dozen people caught up in the scam was The Sydney Morning Herald and The Ages North Asia correspondent, Eryk Bagshaw. On the night of March 19, the person impersonating Birmingham sent Bagshaw a message on Telegram asking: Do you have a contact in Hong Kong. An Aussie preferably. After giving him a few names and phone numbers of activists, the fake Birmingham asked Bagshaw to reach out to the contacts as well to tell them he would be in touch. Let me know if you have reached out to the both of them, one message said. When the Hong Kong contacts first began receiving messages from Birmingham on Whatsapp and Telegram, they were pleased to be put in touch. But soon the person started asking them to transfer money to a bank account registered to Yat Ting Ho Laundry Co. The account was with the Standard Chartered bank in Hong Kong. It was clearly a scam. As soon as Bagshaw was told of the suspicious messages he notified other affected contacts and Birminghams office that it appeared the minister was being impersonated. The other politicians and diplomats were hit in a similar way. Railways says no spike in migrant travel due to Covid fears The Indian Railways has said it has not witnessed a rush among migrants to travel back home amid a resurgence in Covid cases, a report in The Indian Express said. The Railways has no plan to curtail or stop train services. A number of officials denied reports of an exodus of migrant workers by trains. There is no plan to curtail or stop train services. We will run as many services as required. There is no cause for alarm. We can run trains immediately on demand if there is any rush. This rush is normal during the summer season and we have already announced trains to clear the rush, Chairman Railway Board Sharma said. Read more here Vaccine shortage: Private vaccination centres in Mumbai closed till Monday Due to insufficient supply of Covid-19 vaccine, private vaccination centres in Mumbai will be shut from Saturday to Monday, a report in Scroll said citing an announcement from the citys civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The civic body also asked private vaccination centres to cancel their sessions, if already scheduled, for the next three days and let the vaccine recipients know. As many as 86 out of 120 of the vaccination centres in the city could not administer vaccines on Friday due to a shortage. 99,000 doses of Covishield will reach Mumbai late Friday night and they will be distributed at the municipal and government centres on Saturday morning, Additional Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, Suresh Kakani reportedly said. Read more here Jaipur, April 10 : Although Rajsamand will go for by-polls on April 17, villagers in Thaneta here did cast their votes on Friday morning, eight days before the scheduled bypolls, for a different cause from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., standing in a long queue with a historic turnout. However, the voting here was not held to elect political leaders but to get a liquor shop closed in the village. Together the villagers were successful in their endeavour as they voted unitedly in favour of closure of this liquor shop. As per information, the villagers were quite unhappy with the opening of a liquor shop in the village recently and had been protesting against it. However as the shop continued operating, the villagers called a Chaupal and decided to vote against the opening of this shop. They finalised a polling date and asked the villagers to vote for and against the liquor shop in the village. As per the rule, it was decided that the liquor shop will be closed if there were over 51% votes cast against it. A total of 95.62 per cent villagers voted against the liquor shop. The villagers in fact had requested leaders from both the Congress and the BJP to get the shop closed as they have been visiting the village for campaigning for the by- polls. However, they did not get anything except assurances. Hence polling was held on Friday, eight days before the by-polls and 95.62 % votes were cast demanding the closure of the liquor shop. The voting started at 8 a.m. and continued till 5 p.m. Out of a total of 3244 votes, 2307 votes were cast. A total of 95.62 per cent that is 2206 voted for the closure of the shop while only 61 votes were cast in favour of its continuing operation. In fact, this is the third time when people in this district came out to find a solution to the problem of liquor addiction. In 2016, a liquor shop was closed after voting was held in Kachhbali panchayat of this district. In 2018 too, a liquor shop was closed after voting in Mandawar and now this is the third time when villagers forced the closure of a liquor shop by voting. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text 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. (Correcting making changes all round) Dhaka, Apr 10 (UNI) Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen sought U.S. support for helping his country meet it's commitments to the Paris Agreement during his meeting with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. During the meeting, the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister recalled United States crucial role in the adoption of the Paris Accord and appreciated Biden administration's decision to return to the global climate negotiations. He also noted the crucial contribution of Mr. Kerry for concluding the Paris Accord in 2015, and mentioned that Bangladesh had closely worked with the US delegation at that time. He expressed hope that under the leadership of the U.S., the developed countries would come forward with ambitious actions to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of this century. John Kerry and Momen had a substantive exchange of views on possible areas of Bangladesh-US climate collaboration in mitigation and adoption of renewable energy through technology transfer, capacity building and climate finance. Dr. Momen highlighted Bangladeshs low carbon development path with increasing emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency and underlined Bangladesh governments key initiatives including Climate Change Trust Fund, National Solar Energy Roadmap, National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan to achieve low carbon economic growth. He further added that Bangladesh was reviewing the potential to enhance its mitigation ambition to submit a quantified ambitious NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) by June 2021. Bangladesh submitted an interim NDC on 31 December 2020. John Kerry appreciated Bangladeshs excellent adaptation and mitigation efforts. He said that Bangladesh had shown amazing resilience to climate change despite many adversities. He also praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her leadership in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). While discussing about the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow in November this year, Foreign Minister Momen reiterated the significance of the promised international financial flow at and beyond US$100 billion annually to support sustainable development and energy transformations of the developing economies, and he stressed that the funding should be distributed at 50:50 ratio between mitigation and adaptation. He also mentioned at the same time that adaptation without mitigation is not a good strategy. On the issue of the national determined contribution (NDC), Foreign Minister Momen emphasized on behalf of Bangladesh as well as on behalf of the CVF that all countries need to work hard to fulfill their NDCs at the earliest. He also requested for high level presence from the U.S. government at the CVF-COP26 event, planned to be held on the sidelines of the COP26 to secure a recovery package for the climate vulnerable countries. Dr. Momen said that Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader in climate change adaptation which was possible for systematic investment in the adaption measures. He further raised the issue of loss and damage due to climatic events, including displacement of people from river erosion, sea level rise and increasing of salinity in the coastal areas. UNI MAZ RKM A man in an unincorporated area of Whittier was shot Friday evening by L.A. County sheriff's deputies responding to a call that an individual possibly wanted to hurt himself. (Los Angeles Times) A man in an unincorporated area of Whittier was shot Friday evening by L.A. County sheriff's deputies responding to a call that an individual possibly wanted to hurt himself. Deputies responded about 5:40 p.m. to the 15800 block of Creswick Drive, Sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean said. The street is in a quiet, residential neighborhood. When deputies arrived at the home, they called out to the man and said they wanted to get him some help, Dean said. The man, in his late 20s, came out of the home holding a shotgun, Dean said. The deputies ordered him to drop the weapon, but at some point during the standoff two deputies opened fire, Dean said. The man was struck once in the left shoulder and taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Friday night, Dean said. The lieutenant said it remains unclear whether the man fired the shotgun, which was recovered at the scene, or pointed the weapon at deputies. L.A. County Sheriffs Department homicide detectives, who are investigating the shooting, had yet to interview the deputies who opened fire as of Friday evening, Dean said. The standoff lasted 15 to 20 minutes before the deputies opened fire, Dean said. At least eight deputies and supervisors from the Sheriffs Department were on the scene during the standoff. No deputies were injured, the department said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 09:15:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on March 29, 2021 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) FAST is the world's largest filled-aperture and most sensitive radio telescope. Applications submitted by domestic and overseas scientists to use the FAST will be evaluated by top international experts, which Australian astrophysicist Naomi McClure-Griffiths said was good for international study and cooperation. CANBERRA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The opening of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) to international scientists could enhance collaboration of scientists from different countries, said Australian astrophysicist Naomi McClure-Griffiths. "The telescope is brand new. Many people want to use it, and there's a lot of competition to use the telescope," said McClure-Griffiths in an interview with Xinhua. "As we move into the future, I hope to be able to use it more." FAST is in southwest China's Guizhou province. As world's largest filled-aperture and most sensitive radio telescope, it officially opened to the world starting March 31. Professor McClure-Griffiths, an astrophysicist and radio astronomer, works at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the Australian National University. She told Xinhua that she had been to the FAST twice. "I was working in collaboration with a scientist who was the project scientist for FAST, professor Li Di ... and he took me to the telescope to show me how it works. And we've been discussing scientific projects that we could do there." Aerial photo taken on March 31, 2021 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) She hailed the telescope as an "amazing feat of engineering." "It's absolutely phenomenal," said the professor. "It's big beyond belief and an incredible structure." McClure-Griffiths discovered a new spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy in 2004, and was awarded the Pawsey Medal from the Australian Academy of Science in 2015. "I'm interested in how galaxies form and how they evolve, and I think the FAST, with its sensitivity as well as its ability to see fine detail, can image very small areas and will allow us to look at our own galaxy, for example, and study how it is interacting with the medium around it." She compared the FAST to a bucket, and said it was good for studying hydrogen in the universe, which is the dominant element that makes up galaxies and shows how they work. "The reason FAST is so good for studying hydrogen is because it's a very big bucket and allows you to see the really weak bits of hydrogen that are in between galaxies." FAST could also be used to discover pulsars. To date, FAST has found more than 300 pulsars, and the number is expected to reach 1,000 in the next five years. "Pulsars are very compact stars that rotate very quickly," said Professor McClure-Griffiths. "They produce just a very weak signal of radio emission. So the bigger your telescope is, the more likely you are to find them." Photo taken with a fisheye lens on March 28, 2021 shows the reflection panels of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) Applications submitted by domestic and overseas scientists to use the FAST will be evaluated by top international experts, which the professor said was good for international study and cooperation. Already established in her career, she has had collaborations with Chinese scientists, and had opportunities to visit and understand the telescope. "But for the younger scientists who don't necessarily have the collaborations yet with Chinese astronomers, this (FAST's opening to international scientists) is offering them the opportunity to access the telescope and start to build those collaborations and expand their network." McClure-Griffiths said she knew some teams in Australia that look forward to chances when they could access the FAST. "It's going to be really exciting to see the results from FAST in the upcoming years," she said. Last years winner of Mrs. World, a beauty pageant for married women, said she would return her crown after she snatched one off the head of the 2021 winner of Mrs. Sri Lanka World, claiming that she was divorced a violation of pageant rules. Pushpika de Silva had just been crowned Mrs. Sri Lanka World at a pageant in Colombo, Sri Lanka, last weekend when Caroline Jurie, the 2020 Mrs. World winner, took the stage and announced that there is a rule that you have to be married and not divorced. So, she said, Im taking my first step saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up. Ms. Jurie, 28, then pulled the crown off Ms. de Silvas head, pulling her hair in the process, before placing it on the runner-up, who was holding back tears and later gave an acceptance speech. Ms. de Silva left the stage as Ms. Jurie, the two runners-up and Chula Padmendra, a Sri Lankan model who was also onstage, hugged. Ms. Padmendra applauded and raised her fist in the air victoriously. The scuffle was reminiscent of the one at the 2009 Video Music Awards, when Kanye West stormed the stage and grabbed a microphone from Taylor Swift, who had just won best female video, declaring: Im going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. A New Jersey congressman and childcare providers and advocates held a roundtable Thursday to discuss incoming relief for the states childcare providers coming from the American Rescue Plan. U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, met with Cynthia Rice, a senior policy analyst for Advocates for Children New Jersey, Keisha Wright-Daniel and Azizah Arline, both childcare providers, and Sister Donna Minster, the director of childrens services for Camden County over Zoom. I was a young, single dad, Norcross said, and I remember having to drop my son off at seven oclock in the morning that wed literally be waiting at the door for it to open. And it just reminds me of those challenges that every parent faces, making sure they have access to childcare. The childcare relief for the state is part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, called the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11. New Jersey and its municipalities will get $10.2 billion, including $697 million in childcare relief, with funding able to be used for personnel costs, PPE, equipment and supplies, rent, mental health support and more. Cynthia Rice, at Advocates for Children New Jersey, spoke of the incoming funding as a lifeline for an industry that has been essential long before it was declared as one during the pandemic. It has always been essential. Essential to families, to children, and to our economy, she said. You ask any mother who had to cut back from or leave her job over the last year because she had no one to care for children. The childcare industry has had a lack of funding for decades, with many operators getting by on razor-thin margins, she said. The incoming federal aid will help stabilize funding and the workforce, with an increase in wages, she said. Finding qualified staff was difficult before the pandemic, Rice said. Now, its become even more of an issue for many childcare providers. The average salary for an early childcare educator in New Jersey is nearly $24,000, she said. And they keep saying the same thing: we cant find help, Rice said of childcare providers. One operator recently told her, I shouldnt have to compete with Costco, but I am, and Im losing. Keisha Wright-Daniel is the director of C.A.R.E. for ME Childrens Learning Center in Pennsauken. She said before the pandemic, her center was struggling to stay open. Roughly 90% of her families at the center receive childcare subsidies, with the subsidies not covering her mortgage, supplies, and other operating costs. When the pandemic hit, she wasnt sure her center could remain open. Funding from the CARES Act, the first federal COVID-19 relief package, wasnt enough, but helped Wright-Daniels center stay open for essential families, she said. Now, aid from the American Rescue Plan will help her pay for increased teacher wages. In order for children to receive quality care, it has to start with the teachers, she said. If you have teachers who cant pay their rent, who cant feed their own children, nine times out of 10 theyre not going to be able to fully focus on other peoples children. Sister Donna Minster, the director of childrens services in Camden County, emphasized the incoming funding as crucial for a service that cant be done remotely and is critical for working parents, and subsequently, the economys recovery. She said shes hopeful for the industrys future as it receives funding and attention. I mean, never before has childcare been on the top, top billing of anyones agenda, she said, so Im very hopeful that it stays there and we maintain the support that it needs to really be a viable business and a quality program for the development of our children. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) - As governors loosen long-lasting coronavirus restrictions, state lawmakers across the U.S. are taking actions to significantly limit the power they could wield in future emergencies. The legislative measures are aimed not simply at undoing mask mandates and capacity limits that have been common during the pandemic. Many proposals seek to fundamentally shift power away from governors and toward lawmakers the next time there is a virus outbreak, terrorist attack or natural disaster. The COVID pandemic has been an impetus for a re-examination of balancing of legislative power with executive powers, said Pam Greenberg, a policy researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Lawmakers in 45 states have proposed more than 300 measures this year related to legislative oversight of executive actions during the COVID-19 pandemic or other emergencies, according to the NCSL. About half those states are considering significant changes, such as tighter limits on how long governors' emergency orders can last without legislative approval, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, an association of conservative lawmakers and businesses. It wrote a model Emergency Power Limitation Act for lawmakers to follow. Though the pushback is coming primarily from Republican lawmakers, it is not entirely partisan. Republican lawmakers have sought to limit the power of Democratic governors in states such as Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. But they also have sought to rein in fellow Republican governors in such states as Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana and Ohio. Some Democratic lawmakers also have pushed back against governors of their own party, most notably limiting the ability of embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to issue new mandates. When the pandemic hit a year ago, many governors and their top health officials temporarily ordered residents to remain home, limited public gatherings, prohibited in-person schooling and shut down dine-in restaurants, gyms and other businesses. Many governors have been repealing or relaxing restrictions after cases declined from a winter peak and as more people get vaccinated. But the potential remains in many states for governors to again tighten restrictions if new variants of the coronavirus lead to another surge in cases. Governors have been acting under the authority of emergency response laws that in some states date back decades and weren't crafted with an indefinite health crisis in mind. A previous legislature back in the 60s, fearing a nuclear holocaust, granted tremendous powers to the governor, said Idaho state Rep. Jason Monks, a Republican and the chamber's assistant majority leader. This was the first time I think that those laws were really stress-tested, he said. Like many governors, Idaho Gov. Brad Little has repeatedly extended his monthlong emergency order since originally issuing it last spring. A pair of bills nearing final approval would prohibit him from declaring an emergency for more than 60 days without legislative approval. The Republican governor also would be barred from suspending constitutional rights, restricting the ability of people to work, or altering state laws like he did by suspending in-person voting and holding a mail-only primary election last year. A measure that recently passed New Hampshire's Republican-led House also would prohibit governors from indefinitely renewing emergency declarations, as GOP Gov. Chris Sununu has done every 21 days for the past year. It would halt emergency orders after 30 days unless renewed by lawmakers. Next month, Pennsylvania voters will decide a pair of constitutional amendments to limit disaster emergency declarations to three weeks, rather than three months, and require legislative approval to extend them. The Republican-led Legislature placed the measures on the ballot after repeatedly failing to reverse the policies Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf implemented to try to contain the pandemic. In Indiana, the Republican-led Legislature and GOP governor are embroiled in a power struggle over executive powers. The Legislature approved a bill this past week that would give lawmakers greater authority to intervene in gubernatorially declared emergencies by calling themselves into special session. The House Republican leader said the bill was not anti-governor but a response to a generational crisis. Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has issued more than 60 executive orders during the pandemic, vetoed the bill Friday. He contends the legislature's attempt to expand its power could violate the state Constitution. Legislative leaders said they intend to override the veto, potentially setting up a legal clash between the legislative and executive branches. Unlike Congress and most states, Indiana lawmakers can override a veto with a simple majority of both houses. Several other governors also have vetoed bills limiting their emergency authority or increasing legislative powers. In Michigan, where new variants are fueling a rise in COVID-19 cases, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed GOP-backed legislation last month that would have ended state health department orders after 28 days unless lengthened by lawmakers. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, contended that legislation allowing lawmakers to rescind his public health orders "jeopardizes the safety of every Ohioan. But the Republican-led Legislature overrode his veto the next day. Its time for us to stand up for the legislative branch," sponsoring Sen. Rob McColley told his colleagues. Kentucky's GOP-led Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's vetoes of bills limiting his emergency powers, but a judge temporarily blocked the laws from taking effect. The judge said they are likely to undermine, or even cripple, the effectiveness of public health measures. In some states, governors have worked with lawmakers to pare back executive powers. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, signed a law last month giving the GOP-led Legislature greater say in determining whether to end his emergency orders. It was quickly put to the test by the Arkansas Legislative Council, which decided to let Hutchinson extend his emergency declaration another two months. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also enacted a law last month giving legislative leaders power to revoke her emergency orders. Top Republican lawmakers immediately used it to scuttle a Kelly order meant to encourage counties to keep mask mandates in place. The power of the executive has been emasculated when it comes to the Emergency Management Act, Democratic state Rep. John Carmichael said. That may have very dire consequences in other circumstances and other disasters. Kelly said it will be harder to persuade people to keep wearing masks without state or local mandates. She said her orders had relieved pressure on local leaders and businesses. "Let me be the bad guy. Let me be the one who mandates so that they dont have to make those kinds of decisions, Kelly said. Republican lawmakers insisted that their push to curb the governors power is not partisan. Lawmakers said they didnt understand how broad the governors power was until she started issuing orders last spring to close K-12 schools, limit indoor worship services and regulate how businesses could reopen. House Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch said he believes the changes in Kansas emergency management law will encourage future governors to use that power sparingly and collaborate with lawmakers. Our system is set up not to give one person of any party too much power over the lives of Kansans," he said. Were supposed to have checks and balances. White House Warns Not as Many J&J Vaccines Will Be Shipped to States A lower number of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses will be shipped to states in the coming week, the White House said Friday. The lower level stems from the company working to resolve manufacturing issues at a facility in Baltimore, Maryland. A batch of vaccines at the Emergent facility late last month failed quality control, reportedly ruining up to 15 million doses. Johnson & Johnson later took charge of the plant and said more officials would be added to oversee operations and quality. Because Johnson & Johnson must get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance before resuming operations at the facility, states should expect a lower number of vaccines, Jeffrey Zients, President Joe Bidens COVID-19 coordinator, told reporters during a virtual briefing. Johnson & Johnson expects a relatively low level of weekly dose delivery until the company secures FDA authorization, he said. The company still projects being able to meet, or get close to meeting, its earlier goal of providing 100 million doses to the United States by the end of May. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in total, states will receive just 700,000 Johnson & Johnson shots in the week of April 12, a drop from 4.9 million the previous week. Some states are getting under 10,000 doses, with Alaska slated to receive just 1,900 shots. Eloina Galvez receives a one-shot dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic geared toward agriculture workers in Riverside, Calif., on April 5, 2021. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Zients noted that during one recent week, Johnson & Johnson delivered some 11 million doses. This past week, it was closer toI think it was just under 2 million doses. So thats the decrease that you talked about and thats the fluctuation that we expect until they are able to get through the FDA process and open the additional plant. So we do expect, week to week, lower levels until the plant is approved by the FDA, and those conversations are between J&J and the FDA, he added. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a separate briefing on Friday that the administration always expected that there would be a fluctuation in vaccine production and deferred most questioning to the FDA, which did not respond to a request for comment. Our role here is to take steps we can from the federal government along the way to help ensure that we are getting as much J&J supply and doses out to states, out to the American people, so that it can contribute to our recovery from the pandemic, she told reporters in Washington. Once the FDA clears the plant, Johnson & Johnson projects being able to deliver 8 million vaccines a week. The manufacturing issue is not related to the reports of blood clots forming in a small number of Americans after getting the Johnson & Johnson shot. European regulators are probing the issue. The FDA said it was aware of the reports and is still investigating them. Some 178 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States as of April 9, including 5.3 million Johnson & Johnson doses. The companys vaccine is a single-shot version. The other two that have been authorized by regulators in the United States require two doses. Strong acceptance of e-commerce and digitisation is expected to accelerate the growth of India's auto sector, advisory firm Grant Thornton Bharat said. Accordingly, India's market is estimated to grow more than '2.3X' from $222 billion currently to $512 billion by 2026. Notably, the analysis by Allied Market Research, Market Line, Reserve Bank of India and Grant Thornton Bharat showed that e-commerce portals focused on the market, such as Droom, Cardekho, and Olx have put consumers and the user experience in the spotlight helping the manufacturers attract more users. Besides, the growing base of internet and smartphone users will further boost the digital transformation, and lead to an increase in expanding the market size of the e-commerce portals. "The strong emergence and acceptance of the online channel have provided an impetus to seamless solutions, price discovery, transparency, digital real-time payments along with certification on the quality of the vehicle for the consumers in the auto sector," said Rahul Kapur, Partner, Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat. According to the analysis report, since last year, Maruti Suzuki saw a five-fold increase in sales through digital means which now stand at 20 per cent of their total sales. "These changes in consumer's buying and research preferences signal a shift for the auto sector, as Covid19 played a big part in the online channel gaining traction." "Technology-enabled innovations like secure digital payments, hyper-logical logistics, analytics-driven customer engagement, increasing consumer awareness and digital advertisements are likely to support the growth going forward." As per the report, other factors such as rising middle class and young population with increasing disposable incomes will contribute towards growing the sector. Furthermore, ease of owning a vehicle through the availability of multiple financing options as well as reduction in vehicle ownership tenure due to regulatory rules in some states, cited the report as other growth inducing factors. --IANS rv/sn/ksk/ (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.) NSW Police officers made 500 formal complaints about bullying and harassment from their colleagues in 2019 and 2020. The police security management unit which provides services to government operations such as Parliament House was the source of most complaints, followed by radio operations and the Blue Mountains command. NSW Police officers made 500 formal complaints about bullying and harassment from their colleagues in 2019 and 2020. Credit:Karleen Minney The security management unit had 28 harassment allegations made against it last year, NSW Police revealed in responses to questions on notice at NSW Parliament. The Blue Mountains command recorded 14 bullying complaints, and the Campsie command had 12 in 2020. 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. Numerous cans of Red Bull were stolen by a 33-year-old woman on repeated visits to the same outlet in Cork. Lisa Keenan of 1 St. Michaels Close, Mahon, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to these offences. Judge Olann Kelleher imposed a nine-month prison sentence which he suspended on condition that she would commit no further offences in the next two years. The offences were committed at Circle K in Frankfield on different dates in October 2020. On each of the various incidents she stole quantities of cans of Red Bull, varying from seven cans one day to 24 cans another. She also admitted shoplifting other items at Tesco Express on May 7 2020. She had eight previous convictions for theft. Shane Collins-Daly, solicitor, said Lisa Keenan had paid back compensation for the stolen property. Judge Kelleher asked why she kept stealing Red Bull. Mr Collins-Daly said, She could not give any rational explanation. The solicitor said the defendant pleaded guilty to the charges knowing she was on the steps of Limerick prison. Judge Kelleher said that he would take her particular family circumstances into consideration but would not do so again if she was before the court for other offences. Ramadan, the annual month of daytime fasting and reflection for Muslims, begins at sundown Monday. "In this blessed month, healthy adult Muslims are obligated to fast under certain conditions," said AbdurRahman Yaki, imam at the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. Those with health problems, travelers, pregnant women and children are exempt. The fast begins at dawn, following an early breakfast called suhoor. It ends at sunset, traditionally broken with sweet dates and water, followed by prayers and the evening meal, called iftar. "It is the month in which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammad as a guidance to humanity," said the imam. "It is the word of the Creator and was revealed over the course of 23 years." Ramadan is also a time of community get-togethers and congregational prayers. But last Ramadan, because of the pandemic, there was no socializing. Area mosques streamed services, lectures and prayers online. "Last Ramadan, the center was completely closed," Yaki said. "Collectively we tried to protect our lives and lives of others because many have perished." "This year, the pandemic situation has improved so our mosques have opened, with conditions and safety guidelines," said the imam. "Our elderly have spent most of their time locked at home the past year. Most have now been vaccinated. They can come with masks." Last year, local Muslims found their own ways to mark Ramadan. "We made iftar items like pakoras (fritters) or chana chat (chickpeas and potatoes) or even a full meal and delivered to family or Muslim neighbors," said Lubna Ismail-Nazir. She and her husband, Zahid Nazir, live in Latham with their three children--Saliha, a sophomore at Union College; Ammara, a senior at Shaker High; and Dawood, a ninth grader. Her mother-in-law, Nasim Akhtar, lives with them. Ismail-Nazir said last year's limitations were hard for her mother-in-law. "She missed going last Ramadan. She didn't understand what a pandemic is. It was hard for her to be home all the time and tough for her to listen to prayers on the screen." But the multigenerational household made the best of an unusual Ramadan. "It reminded us that giant iftar gatherings are not always the best way to socialize. It was the simplicity that I liked last Ramadan," Ismail-Nazir said, adding, "We worked and attended school from home so we enjoyed Ramadan and enjoyed each other. We got to focus more on spirituality." Nur Akmar Naim of Colonie echoed similar sentiments. She said before the pandemic, "we would rush to our friends to have iftar. Last year, we tried to create the same ambiance at home. We spread our prayer rugs, put up lanterns, banners, LED lights and books on Ramadan. We focused on celebrating in our family, not the larger community. We prayed together, enlightening and encouraging each other because we only had each other." Naim is originally from Malaysia. She came on scholarship to RPI, where she met her future husband Sam Diep. Born and raised in Albany, he converted to Islam. They have two children, Safiyyah Diep, 13 and Umar Hamza Diep, 9. Last Ramadan, both children were studying from home so there was no rushing to school. Safiyyah has been fasting since she was 8. Last year was Umar's first time fasting. Naim said he gets to hang a lantern--they call it his "Ramadan tracker"--for each day he has fasted. Ismail-Nazir teaches science at AnNur Islamic School in Colonie during the day and tae kwon do at Master Yangs Martial Arts Center in Latham in the evenings. She and her daughters would fast even as they attended the martial arts classes, which last year were on Zoom. Both Ismail-Nazir and Naim praised the respect from non-Muslims during Ramadan. "In the past, the other students and instructors at the tae kwon do academy would understand if we were a little slow (during Ramadan)," said Nazir. "One day we were testing and Saliha left the match saying she was fasting. Then Master Yang said, 'Nobody is allowed to get a drink. If they cant drink, no one will.'" Naim said the South Colonie School District has also been receptive. "I would contact the school and tell the teachers my children may not attend gym or just do something lighter. "The teachers have parents come in and read books. I asked if I could read the Curious George book about Ramadan. The school has been most accommodating and respectful." Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is a lunar calendar, and it begins 10 or 11 days earlier than it did the previous year. "Ramadan starts with the traditional sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan. Because of advanced technology, many now rely on calculations of the new moon," said the imam. Muslims fast to attain piety and to come closer to their creator, said Yaki. "Fasting was prescribed for nations before us -- Jews and Christians -- and is an Abrahamic foundation." God says in the Quran, "O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God." Kai loves school. I mean, sure on some days its hard to get her up and dressed for school, but Im the mom of a 10-year-old. That comes with the territory. What really matters is that shes excited to see her classmates and happy to be in class. As the mother of a transgender child, it is difficult to express what a blessing that is. Here in Austin, her teachers want the best for her, she has a great circle of friends, and our community supports her. Thats exactly what we hoped for when we moved here. In 2018 I moved my family from Pearland, and I dont want to move my children again, but Im worried that we might have to. Texas legislators are currently debating a slate of bills that would put the lives of transgender youth like my daughter at risk.HB 1399 and HB 68 would ban the medical care she needs, and would punish her doctors, nurses and family for supporting her health and wellbeing. HB 68 goes so far as to accuse families who support their transgender children of committing child abuse, subjecting to criminal penalties for supporting their children. If these bills pass, I will have to uproot our family and leave for a state with comprehensive nondiscrimination laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination against students on the basis of gender identity. Kai would have to leave their friends behind. As a mother and a registered nurse, I urge our state legislators to reject these harmful bans on best practice medical care. I also call on Congress to support a federal law that would protect the 13 million LGBTQ Americans across virtually every area of daily life. It can be hard to understand what its like to have a transgender child, especially if youve never met someone who is transgender. My daughter was clear about her gender from a very young age, but it took me some time before I was able to accept the truth. She socially transitioned right before starting kindergarten. For Kai, social transition meant affirming her gender by using a new name and pronouns and letting her wear the clothes she felt comfortable wearing. By that time, I had learned that the best way to support her was to embrace her for who she is. Unfortunately, our former school district was not on the same page. We started kindergarten right when the so-called bathroom bill was gaining traction in Texas, and anti-transgender propaganda was rampant. Our school superintendent said horrific things about transgender people, comparing their presence in public restrooms to pedophilia and polygamy. The elementary school had anti-transgender policies that prohibited Kai and transgender students from using the bathroom that align with their gender identity. The school didnt even offer guidance for staff to create an inclusive environment in which transgender students feel safe and supported. When I spoke at a school board meeting in defense of my daughter, the school board members walked out of the room. Our family started receiving death threats. Although moving to Austin was the right choice, it was also our only option. We left everything behind. The move really put us in the hole financially, and weve only just now recovered, but it was worth it because Kai is happy and healthy. Weve been able to put down roots and connect to a community where she can grow up like any other kid. Here in Austin, the city has an ordinance protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, and the school district in 2014 updated its anti-discrimination and harassment policies to include gender expression in multiple references to ensure my child and all children can thrive in a safe school environment. The school district leadership has set a standard that has shaped an entire school district to be kind and truly inclusive of all children. But these bills represent one of the most extreme political attacks on transgender people in recent memory. Not only do they display a fundamental lack of understanding of transgender children, they also ban best practice medical care for transgender youth that is backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and other leading health authorities. Medical experts treat gender dysphoria with acceptance and affirmation with counseling, non-medical social transition and prescribed medication. As a nurse, I cannot ignore clear evidence that I should affirm my daughters identity and do whats best for my patients. If these bills pass, the state could revoke my nursing license for treating patients and impose criminal penalties, including jail time, fines and malpractice charges. As a parent, I could also be threatened with prosecution. Politicians should not be deciding what is best for patients. Those decisions should be up to patients and their health care providers, in accordance with current medical best practices. I just want whats best for my daughter. I want us to keep calling the Friendly State home. Transgender children, like any children, have the best chance to thrive when they are supported and can get the health care they need. If these bills pass, there will be no safe place left for us in Texas. Well have to relocate our family once again. Shappley is a registered nurse at KIND Clinic and the mother of a transgender girl, Kai (Newser) Prince Harry will travel to the UK for his grandfather's funeral, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday. His wife, Meghan Markle, who's pregnant with their second child, won't be with him, People reports. "The Duchess of Sussex has been advised by her physician not to travel," a spokesman said. Because of coronavirus restrictions, only 30 guests will be allowed at the funeral next Saturday in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died Friday at age 99. His coffin is in the castle's Private Chapel, the Buckingham Palace statement said. A procession will take place on the Windsor grounds before the service, per Today. The guest list and eulogists will be announced in the coming days. story continues below Prince Charles and Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, have been among the queen's visitors since Philip died. The palace hasn't said whether they've been allowed to be near her, thoughin her coronavirus "bubble." The visit will be the first time Harry has been in his home country in more than a year, and the first time he's seen members of his family since the interview he and his wife gave Oprah Winfrey was broadcast in March. The couple, who now live in California, posted a message honoring Prince Philip on Friday on their website. Harry plans to follow pandemic protocols while in the UK and while traveling, per Town & Country. (Read more Prince Philip stories.) Initially scheduled to drop in June 2020, Maverick has suffered the same fate as most Hollywood tentpole releases. The film has been completed a long time ago, and for the second time in as many years, Tom Cruise is back to promoting it.Before Paramount confirmed the fresh delay, Cruise sat down for an interview for The Graham Norton Show, soon to air on the BBC iPlayer. Joined by co-star Jennifer Connelly, he talked about the movie and what it was like to work on the upcoming two Mission: Impossible films during restrictions. As expected, the topic of doing all his own stunts came up, ET Canada reports.Cruise told Graham that he was a very physical actor (hello, Captain Obvious !) and spoke about how exhilarating this was. I study and train and take a lot of time figuring it all out, he said. I have broken a lot of bones. The first time of any stunt is nerve-racking but it also exhilarating. I have been told a few times during shooting a stunt to stop smiling.For Maverick, Cruise learned to fly a real Super Hornet fighter jet, an accomplishment thats already gotten plenty of media attention. Most of the film was shot on location at a military base, with the U.S. Navy reserving the right to veto the footage before it went to editing.While Cruise is always up for the challenge of doing his own stunts, not the same can be said about his Maverick co-star Connelly. In fact, she says in the same interview, she would have probably passed on the project if shed known she would be required to actually fly.When I signed on for the movie there was no flying for my character, she explains. I then found myself taxiing on a runway in a tiny plane with Tom and he said, Have you been on a plane like this before? Have you ever done any aerobatic flying before? I started to get very nervous when he said, It will be very graceful and very elegant, and thats how I found out I would be up in the P51 with Tom flying it!It wasnt just Connelly that had to learn to fly a fighter jet for the movie. According to producers, Tom had every member of the principal cast undergo the same kind of training he did, so they would film in flight , as opposed to on a closed stage, against a green backdrop. Schuylkill County school districts are planning to use the money from the latest federal COVID-19 aid package to offset pandemic-related expenses, upgrade building circulation systems and improve learning. Of the nearly $5 billion allocated to schools across the state, $80.14 million is targeted to schools that serve students in or near Schuylkill County. Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 Executive Director Gregory S. Koons, who meets weekly with county superintendents, said they are using their allocations to purchase items such as desk partitions and hand sanitizer, but also to upgrade heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, as well as air filtration systems. The key to our discussions lately has been maximizing face-to-face instruction and improving existing learning, he said. Koons also noted the effort to ramp up summer learning programs to help students who have fallen behind academically due to the pandemic. The funding, which comes from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden in March, is designed to help districts return students to the classroom and equitably expand opportunities for students in need. About $4.5 billion is going to Pennsylvania public school districts and charter schools, with the remaining $500 million going to the state Department of Education. School districts must use at least 20% of the money to address learning loss from the pandemic and support the social, emotional and academic needs of underrepresented students, including students from low-income families, those with disabilities and English language learners. The rest can be used for professional training, technology, cleaning supplies, summer and after-school programs, mental health services and other expenses. State Department of Education spokeswoman Kendall Alexander said some of the money will be used to help schools that previously didnt receive Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funding, such as career and technical schools and intermediate units. As they work toward the June 30 deadline for fiscal year 2021-22 budgets, officials from a sampling of districts offered input on how they expect to use the money. Funding use Pottsville Area School District Acting Superintendent Jared Gerace said administrators are discussing with the school boards finance committee how to allocate the money. He expects that process to continue for at least a month. The districts $5.5 million in funding represents about 14% of its $40 million budget. Schuylkill Haven Area School District Superintendent Shawn Fitzpatrick said the $1.5 million the district received, about 7.5% of its $20 million budget, will be put toward programs focused on student academic recovery, including summer programs, extended school year programs and credit recovery programs. Also, the district hired a kindergarten teacher this year and will hire another one next year, as well as an elementary school special education teacher. District officials also plan to use the money to invest in new HVAC systems, including one at the elementary school costing approximately $500,000. Noting a $1.7 million budget deficit, Fitzpatrick said, Were doing everything in our power to use the money to balance our existing budget and not burden taxpayers with a tax increase. Shenandoah Valley School District Superintendent Brian K. Waite said the district will target its $4.9 million as directed by the government, to include: Addressing the needs of low-income students, children with disabilities, students learning English, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and foster care youth. Purchasing supplies to sanitize surfaces, making facility repairs and improving air quality in buildings. Planning for activities during long-term closures including providing meals and technology for online learning. Implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs. Overall the goal is to enhance students learning and the school facility to reduce the risk of virus transmission, environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs, he said. While grateful for the funding which represents about 26% of the districts $19 million budget Waite cautioned that it is a one-time payment and the district remains underfunded. As a result, our children often dont get the resources they deserve to fulfill their potential, he said. Underfunding is a long-term problem, and it needs a long-term solution, giving students those resources each and every year they are with us. At Saint Clair Area, initial discussions have been focused on improving education technology and updating educational materials, said Thomas McLaughlin, superintendent. We will also utilize the funds to further supplement the safety protocols we have in place, McLaughlin said. Still in the middle of its budget process, no firm decisions have been made, he said. We also understand that we have until 2024 to spend the funds, so we will be evaluating both short-term and long-term needs when planning how the funds are spent, McLaughlin said. Gillingham Charter School in Pottsville, which was awarded $445,971, will upgrade the school to align with health and safety guidelines, create more learning spaces to meet social distancing guidelines and increase staffing and programming for student learning and remediation, Executive Director Nicolle Hutchinson said. We are very grateful for the aid package, she said. Gillingham students have been learning virtually since last March. This relief money might just cover what we need to safely return to in-person learning and to provide academic support for any learning loss and social-emotional needs related to the pandemic, Hutchinson said. The funding represents about 10% of the schools $4.6 million budget. At Tri-Valley, the combination of the three federal COVID-19 aid distributions represent approximately 9.2% of the annual budget, said Superintendent Mark D. Snyder, Ed.D. It's anticipated the money will be used over the course of the next four school years "as we identify revenue loss and permanent cost increases moving forward," he said. Adjustments add up Districts have had to adjust their learning plans with cases of COVID-19 and resulting quarantines, something Koons said is ongoing and quite the task. And while many schools have had fewer students and staff in-person for much of this school year, the costs are still evident, he said. Districts have had to cover the cost of additional staffing, modifying classrooms and technology. (The federal funding) really does help as the districts need to be ready to respond to COVID cases and maximize student safety, Koon said. It adds up. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - April is Child Abuse and Prevention Awareness Month and many groups hope to raise awareness of this growing issue. Susie's Place in Terre Haute hosted their first-ever Donut Drive-Thru. Each person received a free donut just for stopping by. The donuts came with stickers that included a QR code. "When you scan that code, you're linked to our pledge. We are asking people to be the pledge, to be the voice, to be the voice that ends child abuse," Emily Perry from Susie's Place said. The code also links you to more information about prevention and education about how to prevent child abuse. You can also call the Indiana Child Abuse Hotline to report concerns. That number is 1-800-800-5556. Learn more about Susie's Place here. Learn more about signs of child abuse here. Heritage officers from Queenslands Environment Department should proactively advise communities which worthy character homes facing development assessment could be heritage-listed, residents are suggesting to government. Toowong residents, led by retired Queensland Health deputy director-general John Scott, have put forward a concept where a more proactive Environment Department could help communities identify character homes early, so submissions can be forwarded to a better-resourced Queensland Heritage Council. Behind Montague Road at West End, Brisbane, where contemporary units are bordering older tin-and-timber character homes. Credit:Tony Moore There should be some process where people [heritage experts] could say either Yes, that property falls within our understanding of properties that need to be listed or they could do a Castle and reply, Tell them youre dreaming, Dr Scott said. I think someone from the Department of Environment and Heritage could do that. Book talk to focus on why we hate each other ADVERTISEMENT The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Saad Abubakar III, on Saturday commended the inter-religious harmony in Kogi. The Sultan gave the commendation when he inaugurated a 1,800 seat capacity Anyigba Central Mosque built by former Governor of Kogi and Industrialist, Ibrahim Idris. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ultramodern Anyigba Mosque in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi has an auditorium, offices, 30 male and 50 female toilets. It also has a school and was built on a 1.3 hectare of land. Speaking at the inauguration, the Sultan and Head of the Islamic Supreme Council urged well to do individuals to see building Mosques as a way of moulding spiritual characters of upcoming generations. He said that building of Mosques also helped to boost the faith of adherents and urged Muslims to use the forthcoming Ramadan to pray for strength and enduring peace in the country. The Sultan commended the initiative of the facilitator of the mosque, saying that it attested to the fact that the edifice must have been conceived over time and not an idea that began now. He described the overwhelming presence of Christian clergymen at the inauguration of the mosque as unprecedented. The Sultan said inter religious harmony was a way of sustaining peace in the country and urged that the Kogi example where Christians and Muslims were united in worship be emulated by all Nigerians. Facilitator Speaking earlier, the former governor and facilitator of the mosque project, said that his charity and community development projects were part of his modest way of showing appreciation to God for His love and countless blessings. Mr Idris explained that his involvement was not because he had too much money but because, God has been good to me all through my life. I know I cannot pay Him for his superlative mercies to me. I feel there is no better way of thanking him than to provide a place where others can come and worship Him, he said. The former governor said that he had built Churches and Mosques in Idah, Ejule and Abejukolo even before he became governor. He listed some evidences of Gods love in his life to include the miraculous survival of three of his children in a 2006 plane crash that claimed many lives. Also, he mentioned his narrow escapes from many accidents and his business and political successes. In fact, if I have to start counting Gods blessings and love for me, there will be no space to contain them. Meanwhile, Anthony Adaji, Bishop of Idah Catholic Diocese, who led the clergymen drawn from all Christian denominations across Kogi East Senatorial District, commended the former governor for his decision to advance the worship of God. (NAN) BYRON, Minn. - The Byron High School robotics hub is just getting started - when it comes to showing off its innovative skills. The Cy-bears Bryon Robotics team presented at this year's virtual STEM advocacy day, showing support for STEM programs in Minnesota. Each year brings a new challenge. The team must design, build, and program a robot in just 6 weeks. In a six week time period we go from just seeing what the challenges are - to finding a strategy - designing a robot for the strategy - building a robot and testing it - and finally bringing it to our competition up in Duluth, Cy-bear Adam Hassler explains. This years competition was canceled due to COVID-19. This year's robot is programmed to shoot balls at a large hoop and drive around obstacles at high speeds around ob The team hopes to bring more interest to robotics programs. Oliver Cook says, We can maybe have a larger population be doing STEM- as much as basketball or football - I think that's the end goal. The team is hopeful that next year's competition will look different - and they'll be able to compete in person. Ally Deyle adds, Our Byron robotics hub is really first starting - and we're just starting to realize what we can do with it - and we're really looking forward to trying to bring in more teams and more of our community into it. Advertisement The 173rd running of the Grand National was run in front of deserted, almost silent Aintree grandstands save for a few hopeful owners, grooms and staff. But what Rachael Blackmore achieved on Saturday will be shouted loud around the sporting world. The famous old race has thrown up some amazing and romantic results, but Blackmore wrote one of the most remarkable chapters since it was first run in 1839 when she became the first female jockey to win the race on 11-1 shot Minella Times. It was only in 1977 that amateur rider Charlotte Brew became the first female jockey to take part in the National on Barony Fort. And only in 1982 that a woman jockey, Geraldine Rees, finished the race for the first tine. Going into Saturdays race 17 different female jockeys had ridden 31 starters in the marathon steeplechase with the third-place finish of Katie Walsh on Seabass in 2012 the best result. Asked if she could believe what she had achieved seconds after crossing the line, Blackmore said: I dont feel male or female I dont even feel human! Female jockey Rachael Blackmore made history by winning the Grand National on Saturday with a thrilling finish Jockey Blackmore celebrates her Grand National glory alongside trainer Henry De Bromhead by holding the trophy aloft Blackmore, seen here attending the RTE studios for 'The Late Late Show' in Dublin in March 2019, becomes the first female to win the Grand National and claim the most prestigious title in horse racing Prior to the huge victory Blackmore had walked the Aintree track with her partner, fellow jockey Brian Hayes (right) Blackmore seen with fellow jockey Patrick Mullins at Aintree in 2019, two years before she would go on to win the sport's biggest race and make history in the process History in the Grand National@rachaelblackmor becomes the first female rider to win the 750,000 Randox Grand National aboard Minella Times @AintreeRaces A 1-2 for @HenrydeBromhead too pic.twitter.com/RRIsIdKFjA Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 10, 2021 WHO IS RACHAEL BLACKMORE? Ask anybody with knowledge of the racing world about Blackmore and they will reliably inform you she likes to let her riding do the talking and while comfortable in front of the camera usually gives the impression she would prefer to be elsewhere. But the 2021 Grand National was about one woman who has made a remarkable career journey and now finding a quiet corner away from the spotlight might be difficult for a few days. The daughter of a dairy farmer and a teacher, Blackmore is not from a racing family. Her younger sister is a lawyer and her older brother a graphic designer. Initially, Blackmore wanted to be a vet before ending up studying equine science in Limerick. Back then she wanted to be an amateur jockey not believing it was feasible to turn professional. She didnt do that until she was 25 and even then it was a move done in hope of turning a trickle of rides into a respectable flow. A chance link up with Minella Times trainer Henry de Bromhead that was suggested by Eddie OLeary, racing manager to his brother Ryanair boss, Michael was a turning point. Momentum has arrived in surges throughout Blackmores career, and she receives plentiful support from her partner and fellow jockey Brian Hayes. She is currently 10 winners behind injured reigning champion Paul Townend in the Irish Jockeys championship. Advertisement The bare facts of the result are that Blackmore and Minella Times beat their Henry de Bromhead-trained 100-1 stablemate Balko Des Flos six-and-half lengths, with Ted Walsh-trained Any Second Now beaten eight-and-a-quarter lengths in third, and Willie Mullins-trained Burrows Saint beaten just over 27 lengths in fourth. The Irish whitewash was even more crushing than that. Blaklion, the Dan Skelton-trained sixth, was the only British-trained horse in the first 11 finishers. For De Bromhead, it was an extension of a remarkable few weeks after he trained the 1-2 in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, and also won the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Put The Kettle on and Champion Hurdle with Blackmore-ridden Honeysuckle. But it is Blackmore, who was having only her third ride in the race, who will steal all the headlines. She rode six winners at last months Cheltenham Festival to become the first female rider to be the meetings leading jockey. But the Grand National victory takes the profile of the 31-year-old from Tipperary into a different stratosphere. Going into the race, Blackmore had admitted that like any pony-mad youngster she had dreamed of riding in the National. Afterwards she said: This is the Aintree Grand National. Im completely blown away. Minella Times was unbelievable, he jumped fantastic, I dont think he missed a beat anywhere. This is a massive deal for me personally, not the fact Im a female. The thing that hit me when I crossed the line was that Id won the National, not that Im the first female to win the National. Im just delighted. Virtually everything that Blackmore has touched recently has turned to gold. Even though the Grand National has the reputation as the most unpredictable race in the world, there almost seemed an inevitability that she would crack it. Minella Times, owned by JP McManus, was always with the leaders racing towards the inside. He was in fifth going out on the second circuit and crossing the Melling Road between the third-last and second-last fences, it was clear the Blackmore dream could become a reality. Long-time clear leader Jett had come back to the pack and the only horse who looked to be going as well as Blackmore on Minella Times was Patrick Mullins on 2019 Irish National winner Burrows Saint. But his stamina had given way by the last fence and when Minella Times jumped the final obstacle better than Balko Des Flos, victory was all but sealed even though Blackmore took nothing for granted. When I hit the rail (at the Elbow on the run-in) and I heard I was four lengths in front, I knew he was going to gallop to the line, she said. But we all know what can happen on the run-in here. When I crossed the line, I dont know how I felt its incredible. Despite his personal success, De Bromhead heaped a lot of credit on his jockey. The trainer said: Its all down to Rachael obviously, she was brilliant on him. Blackmore comes from humble beginnings in County Tipperary and was introduced to racing from a young age. Pictured in the weighing room during Ladies Day of the Randox Health Grand National Festival 2019 Blackmore was the winner of the National Hunt Award and collected her award in December 2019 Initially, Blackmore wanted to be a vet before ending up studying equine science in Limerick after deciding that it was not feasible to turn professional as a jockey - which she would later do so at the age of 25 THE NATIONAL RESULT 1 Minella Times (R Blackmore) 11-1 2 Balko Des Flos (A Coleman) 100-1 3 Any Second Now (M P Walsh) 15-2 4 Burrows Saint (P W Mullins) 9-1 Advertisement It was a super ride, she hardly left the rail. Arent we so lucky to have her, they broke the mould after her. Shes brilliant. Favourite Cloth Cap raced with the leaders until an error four from home saw him quickly fold with jockey Tom Scudamore, who told the stewards his mount had had a breathing issue, pulling him up shortly after. Trainer Jonjo ONeill said: Tom said he was grand, then he gurgled. He did the right thing pulling him up. There was one equine fatality, The Long Mile, who fractured a hind leg and was later put down. The race was not as memorable for Britains leading female jockey Bryony Frost, who was taken to hospital after a heavy fall at the 20th fence on Yala Enki. The other female jockey to ride in the race, Tabitha Worsley, finished 14th on Sub Lieutenant. Blackmore likes to let her riding do the talking and while comfortable in front of the camera usually gives the impression she would prefer to be elsewhere. Finding a quiet corner away from the spotlight might prove difficult for a few days. Blackmore led home a one-two for trainer Henry de Bromhead in the iconic race at Aintree Minella Times, priced at 11-1, never looked threatened in the charge to the finish to take victory in convincing fashion The 31-year-old Irish jockey timed her run to perfection to claim a historic victory on the biggest stage in horse racing Blackmore holds the Grand National Handicap Chase trophy after winning on Minella Times But the 2021 Randox Grand National was about one woman who has made a remarkable career journey. The daughter of a dairy farmer and a teacher, Blackmore is not from a racing family. Her younger sister is a lawyer and her older brother a graphic designer. Initially, Blackmore wanted to be a vet before ending up studying equine science in Limerick. Back then she wanted to be an amateur jockey not believing it was feasible to turn professional. She did not do that until she was 25 and even then it was a move done in hope of turning a trickle of rides into a respectable flow. A chance link-up with De Bromhead Michael was a turning point. Momentum has surges in Blackmores career. She is 10 winners behind injured reigning champion Paul Townend in the Irish Jockeys championship. The way she is going at the moment, you wouldnt rule out her winning that too. Relive all the action from the Grand National with Sportsmail's KISHAN VAGHELA here. Some things are constants in a chaotic world: Death, taxes and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which has played at Portlands Clinton Street Theater every Saturday night for 43 years. So, on March 15, 2020, when the theater was forced to close due to coronavirus restrictions, one man was determined not to break the streak. For the next 54 Saturdays, Nathan Williams came to an empty theater to screen the film, sometimes with a friend, sometimes by himself. I watched it alone. I watched it during the snowstorm, said Williams, who serves as emcee for the theaters Rocky nights. I was in a position to keep a flame burning, to keep a torch lit. Im just a guy holding a torch for the city of Portland, for all the weirdos, for all the people who dont have a safe place to call home, were home. Lani Jo Leigh, owner of Clinton Street Theater since 2012, said it was important for the community to know that the theater was still waiting for them. Its just kind of a silly little thing, but it was still a sense of hope, she said. This is what normal is. Normal is we play Rocky Horror on a Saturday night, and thats whats happening. Now, as theaters begin to reopen after more than a year, it was fitting for Rocky to be the first film to return to the Clinton Street Theater on April 3. The Clinton Street Theater opened around 1914 and is one of the areas oldest movie houses. Thanks to various grants, loans, fundraisers, donations and a lowered rent from her landlord, Leigh has managed to pay the bills over the past year while the theater has remained shuttered. On one hand, I would get really depressed and upset and anxious, especially in the beginning, but then people just kept coming and saying, You mean so much to us, this place, Leigh said. I would think I dont have the money this month and somehow, someone would just send it. It just felt like a miracle all year. I felt like Jimmy Stewart in Its a Wonderful Life. Under Leighs ownership, the Clinton Street Theater has hosted documentary screenings, burlesque shows, lectures and community theater. But it may still be best known as the home of weekly Rocky showings, which have taken place since 1978. The Clinton Street Theater has one of the longest running, unbroken streaks of weekly Rocky screenings in the world. Seeing the cult film at the Clinton has been a rite of passage for generations of Portland prom goers, bachelorettes, tourists, night owls and self-proclaimed weirdos. Williams first saw Rocky in 1999, as a teenager, at the Clinton Street Theater. That was where, under the marquee, a woman dressed as a pirate asked if he was a virgin meaning a first-time viewer of the film. She put a V on my cheek, smacked my ass and pushed me into The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I fell in love, Williams said. (With the movie, not the pirate.) And not just the movie, but the experience around it. The Rocky Horror Picture Show, released in 1975, is a campy musical tale of a straight-laced couple who become stranded at the castle of a cross-dressing, mad-scientist alien. The movie has had the longest theatrical run in history not because the plot makes sense, but because of the audience participation around the film. At midnight screenings of Rocky, movie goers yell at the screen, throw rice and toast, and dance The Time Warp along with the cast on screen. Since 1987, members of the Clinton Street Cabaret have acted out Rocky on a stage below the screen at the Clinton Street Theater, mimicking the film in whats called a shadow cast. Rocky has always been a place for the weird, quiet kid and the loud extrovert and the person whos just looking for something fun to do and the theater kids and LGBTQ kids, said Loren Thompson, the current president of the cabaret. Its where all the misfits come to find family. For Thompson, who joined the cabaret in 2017, Rocky was a support system during a journey into sobriety and recovery. One of the rules of the Cabaret is that everyone must perform sober. I had to kind of separate myself from my whole life and try to find new places to be, Thompson said, and I met this whole new family all at once. They took me in super quickly with so much love and support. So Rocky has been really important to me, amongst other things, for that reason. It may have literally saved my life. Im not really a church-going person, but sometimes it feels like going to church, Thompson said. Its my community. I go to feel like Im part of something thats bigger than myself. Without Rocky, I dont know, everythings a little less sparkly, said Haley Skinner, who has been a member of the Rocky Horror cabaret for two years, and in January 2020 was cast in her dream role as Columbia. Here, Skinner prepares for her role from her bedroom in Portland. April 3, 2021 Beth Nakamura/StaffThe Oregonian Last Saturday evening, another cabaret member, Haley Skinner, smeared an Elmers glue stick across her eyebrows. Without Rocky, I dont know, everythings a little less sparkly, she said. Literally. But not tonight. Skinner applied the glue, then the foundation and finally the glittery eyeshadow to complete her character makeup. The shadow cast typically performs on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the month, but the cabaret isnt yet returning because of COVID-19 restrictions. That didnt stop Skinner from wearing her costume to opening night. When it first came out in the 1970s one of the things that was so revolutionary about it was that it was this representation of a gay man on screen who was out and proud and was the most powerful person in the room, Skinner said. And that was a really liberating and empowering thing for young queer people to see. A senior at Lewis & Clark College, Skinner transferred to Portland from a school in Ohio because of the Clinton Street Theaters weekly Rocky showings. I looked up Portland, Oregon and I looked up the Clinton Street Cabaret and I decided, yup, Im going to move here and Im going to join this cast, she said. And I did. Shes been a member of the cabaret for two years, and in January 2020 was cast in her dream role as Columbia. She only performed in a handful of shows before the theater closed. Its been pretty sad to not have this thing I was so excited about, she said. But also, at the end of the day, I still have this group of people in my life. Its not about the stage time or the role, its definitely the people of the cabaret that Im going to remember the most. On April 3, the first 50 customers returned to the theater, filling less than a quarter of the seats. For now, thats the largest audience the 222-seat theater is permitting inside. Coronavirus restrictions require theaters to close by 11 p.m., so the movie will start at 9 p.m. (midnight, Greenwich Village time.) Rocky opening night was populated by a handful of virgins, but the majority of the audience were die-hard fans like Beth and Zola Honey, who first met at a Rocky showing at The Clinton in 2002. The now married couple showed off their matching lips tattoos, which commemorate the film. It means the world is somewhat coming back to normal, Beth said of opening night. Its a release valve for all those pent-up tensions that weve had over the past year. As the film began, the couple was among the first and loudest to yell vulgar jokes at the screen, the majority of which arent fit to reproduce in a family newspaper. This is normal. This is what Portland does on a Saturday night. For now, it looks a little bit different, with a mostly empty theater and an empty shadow cast stage. But soon, our world will do the Time Warp again. IF YOU GO: The Rocky Horror Picture Show is shown at 9 p.m. Saturdays at The Clinton Street Theater, 2522 S.E. Clinton St. The pre-show and virgin games begin at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online at cstpdx.com. Attendees are invited to use and throw props, with the exception of water guns or open flames. Under COVID-19 precautions, audience members must stay seated or standing in front of their assigned seats. -- Samantha Swindler, sswindler@oregonian.com, @editorswindler 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). In 2005, Jason Wangs father founded Xian Famous Foods in Flushing, which, by then, had slowly become one of the largest satellite Chinatowns in New York City. The mission was simple: Wangs father would promote the food that he had known in central China, especially when Chinese food in America seemed to be only a watered-down version of Cantonese cuisine. He simply wanted to make a small living for himself while sharing his food with people who would enjoy it, and, at that time, he thought only Chinese immigrants like him would enjoy it, Wang said of his father. Over time, the shops success thanks in no small part to an appearance by the late Anthony Bourdain led to an expansion. Seven more chains opened up in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Along the way, the restaurant received accolades, even earning a glowing review in Zagat for its banging hand-pulled noodles and insanely good cumin-lamb burgers. Related: Asian American Business Leaders and Public Figures Denounce Atlanta Shootings, Condemn 'Deliberate' Attacks Last year, however, operations came to a screeching halt. As the pandemic began to take shape in the U.S., restaurants and bars were forced to shut down indoor dining. While many struggled to continue to stay alive, none were, perhaps, more heavily impacted by the global health crisis than Asian-owned businesses. Not only have these establishments dealt with financial losses, theyve also become unfairly stigmatized as carriers of Covid-19. In the weeks following news of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, Asian-owned businesses across the water especially in the U.S. began to feel the ripple effects of growing xenophobia and racism. Between February 2020 and April 2020, approximately 233,000 Asian-owned small businesses in the country closed, according to a UCLA study. By April of that year, half of the nations Chinese restaurants had shut down as a result of consumer prejudices and misperceptions, Restaurant Business Magazine further notes. We closed all stores in March 2020 due to Covid and didn't reopen some of our stores until around July 2020, Wang recalled. And as much as Wang had been aware of the increased violence and hate against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, the issue didnt hit home until two of his employees were assaulted in the summer of 2020. According to Wang, both incidents occurred near public transit one employee was attacked on his way to work, while another was attacked on her way home. My immediate reaction was to first make sure my staff is okay but [I was] feeling rather powerless in that I really can't do much to stop this type of thing from happening, Wang said. I was reluctant to speak up about it, and I am still a bit reluctant these days, especially as we've been seeing more and more attacks despite increased awareness, which leads me to believe that many are copycat attacks. As a result, the Xian Famous Foods CEO, like so many other Asian shop owners, has been forced to adjust his business to account for rising hate. We shortened our business hours to close earlier (8:30 p.m. for all stores, instead of 9:30pm or 10:30pm for stores in the past) and also opted to close on Sundays, as there are less people around due to less commuters [and] less potential [of] help in case of anything bad happening, he said. Chinatown businesses struggle to recover amid surge in violence Nowhere has the effect of racism been more apparent than in Manhattans Chinatown, a once bustling neighborhood that has, more often than not, attracted tourists from around the world. In the weeks leading up to the U.S. outbreak, the marked decrease in foot traffic has significantly hurt the areas restaurants, many of which rely on out-of-towners to stay alive. As of this writing, approximately 17 restaurants and 139 ground-floor stores including Chinatown staple Jing Fong Restaurant have permanently closed, Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Business Improvement District / Partnership told the New York Times in an interview last month. At the same time, locals in the area have been randomly attacked. In March, a 66-year-old Asian man was punched in the face by an unidentified man who had allegedly yelled at him. The month before, a 36-year-old Asian man was stabbed in Chinatown while walking past a federal courthouse. The economic impact, combined with the uptick in physical violence, has left Asian-owned businesses on edge. We were very vocal that people were avoiding Chinatown specifically, especially given that other neighborhoods were still seeing many diners, Barbara Leung, who oversees marketing and operations at Nom Wah Tea Parlor (which has been in business in Chinatown since 1920 and has opened locations in surrounding neighborhoods) said. I mean if you take a look at our Nolita store, which is right by SoHo, business was steady there so it wasn't so much that people were not eating Chinese food, but rather, they were not coming down to the neighborhood. Leung added that Nom Wahs flagship store in Chinatown suffered between a 70% and 80% decline in revenue year-over-year since the pandemic occurred. The restaurant has also been forced to take precautions to ensure all of its employees are safe, regardless of the location they work. We listen to our employees to make sure they know we are here for them, Leung said. With the Nolita outpost, we either carpool home or make sure that staff are following through with the buddy system. And for the Chinatown restaurant, it's evident in our hours we open at noon, when the streets are a little busier, and we close at 8 p.m. to make sure that folks aren't traveling home too late. In light of the challenges, Asian-owned businesses, especially in Manhattans Chinatown, have tried to support one another. We see this especially within the small businesses we've partnered with; they aren't just thinking of themselves and their well-being but the well-being of their neighbors and fellow small business owners too, said Jennifer Yu-Tam, who co-founded the grassroots organization Welcome to Chinatown. And in many ways, this is also why we think Chinatown will survive these tough times. The neighborhood has battled difficult endeavors many times before (9/11, Hurricane Sandy, as a couple examples). And yet, it still stands strong; it's incredibly resilient. Since its inception last year, Welcome to Chinatown has distributed over $225,000 that it has raised to 45 businesses to date. The money comes during a particularly stressful period. In a survey conducted by the organization, 88% of shop owners in the neighborhood revealed that they had experienced a 50% decrease in business before New York City was shut down. This year, in response to recent headline-making violence notably the Atlanta shootings that left 6 Asian women dead and stagnant foot traffic, 84% of respondents added that they, like Wang and Leung, have had to reduce their business hours. I've been asking myself where we go from here and how we, as Asian Americans, carry on, Yu-Tam admitted. The best I've come up with is to channel this fear, anger and worry into action by investing further into the incredible work we're doing within Welcome to Chinatown, whether it be helping the elderly in our neighborhood secure their COVID vaccine appointments or working with our small businesses to continue to amplify their stories. Asian business owners fight for tolerance and acceptance For Milk and Cream Cereal Bar co-founder Cory Ng, the marginalization of Asian-owned businesses is an ongoing issue that has long affected Chinatown. While the neighborhood has attracted tourists, it has also brought in a new wave of young non-Asian residents and business owners who are drawn to Chinatowns allure but care little about its backstory. As a result, the gentrification of the area has masked the struggles that locals in the area have long faced, especially when xenophobia and racism come into play. Now, Chinatowns hot, Ng said. All the yuppies, they want to come and live in this area. Right? Its kind of cool to go to an underground fucking Chinatown bar or Chinatown karaoke, and theyre kind of like, Oh, this shit is cool. But [for] us, it wasnt like that. It wasnt like this cool, trendy thing to do. We did it because this is what we [had to do.] These are our businesses. The fact that Chinatown once a bustling tourist destination and inspiration for so many non-Asian business ventures (including Chinatown Market) has become a ghost town amid the current pandemic is an irony not lost on Ng. You know, a lot of our jobs [have been] lost, he said. Our community is in fear. Chinatown holds everyone down with the food, culture and fun you guys come to us for that. So, I think its wack that weve been feeling [the pandemic] the longest and were still feeling it now. In the fight for acceptance, some Asian-owned businesses are turning the violence into an unmatched passion to further educate the public. Seeing the racism and xenophobia happening over the past year has made us reflect more on our identity as Asian American people and as an Asian American business, Cindy Ongko, one of the founders of the Asian-inspired dessert bar Kitsby (located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn), said. When we first started our business, we were honestly afraid of being too Asian, that using exotic flavors would be unwelcoming to some. But with everything that's happened, we feel that if anything, these flavors are the core of who we are as Kitsby and as the people behind Kitsby. Driven by a stronger purpose, Kitsby also recently held a competition featuring fellow Asian American bakers so that it could help promote their businesses. The best thing that we can do right now is to purchase from other Asian American bakers around us local bakers who don't necessarily have the means or the facilities to create products that they can actually highlight and show their community, co-founder Amy Hsiao said. Similarly, Gold House, a collective that empowers Asian American businesses, is responding to the Atlanta shootings by expanding its Gold Rush accelerator program and connecting female Asian American entrepreneurs with top venture capitalists for investment. In a time when API [Asian Pacific Islander] entrepreneurs particularly women are hurting the most, it is doubly imperative to invest in initiatives like Gold House's Gold Rush accelerator which has made unprecedented inroads in advancing API founders, said Julia Gouw, a Gold House partner and chairwoman of Piermont Bank, in a press release. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Dubai-based marhaba, dnata's airport hospitality brand, is revealing a brand-new design and experience at one of its flagship Dubai International Airport lounges after an extensive renovation. Travellers can expect an entirely new marhaba offering at Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 at the launch of the newly-designed lounge experience, set to be rolled out from Dubai to marhaba airport lounges across the world. Now complete and ready to welcome passengers travelling out of Dubai, this new lounge serves as a proof of concept for the new 'marhaba global lounge experience', including a variety of features set to appear across its portfolio of international lounges. A highly-anticipated, bespoke feature for the Dubai market will be offered through the introduction of a second, enhanced PDL Salon & Cafe for the city offering a unique salon experience for travellers. Shahab Al Awadhi, Head of marhaba Global, commented: "After opening our first airport lounge in Dubai in 2000 at Dubai International Airport, marhaba has grown from strength to strength, now managing 12 airport lounges at eight airports in six countries." "The refurbishment of one of our original marhaba lounges in Dubai represents the marhaba of the future, with a customer experience and hospitality focused approach to its design and layout. Its six, distinct new spaces have been designed to suit the needs of every type of traveller, offering something for everyone." The new marhaba airport lounge experience at Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3, Concourse B follows the new 'marhaba global lounge experience ', which offers at its core six, distinct new areas to feature in marhaba lounges, worldwide. The new areas Lounge, Studio, Dining, Play, Relax and Flex are designed to meet the needs and wants of travellers across the world, with the aim to create memorable travel experiences. An overview of the areas and anticipated new features, include: 1. Lounge Visually this area is in red, and provides guests with the opportunity to pause and relax after a warm welcome at reception, with adjustable furniture, an artificial fireplace as a focal point, and offering plenty of charging points. An area to sit back, relax, read a book, or work in a more casual way. 2. Studio Visually this area is in green, and offers the perfect spot to catch up on work and ensure travel time is productive. The styling resembles a cafe and provides plenty of light, charging points, cosy capsules where guests can insulate themselves while taking a call, or to have some solo thinking time. 3. Dining An important part of marhaba's Arabian hospitality, the dining zone is based at the heart of the new lounge design and offers guests nourishment and refreshment, day or night. There are a variety of table options available, ranging from large dining tables and benches to smaller and more intimate booths, ideal for families. 4. Play Providing a warm welcome for families, the 'Play' zone is located next to 'Dining' so that parents can enjoy their meal while still being able to watch their kids play. 5. Relax A tranquil area for travellers to relax, the 'Relax' zone is a quiet place with comfortable recliners where sleeping is easy. 6. Flex Whilst the new 'marhaba global lounge experience will provide consistency across lounges worldwide, 'Flex' is an area which can be repurposed for the particular needs and wants of travellers in each local area, anything from a yoga studio to a salon. In Dubai, expect a brand-new salon from PDL, a Dubai-based brand renowned for its services, experience and delicious coffee. The new 'Flex' zone of the marhaba lounge at Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 will be based on the original PDL Coffee Co & Barbershop, a home-grown brand located at the heart of the Al Safa area. The first cafe and spa under one roof to open in Dubai PDL is expanding its existing offering at the marhaba lounge to include services for both male and female travellers. Staying true to its original approach, customers can expect a unique salon experience, a range of services and the chance to taste its popular coffee. Essa Al Marzoogi, CEO of the Gainsborough Group, commented: "We've tried our best to replicate the original PDL experience with in the airport environment, and guests will now be able to enjoy our male/female serviced salon whilst waiting for their next flight. Travellers have a choice between manicure/pedicure's, shaves, haircuts, a blow-dry, even shoulder and head massages, and can book their preferred service in advance. I believe there is no other lounge at present providing salon services with beautiful views of the runway." "The new marhaba lounge is fantastic, with its new design, layout, experiences and location offering travellers the perfect mix. We look forward to providing great services and hope to enhance the travel experience for people flying out of Dubai International Airport." After opening its first lounge outside of Dubai in 2005 in Zurich, marhaba has taken a focus on expanding its global reach to better serve its international customer base. Al Awadhi said: "Dubai is an established global hub for travel and we are proud to be a part of its growth story, and of the expansion of its home-grown travel services internationally. As the base and foundation of marhaba airport services, including our local Meet & Greet and global lounge offerings, we look forward to revealing our brand-new lounge design at Dubai International Airport with Arabian hospitality and innovation in focus, and taking this internationally, as we have done successfully throughout the course of marhaba's history." "We revealed a first look at the 'marhaba global lounge playbook' in 2019 with a new, consistent look and feel along with outstanding service to be provided across all of our destinations, and we are delighted that our customers can now experience this first-hand where the marhaba story began, in Dubai, and in time, worldwide." - TradeArabia News Service Washington: Google on Monday announced new steps to help struggling news organisations including an end to a longstanding first click free policy to generate fresh revenues for publishers hurt by the shift from print to digital. The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news. I truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause, said Google vice president Philipp Schindler. Our users truly value high quality journalism. Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organisations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribinga standard known as first click free. This will be replaced by a flexible sampling model that will allow publishers to require a subscription at any time they choose. ALSO READ: Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL specs leaked ahead of official launch We realize that one size does not fit all, said Richard Gingras, Googles vice president for news. This will allow news organisations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a paywall for some or all content. Gingras said the new policy, effective on Monday, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result. The reaction to our efforts has been positive, he told a conference call announcing the new policy. This is not a silver bullet to the subscription market. It is a very competitive market for information. And people buy subscriptions when they have a perception of value. Google said it is recommending a metering system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions. News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson, whose company operates the Wall Street Journal and newspapers in Britain and Australia, welcomed Googles announcement. If the change is properly introduced, the impact will be profoundly positive for journalists everywhere and for the cause of informed societies, said a statement from Thomson, a fierce critic of the prior Google policy. ALSO READ: Google celebrates 19th birthday with 'Surprise Spinner' doodle Protesters holding a banner as they march during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay, April 10, 2021. Three ethnic armed groups that support Myanmars anti-junta protest movement killed 14 police officers and burned their station to the ground in a dawn raid on Saturday in northern Shan state, witnesses told RFA. The slain policemen included the chief of the Naungmon police station south of Lashio, the largest city in northern Shan state, a region near the border with China where ethnic fighters have been in conflict with the Myanmar military for decades. Fourteen policemen, including the patrol station chief, were killed, and seven others were injured, said an aid worker who spoke to RFAs Burmese Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The entire police station was burned down. The officers families are sheltering in local monastery, and all dead bodies are now at Lashio military hospital, said the relief worker, who helped retrieve the bodies of the dead patrolmen. They were lying dead here and there in the compound, and we had to collect the bodies and prepare them for transport to Lashio, he added. The attack was launched at dawn by the Three Brotherhood Alliance of the Arakan Army (AA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a local resident said. We heard gunfire between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., said a Naungmon villager, who did not want to be named for security reasons. The morning raid sparked fierce fighting in Khar Shwe village outside Lashio as the military regime sent helicopters to attack the ethnic rebels, a local resident said. The military used helicopters in the morning fight in supporting firepower against the rebel forces. From the hills we could see the fighting from far away, said the witness. We heard the rebel troops had pulled out of the area from Mawtaung village and military forces were chasing after them, he said, describing the area of the police station attack as quiet by Saturday evening. Red paint splashed on a road by protesters, representing blood spilled during demonstrations against the military coup, in Taunggyi in Myanmar's Shan state, April 6, 2021. Credit: Kanbawza Tai News via AFP Piles of bodies in a pagoda Troops and police had set up road blocks on highways into Lashio -- a city of 130,000 people populated by Shan, the countrys second largest ethnic group, majority Burmans and Chinese -- while security forces were checking all cars and motorcycles near Lashio City Hall Saturday afternoon. A spokesman for the TNLA, Lt. Col. Mai Aik Kyaw, told RFA that problems with local telephone lines had left the group unable to confirm details of the attack and subsequent fighting. Meanwhile in the central city of Bago, the death toll rose to 80 from a ferocious assault by on Friday by security forces with rifle grenades and machine guns as they cleared barricades built by anti-junta protesters, leaving piles of bodies in pagodas and on school grounds of the ancient city, protest leaders said. "They did not provide medical treatment to the injured. The number of deaths due to bleeding has increased, and total fatalities have risen to more than 80 today, the protester said. A Bago resident said bodies remained piled up at a monastery in the citys Ponnazu ward. Yesterday we were able to bury only one body that could be pulled out," he said. The rest have yet to be released. Yesterday, he said we asked the monks to help retrieve the bodies, but were refused, he said. There were an estimated 32 boys behind the first protest bunker. They are still missing, the Bago resident added. Other witnesses told RFA that the military had confiscated 57 bodies Friday. RFA could not independently verify this and the military junta spokesman could not be reached. Two civilians were shot dead on the spot by the military troops in Tamu, in the Sagaing region Saturday, and shootings went on all day, driving frightened residents to flee across the nearby border to India, a man who fled to the frontier border told RFA. I am sure that a police officer and a civilian protester were killed, said a resident of Tamu, where in the absence of internet connections people used Indian-made SIM cards for internet data until data services from cards were also cut off. Ceasefire at risk? There have been daily protests in Tamu since the early days of the military coup, and a least four civilians have been shot dead by troops. Local media reported last week that attacks by local residents in Tamu, a city of 44,000 people, had killed 14 soldiers in late March and early April. In Tamu and Kalay, another Sagaing city, some protesters have been defending themselves against violent crackdowns from soldiers with traditional homemade guns, which invited more brutality from the junta. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Thailand-based Myanmar NGO, says that as of Saturday, 701 people have been killed and a 3,012 people have been detained by the military regime. According to an RFA tally, more than 650 protesters had been killed by violent crackdowns by troops and police since Feb 1. The Three Brotherhood Alliance said on March 30 that they might let a unilateral cease-fire with the Myanmar Army lapse if the junta that overthrew the countrys elected government did not stop killing and arresting civilian protesters. If not, our Three Brotherhood Alliance will have to support and cooperate with our own oppressed brethren and multiethnic people who are waging the Myanmar Spring Revolution in self-defense against the Myanmar Army, they said last month. Mau Aik Kyaw told RFA on Friday that with no let-up in attacks on civilians that have now killed about 650 people in nearly 10 weeks of protests, top leaders of the three groups are now discussing how to respond. Civilians in Rakhine state near the border with Bangladesh in western Myanmar, where a cease-fire in a two-year war between the alliance member the AA and Myanmar military has been in place since November, say they fear that fighting could resume without a truce extension. If the military tension worsens, the people will suffer again, said Bakka, a social worker in Rathedaung in Rakhine state, where the war since late 2018 killed more than 300 civilians and displaced more than 200,000. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Paul Eckert. Lychee farmers in northern Hai Duong Province take their produce to a market. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh. Hai Duong and Bac Giang, Vietnam's lychee growing hubs, have processed numerous entry applications from foreign traders wishing to buy the products two months prior to harvest. There are 167 Chinese merchants who have registered with northern Bac Giang Provinces Luc Ngan District to enter Vietnam in May and June to buy lychees from the district, as of April 6, according to the district Peoples Committee. The district is waiting for approval from the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security to allow Chinese merchants to enter Vietnam. It is expected to welcome a total 500 Chinese merchants, who have been buying lychees from local farmers for many years, in the next few months. Local authorities will arrange cars to pick up Chinese merchants at border gates, with all merchants to be tested for Covid-19 and quarantined for 14-days at centralized quarantine facilities before visiting lychee farms. Luc Ngan District estimates that the total lychees harvested this year would reach 120,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 41 percent. Vu Viet Anh, deputy director of Hai Duong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, many foreign traders have registered to enter Vietnam to buy lychees from the northern province. He said foreign importers, especially those from Japan, used to send their experts to Vietnam to supervise processing and packaging of lychees. This year, however, the Japanese have shifted to supervising through surveillance cameras due to the impact of Covid-19. Chinese importers had already set up packaging firms right in Hai Duong provinces Thanh Ha District and Chi Linh City years ago, he added. "The province welcomes merchants and enterprises to buy the provinces lychees, however, foreigners must comply with Covid-19 prevention measures," he stressed. He expected the province to harvest around 45,000-52,000 tons of lychees this season. Hai Duong Provinces total area for lychee cultivation is 10,000 hectares, of which 3,300 hectares are in Thanh Ha District, 3,600 in Chi Linh Province, and the rest in other localities. Burma UN Special Envoy on Myanmar in Bangkok to Discuss Crisis With Thai Officials UN Special Envoy for Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener / AFP UN special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener, who arrived in Bangkok on Friday, will meet Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and representatives of UN agencies as part of her efforts to seek a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. The Thai Foreign Ministry said Schraner Burgener will begin her series of meetings after completing a seven-day alternative state quarantine. Burgener received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine prior to her arrival in Thailand. It said her presence in Bangkok is part of her plan to visit a number of countries in the region to exchange views and perspectives on the situation in Myanmar with a view to exploring possible solutions to the crisis sparked by the military coup on Feb. 1 and which has seen hundreds of pro-democracy protesters killed by Myanmar security forces. Schraner Burgener, who earlier served as Swiss ambassador to Thailand, was appointed special envoy on Myanmar by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in 2018. Her mandate is to support the reform, reconciliation and democratization processes in Myanmar, as well as to address violence in Rakhine State and the issue of displaced Rohingya. As a neighboring country, Thailand is deeply concerned about the situation in Myanmar and the impacts it has had on the people of Myanmar. We are committed to cooperating and engaging constructively with the international community, including through the UN and ASEAN, in order to find a peaceful solution for Myanmar and its people. We hope that this visit to the region by the special envoy can contribute towards possible solutions, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. AFP quoted UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying that the junta in Myanmar has not yet given Schraner Burgener a green light to visit the country. The goal is to resume face to face discussions, he said. She is ready to visit Myanmar any time, said Dujarric, recalling that with the support of the UN Security Council she wants to meet detained civilian leaders, including President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This article was first published by Thai PBS World. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regime Shores Up Ties With Two Powerful Northern Ethnic Armies Chinese-Made Drones Reportedly Monitor Anti-Regime Protests in Myanmar At Least 14 Police Killed as Ethnic Armed Groups Attack Outpost in Myanmars Shan State In a tragic incident from Karnataka, miscreants allegedly set fire to a public library that had over 11,000 books. That included 3000 copies of Bhagavad Gita, as per a report in The New Indian Express. The library is run by a 62-year-old daily wage labourer named Syed Isaaq. For the last 10 years, he has provided free access to books for the residents of the Rajiv Nagar and Shanti Nagar areas in Mysuru. TNIE What happened? At 4 am, a man residing next to the library informed me that there was a fire inside. When I rushed to the library which is just a stone's throw away distance, I could only see them being reduced to ashes, he said. Most of the books were in Kannada. Wikipedia The library had over 3000 exquisite collections of Bhagavad Gita, over a 1,000 copies of Quran and Bible besides thousands of books of various genres which I sourced from donors, he added. Police have filed an FIR under IPC 436 and the hunt is on for the culprits. Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita often referred to as the Gita, is a 701-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata (chapters 2340 of Bhishma Parva), dated to the second century BCE. It is considered to be one of the main holy scriptures for Hinduism, the world's oldest and the third largest religion. New Delhi: Heavy rain lashed Hyderabad on Monday evening that took lives of three people in rain-related incidents. According to the reports, a physically-challenged man and his four-month-old son died after debris of a retaining wall collapsed on their thatched house at Naidu Nagar, Banjara Hills at around 5:30 PM. In another incident, a 35-year-old man was electrocuted at Hussainialam after he touched a road-side parked van which came in contact with an electric pole. 67.6 mm of rainfall was recorded in the city from around 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM and the rainfall was mainly due to the monsoon, a Met official said. Read more: AAPs objection to Delhi Metro fare hike ignored: Saurabh Bharadwaj The downpour led to inundation of several low-lying areas and traffic came to standstill due to water-logging at different places in the city. "In view of heavy rains, the entire force of the Hyderabad City Police including force from law and order police stations, traffic police stations, Task Force, Armed Reserve, Home Guards, Special Branch and other wings have been alerted to be in readiness", a release from the CP office said on Monday night. They have been instructed to take an active part in flood-related emergencies and have been directed to monitor the situation throughout the night and attend all emergencies in coordination with other government departments, it said. (With inputs from PTI) Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has told SNTV that the British capital is "ready to step in" to host more Euro 2020 games as well as the world heavyweight unification bout between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. London's Wembley Stadium is already set to host seven Euro 2020 games across June and July, including both semi-finals and the final. On Friday UEFA announced that eight of the twelve host cities had commited to hosting games with fans but gave Munich, Rome, Bilbao and Dublin an extended deadline of April 19th to declare whether they would also be able to. If the third wave of Covid-19 in their countries prevents them guaranteeing fan attendence, other London venues such as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium could come into contention to pick up games. Khan said the UK's vaccination programme, which has seen over half of its adult population receive a first dose, could pave the way for London to safely host more fixtures with fans. The English FA have told UEFA that the 90,000 capacity Wembley should be able accommodate 45,000 fans for the semi-finals and final, while the group games and last-16 fixture could see a maximum of 22,500 fans attend. Khan also refused to rule out Wembley as the venue for the heavyweight unification bout between Brits Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury this July. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said the fight will only financially work in the UK if it can be staged at a full Wembley Stadium, meaning locations such as Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Qatar and China had pulled ahead in the bidding, offering site fees to attract the bout to their countries. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) JPEC Excited to Move, Phone App Gaining Popularity By Bill Hughes PADUCAH - Jackson Purchase Energy is getting closer to moving into their new building, and has a new way to pay your bill, too.JPEC Vice President of Human Resources, Communications and Member Services Scott Adair told West Kentucky Star they've outgrown their current building, which was built around 1969-70, and everyone is looking forward to relocating.Adair said, "We are working on the inside, we're putting in furniture, we're putting in the flooring and things of that nature. On the outside you'll see us painting and paving, really getting down to a lot of those end items that will finish that project up."They plan on opening the new building to the public on June 7. He said they plan on having an open house at some point in the near future.Bill payments can now be made from anywhere nationwide at several stores, using the JPEC app on a smart phone."We are now taking cash payments only at CVS, Walgreen's, Dollar Generals and Family Dollars, any of those locations throughout the nation," Adair said. "If you have that JPEC app, there's a bar code on there. Scan that bar code and you can make a cash payment that will go right to your bill."He said customers will begin seeing the bar code on the bill they get in the mail, probably in the next month or so.The app has several useful functions and has slowly gained popularity. Adair said members can monitor their usage, pay their bill, look at old statements, report an outage or check the outage map. Those who have registered their cell number in the app can also send a text message to report an outage. That information is immediately seen by utility employees, including linemen.Adair said, "All of those channels are gaining in popularity and people are really seeing the convenience in being able to business that way."Jackson Purchase Energy is a cooperative that serves approximately 30,000 member-owners in six counties: Ballard, Carlisle, Graves, Livingston, Marshall, and McCracken. Cai Cui Port in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long. A lack of deep-water ports and warehousing has seen transport costs surge and Mekong Delta agriculture product competitivity drop, experts have said. "Logistic costs accounts for 30 percent of product price, which is an unreasonably high proportion. In Thailand the figure is 12.5 percent, and the average global figure, 14 percent. This hinders Mekong Delta agriculture products from competing with equivalents from Thailand and China," said Pham Tien Hoai, chairman of Hau Giang Business Association. Ngo Tuong Vy, deputy director of Chanh Thu Import-Export Limited Company, specializing in agriculture products, said: "Air transport fees for fresh Vietnamese dragon fruit to Japan is $6 per kilogram." She said fresh fruit need to be well-preserved after harvest so it could be exported by sea to reduce costs. Mekong Delta contributes 90 percent of the countrys rice exports, 65 percent of seafood exports, and 70 percent of fruit exports. It has a total seven ports, of which the largest is Long An International Port in southern Long An Province. The latter can accommodate cargo ships with a capacity of 70,000 tons. The second largest is Cai Cui Port in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, which can handle 20,000 ton cargo vessels. It also has 57 inland waterway ports. Experts say the Mekong Delta waterway traffic system is of low quality, limiting the capacity of cargo ships operating in the area. There are only two ways to reach Hau River ports via either Dinh An and Quan Chan Bo estuaries. However, the Dinh An estuary has not been dredged for years and can only handle cargo ships of 3,000 tons. The Quan Chanh Bo estuary can handle cargo ships from 7,000-10,000 tons, but does not have breakwaters, meaning vessels can only operate at low speed to prevent waves from affecting nearby aquaculture projects. Thus, ships normally take a day to pass through the 26-kilometer Quan Chanh Bo estuary. Heads of export firms said Mekong Delta lacks deep-water ports for container ships serving export, besides logistic centers, warehouses and irradiation facilities. Agriculture products from Mekong Delta have to be shipped to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and the southeast region of Vietnam to be exported. However, ports in HCMC and the southeast are usually overloaded, upping warehouse costs and export duration. "The Government needs to upgrade the Quan Chanh Bo estuary to ensure it could handle high capacity cargo ships (up to 20,000 tons)," said Vo Thanh Phong, CEO of logistic firm Hau Giang Maritime Service Limited Liability Company. He added the Cho Gao channel in Tien Giang Province needs to be dredged and upgraded for barges with capacities of over 3,000 tons to operate, which would reduce transportation duration and costs. The Ministry of Transport has proposed the government build a deep-water port in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang that can handle cargo ships with capacities of 100,000 tons to meet regional export and import demand. Be honest. Are you still washing your grocery shopping? Along with bulk-buying loo roll, it always seemed like Covid overkill to me. But I know a fair few people (even doctors) who, back in the early days of the pandemic, did do it, just to be on the safe side. My mums shielding neighbours took to quarantining their post for two days to allow for decontamination. Meanwhile, canny cleaning firms seized on the opportunity and began offering special coronavirus services that came complete with a sterilisation certificate. In our office, the cleaning staff are still being tasked with wiping down every photocopier, fire extinguisher and lift button with disinfectant on an endless loop. No surface is too obscure. Public toilets were closed many still are and Tesco even banned giving out plastic cutlery in its panic to reduce the perceived Covid risk of multiple people handling the same things. Is any of this really necessary? The answer is probably not. Or, at least, not if youre trying to avoid the virus. I know a fair few people (even doctors) who, back in the early days of the pandemic, did wash their grocery shopping, just to be on the safe side, writes Barney Calman Overwhelmingly, evidence suggests the virus isnt generally transmitted via doorknobs, forks or toilet seats. So at the very least, all this hygiene theatre is likely to be a waste of time. But, at worst, it could be creating a false sense of security and distracting people from the real risks. So how did we get here? A year ago, when Covid hit, there was the idea that it could be picked up from surfaces. Someone infected with the virus could cough or sneeze and spray virus-laden droplets on to surfaces or their hands and touch things. And we could pick up the infection by coming into contact with them. There was even an NHS-backed advert depicting the virus as dayglow paint smeared over a mobile phone, door handle and coffee cup. But scientists who know about these things now agree this isnt where the true risk lies. Its still prudent to keep your hands clean, of course, but our understanding of Covid has moved on and evidence seems to suggest it is airborne. When a person has Covid they exhale the virus. This is the case whether they have symptoms or not and up to half of people who are infected are asymptomatic. If people get too close having a long conversation face to face, for instance they can directly breathe each others air, and transmission can occur that way. But once in the air, the virus can remain suspended, floating around, like smoke. If outdoors, or in a well-ventilated space, it blows away pretty quickly. But indoors, viral particles can build up, quickly filling a space. Some studies have found these clouds can travel 20ft or more. If other people are in that space, they breathe in the virus and become infected. Overwhelmingly, evidence suggests the virus isnt generally transmitted via doorknobs, forks or toilet seats (file photo) Almost all so-called superspreader events outbreaks in which multiple people are infected at the same time are believed to have occurred this way, according to numerous studies. As a side point, this airborne model of transmission is why, if youre in an office or other workplace that has installed plastic screens between desks, they are doing absolutely nothing to protect you. Not a thing. Its also why, as we revealed last week, social-distancing measures can be futile if youre in a poorly ventilated space. While catching Covid from surfaces or objects collectively known in scientific terms as fomites is theoretically plausible, it just doesnt seem to happen. Early studies looked at how long the virus survived on surfaces, with some suggesting that microbes could linger for up to six days. But these involved dolloping unrealistically large amounts of Covid-19 on to things in lab settings. Recent research, in more real-life-like settings, suggests the virus doesnt really survive on fomites for long, or at least not in any amount likely to cause infection. Writing in The Lancet in August, New Jersey-based microbiologist Professor Emanuel Goldman said that while disinfecting surfaces and the use of gloves in hospital settings was a reasonable precaution, fomites in non-medical settings did not pose a risk. He called for a more balanced perspective to curb excesses that become counterproductive. Mask-wearing is key: it can reduce how much virus is exhaled. But ventilation is also vital. Pictured: file photo of a person wearing a face mask in September last year To translate, all this feverish cleaning of surfaces needs to stop. Part of the problem is that the UKs authorities have been slow to pick up on all this. The Governments Health and Safety Executive, which advises businesses, still states, right at the top of its guidance: Coronavirus can transfer from people to surfaces. It can be passed on to others who touch the same surfaces. Keeping your workplace clean reduces the potential for coronavirus to spread and is a critical part of making and keeping your business Covid secure. Similarly, Public Health England states: Surfaces and belongings can be contaminated with Covid-19 when people with the infection cough or sneeze or touch them. Increased frequency of cleaning of general room surfaces reduces the presence of the virus and the risk of contact. And as recently as January, the Prime Minister was warning: This disease is not just passed on by standing too near someone in a supermarket queue, but also by handling something touched by an infected person. University of Leicester virologist Professor Julian Tang said it was clear to many experts early on that Covid was transmitted via shared air. He added: Weve been lobbying the World Health Organisation to recognise this for a year, but its like trying to change the direction of an elephant. He suggested there was a tendency among public health officials to downplay the risk of airborne transmission, at least partly due to the idea of invisible clouds of infectious particles being scary. But last week, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its advice, admitting airborne transmission was a far greater risk than it had previously stated. It admitted there was less than a one in 10,000 chance of catching Covid from a surface, and this could be mitigated by simple hand-washing. To translate, all this feverish cleaning of surfaces needs to stop. Part of the problem is that the UKs authorities have been slow to pick up on all this (file photo) Normal soapy water, rather than disinfectant, was enough to kill off any possible Covid on hands, or on a surface, should it actually be there. The CDC also warned there had been a spike in cases of poisoning and injuries since the start of the pandemic from wrongly used cleaning products. And dermatologists I know all say theyre seeing a tsunami of new cases of hand eczema in people who appear to be using alcohol-based hand gel every five minutes when theyve not even left the house. Over the past few weeks, this newspaper has highlighted a number of Covid safety measure that were widely introduced at the start of the pandemic but are now outdated. Temperature checks were described by a number of leading scientists as useless and for show the machines are not only inaccurate, but theyre proven to be unable to weed out Covid cases. And social-distancing measures, while well-meaning, fail to protect people from airborne transmission of the virus. Weve never said those who implement these things arent trying their best. But sometimes, this isnt the same as doing the best and, if we are to successfully steer our way out of this pandemic, it will require a hand on the tiller at all times. As new evidence emerges, businesses must react. So what else can be done that will keep us safe? Mask-wearing is key: it can reduce how much virus is exhaled. But ventilation is also vital. To its credit, the Health and Safety Executive does now require employers and business owners to open windows or install mechanical ventilation fans and ducts that bring in fresh air from outside. Dermatologists say theyre seeing a tsunami of new cases of hand eczema in people who appear to be using alcohol-based hand gel every five minutes when theyve not even left the house (file photo) The problem is, many indoor spaces were not designed with maximising fresh air circulation in mind, which may pose a problem later this year as pubs and restaurants begin serving inside. Public health expert Trish Greenhalgh has long been warning that the air, not surfaces, is the main risk with Covid. She said: If youre looking to catch Covid, the best place to be is indoors with the windows closed, with a lot of people and with some heavy breathing or singing going on. If that sounds like your local pub, gym, band practice, board meeting, church, synagogue or playdate, and you dont want to catch Covid, then shift out of doors as much as possible for as long as possible. If you must meet indoors, wear well-fitting masks to catch the virus and keep the air clean. Third, open the windows. Prof Greenhalgh also suggest keeping tabs on airborne Covid infection risk with a carbon dioxide monitor. They dont pick up the virus itself, but can indicate if the air quality is reaching stagnant, risky levels in which Covid could well be transmitting. If the reading goes above 700, its time to open the window much wider or leave the room, she added. Does washing everything actually do anything? It might help people feel better, says Prof Tang. But it wont stop you getting Covid-19 if youre sharing air with someone whos infected. Maharashtra has received 1.10 crore doses of anti-COVID 19 vaccines so far, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday amid reports that the state is facing an acute shortage of the doses which is hampering its vaccination drive. Speaking to reporters, Javadekar said apart from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajashtan are the two other states that have received more than 1 crore doses. He also said over 1,100 ventilators will be made available for Maharashtra, which is worst-affected by COVID-19 pandemic, in the next three days. He said that oxygen supply has also been routed from the industrial production units. "As per the statewide report till 6 pm on Friday, Maharashtra has received 1.10 crore doses. There are only three states that have received over 1 crore vaccine doses in the country. They are Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajashtan," Javadekar told reporters after attending a review meeting with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar here. When asked about the blame game between the Centre and the state government over the availability of vaccine doses, the BJP leader said this is not the right time to do politics. "When we will have to do politics, we will give a proper answer to that allegations. There is nothing greater than the interest of the people in the current situation," he said. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses of vaccine. The state government had feared that the healthcare system will be overwhelmed if the cases continue to rise. A shortage of ventilator beds is being reported from various parts in Maharashtra, which has 5,34,603 active cases at present. Acknowledging the shortage of ventilators in Maharashtra, the Information and Broadcasting minister said, "I held a detailed discussion with concerned officials and ministers. 1,121 ventilators will be made available for Maharashtra in the next three to four days. 700 ventilators would be coming from Gujarat and 421 from Andhra Pradesh". Javadekar also said that oxygen supply has also been routed from the industrial production units and the Centre would help the state to get this oxygen supply. He said the Centre would provide funds for the manpower required for testing, tracking, tracing and treating patients from the National Health Mission. "We consider this (pandemic) as a national calamity. All the states and people belong to us, so attention and solutions will be provided to those areas where the situation is critical," he said. Javadekar said more than 30 teams were sent to Maharashtra for reviewing the pandemic situation in various districts and they are considering measures to tackle the prevailing situation. "In Pune also, a team under IAS officer Kunal Kumar has arrived and held a meeting with officials," he added. Maharashtra's cumulative caseload reached 32,88,540 on Friday, while the death toll stood at 57,329, as per the state health department. The state has been recording more than 55,000 cases over the past few days. In a bid to tackle the spike in cases, the state government had imposed various restrictions, including night curfew which will remain in force till April 30, besides weekend lockdowns from Friday night to Monday morning every week. Also read: India's COVID-19 vaccination drive hits roadblock; Punjab, Rajasthan, Maha report vaccine shortages Also read: Private vaccination centres in Mumbai to remain shut till Monday; govt ones to operate Washington and Berlin agree that Ukraine needs support amid new provocations from the Russian side, and also consider it necessary for Moscow to immediately cease its military buildup. Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Ned Price said this in a statement following a call between the U.S. secretary of state and the German foreign minister on April 9, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine against unilateral Russian provocations along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, in occupied Crimea, and along Ukraines borders," the Department of State noted. The parties also stressed the need for Russia to immediately cease its military buildup and inflammatory rhetoric. In addition, the secretary and the foreign minister discussed China and Afghanistan. As Ukrinform reported, the United States, other Western countries, as well as the EU and NATO, have come out in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity against the background of Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine, as well as the pulling of Russian troops to the Ukrainian border. ish On Friday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order establishing a 36-member commission to study the possibility of Supreme Court reform. Biden devised this approach on the campaign trail to avoid taking a position on court expansiona move that frustrated staunch advocates of reform but smartly defused the question as an election issue. Oddly, however, the president has not asked the commission that he has now formed to give him any actual recommendations on the extremely pertinent question of how to deal with a judiciary that Republicans have captured through unprecedented partisan obstruction. Instead, he asked his commission to produce a report analyzing the history and legality of proposed Supreme Court reforms, as well as the principal arguments for and against these proposals, which he will then use to chart a course forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whatever of the merits of this strategy as an intellectual or political exercise, it is not a recipe for real Supreme Court reform. In forming this commission, the main thing Biden has done is kick the can down the road when Democrats do not have the luxury of time: If they lose either house of Congress in 2022, they may not regain unified control of the government for years. Yet the president has given the commission six months to tell us what we already know: Adding seats to the Supreme Court by legislation is perfectly legal, which means it is a political question rather than a constitutional one. The commission already gives us some indication where Biden falls on the political question of court reformspecifically, that hes not willing to do it. Advertisement The first red flag here is the commissions task: not to produce action items or recommendations, but to study issues that have already been studied to death. Congress repeatedly altered the size of the Supreme Court throughout the 19th centurysometimes for overtly partisan purposes: In the 1860s, for instance, Republican lawmakers added (and subtracted) seats to dilute the influence of Southern Democratic justices. Biden has asked the commission to look beyond expansion to other potential reforms, including the length of service and turnover of justices (which means term limits) and the Courts case selection, rules, and practices (which means requiring or prohibiting the court from hearing certain cases). It is unclear whether the commission can add a meaningful gloss to any of these topics, which have already been debated in law reviews and op-ed pages and, increasingly, Congress itself. Advertisement The commission is conspicuously missing the leading advocates of court expansion on the left. Which leads to a second red flag: the commissions membership. Biden has filled the panel with brilliant legal minds, including co-chairs Bob Bauer (White House Counsel under President Barack Obama) and Cristina M. Rodriguez (Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Obama). A majority of its members are undoubtedly progressive. Yet they are also the upper tier of the legal elite; almost all of them, for instance, either attended or taught at Yale or Harvard. As Congressman Mondaire Jones pointed out in a statement on Friday, many Americans will rightly be skeptical of a commission composed almost entirely of people protected from the real-life consequences of the Supreme Courts right-wing extremism. Moreover, the commission is conspicuously missing the leading advocates of court expansion on the left. Where are academics like Yale Law School Professor Samuel Moyn, who recently co-authored a memo for Take Back the Court asserting that Congress can add seats to the lower courts through reconciliation? Moyns argument marks the kind of creative thinking on this issue that liberals desperately need. Yet the members of Bidens commission, while undoubtedly talented, have not delved into the nuts of bolts of court reform and emerged with practical solutions. And plenty of people have! Look at Steve Vladeck, who has put forth reforms that would shine light on the Supreme Courts shadow docket. Or scholars like Stephany Rose Spaulding and Carol Anderson, who support adding justices to SCOTUS. As far as I can tell, not a single member of the commission appears to have stuck their neck out by publicly endorsing real, specific court reform. This is not necessarily a knock against them, but it is a sign that the president avoided academics who are in the trenches of this battle. Advertisement Advertisement The inclusion of several conservatives further indicates that this body will not light a path forward toward genuine reform. Jack Goldsmith, a renowned Harvard Law professor and former assistant attorney general, may provide some good-faith insights. But what about Adam White, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who occasionally takes to Twitter to deride transgender people as delusional and refuse to respect their pronouns? (Incidentally, there arent any transgender members on the commission, even though no community is facing more vicious attacks in state legislatures, which are passing laws destined to wind up at the Supreme Court.) And what about Thomas Griffith, a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit? Griffith stepped down in 2020 so Donald Trump could replace him with a partisan hack. He authored a preposterous 2014 decision abolishing tax credits for most Americans who purchase insurance through Obamacares exchanges, sending the health insurance market into a death spiral. (The Supreme Court rejected his reasoning.) It is hard to see how the inclusion of a very conservative judge who tried to sabotage Obamacare in an act of egregious judicial overreach will provide useful food for thought to this commission. Advertisement Advertisement But maybe thats the point. Looking at the membership and goals of this commission, it seems obvious that Biden does not really want to pursue court reform. Rather, he appears eager to scrape the issue off his plate by tossing it to (and I say this lovingly) a bunch of eggheads who have spent their careers marinating in the fantasy that the Supreme Court is apolitical. Its a nice dream, and if I had the option, I wouldnt want to wake up from it, either. But if you are a pregnant teenager in Texas terrified that SCOTUS will let the government veto your abortion, or a same-sex couple in Indiana scared that SCOTUS will let the state dissolve your marriage, or a transgender child in Arkansas worried that SCOTUS will let lawmakers cut off your medical care, you do not have that luxury. These are the voices this commission needs to hear, but they are not the voices that often reach the ivory tower in which this commission is ensconced. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed decree No. 152 on the transfer of the An-148-100V aircraft and Mi-8MTV-1 helicopter from the State Management of Affairs to the sphere of management of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, the presidential press service said. "To agree with the proposal of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine and the State Management of Affairs on the transfer of the An-148-100V aircraft (serial number 01-09) and the Mi-8MTV-1 helicopter (serial number 804M01), which are under the control of the State Management of Affairs in the sphere of administration of the Defense Ministry," according to the decree, released on the presidential website. This decree comes into force on the day of its publication. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 15:19:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- At least four persons died and four others were injured in firing during violence amidst elections in India's eastern state of West Bengal, a local cop confirmed on Saturday. The firing took place in the Cooch Behar district of the state, where polling of votes is in-progress during the fourth phase of Assembly elections. According to the local cop, the security personnel belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) opened fire on people indulging in violence. "Political workers belonging to two different parties began fighting over an issue related to the ongoing elections. The violence escalated, even as the security personnel tried to intervene. Some miscreants started attacking the security personnel too. After repeated requests to stop the violence, the security personnel opened fire at the miscreants, resulting in death of four persons," added the lady cop while speaking to Xinhua over phone from the local police control room. West Bengal has 294 Assembly constituencies. Four more poll-phases are to go in the state, while elections results are to be announced on May 2. According to officials the polling started amid tight security and adequate arrangements and would go on until 6:30 in the evening on Saturday. Authorities have put in place special facilities including mandatory sanitization of the polling stations, thermal checking of voters at the entry point. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had decided to hold the elections in eight different phases in West Bengal considering some violence-prone areas in the state. Enditem Chancellor Rishi Sunak was under fresh scrutiny last night over the design of the Government's pandemic loan scheme that gave access to collapsed financier Greensill Capital. Greensill, which was advised by David Cameron and run by Lex Greensill, was accredited to provide loans of up to 50million to struggling firms under a multi-billion-pound taxpayer-backed emergency strategy overseen by the British Business Bank. But it also wanted access to a larger company scheme which provided up to 1billion to Blue Chip companies, including British Airways, Rolls-Royce and Burberry. Under fresh scrutiny: Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces claims that he pushed officials to explore a proposal to redesign a pandemic loan scheme, so that collapsed financier Greensill Capital might avoid losses from loans that did not get repaid It was alleged this weekend that Treasury officials considered redesigning the Blue Chip scheme so Greensill might avoid losses from loans that did not get repaid. A report in The Times said Sunak, who was lobbied by Cameron as a paid Greensill adviser, pushed officials to explore a proposal over a three-month period. The British Business Bank is a state-owned lender responsible for overseeing the Government's smaller emergency loan schemes. Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has dispatched a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday to the bank's chief executive, Catherine Lewis La Torre, demanding to know how Greensill became involved with lending just months before it collapsed and what changes were made to ease its access to the scheme. Greensill was one of just three non-bank lenders allowed to hand out loans to struggling firms under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), which is 80 per cent backed by taxpayers if borrowers default. The Chancellor said last week the Treasury had 'no role and was not involved in the accreditation decision for Greensill Capital'. It said the CLBILS was 'run independently' by the British Business Bank and the 'Treasury has no involvement in standard accreditation decisions'. Demanding answers: Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has written to the British Business Bank to ask how Greensill became involved with lending just months before it collapsed The decision to accredit Greensill Capital in June last year came just as one of its biggest customers, Liberty Steel, was running into trouble. Greensill Capital collapsed last month and Liberty, run by Sanjeev Gupta, is still scrambling for cash. Insolvency experts at Deloitte were this weekend understood to be working on a possible Government rescue plan should Liberty fail, sources said. Deloitte declined to comment. Greensill Capital was allowed to dish out loans of up to 50million under the CLBILS scheme, which permitted banks to handle loans of up to 200million. It recently emerged that Cameron lobbied the Government last year to increase Greensill Capital's access to the scheme. The Government rejected the request. Cameron had also previously asked the Government to give Greensill Capital access to the Blue Chip lending platform, the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), which allowed the Bank of England to supply finance to large firms. This request was also rejected. Reports also allege that Greensill Capital then flouted the rules by providing eight separate 50million taxpayer-guaranteed loans to firms connected to Gupta's GFG Alliance. As a result, the British Business Bank removed the taxpayer guarantee on the loans and launched an investigation. Greensill Capital focused on supply chain finance and earned its fees by helping suppliers receive payments quickly. Sunak has confirmed that David Cameron had reached out informally by telephone to him on the matter of Greensill Capital's access to the CCFF Liberty Steel is searching for finance to stay afloat after the collapse of Greensill Capital, and after the Government rejected a 170million bailout plea. Last week, Sunak confirmed Cameron had lobbied him and other senior Ministers for Greensill to access emergency loan schemes. Sunak said: 'I can confirm David Cameron reached out informally by telephone to me, and to the Economic Secretary and the Financial Secretary, on the matter of Greensill Capital's access to the CCFF.' The Government revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request that Sunak texted Cameron about the CCFF in April last year. One said: 'Hi David, apologies for the delay. I think the proposals in the end did require a change to the Market Notice but I have pushed the team to explore an alternative with the Bank that might work. No guarantees, but the Bank are currently looking at it and Charles should be in touch. Best, Rishi.' He was referring to Charles Roxburgh, a senior civil servant in the Treasury. 'We need to get to the bottom of this,' Dodds said. 'The Chancellor is desperately trying to wash his hands of the decision to put hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer money in the hands of an unregulated lending firm with links to a former Conservative PM. The collapse of Greensill Capital has put public money and jobs at risk, and the public deserve to understand why this has happened.' Liberty Steel is searching for finance to stay afloat after the collapse of Greensill Capital, and after the Government rejected a 170million bailout plea In her letter, Dodds has asked La Torre to confirm the Treasury had no influence in Greensill's accreditation decision, if any Treasury officials contacted the Bank about Greensill's accreditation and if any of Greensill's representatives had a role in setting the accreditation process. The letter asked the British Business Bank 'to explain why Greensill Capital was accredited to one major Government loan scheme after it had already been turned down for another'. She added: 'Did any external parties, including any representatives from Greensill Capital, play any role or input in any way to the process by which the criteria for accreditation to the CLBILS scheme were set?' And she asked that the Bank 'confirm that the decision to accredit Greensill Capital was taken by the British Business Bank, entirely independently of the Treasury and without any input from Treasury officials'. She also asked for the bank to reveal which companies Greensill supported through the scheme, and if it was just Gupta's Liberty Steel or his sprawling global steel company GFG Alliance. Dodds added: 'The Treasury set the rules for the scheme and Sunak is ultimately accountable for the money lent through it. 'This is not his money. It's public money. We need to know if he's looking after it.' The British Business Bank declined to comment. Police visited the L.A. home of a podcaster this week a day after after he posted a tweet criticizing AOC and her comments on Israel and Palestine. Ryan Wentz runs the online show Soapbox and tweets under the handle Queelamode. On April 7, he posted a link to an interview where AOC stumbled and struggled to answer questions on how to resolve peace in the Middle East. Wentz called her answers 'incredibly underwhelming'. The next day, two California Highway Patrol officers visited him at home in L.A. to caution him for allegedly threatening a member of congress. He claims the cops said they had received a call from Capitol Police that he had 'threatened' the New York congresswoman. They left him their card but took no further action. 'The officers said, "We got a warning about a sitting member of Congress. And it was because of your tweet, which tagged them in it." On April 7, he posted a link to an interview where AOC stumbled and struggled to answer questions on how to resolve peace in the Middle East. Wentz called her answers 'incredibly underwhelming' Wentz said he was 'really shaken up' by what happened. The California Highway Patrol cops left their card behind 'And then they just wouldnt back down from this accusation that I threatened to kill her,' he told The Gray Zone. Wentz then posted on Twitter that he could only assume the tweet they were referring to was one where he called AOC's comments on Israel and Palestine 'underwhelming'. Capitol Police have not disclosed who reported him to them, and AOC's office told FOX that it was not them. They told FOX that it was not because of a tweet he wrote, but one he was tagged in though they have not disclosed the contents of that tweet. AOC's office denied reporting it and say they are now looking into it. They have in the past said they forward all threats that she receives - or what they perceive to be threats - to Capitol police. Wentz told The Gray Zone that he thought the officers were purely trying to intimidate him and silence the right. The California Highway cops said they were given the tip to visit Wentz by US Capitol Police, who AOC forwards all her 'threats' to AOC told her fans and followers earlier this year to report anyone to social media giants if they post 'disinformation' 'If this was like a purely intimidation thing then I guess it did its job. Its not comforting to be on the receiving end of that. 'But at the same time, theyre not going to shut the left up.' Tucker Carlson fumed on his FOX show on Friday night that it is the latest in a string of examples of the left trying to censor conservative voices. He said Wentz had merely pointed out that AOC didn't know what she was talking about when she gave the interview. She had been asked about how to bring peace to the Middle East. She replied: 'You know, earlier, just now, you and I were talking about the "what" and the "how." And I think that when we talk about peace, centering peoples humanity, protecting peoples rights its not just about the "what" and the end goal, which often gets a lot of focus, but I actually think its much more about the "how", and the way we are coming together, and how we interpret that "what", and how we act in, you know, the actions we take to get to that "what." Tucker Carlson fumed on his show on Friday night that it was another example of AOC trying to silence anyone who disagrees with her. 'It's hard to believe this is happening in America' he said Wentz was not alone in his criticism of AOC's remarks. Others said she seemed uninformed and inarticulate 'We value Jewish and, rather, we value Israeli, uh, uh, uh, we value the safety and human rights of Israelis, we value the safety and human rights of Palestinians.' a Carlson fumed on Friday night: 'Its hard to believe this is happening in America, but it did. 'So, what is an extremist? A lot of people assume an extremist must be someone who voted for Donald Trump or reads forbidden websites. 'No. It turns out its someone who disagrees with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from the right, or even the left.' He said AOC feels 'aggrieved' by her power constantly, rather than being grateful for it, like others in Hollywood and Washington. 'Were living in a time when the most powerful people in the world masquerade as the least powerful, a time when billionaires pose as helpless victims (dont criticize Bill Gates!), when a women who literally identifies as "the Duchess of Sussex" tells shes oppressed and Oprah nods in empathy, because Oprahs oppressed, too.' Earlier this year, AOC told her followers and fans to report anyone who posts 'misinformation' about her on social media to the tech giants that run them. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-11 04:48:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Three kids were found fatally stabbed at an apartment in Los Angeles Saturday morning, U.S. media reported, citing the local police. The three young victims were found at the apartment in the 8000 block of Reseda Boulevard by their grandmother, NBC Los Angeles television station reported. The children are all under the age of 3, Sgt. David Bambrick of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Division was quoted as saying by the news outlet. Police were searching for the killer or killers, according to the television station. Enditem Kolkata, April 10 : The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday gave a clean chit to the CISF for opening fire in Sitalkurchi Assembly constituency in Cooch Behar district during the fourth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal that left four persons dead, saying that opening fire "became necessary to save the lives of the voters" and it was made in "self-defence". Four persons were killed after the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel opened fire near Booth No. 126 at Amtali in Jor Patki village in Sitalkurchi at around 11.5 a.m. on Saturday. Citing a joint report received from special observers Ajay Nayak and Vivek Dube at 5.12 p.m., the poll panel said: "They inter-alia stated that recourse to open fire by the CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save the lives of the voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel and their own lives as the mob had attempted to snatch their weapons also." The Commission also mentioned the statement given by Cooch Behar SP Debashish Dhar that was telecast on news channels, wherein it was stated that "CISF personnel opened fire purely in self-defence". Earlier in the day, based on an interim report submitted to it by poll observer Sharad Laxman Ahire and police observer Madireddy Pratap, the Commission had adjourned polling at Booth No. 126 in the Sitalkurchi Assembly constituency. The Commission further directed that "in Cooch Behar district where voting shall be over by today, no political leader from any national, state or other party should be allowed to enter the geographical boundaries of the district for the next 72 hours with immediate effect". The state's Chief Secretary, Director General of Police as also the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar have been asked to take all the steps necessary, including visiting the violence-hit area, deputing senior officers, or seeking reinforcement of Central or state forces, to ensure strict compliance of the directions of the Commission in letter and in spirit, the poll panel said. Special obervers Nayak and Dube have been directed to keep the Commission informed on "real-time basis" about the developments in Cooch Behar for the next 72 hours. The EC further directed that the "silence period for Phase 5 of polling (scheduled on April 17) shall be extended to 72 hours and no campaigning shall be permitted during the 72 hours before the close of the poll in order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections". "The respective District Election Officer (DEO) and Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police shall be personally responsible for its compliance," it said. A total of five persons were killed in two separate incidents in Cooch Behar district on Saturday. Four persons were killed when central forces opened fire on an unruly mob in Sitalkuchi Assembly constituency in Mathabhanga block, while in another incident in the same constituency, a first-time voter was killed. Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain why lives were lost in central forces' firing during the fourth phase of polling. "After killing so many people, they (Election Commission) are saying the firing was in self-defence. They should feel ashamed. This is a lie," she said. The Trinamool also accused the BJP for the violent incident. "Since the morning, BJP miscreants were blocking people's right to vote while the CISF was influencing the voters to vote in favour of the BJP. When Trinamool workers went to enquire why people were not being allowed to vote, BJP miscreants launched an attack creating an atmosphere of chaos, following which CISF opened fire leading to five Trinamool workers losing their lives," the Trinamool said in a statement. Meanwhile, the BJP candidate from Sitalkuchi, Baren Chandra Barman, claimed that one of the deceased persons was the party's polling agent at the booth, accusing Trinamool activists of orchestrating the violent incident. Millions of Americans are currently receiving coronavirus vaccinations as the U.S. works to restore some sense of normalcy from the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 33 percent of the US population has received at least one dose and 19.4 percent are fully immunized, either from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. However, some people have been wary of being vaccinated due to fears of experiencing side effects such as fever or headache while others have heard anecdotal reports of more extreme reactions including large rashes on the arm or going into anaphylaxis. Doctors say that severe reactions are rare, and that common side effects, such as pain at the injection site, are a sign that your immune system is building up a response. DailyMail.com spoke to three infectious disease experts about what side effects to expect from each COVID-19, why some people get them and what it means. PFIZER-BIONTECH The most common symptoms of the Pfizer vaccine are pain or swelling at the injection site, headache, fatigue, fever, chills and muscle pain. 'Somewhere between 20 to 80 percent of people will experience that,' Dr Richard Kennedy, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, told DailyMail.com. 'They're mostly mild to moderate symptoms and they last about a day or two.' Dr Thad Stappenbeck, Chair of the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio, said that, in his experience, headache is the most common side effect. 'Headache is probably the most common and, anecdotally, from people I know who have been vaccinated,' he told DailyMail.com Then, there are rarer side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and swelling of the lymph nodes and armpits. Kennedy says less than one in 10 people will experience these side effects. Finally, there are the rare allergic reactions to the vaccine, which can includes hives, itching and swelling and even anaphylaxis. The most common symptoms of the Pfizer vaccine are pain or swelling at the injection site, headache, fatigue, fever, chills and muscle pain. Pictured: Bials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Pfaffenhofen, southern Germany, January 15 Anaphylactic shock is a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to an allergy from food, medicine or even a type of material. The immune system releases chemicals that flood the body, blood pressure suddenly drops, and airways narrow, which prevents someone from breathing normally. Kennedy said that about one in 100,000 people who get the vaccine will experience such a reaction. However, the good news is that 'it's fairly rare and fairly treatable,' he said. For this reason, the CDC requires vaccination sites to monitor everyone for 15 minutes after receiving their shot and those with a history of severe allergies for 30 minutes. The doctors also add that people are more likely to experience stronger reactions after the second dose because the immune system has been primed to fight the virus and mounts a response after getting the final shot, only to realize it's a false alarm. MODERNA Similar to the Pfizer vaccine, the most common side effects of the Moderna vaccine include pain at the injection site, fever, chills, headache and tiredness. 'Low-grade fever, aches and pain, difficulty sleeping on night one, they're flu-like symptoms,' Dr Robert Murphy, an infectious diseases specialist at Northwestern Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois, told DailyMail.com. 'They're self-limited and gone within 48 hours.' Another rare reaction, but only in Moderna patients, is 'Covid arm,' in which people experience itchy and swollen skin, sometimes accompanied by red lumps Also like Pfizer, people are more likely to have stronger side effects after the second dose. A very small number of Moderna patients have also reported suffering anaphylaxis following their first dose. 'This is a well-documented phenomenon,' Murphy said. 'They can have hives and swelling, but it's a very small number.' Some recipients - but only of the Moderna shot - have reported experiencing 'Covid arm,' in which people have itchy and swollen skin, sometimes accompanied by red lumps or hives. But the splotch is a harmless response from the immune system to the shot that fades from the arm within a week. The official term used by dermatologists and allergists to describe the side effect is 'delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity.' 'The vaccine attracts immune system cells to the injection site, which is why you see a rash, then it dissipates and within a day or two,' said Stappenbeck. 'It's a little troubling at first, but not significant and there are no long-term effects.' Similar to the Pfizer vaccine, the most common side effects of the Moderna vaccine include pain at the injection site, fever, chills, headache and tiredness. Pictured: Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, December 2020 JOHNSON & JOHNSON The Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine has noticeably milder side effects than either of the vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna. 'Almost across the board fewer people are reporting side effects,' Kennedy said. 'They are more mild. The most common ones are pain at the injection site, which is not surprising since it's a needle entering your arm, which about 50 percent will experience.' He said about one-third of recipients report fatigue and muscle pain, 10 to 15 percent report nausea, and about 10 percent report swelling and redness at the injection site. So why does J&J's shot produce fewer side effects? Murphy said it's because this vaccine is different from the other two. J&J's vaccine combines genetic material from the new virus with the genes of the adenovirus - which causes the common cold - to induce an immune response. Comparatively, Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines use a newer platform, part of the pathogen's genetic code called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to get the body to recognize the coronavirus and attack it if a person becomes infected. 'They're very different mechanisms and different manufacturing processes,' Murphy said. There have not been reports of anaphylaxis among J&J recipients, but Stappenbeck said that may be because fewer people have received the shot. 'It could just be a numbers game at this point,' he said. Side effects are much rarer among those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, potentially due to the fact that it uses a different platform than Pfizer and Moderna. Pictured: Vials of the J&J vaccine at a vaccination operation organized by St John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles, California, March 25 WHY ARE YOUNGER PEOPLE HAVING MORE SEVERE SIDE EFFECTS? As more vaccines have been administered, there have been reports of younger people have more severe side effects compared to younger people. The doctors say this because immune systems evolve as we age. 'As we get older, everything about or bodies doesn't work as well and the immune system is no exception,' Kennedy said. Clinical trial data showed that young people reported more side effects after receiving vaccine doses than older people. 'The reality is that younger people have stronger immune systems and when you're older, you don't mount as big of a response,' Murphy added. However, it does not mean older people aren't protected and that the vaccines are still just as protective in senior citizens as in young adults. ARE WOMEN MORE LIKELY THAN MEN TO HAVE A REACTION? Also reporting more side effects are women. Women are more likely to report worse side effects after receiving COVID-19 vaccines then men are, CDC data reveal. Last month, officials looked at nearly 7,000 reactions reported to the agency's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. They found that nearly 80 percent of the reactions were reported by women, making them four-time more likely to report a side effect than men. Kennedy said that the reason behind this is a mix of biological and behavioral. 'Women's immune systems behave a little differently, they have a more robust antibody response,' he explained. 'They're also more likely to go to the doctor if something is wrong whereas men are more likely to try and tough it out.' SHOULD I GET A VACCINE? All three physicians say that the unequivocal answer is: yes, you should get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available to you. 'The efficacy of these vaccines have been remarkable,' Stappenbeck said. 'Less than one percent of fully vaccinated people are later infected. That's better than the numbers we've gotten in the trials. that's what we call real-world data.' Stappenbeck also encourages to prepare for the possibility of having side effects, such as being able to take off work the next day just in case and having an adequate supply of water and Tylenol. However, he suggests not taking the medication as a prophylactic. 'Wait until you have symptoms, if you have symptoms, and then then take it,' Stappenbeck said. 'The limit is four grams per day, and you don't want to overdose on Tylenol.' The group also adds that any potential side effects you may are less worse than the possibility of getting COVID-19. 'You don't know how sick you will be until you get infected,' said Kennedy. 'You may be asymptomatic or you might be on a ventilator. Then you'll say I wish I had gotten the vaccine and, by then, it is too late Reporting by Mary Kekatos, Senior Health Reporter for DailyMail.com Myanmars military has deployed China-made drones for its own operations against the anti-coup protesters in the Southeast Asian country, as per a report by British military intelligences Janes International Defence Review on April 7. The report also cited images on social media that showed low-flying drones in March over Mandalay, which was one of the dozens of cities in Myanmar that witnessed protests against the military following the coup on February 1. The junta overthrew the civilian elected government and took over the control of the country. The report included two types of drones flying at altitudes low enough to be seen and heard by residents in Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city. As per Janes report, CH-3A drone was also spotted in Myanmar which is developed by Chinese state-owned defence contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Reportedly, it is believed that at least 10 to 12 of the CH-3A drones about a squadrons worth of aircraft, were delivered to Myanmar between 2013 and 2015 and operated by Myanmar Air Force. According to Janes, they are reportedly based at Meiktila Air Base in north-central Myanmar. Drones like CH-3A used for surveillance Typically, military drones such as the CH-3A developed by Chinese companies are used to collect aerial surveillance images and data to support the militarys planning as well as decision-making and to conduct counter-insurgency operations against the ethnic rebel groups in the nation. The report further said, It is therefore likely that the UAVs seen operating over Mandalay were used to observe ground activity, enabling the Tatmadaw to visually monitor the situation in real time to identify specific threats and direct security forces as required. For the Tatmadaw, such deleterious psychological effects could eventually provide a critical advantage as it attempts to pacify a population that is clearly growing increasingly resistant by the day to its self-declared rule, Janes said. Further, according to the University of Pennsylvania and Texas A&M University research paper, China is rapidly emerging as the top global arms supplier with drones leading its foray into at least 18 countries between 2011 and 2018. (Image credits: AP) Former education minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has threatened to sue a popular social media influencer, Japhet Omojuwa, for an unauthorised use of her identity by the blogger. Mr Omojuwa has been alleged alongside some influencers to have collected money to run a campaign in favour of the detained Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab. While Mr Omojuwa denied his participation in the free Alex Saab campaign on social media, a report published by Buzzfeed said two persons working in his PR firm, Alpha Reach Limited, were recruited to participate in the campaign. I said to this person in confidence that I support the mission and would be happy to retweet a couple articles, but I would not personally be part of it, he was quoted as saying. Though Mr Omojuwas account was not among the social media influencers suspended between Monday and Tuesday by Twitter Inc., his name has, however, been trending since the publication of the report on Thursday. Providing another twist to the narrative, Mrs Ezekwesili, on Friday shared a copy of a complaint filed on her behalf by Femi Falanas law firm, demanding full disclosure and public apology from the influencer over the fraudulent use of her name as one of the directors of the company in question. Argument In her pre-action notice served on Mr Omojuwa by her lawyers, the former minister said she was shocked when told by a BuzzFeed reporter on March 30, 2021 that she was a director of Alpha Reach. PREMIUM TIMES checks with NG-Check.com, a platform that provides information on Nigerian companies, has Ms Ezekwesili on the list of Alpha Reachs directors even though the statement registered that she was oblivious of this until she was contacted by a Buzzfeed reporter. Marshal Abubakar who signed the pre-action notice sent to Mr Omojuwa by Mr Falanas law firm, said their investigation revealed that Mrs Ezekwesili was listed as a director when the firm was incorporated in 2012. He added, On March 30, 2021, someone from Buzzfeed reached out to our Client, informing her that she was listed as one of the Directors of Alpha Reach Limited alongside Nasir El-Rufai and Japhet Omojuwa, our Client who was certain that she has never been involved in incorporating any company with you and/or Mallam Nasir El-Rufai promptly informed the Buzzfeed official so. Moments later, the official forwarded the form CAC7 documents to our client corroborating her claim. It is our brief that our Client promptly contacted you but you informed her that the Alpha Reach Company Limited is your company and that she is not involved in it at all. Our client also requested for the incorporation documents from you and you promised to make the same available to her within a week but you never did, an excerpt from the complaint read. The lawyer said Mr Omojuwa neither sought her consent nor obtained the requisite incorporation documents and information the CAC would require in processing the registration. Threat to sue Mrs Ezekwesili demanded, through her lawyers, an apology and full disclosure of the records of Alpha Reach, from Mr Omojuwa She threatened that failure to meet her demand would leave her with no other option than to sue the blogger. Her letter read, in part, On account of the foregoing, we have the firm mandate and instruction of our Client to demand the following: That you upon receipt of this correspondence cause to be issued a public statement/apology exonerating our client from the incorporation process and activities of the Alpha Reach Limited. ADVERTISEMENT That you give a detailed account (to our client via correspondence) the circumstances leading to the incorporation of the Alpha Reach Limited and attach the Certified True Copies of all the incorporation documents submitted at the Corporate Affairs Commission in the course of registering the said company. That the correspondence referred to in (ii) above must include details of all the financial dealings of the Company from 2012 to 2017. It is our hope that you accede to the foregoing request forthwith otherwise we shall be left with no choice but to employ all legal avenue (s) to seek redress. Omojuwa declines to speak When contacted for comment by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Omojuwa declined to speak on the subject beyond what has been written on Alpha Reachs twitter platform. Its now a legal issue so I am not able to speak on this beyond whats already on @alphareach Twitter, he said in a text to this reporter. The company on its twitter page also denied collecting money to run Mr Saabs campaign, adding that no point was Mrs Ezekwesili a co-owner of the company. Alpha Reach, as an organisation, was not involved in the campaign making the rounds. And neither did any Alpha Reach staff pay anyone on behalf of Alpha Reach. The speculation that the company was involved in the campaign is therefore not true. We are also aware that Twitter cleared accounts associated with the said campaign. It is pertinent to note that none of those accounts had any link or affiliation with our company. On another note, Alpha Reach wishes to state that at no time was Dr. Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili a part-owner of Alpha Reach, and she is not a member of the Alpha Reach board. This clarification is necessary because of insinuations being made that she is/was a co-owner of Alpha Reach. Thank you, it read. Background Mr Saab was arrested on June 12, 2020 during a stopover at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on the Island of Sal by the Cape Verdean government. He was traveling to Venezuela from Iran. His arrest by the Cape Verdean government was hinged on an international arrest warrant purportedly issued by Interpol at the request of the United States. The Venezuelan authorities have continued to call for Mr Saabs unconditional release, adding that he had diplomatic immunity at the time he was arrested. The ECOWAS Court had in its December 20, 2020 ruling ordered the Republic of Cape Verde to place Mr Saab under permanent home detention in good conditions, including access to medical treatment and visits. The court also ordered that the applicant should not be extradited pending the decision of the court on the substantive suit. Washington, April 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Apr, 2021 ) :European regulators are reviewing side effects of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 shot, after a handful of cases of rare blood clots were reported among its recipients. Here's what you need to know about the vaccine: - How safe and effective is it? - Perhaps the most important figure to be aware of is "zero." That's how many people have died from Covid-19 after receiving the shot in a massive global trial of 40,000 people aged 18 and over, compared to seven who got the placebo. Overall, the vaccine prevented moderate to severe Covid-19 by 66.1 percent 28 days after the shot, but this rose to 85.4 percent when considering only severe disease. What makes it most striking was that the good results against severe disease held up in both South Africa and Brazil, where concerning variants were dominant during the trial period. In terms of safety, an analysis of 44,000 people showed it was generally well tolerated, with typical side-effects like injection-site pain, headache, fatigue and muscle pains. In late February, the US pharma giant said that at least one case of anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) had been reported -- and such reactions have also been recorded for other Covid-19 vaccines in rare instances. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised people not to take the Johnson & Johnson shot if they have any history of severe allergic reactions. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Friday it is reviewing side effects of the shot, after four cases, one fatal, of rare clots with low blood platelets were reported among its recipients. The EMA said "it is not yet clear whether there is a causal association" between Johnson & Johnson's vaccine and the clots. - How does it compare to other authorized vaccines? - The Pfizer and Moderna RNA-based vaccines were shown to have efficacies of around 95 percent against all forms of Covid-19 -- but it's still hard to make a direct comparison. That's because their clinical trials took place before newer variants, some of which have been shown to be less susceptible to current vaccines, were well established. The RNA vaccines probably still have an edge, but the J&J vaccine brings important logistical advantages to the table. It requires only one shot and can be kept long term in refrigerators, rather than freezers -- especially important for developing countries. - What technology does it use? - The J&J vaccine uses a common-cold causing adenovirus, which has been genetically modified so that it can't replicate, to carry the gene for a key part of the coronavirus. The part is known as the "spike protein" and it's what gives the virus its crown-like appearance. The vaccine delivers the instructions to make this protein to human cells, and our immune systems then develop antibodies against it, preventing the virus from invading cells. Apart from antibodies, the vaccine also elicits the production of immune T cells, which kill infected cells and help make more antibodies. J&J's shot is known as an "adenovirus vector vaccine" and the company previously produced a European Union-approved Ebola vaccine using the same technology. Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik's shots are both adenovirus vector vaccines, too. They all use double-stranded DNA molecules to carry genetic instructions, rather than single-stranded RNA used by Pfizer and Moderna. DNA is more rugged, which allows these vaccines to be stored at warmer temperatures. - What else do I need to know? - J&J has begun clinical testing for adolescents aged 12 to 17. While the J&J vaccine so far has been single-dose, the company is also testing a two-dose regimen to see if it provokes a better response. But RNA vaccines might have the edge over adenovirus vaccines when it comes to boosters. Some scientists have raised concerns that the immune system will recognize and attack adenoviruses it has previously encountered, which in turn reduces the second shot's efficacy. This could become particularly important as makers look to develop variant-specific vaccines, since the adenovirus vaccine makers might need to find new vectors. Reporter Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey). The sight of police closing down a church service is one of the worst moments of this national panic. I am more and more sure that this country is suffering a revolution in which much that we used to know and believe is being quietly, insistently destroyed. But Scotland Yards raid on the Church of Christ the King in Balham, South London, was especially distressing, not least because most of the congregation there are Polish, from a country where the Christian religion was only recently freed from state harassment. When I travelled and lived in Communist countries, churches were one of the few fortresses of resistance against the overwhelming power of those secret police states. The sight of police closing down a church service is one of the worst moments of this national panic It was from the Gethsemane Church in East Berlin that some of the first and bravest demonstrations began against that iron tyranny, and I will never forget the night police surrounded the shabby redbrick building to intimidate an open protest against the regime. But most potent of all was the revolt by the Polish Roman Catholic church against the squalid, thuggish government imposed on that country by Moscow. It seemed as if it was uncontrollable. Poles were consumed with delight that a son of Poland, John Paul II, had become Pope, and so they behaved like free men and women even though their land was still officially a Communist prison. Their path from Soviet darkness back into the light of liberty looks easy now that Polish Communism is a memory and the vast Soviet armed forces are nothing but rust. But it was not so then. The church was endlessly oppressed. One outspoken priest was actually murdered in a gangster-like killing by the secret police, dumped in a lake with a stone tied to his legs, after a terrible beating. The Communists hated Christ, and God in general, because they wanted the people to worship them instead. They rightly saw the church as a rival. Worship the new Health and Safety State first, and when youve done that we might allow to you worship God, not in the way you want to, but in the way we let you Here it is, of course, different. The Johnson Governments restriction of religion during the past year has taken the form of contemptuous indifference. They themselves are uninterested in such things, and have no idea how insulting their actions have been to those who acknowledge another power, higher than them. The largely useless leaders of the churches have done almost nothing to fight for their freedom, leaving the task to the little platoons who in fact keep the whole thing going. I have felt this pretty keenly myself, but have said little about it till now (apart from the inexcusable prevention of Remembrance services last year) because I sought to keep the fight against the subversion of our society as broad as possible. But the sight of police officers ordering a church full of people to go home, in the middle of Good Friday devotions on the most solemn day of the Christian year, was just too much for me. There stood these paramilitary social workers in their stab vests and face masks. One of them appeared to have her handcuffs at the ready in her belt, standing with arms folded inside the altar rail. In bureaucratic newspeak, her male colleague intoned the Covid regulations, and out they all filed. I was not there and am not qualified to say if the regulations were broken, but the Church says not. In my experience, church leaders are painfully vigilant about such things, and churches themselves are very large and airy pictures of the Balham church show a whopping great barn with a high roof. So why, of all the places in London, on all the days of the year, was this one targeted on Good Friday? I don't think much thought went into it. I think deep down in the brain of the state is an idea that religious people, especially Christians, shouldnt think they have any special position in Britain any more. Worship the new Health and Safety State first, and when youve done that we might allow to you worship God, not in the way you want to, but in the way we let you. If theyd come in with clubs swinging and Communist emblems on their cap-badges, I suspect the Poles of Balham would have thrown them out. But, like so many of us, they still treasure the illusion that this is a free country. And so they submit to things theyd never take from an invader or a more obvious oppressor. It turns out that free countries are incredibly easy to turn into despotisms, because nobody can believe what is happening. It's way too late for peace in Ulster We are told again and again that nothing (especially blatant outrages by Republican killers) must be allowed to get in the way of the peace process in Northern Ireland. This actually means that our surrender to the IRA and to the loyalist murder gangs 23 years ago, under mighty pressure from the White House, must never be questioned or reversed. Most people on the mainland, glad to put a painful problem behind them, have simply not noticed that during those 23 years there has not in fact been peace at all. Low-level violence, intimidation and the driving of people out of their homes have all continued. The IRA Army Council still exists and its political puppet, Sinn Fein, has grown in power and wealth in both parts of Ireland. Now it dawns on loyalists that Dublin rule of the whole island (which was written into the 1998 capitulation, though ignored by most at the time) is within sight, and very possibly Sinn Fein rule at that. Those who thought they could get peace and easy political credit by buying off gangsters may yet live to see troops sent from Dublin to put down Protestant riots in East Belfast. Perhaps then they will wonder whether there might have been a more honourable and lasting solution, such as permanent direct rule from London with neither community lording it over the other. But it is too late now. We are told again and again that nothing (especially blatant outrages by Republican killers) must be allowed to get in the way of the peace process in Northern Ireland Will the face-mask decree ever be lifted? Despite the continuing absence of hard evidence that masks are effective, and the huge success of the vaccine making the case for them still weaker, Covid zealots still speak of them being required for months to come. This is not about logic, or health. It is a sort of pseudo-religion. Here is a puzzle for you. Almost every part of the NHS allows some exemptions from mask-wearing. The one bit of the NHS which absolutely does not is the Blood Service. Why? Blood donors are healthy by definition. Blood-donor centres are perhaps the least likely place in the health system to pick up an infection. Blood donation is listed as an essential activity. Covid is not spread through blood. Id welcome a rational, medical explanation for this. But I dont think there is one. So why is Assange still in prison? Can anyone explain to me why the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is still in the high-security prison at Belmarsh? Is this strict-regime incarceration justified by any real risk? A British judge has rightly refused his extradition to the USA. The US government is appealing, but if he were freed on bail it is hard to see how he could flee the country when it is almost impossible for normal people to get out of Britain, let alone famous men on bail. Keeping him in Belmarsh, unconvicted of any crime, looks like spite. While the US government appeals and who knows how long that will take in our clogged courts couldnt Mr Assange at least be sent to a less severe prison? If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens click here Britain's fourth Covid vaccine could be just days away from being approved for use, as the Government prepares to widen the rollout to the under-50s. A decision by the health regulator on the single-dose Janssen jab is expected to be made within the next ten days, and the Governments order of 30 million doses, which it secured last summer, will add to the UKs expanding stockpile. The news comes as hundreds of thousands of the 17 million doses of the Moderna vaccine are also coming on stream. The first injections were administered in Wales last week, and are now being extended to the rest of the UK. The renewed pace of the rollout means that Ministers are now in a position to offer jabs to the under-50s, just as lockdown rules are eased tomorrow and pubs, restaurants, gyms and hairdressers prepare to welcome back their customers. More than 300 million is expected to be spent on the hospitality industry this week. The UK also smashed its daily record for second jabs for the second day running, with 450,136 doses administered on Friday, taking the number of second jabs to 6,991,310, or 13.3 per cent of all UK adults. A total of 32,010,244 people have received their first dose, which is nearly 61 per cent of all adults. On April 6 the latest day for which data is available just 221 people were admitted to hospital with Covid-19, while the 2,589 positive tests represents a drop of nearly a third in a week. Another 40 deaths were reported yesterday. A Mail on Sunday poll has found that the return to pubs, restaurants and shops is welcomed by huge numbers of people. The most popular change to the lockdown rules is the return of visits to the homes of friends and family, which is welcomed by 86 per cent of people. Deltapoll found that voters overwhelmingly back the use of vaccine passports to speed up the relaxation of Covid restrictions, with 63 per cent in favour and just 25 per cent opposed. Large gatherings could be on the table again as people welcome the use of vaccine passports The UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is studying data from trials of the Janssen jab made by the US firm Johnson & Johnson amid claims that its use has led to extraordinarily rare incidents of blood clots. It uses similar technology to that being used in the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was last week restricted in the UK to the over-30s because of the same rare side effect. Despite the publicity about blood clots, Government sources say that there has been not been a drop-off in demand for the vaccine. Passports could be used to allow the return of mass public gatherings in the summer, including capacity crowds for the start of the new Premier League season Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests coronavirus cases in the UK are down to less than a sixth of the January peak. Ministers are planning to use vaccine passports as a short-term bridge to freedom before full herd immunity is achieved in the autumn, The Mail on Sunday understands. It would mean all Covid-related restrictions would be relaxed on June 21, as planned under Boris Johnsons roadmap, but with the passports being used to allow the return of mass public gatherings in the summer, including capacity crowds for the start of the new Premier League season. A decision on the single-dose Janssen jab is expected to be made within the next ten days Government sources have also made clear that parents would not have to pay for Covid tests for under-11s as part of the new traffic light system being introduced on May 17 for foreign travel. Under the plans, Britons would be allowed to fly to green countries with low Covid rates and strong vaccine rollouts, as long as they take tests before flying out and returning home. HOLLYWOOD, Calif.Performer Rebecca Vanguard has officially launched her 4K glamour-oriented site tru6lack.com, which is dedicated to showcasing all Black talent. The scenes on tru6lack.com are meant to be glamorous, are well shot and edited, and created to benefit the models. All models will be paid a percentage when their scenes, which will be available through Tru6lack's Bentbox store, make sales. Any money left over will go to cover website hosting and the production of upcoming scenes. The site is a portal, and each scene will have a blog that links to purchase it on Tru6lacks Bentbox store. The first scene stars Dahlia Von Knight and Eddie Jaye and is available in two parts here. The scene opens with Von Knight and her pink vibe, but also includes booty worship, oil and a juicy b.j. This scene and all the future scenes are/will be shot and edited by Vanguard. The site also allows consumers to voice their opinions and tell what they want to see. Such input is meant to help the site be something extraordinary and put more money in the models' pockets. Theres also a mailing list on the site that visitors can sign up for to be notified of new scenes debuting. Ive been so excited about the site and wanted it to be perfect before I launched it. Im trying to do something that hasnt been done before and I know theres a definite need for it. Please buy the scenes, and support the site and the Black performers featured on it, Vanguard said. Models interested in being shot for tru6lack.com may fill out an application here or click on the Click here to check out our model application button on the home page. Vanguard is represented by Nexxxt Level Talent Agency. To offer her content production work, contact Andre Madness at (818) 383-8147 or Jonathan Morgan at (818) 326-7001 or email [email protected]. Those interested may view her agency photos here. Fans may follow Vanguard on AVN Stars @rebeccavanguard, Twitter @rebeccavanguard and Instagram @rebeccavanguardofficial. DEAL OF THE WEEK Pence Takes His Autobio to S&S In a two-book, world rights agreement, Dana Canedy, senior v-p and publisher at Simon & Schuster, bought world rights to Mike Pences autobiography. S&S described it as the story of Pences faith and public service, covering his trajectory from Columbus, Ind., to his time as the second-highest-ranking official in the Trump administration. The publisher also promised that the former v-p will address the many pivotal moments of the administration. David Vigliano and Thomas Flannery at Vigliano Associates represented Pence, and the currently untitled book is tentatively set for 2023. FROM THE U.S. Strouts William Is Welcomed at RH Elizabeth Strout, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge, sold world rights to Oh William! to Andy Ward at Random House. The novel, RH said, is about a formerly married couple who are now friends. They watch their children grow up and reckon with their own pasts as they unearth the kind of long-buried family secret that rearranges everything we think we know about those closest to us. Strout was represented by Molly Friedrich and Lucy Carson at the Friedrich Agency, and Oh William! is slated for October. Putnam Goes Orange for Yoon Putnams Mark Tavani took North American rights to City of Orange by David Yoon (author of Frankly in Love and the forthcoming Version Zero). The adult novel is, Putnam said, an intimate tale about a man who wakes up alone and injured in a postapocalyptic landscape and must find his way home. Jodi Reamer at Writers House brokered the deal on behalf of Yoon. Grohls Storyteller Talks to Dey Street Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl sold The Storyteller to Dey Street Books. Carrie Thornton took North American rights from William Morris Endeavor. The HarperCollins imprint said the book, set for October, grew, in part, out of a piece Grohl wrote for the Atlantic in May 2020 about how he misses performing, and watching, live music. The article spurred Grohl to create the Instagram account @davestruestories, which Dey Street said has been filled with Grohls extraordinaryand funnystories and will be the platform for the book. Storyteller is as much a celebration of music as it is about the moments that have molded Grohl into the man he is today. Bloomsbury Buys Langers Latest Bloomsburys Elizabeth Ellis took North American rights to a novel by Adam Langer (Crossing California). Tentatively titled Cyclorama, the book was sold by Stephanie Abou at Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents and is, Bloomsbury said, the story of 10 teenagers brought together by a high school production of The Diary of Anne Frank, which will shape and influence the rest of their lives. Kokila Enters Quinteros State With a six-figure preempt, Kokilas Namrata Tripathi bought world rights to Isabel Quinteros Golden State. In the YA novel, Quintero (Gabi, a Girl in Pieces) follows an 18-year-old who, after discovering her father has a secret family, embarks on a road trip to meet her half brother. Peter Steinberg at Fletcher & Co. represented Quintero. Newmans Men Join Grove Sandra Newman (The Heavens) sold The Men to Peter Blackstock at Grove Atlantic. The publisher said the novel is about feminist utopias and impossible choices, set in a world where men have disappeared from the Earth. Blackstock took North American rights from Victoria Hobbs at A.M. Heath. Bengaluru (Karnataka): Owners of different restaurants in Bengaluru on Saturday urged the state government to reconsider the timing of the night curfew that will come into effect from April 10. "For the last few months, it is only in the evening that we find some people coming in. For the 10 pm curfew, we will have to shut down our restaurants by 9:30 pm. We will make a representation to the CM to request him to reconsider the timing," Mukesh Tolani, a restaurant owner said. "We urge the government to reconsider timing and maybe push it to 11 pm so that we can do some business," he added. "The current situation is people come out for lunch or dinner either in the evening or by 9 pm, now with this 10 pm curfew, how anyone would step out at 9 pm for dinner. No one would consider going out at 8 pm or 9 pm when the curfew is starting from 10 pm," said a customer who came to the restaurant. The Karnataka government on Thursday imposed a night curfew in seven districts of the state from Saturday between 10 pm and 5 am to contain the spread of the COVID-19. The curfew, which will remain in place till April 20, was enforced in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkur, and Udupi. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that essential services will be exempted from the curfew. The retail outlets of the wholesale fruit and vegetable market in the state will also not function from April 10. The government has prohibited gatherings for fairs, festivals, religious and social events. It said that penalty will be imposed against those who do not wear masks and maintain physical distancing. Bolivia first closed its border with Brazil on April 2, with provisions for cross-border trade, and was to lift the ban on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency. La Paz, April 10 (IANS) The Bolivian government said it has decided to keep the country's border with Brazil closed for another seven days to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, especially the Brazilian variant of the virus considered to be more contagious and possibly more lethal. "An epidemiological evaluation has been made on the border with Brazil and we consider it necessary to extend the closure for another week," Deputy Foreign Trade and Integration Minister Benjamin Blanco said. "At the end of this period we will return to work on the situation in the border regions to take action," he adde. Bolivia has also taken more general measures to curb the outbreak, including requiring visitors to show the negative results of a recently-taken Covid-19 test. A year and a month since the first two cases of Covid-19 were detected in Bolivia, the Ministry of Health said the country's overall caseload and death toll stood at 279,207 and 12,412. --IANS ksk/ YEREVAN, APRIL 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign ministry has issued a statement on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the genocide committed by Azerbaijan against the peaceful population of Maragha settlement of the Martakert region of the Republic of Artsakh, the MFA told Armenpress. April 10 marks the 29th anniversary of the Genocide of the civilian population of the Armenian Maragha settlement of the Martakert region of the Republic of Artsakh committed by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani troops, having invaded Maragha, brutally killed and tortured the local civilian population, including women, children, and the elderly. The perpetrators were awarded high state awards, and their commander was awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan, which testifies that the Armenophobian and genocidal policy in Azerbaijan is encouraged at the highest state level. Crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations and must be condemned. The tragic events in Maragha will remain an incurable wound in the memory of our people, the statement says. KONNOR PERRIN, Chariho boys lacrosse, freshman: Perrin established a school record for assists in a game with nine in the Chargers 22-0 win over Ponaganset. Perrin leads the team with 21 assists to go with 14 goals. LILA RICH, Stonington girls track, senior: Rich won two events at the ECC Division I track meet. Rich was first in the high jump (5-0) and the pole vault (10-0) as the Bears finished third at the meet. MADIGAN HILTZ, Westerly boys lacrosse, senior: Hiltz scored seven goals and had three assists in pair of victories for the Bulldogs. Hiltz has 17 goals and seven assists for the season. ADDIE HAUPTMANN, Wheeler softball, junior: Hauptmann was 4 for 9 with a home run and six RBIs in two games. For the season, Hauptmann is hitting .617 with eight homers and 42 RBIs. She has 50 hits. Vote View Results People on islands or at sea off parts of Western Australia's northwest coast have been ordered to evacuate, as two tropical cyclones bear down. Residents in the Exmouth Gulf coast and parts of the Gascoyne Coast are being warned to 'take action and stay safe' with severe weather expected to arrive on Saturday afternoon and evening. The warning includes residents in Exmouth, Coral Bay and North West Cape. Emergency workers say those in affected areas should shelter away from trees, powerlines and storm water drains. They should also close their curtains, stay away from windows, unplug electrical appliances and make their own sandbags. People on islands or at sea off parts of Western Australia's northwest coast have been ordered to evacuate, as two tropical cyclones bear down The weather system creating Tropical Cyclone Odette has weakened but a period of 'strong to gale force' winds is possible during Saturday afternoon and evening. The cyclone will continue to weaken as it moves southwest throughout the day, remaining offshore from the west coast. Residents between Exmouth and Coral Bay have been warned their properties could be damaged. Tropical Cyclone Seroja is expected to make landfall on Sunday between Carnarvon and Jurien Bay, bringing with it intense rainfall, flash flooding and abnormally high tides. Anyone on an island between Coral Bay and Geraldton, including the Abrolhos Islands, must evacuate by midday, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services ordered on Saturday morning. The weather system creating Tropical Cyclone Odette has weakened but a period of 'strong to gale force' winds is possible during Saturday afternoon and evening The Bureau of Meteorology said anywhere along a 1,100km stretch from Perth north to Coral Bay could be in the cyclone's firing line - although it will most likely make land near Carnarvon in the Gascoyne region Authorities warn weather conditions will change rapidly near the west coast on late Sunday or early Monday with sustained winds of up to 150km/h expected. 'The most likely area to experience destructive wind gusts is on the coast between Geraldton and Denham,' an Emergency WA alert said. Rivers likely to flood include the Wooramel, Murchison, Greenough and Avon rivers and the Yarra Yarra Lakes District. Anyone at sea must return to land by 6pm. If evacuating isn't an option they must take shelter or seek safe haven or anchorage. There is a blue alert for people south of Coral Bay to Geraldton, not including Coral Bay but including Geraldton, to prepare for dangerous weather as Seroja approaches. Cyclone Odette and Cyclone Seroja are expected to rotate around each other to create the extremely rare Fujiwhara Effect Acting DFES commissioner Craig Waters said there were numerous holiday-makers in the impact areas, many of whom would not have experienced a cyclone before. 'If you're in a tent or caravan, you are simply not protected against the damaging winds that may hit the region,' he said on Friday. Mr Waters said some roads in the area are still undergoing maintenance to repair damage from recent flooding, and a further hit could make roads unpassable for days, or longer. Multiple nature reserves are closed in WA, including Karda Reserve, Wanagarren Nature Reserve, as well as national parks at Kalbarri, Francois Peron, Houtman Abrolhos Islands and Dirk Hartog Island. The first cyclone, named Cyclone Odette, will bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Exmouth, on the north-west coast, as soon as Saturday night. The second is Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which is expected to develop from a category one into a category three system, before moving south-west and making landfall on Sunday. The Bureau of Meteorology said anywhere along a 1,100km stretch from Perth north to Coral Bay could be in the cyclone's firing line - although it will most likely make land near Carnarvon in the Gascoyne region. A third tropical low is also developing near the Cocos Islands and, combined with the other two systems, will bring a month's worth of rain in just one day to parts of the state. Holidaymakers in the state's north have been told to evacuate with 150km/h winds forecast to batter the coastline. Bureau of Meteorologist senior meteorologist James Ashley says he has never seen such an event. 'I've been working here in Perth for over 20 years and I've never seen us have three systems so close to being cyclones or being cyclones at the one time,' he said. 'Generally, cyclones tend to need a bit of space between them so they don't mess each other's inflow and winds and moisture feeds and things like that.' Cyclone Odette and Cyclone Seroja are expected to rotate around each other to create the extremely rare Fujiwhara Effect. Tropical cyclone forecaster Craig Earl-Spurr said the rare meteorological phenomenon would make it look like the cyclones were 'dancing' and was not common in Australia. South Australia, Victoria, southern parts of NSW and the ACT will see temperatures dramatically drop over the weekend. Pictured: A woman braves the rain in Sydney in February 'Because both are trying to throw each other around their own wind fields, as each one moves the wind field moves with it,' he told ABC News. 'Depending on how that then pushes the other [system] around, little changes can become big changes very quickly.' BoM computer modelling has yet to pinpoint the path of Cyclone Seroja. But the bureau warned there could be an increase in rain and winds in the Pilbara and Gascoyne Coat region. Mr Earl-Spurr said the systems are difficult to track because they will be locked in a 'tug of war' once the Fujiwhara Effect starts to take place. 'They can take a full 90-degree turn when they first start to interact with each other,' he said. Parts of Australia are forecast to shiver through icy temperatures and wet weather in the coming days as a blast of Antarctic air sweeps across the nation's south. Some areas are tipped to see their coldest days of the year so far. Cyclone Seroja pictured to the east of the other tropical low north-west of the Australian coastline. Meteorologists have said the systems are difficult to track because they will be locked in a 'tug of war' as part of the Fujiwhara Effect Parts of Australia are set to shiver this week as two cold fronts sweep a 'polar blast' of air across the country. This map shows the coldest areas (in blue) on Sunday morning Cold fronts are forecast to hit southern and central parts of the country beginning on Friday, with some areas expected to see hail or snow by the end of the weekend. As a high pressure system that has brought balmy weather across the east shifts into the Tasman, two low pressure systems moving in from the south are bringing cold artic air up from the Great Australian Bight. 'A spell of unseasonably warm weather will come to an abrupt end over central and southern Australia this weekend,' said Sky News senior meteorologist Tom Saunders. 'The warmer temperatures have left southern Victoria about 5C above average. 'But the cold front hits Hobart on Thursday night, and on Friday morning cold south westerly winds will arrive in Melbourne.' Tropical Cyclone Seroja is tracking south from its current position 720km northwest of Broome and is expected to make landfall as early as Sunday South Australia, Victoria, southern parts of NSW and the ACT will see temperatures dramatically drop over the weekend, with those regions tipped to potentially see the coldest day of the year so far on Sunday or Monday. Melbourne is forecast to fall from a top of 29C on Thursday to just 15C on Sunday, with showers developing on Friday and continuing through the weekend. In Adelaide, the mercury will plummet to a high of 19C on Sunday. Sydneysiders had a hot 30C on Friday, before expecting mid-20C temperatures on Saturday and Sunday. But the mercury will drop to a chilly minimum of 11C on Monday, before jumping back to 26C on Tuesday. Canberra is set to shiver through cloudy days over the weekend with lows below 5C and highs in the mid-to-high teens. Residents of a vast stretch of Western Australia's coastline are being warned to prepare for two possible tropical cyclones developing offshore. Pictured: A couple walking near Leighton Beach in Perth during wet weather Sunshine will reappear on Monday, but temperatures will remain low, with a 0C minimum, bouncing up to 2C on Tuesday. Showers are in store for Hobart on Saturday and Sunday, with temperature ranges between 7C and 15C. Possible storms and showers are forecast for Darwin until Tuesday, with highs topping 33C and lows in the mid 20C. Brisbane and Perth residents will enjoy warm weather leading into next week, with lows in the high teens and maximum temperatures in the 20Cs. Perth will swelter through 30C heat on Saturday, before some showers on Sunday. Police are investigating a shooting after a person was critically shot Friday night in north Birmingham. South Precinct officers responded to a call of a traffic accident at Carraway Boulevard/Elton B. Stephens Expressway North around 6:56 p.m. Friday, said Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin. When officers arrived, they found a victim inside the car wounded by gunfire, Mauldin said. The victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. No suspects were in custody as of Friday night. In this weeks Legal Eagle With Rhythm, Senior Advocate at Supreme Court Iqbal Chagla recalled memories of his father MC Chagla who had worked with Muhammad Ali Jinnah - the founder of Pakistan, working with Kharshedji Bhabha, and bringing down corrupt judges in the 1990s. When Senior Advocate Iqbal Chagla was asked about the earliest memories of his illustrious father and views on Jinnah, the Senior Advocate said he shared a peculiar chemistry with his father owing to their similar interests. I never remember him reading law at all, said Iqbal after calling him his father MC Chaglas biggest admirer. In the morning he would correct the judgements that he had dictated the day before. But apart from that, it was never any law. Those are my earliest memories of him, said Senior Advocate while talking about his father before adding, Of course, he would talk about his days, his political life, when he joined Jinnah. And Jinnah he always claimed and said, that he was, perhaps one of the greatest nationalists that lived. Jinnah was completely nationalist. And if things would have been perhaps played a little differently, we might never have had Pakistan. Jinnah would have remained a nationalist. Thats how he always told his story. His [MC Chagla] break came with Jinnah when of course Jinnah began his two-nation theory, and he left him. Then after that, in 1941, my father became a judge and that was goodbye to politics and hello judiciary, he added. While talking about his recollections of literature, Senior Advocate Iqbal Chagla relayed the beauty of the house of Chief Justice that comes with a large backyard and a first floor which he had entirely to himself. He said, there were just two bedrooms there and a large sitting room where the host of my fathers library of his entire books on literature. And I had full freedom to look into the literature. When asked about his school years and if he always wanted to become a lawyer, the Senior Advocate at SC replied with his experience of studying in the most democratic school that we could possibly have. He used the school bus always and noted that in those days nobody cared who your father was and that you had to speak for yourself. I did not always intend to do law, said Senior Advocate Chagla. I had ideas of doing journalism, or writing but I thought I must need some professional degrees so I did do law. More as a fallback position. Thats why I did history part 1 and law part 2. He eventually started doing law after realising that he could not work under anybody. Iqbal Chaglas experience with Kharshedji Bhabha On the advice of his father, Iqbal Chgla went to see Sir Jamshedji Kanga who was at Bombay Bar Association at the time. But Kanga told Iqbal that he had retired and advised him to instead go see Kharshedji Bhabha and thats when the duos great relationship kickstarted. After joining Bhabhas chamber number 1 in Bombay High Court, Senior Advocate Chagla said, Ive never known anybody with a greater work ethic than him [Bhabha] and he expected his juniors to do the same. He was a hard taskmaster...One thing that I learnt from him was that one is never absolutely clear and satisfied in any matter, no amount of research is ever complete, theres always time to do more, theres always a desire to do more. Fight against corruption in 1990 Senior Advocate Chagla also revealed the experiences of working in the chambers of Bombay High Court and his journey while bringing down the corrupt judges back in the 1990s. He said, It was in 1990 when things came to a head and there were instances, and this is a collective experience, of some five judges, who we believed were not exactly honest. And thats the time when a lot of people talked to me about this...we discussed what we should do. It was after this that Senior Advocate Chagla decided that something has to be done. He also credited the chief justice of India at the time and said without them, I wouldve gone behind the bars. Eventually, resolutions were passed against five judges after being contacted again in 1995 to carry out similar proceedings against corrupt judges to save the judiciary from going down. There was an overflow crowd again at the weekly Plainview Lions meeting at the Country Club on Wednesday. Lioness Boss Stacie Hardage manned the gavel. Seated on the throne was queen Kenzi Knippa and princess Bella Becerra. Leading pledges to our two flags was Gary Zacher, Travis Thornton, leading the singing of America, and giving our blessing was Jim Tirey. Monsignor Rey Rodriquez buzzed in on his speed scooter to offer words of encouragement. With one in four adults in the United States now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, health departments and scientific studies have documented what's known as "breakthrough" cases, or people who got infected or sick despite being vaccinated. Such instances are exceptionally rare, but expected, experts say. "You will see breakthrough infections in any vaccination when you're vaccinating literally tens and tens and tens of millions of people," Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a White House press briefing on March 26. "In some respects, that's not surprising," Fauci said. PHOTO: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies on Capitol Hill during a hearing on the federal coronavirus response, March 18, 2021, in Washington. (Pool/Getty Images) COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective -- but none are 100% effective, meaning a small number of people might become infected after being fully vaccinated -- but those infections are typically mild, or symptom-free. Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, called the roughly 95% efficacy rates for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines "spectacularly effective." In clinical trials, the vaccines were virtually 100% effective at keeping people out of the hospital, he added, noting that "there were still some milder infections that took place." How common are COVID-19 'breakthrough' cases? "It's pretty darn rare," Dr. Shira Abeles, an infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego Health, said of breakthrough cases. "I think it'll remain that way," she added. Recent real-world studies have confirmed that low breakthrough rate. Research that Abeles helped conduct in Southern California between December 2020 and February 2021, found that less than 1% of the 36,600 health care workers who were studied tested positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, meaning both doses plus two weeks for the immunity to build -- with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Not a single vaccinated health care worker who contracted COVID-19 was hospitalized or died and those who did get sick appeared to have milder symptoms than the unvaccinated, according to the researchers. Story continues PHOTO: Mara Bianco takes a photo of Dawn Casale as she receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at the Northwell Health pop-up vaccination site at the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in Staten Island on April 08, 2021, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) An even bigger investigation conducted by the health department in Washington state found that of 1.2 million fully vaccinated people, there was evidence of 102 breakthrough cases, representing less than 0.01% of fully vaccinated state residents. While most of those patients experienced mild symptoms, at least eight were hospitalized and the health department is investigating two potential breakthrough cases where the patients died. How do COVID-19 'breakthroughs' happen? It's not completely clear. People who are very old or immunocompromised may be at higher risk for breakthrough cases, because their bodies might produce a less powerful immune response to the vaccine. "For every vaccine that we use, immunocompromised people and the very old don't respond as well as healthy people and younger people," Schaffner said. In the case of the Washington state investigation into the two potential breakthrough COVID deaths, both patients were older than 80 years old and had underlying health issues. MORE: Of 1.2 million fully vaccinated people in Washington state, 100 have gotten COVID-19 Similar to the flu, the higher risk for older and immunocompromised people is one reason it's important for young, healthy people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. If everyone's vaccinated, it's harder for the virus to find targets, which protects those at higher risk. "We should all get vaccinated to protect ourselves as well as to protect the weaker among us," Schaffner. As for breakthrough cases among young or healthy people, "every once in a while, something happens for biological reasons we can't quite explain," Schaffner said. Those who do become sick after being fully vaccinated should still have partial protection. Instead of going to the hospital or dying, they may have less severe symptoms, like feeling run down or developing a slight fever. "That's the strength of our study," Abeles noted. "We were doing screening in a population, so we were picking up asymptomatic disease and mild illness," she said. "That's generally what you're going to see." PHOTO: People wear face masks while walking in Central Park on March 11, 2021, in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images) Could new variants be causing 'breakthrough' cases? Another possibility that public health officials are investigating is whether new variants of the virus caused some of the reported breakthrough cases. "One of the important things that will be done and must be done is to sequence the genome of the virus that's the breakthrough virus," Fauci said. "It would be very important to see if they broke through with the wild-type virus, which would indicate a real diminution of immunity, or whether it broke through with one of the variants, which would be much more explainable if you don't have enough cross-reactivity." MORE: Few health care workers infected with COVID after full vaccination: Study So far, it seems that the currently authorized vaccines diminish the severity of infection regardless of the virus strain. This is why experts say it is of utmost importance for even people previously infected with COVID to get vaccinated. Knowing whether breakthrough cases were caused by the virus the vaccines were designed to protect against or by new variants could inform scientists how to approach future vaccinations and booster shots. If a variant of concern is breaking through, scientists in the lab might develop a vaccine targeting the variant's spike protein mutations, Abeles explained. If the virus is one that the community has already been exposed to, and it appears immunity is waning, health experts might suggest a booster of the same vaccine, she added. "It's a moving target and we're still learning so much," Abeles said. "We'll be paying close attention." In the meantime, it's crucial to keep infection levels low so that there's less evolutionary pressure on the virus to mutate into more variants of concern. "We want to keep them at just a few, rather than let the virus have too many opportunities," Abeles said. ABC News' Morgan Winsor contributed to this report. What to know about expected but rare 'breakthrough' COVID cases originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Its high time we talked about Alice. By Alice I mean Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, most famously known as a Charleston Renaissance artist of evocative, masterfully crafted Lowcountry watercolors. Those works, and her leading role in the movement, helped transform the down-and-out city of Charleston in the decades between the two world wars into a sought-after cultural hub. This spring, Smith again commands the cultural conversation by way of an exhibition and publication. The exhibition takes place at both Middleton Place and Edmonston-Alston House. It is up now through Jan. 10. The show was timed with the March publication of Alice: Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, Charleston Renaissance Artist, a new volume chronicling her life and her work written by Dwight McInvaill with Caroline Palmer, Smiths great-great-niece and Ann Tinker, her great-niece. It was published by Evening Post Books in collaboration with Middleton Place. (Evening Post Books is owned by the same parent company as The Post and Courier.) The aim of the volume is to expand on past scholarship while providing a more intimate and vibrant portrait of the artist based on new archival findings, some from the authors own family collection. Like the artists finely detailed works of art, "Alice" fastidiously layers the facts of her life drawn from correspondence and other documents, folding in 200 images of paintings, prints, sketches and photographs on its broad, glossy pages. Sharing the influences and the evolution of an artist as she deepened her craft and plied her trade, it spans days at her lifelong residence at 69 Church St.; the death of her mother in her teens; collaborative projects with her father; and a succession of Charleston studios. It highlights many cultural figures drawn to Charleston who informed her work, aesthetic influences such as the Barbizon school with its Naturalist movement in painting and the Japonisme trend of Western art that was prevalent in the early twentieth century. It covers her departure for study in New York and her ultimate emergence as a leader in the Charleston Renaissance. Among her most celebrated works are those on rice cultivation, which she gathered in a book, A Carolina Rice Plantation of the Fifties, which studied plantations of the 1850s. The book doesnt soft pedal, noting that the realm Smith was born into had a worldview shaped by a desire among once-wealthy, rice planting families to preserve the hierarchies and traditions of the past. The aim of the book and exhibition is to talk. The publication of Alice and its accompanying exhibition provide the Foundation an opportunity to continue its mission to educate and engage in conversations about our complicated history, Tracey Todd, Middleton Place Foundation president and CEO, said in a statement. Artists and rice With that in mind, I invited artist Jonathan Green to join a viewing of the works, mounted at the Middleton Place Museum House, on a stellar Charleston spring day with the grounds bursting with pink and white azaleas. Alice is a dangerous woman, Green said, with smiling eyes. He describes himself as a devoted feminist who recognizes her as having been adventurous and independent in a mans world. He considers Smith one of the most important and undervalued artists. Green came to Smith later in life. By that time, he had seen, and collected, a great deal of works involving the Black American experience, particularly those created by African American artists as part of the federal Works Progress Administration. Many of the works depict Black domestic life, striking studies in isolation, and tableaux that bring to harrowing life incidents of white supremacy. Sign up for our new opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! But there was little in the way of rice a part of African culture enslaved people brought with them to America. When people talk about Black people, its always from the perspective of slavery, he said. Green thus became involved in the Lowcountry Rice Culture Project, which seeks to discover and revive the significance of rice cultivations and its legacies, and to use this history as a launching off point for broad discussions of race, class, art, trade, history and economics in short, the various aspects of culture in the Southeast. He created a series of works entitled Unenslaved," which give back the age-old practice of rice cultivation to its workers. In 2014, the Gibbes Museum of Art presented the exhibition Rice in the Lowcountry: The Art of Jonathan Green and Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, a display of 21 works by the two artists focused on rice cultivation. For Green, Smiths painstaking, expert illustrations of the rice fields offer much in the way of a record of this culture, while also underscoring the dignity of the subjects. I think people get into trouble because of the medium she uses, Green said. What to see Walking through the exhibition in Middleton Place, Green marveled at Smith's use of movement. He pointed out her deft layering of wet and dry watercolor techniques, the delicate white egrets taking wing. Together, we admired the rich palette of Colorful Swamp, and the subtle figure of a perched young girl in Miss Josephine Smith in Oak with Peacock. He talked about the progression toward the abstract, which can be seen in works like The Painting Lesson. She was very sensitive to the feel of the environment, the atmosphere, Green said, noting that the intrepid Smith was known to spend a great deal of time in natural settings. She knew exactly how it felt to be out there. Taking in water-rippled, intricate layers of warm pinks and deep indigos, moss greens and pale yellows, the word controversy may not be the first word to percolate. However, to some, Smiths works represent a rhapsodizing of the White agrarian South, a romanticized watercolor haze ennobling aspects of the Southern experiences in the early 20th century. When it comes to Smiths depictions of serene-seeming Black rice field workers, Green observes that in this instance the artist painted from photographs. Like any artist, he said, she then put her subjects in the best light possible. Walking the grounds at Middleton Place, Green gestured to the raised stretches of green lawns and the rice fields beyond them, identifying them as the work of Black people. Charleston is a Black museum, he said, noting the work of Black people in creating the city. For him, Smiths paintings illustrate that the Black and White narratives of the South are intimately intertwined or shared, as Todd might put it. Green found it confounding that so many people attempt to separate those stories. I just find it difficult if you cant talk about it, Green said. At Middleton Place, Todd would no doubt concur. Alice Smith was once quoted as saying Open the windows of your mind to let in the fresh air. Alice gives us an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and each other through the exploration of our shared history, his statement on the effort said. With the book and exhibition, one story is now shared more fully than it has been in the past. it is the story of a Charleston artist who, among her many creative pursuits, took to the rice fields of the Lowcountry. Perhaps it can serve as a point of departure from which to engage in such meaningful exchange. At Middleton Place, the conversation continues with a virtual book talk on April 20, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Moderator Harlan Greene will be in discussion with McInvaill, Palmer and Tinker for a Zoom webinar hosted by Middleton Place Foundation, which is free and open to the public. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was last night embroiled in a protocol row after Westminster sources claimed that Buckingham Palace had protested about him issuing his condolences over Prince Philips death before Boris Johnson. Sir Keir rushed out his message at 12.19 on Friday just 17 minutes after the Palace announced the Duke of Edinburghs death, and 11 minutes before the Prime Minister released a statement paying tribute to the Royal Consort. A senior Government insider told Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges that the order of the condolences had irritated Royal officials, saying: It was the Palaces wish the Prime Minister spoke first. Sir Keir is already facing embarrassment over the day of tributes by MPs planned for tomorrow, after a leak of WhatsApp messages from Labour MPs office managers a message from one party official said: Its going to be intolerable Last night, a Labour source said that any breach had been inadvertent. If there is a protocol about this, it is not something that anyone has told us about, the source said, adding: The Tory Party chairman Amanda Milling and chief whip Mark Spencer also spoke before the Prime Minister. We have counted ten Government Ministers who commented on the death before the Prime Minister. Will they be rebuked for it? Downing Street and Buckingham Palace declined to comment, but it is likely to revive memories of the row over Tony Blairs attempt to inflate his role in the Queen Mothers lying- in-state in 2002. Sir Keir is already facing embarrassment over the day of tributes by MPs planned for tomorrow, after a leak of WhatsApp messages from Labour MPs office managers a message from one party official said: Its going to be intolerable. In his tribute, Sir Keir said that the UK had lost an extraordinary public servant in Prince Philip Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to delete a tweet he posted 40 minutes after Prince Philips death was announced, calling for a show of solidarity with Bolivia. He later posted a message saying: Losing a loved one, as so many families have this past year, is always heartbreaking. My thoughts are with Prince Philips family and all who loved him. In his tribute, Sir Keir said that the UK had lost an extraordinary public servant in Prince Philip, adding: He will be remembered most of all for his extraordinary commitment and devotion to the Queen. For more than seven decades, he has been at her side. Their marriage has been a symbol of strength, stability and hope. Mr Johnson stood outside No 10 to say that the Duke had helped to steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life, and also hailed his steadfast support for Her Majesty the Queen... not just as her Consort, by her side every day of her reign, but as her husband, her strength and stay of more than 70 years. A source close to Sir Keir said: Keirs private office have had a number of constructive and respectful conversations with No 10 over the past 24 hours without this being mentioned. It is appalling that someone in Government is attempting to play politics during a period of national mourning. Mr Johnson stood outside No 10 to say that the Duke had helped to steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close KYODO NEWS - Apr 10, 2021 - 23:59 | World, All Over 80 people were killed in Bago in central Myanmar from Thursday night to Friday as the military opened fire on anti-coup protesters and others, local media and Reuters reported, likely making it the deadliest day a single area has seen in the country since a February coup. Also, Friday, Myanmar's military-affiliated TV channel reported that 19 people were sentenced to death by court-martial the previous day over the death of an army officer's associate. Both developments are almost certain to draw further international condemnation over the military's bloody crackdowns on protesters. While the precise number of deaths remains unclear, the Irrawaddy news website on Saturday put the death toll in Bago at over 70, while local media outlet Myanmar Now reported that 82 people were killed. Reuters cited the Myanmar Now report and a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thai-based rights group monitoring the situation in Myanmar. Soldiers reportedly surrounded residents from early morning, using heavy weaponry. They brought the dead into a pagoda, where over 50 bodies might be, Myanmar Now reported, citing a protest group leader who spoke with eyewitnesses. Troops arrived in a residential area in 10 trucks in the late afternoon and shot people, the report said. Before the reports of the mass killings in Bago, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners had put the death toll from the military's violence against protesters since the coup at 618 as of Friday. Thursday's death penalty against 19 people by court-martial likely marked the first such sentences imposed by the junta following the coup. On March 27, the 19 robbed and tortured an army officer and his associate after stopping their motorbike in the township of North Okkalapa in the country's largest city Yangon, killing the latter, according to MRTV. The township is one of several in Yangon where the junta declared martial law in March. Out of the 19, only two are in custody, and the rest remain at large, the report said. On the country's Armed Forces Day on March 27, more than 100 people were killed by security forces across Myanmar, the deadliest day of protests since the Feb. 1 coup. According to local media, at least 14 police officers were killed and several other people wounded in Shan State in the country's northeast on Saturday morning as armed ethnic minority groups attacked a police outpost there. Some of the country's armed ethnic minority groups that had fought against the military have come out to support anti-coup protesters, fueling concerns that the chaos unleashed by the coup could intensify. In an earlier development, the junta's top decision-making body, the State Administration Council, indicated at a news conference on Friday that the one-year state of emergency issued following the coup could be extended. The country's Constitution stipulates that a one-year state of emergency can be extended for another year, with a general election to be held within six months after the state of emergency ends. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said the council will abide by regulations, stressing that it has promised the world an election would be held. He also defended the military as a protector of democracy. Star Phoenix Group Ltd ("Star Phoenix" or "the Company") 9 April 2021 OUTSTANDING PAYMENT UPDATE Star Phoenix (AIM: STA), an international company with an oilfield services business in Trinidad and an oil and gas interest in Indonesia, provides the following update in relation to the outstanding payable due to the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Company Group") from LandOcean Energy Services Co., Ltd and its affiliates ("LandOcean"). As previously advised, substantial sums remain due and payable to the Company Group from LandOcean pursuant to the sale and purchase agreement of Range Resources Trinidad Limited (the "SPA"). All previous attempts by the Company to resolve the matter and recover the outstanding sums were unsuccessful. The Company Group has engaged new legal advisers (the "Advisers") to assist with this matter. The Advisers have now notified LandOcean that the Company Group has elected to terminate the SPA due to repudiatory breach by LandOcean, and is claiming various sums in excess of US$10.2 million. Unless LandOcean express their willingness to pay these sums by 12 April 2021, or alternatively meet with the Company Group, the Advisers are instructed to commence arbitration proceedings in the London Court of International Arbitration without any further notice or warning. The Company will provide a further update to the shareholders upon further material developments. Contact Details Star Phoenix Group Ltd Evgenia Bezruchko (Group Corporate Development Manager & Joint Company Secretary) e. admin@starphoenixgroup.com t. +44 (0)20 3865 8430 WH Ireland Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker) James Joyce / Matthew Chan t. +44 (0)20 7220 1666 The information contained within this announcement is considered to be inside information prior to its release, as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014, and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of those Regulations. Agartala, April 10 : In a major and far-reaching political development in BJP ruled Tripura, a newly-formed tribal based party, TIPRA Motha, registered a landslide victory on Saturday to capture power in the politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), defeating the saffron party candidates. Of the total 28 seats in TTAADC, the TIPRA Motha won 18 seats, the BJP secured nine seats while one seat went to an Independent candidate. The outcome of the elections to the TTAADC is a major setback for the BJP-IPFT (Indigenous People's Front of Tripura) alliance, which wrested power in Tripura in 2018 after defeating the CPI-M-led Left parties that ruled the state for 25 years. However, as a consolation, the BJP for the first time won nine seats in the TTAADC though its junior ally IPFT, despite being a major tribal-based party, drew a blank. According to the results declared by the State Election Commission, which conducted the April 6 elections to the 28-member TTAADC, of the 28 winners, two are women - Dolly Reang (TIPRA Motha) and Swapna Rani Das (BJP). The counting of votes took place on Saturday in 16 sub-divisional headquarters across Tripura. Amalgamating various local tribal-based parties and leaders and members of other parties, the TIPRA Motha headed by Tripura's royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman was formed just a few months ago. It fielded candidates in all the 28 seats while the BJP-IPFT alliance also contested all the seats. Deb Barman, who was earlier the state president of the Congress but subsequently quit the party in 2019 over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act issue, won from the Takarjala-Jampuijala seat in western Tripura. Deb Barman, 43, son of former Congress minister Bibhu Kumari Devi and ex-Congress Lok Sabha member Kirit Bikram Kishore Deb Barman, is likely to be the chief executive member of the TTAADC. Tripura's oldest tribal-based party Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), a former ally of the Congress, is also a partner of the TIPRA Motha, and its two candidates, including general secretary Jagadhish Debbarma, secured victory in the TTAADC polls. The CPI-M led Left Front, the Congress and the other parties had also fielded candidates in the 28 seats of TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction of over two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which 90 per cent are tribals. Over 85 per cent of the 8,65,041 voters had cast their votes on Tuesday in the election to the TTAADC, which was constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in June 1985 for the socio-economic development of the tribals, which constitute one-third of Tripura's four million population. The five-year tenure of TTAADC, considered as a mini-state Assembly in terms of political significance, expired on May 17 last year and the BJP-led state government promulgated the Governor's rule by appointing a retired IAS officer as administrator the next day for a period of six months and then extended the term for another six months on November 17. After months of political tussles, the BJP and the IPFT had on April 6 decided to jointly fight the elections, weeks before the TTAADC polls. The opposition CPI-M, which was governing the TTAADC until May 17 last year, has also suffered a setback in the elections as it has a strong base among the tribals evr since the erstwhile princely state had merged with the Indian union in October 1949. The IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for the creation of a separate state by upgrading the TTAADC while TIPRA Motha had recently raised the demand for a 'greater Tipra land' (greater areas for the indigenous tribals). But both the demands were, however, strongly opposed by all the political major parties, including the BJP, the CPI-M and the Congress. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. A guest looks through a rifle scope in a booth at the NRA convention in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 27, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) North Carolina Bill Seeks to Repeal Pistol Permit and Shorten Felons Wait to Get Gun Rights Back North Carolina Republicans have filed a pro-Second Amendment bill that would repeal the states handgun permit requirement and reduce the number of years that people convicted of nonviolent crimes must wait before seeking to have their gun rights restored. GOP state Sens. Danny Britt, Jim Perry, and Todd Johnson, sponsored Senate Bill 687 (pdf), which was filed on April 7 and the following day referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate for consideration. The bill seeks to lower from the current 20 down to 10 the number of years North Carolinians convicted of nonviolent felonies must wait from the moment their civil rights have been restored to when theyre eligible to apply to get their firearm rights back. While North Carolina automatically restores a persons civil rights after they have finished their sentence and fulfilled requirements like parole and fees, some states do not, with implications for the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians who served sentences for crimes in such states, but never applied for the restoration of their civil rights. In an interview with The Center Square, Britt described the situation of a North Carolina constituent convicted of a crime in Virginia, who waited 17 years before applying and getting his civil rights restored there. So basically, hes gonna have his firearms rights gone for 37 years, and this is somebody whos never had any other convictions. Hes wanting to take his grandson hunting, Britt said. The bill addresses this problem by allowing North Carolinians convicted of nonviolent felonies out of state to apply for the restoration of firearms rights even if their civil rights have not been restored, provided that ten years have passed since they became eligible to have their civil rights restored. The legislation proposes no changes to the final decision on the restoration of gun rights, which remains up to the court. The bill also seeks to make it legal to acquire handguns in North Carolina without having to first apply for a permit, by repealing pistol purchase permit laws enacted before the establishment of the federal NICS background check system. This relic that is the pistol purchase permit now only serves as a time barrier, an unnecessary fee, and a general inconvenience to the exercise of the Second Amendment, the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action said in a statement. The move came as President Joe Biden announced several gun control measures on Thursday, seeking to stop the proliferation of so-called ghost guns and pushing states to adopt red flag laws. Biden is directing the Department of Justice to issue a proposed rule aimed at curbing the spread of guns made from build-it-yourself kits, which have no serial numbers and are virtually impossible to trace, posing a challenge to law enforcement if they are used to commit a crime. The department will also issue a proposed rule on stabilizing bracesaccessories that make a pistol perform more like a rifleand publish model red flag legislation. Red flag laws let family members or law enforcement ask a court to bar people from owning guns if the people allegedly present a danger to themselves or others. Two men charged in connection with riots in Northern Ireland have been denied bail on grounds that they could reoffend. Matthew Shaw, 32, with an address in Portadown, and Jonathan Maitland, 25, from Lanark Way, Belfast, appeared before Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday, having been arrested following the riots on Thursday night. Shaw was charged with rioting while Maitland was charged with rioting and possessing petrol bombs in suspicious circumstances. Seamus Bannon, representing Shaw, told the court his client had found himself at the scene of the riots on Lanark Way at the behest and encouragement of others. Youths fire fireworks at the PSNI on the Springfield Road, near Lanark Way on Thursday (Liam McBurney/PA) Mr Bannon said his client has no sectarian axe to grind and was at a loss to explain how on earth he found himself in this position. Its clear to me that he has no axe to grind in terms of whats going on. His wife is actually Catholic and he was found at the Unionist/Protestant side of this divide he said. He has no sectarian axe to grind at all. The court heard Shaw is a father to two children, while his partner is heavily pregnant with their third child. Mr Bannon said: She is absolutely appalled and disgusted that he has found himself in the position he now is in. Its brought embarrassment on her and embarrassment on his children. Applying for bail, Mr Bannon noted that his client was charged only with being present at the scene and had not harmed or injured anybody. He said the single reason for opposing bail would be risk of further offences. He added: Given the conversation that I have had with his wife, he is going to have very significant explaining to do when hes speaking to her next. She is a very stabilising influence, she runs a good house and she keeps him and everybody in the house in check. I submit that if he is granted bail, that in itself will be a significant factor on any particular issue that the court might have. However, Judge Rosalie Prytherch said the offences he is charged with are very serious, and that the situation in relation to the riots is ongoing. She noted that he had made the decision to travel some distance at the encouragement of others to be present on Thursday night. Denying bail, she said the risk of reoffending was too high and that the community needs to be protected. He was ordered to appear before the court via videolink on April 21. People gather by the the Peace Gates in Lanark Way, Belfast, during further unrest in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA) Shaw, who is in receipt of employment benefits, was granted legal aid. Maitland was charged with rioting and possession of petrol bombs in suspicious circumstances. He was also denied bail over fears that he could reoffend, with the court hearing he lived just a 15-minute walk form the scene of the disorder. His solicitor Higgins Hollywood Deazley told the court his client attended the scene after being sent footage of what was happening on social media. He said his client had found a plastic bag at the scene, and picked it up thinking there was alcohol in the bag. Another man wearing a balaclava approached him and asked if he was going to do anything with that bag to which he said no, and then provided the bag to them. A clean-up operation under way at Lanark Way in west Belfast, following scenes of violent disorder over recent nights (Rebecca Black/PA) He said an allegation that his client had lit a petrol bomb was under dispute in his police interview. Shaw told police he could not remember if he had lit the petrol bomb or passed his lighter to them, but believed he had passed his lighter as it was no longer in his possession. The reason for his lack of memory, Mr Deazley said, was that his client was intoxicated having taken about 12 beers, tins of Harp. He said his client had only been at the scene for a short time, was suffering from PTSD after being the victim of an assault some years back, and was struggling with family issues. Judge Prytherch denied the application in view of the seriousness of the charges, the ongoing situation in relation to public disorder and the risk of reoffending. She ordered him to appear before the court via videolink on April 22. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) Those planning to visit the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea should coordinate with authorities first, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday in the wake of Chinese vessels' reported chase of a Filipino television news crew in the area. In a statement, the DFA said the incident, "if proven to be true," will be raised with the Chinese government. "In the meantime, the department is thankful that the crew and the Filipino vessel are safe," the DFA said. "The public is reminded to coordinate with Philippine authorities when planning a visit to the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea," it added. The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday launched an investigation as ordered by the Department of National Defense. Both expressed concern over ABS-CBN's report that its news crew, on board a Filipino civilian vessel, was chased by two missile attack craft of the Chinese Navy, as well as a China Coast Guard ship when the group tried to enter Ayungin Shoal. Internationally known as Second Thomas Shoal, Ayungin Shoal is around 105 nautical miles off Palawan province, well within the country's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The BRP Sierra Madre has been intentionally grounded there to serve as an outpost of the Philippine Navy. ABS-CBN reporter Chiara Zambrano, in a tweet quoting the DFA's statement, said her news team "was in communication with the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines before, during, and after the journey." She said her team wanted to do a story on how Filipino fishermen are coping amid the presence of Chinese vessels in the KIG. The Armed Forces has spotted around 200 Chinese vessels in the area over the past weeks. These include four Chinese navy vessels at Panganiban Reef, also known as Mischief Reef, the largest of China's artificial islands located less than 20 nautical miles from Ayungin. The Philippines considers Ayungin Shoal, as well as other parts of the KIG as part of Palawan province. China claims the area through a historic nine-dash line that a 2016 arbitral ruling has invalidated. ABS-CBN reporter Chiara Zambrano said her team wanted to do a story on how Filipino fishermen are coping amid the presence of Chinese vessels in the KIG. The Armed Forces has spotted around 200 Chinese vessels in the area over the past weeks. These include four Chinese navy vessels at Panganiban Reef, also known as Mischief Reef, the largest of Chinas artificial islands located less than 20 nautical miles from Ayungin. READ: Chinese militia vessels now scattered in West PH Sea, task force says According to ABS-CBN, a China coast guard vessel first chased the civilian boat for about an hour. The ship eventually left, only to be replaced by two "smaller, faster vessels," which it believed to be Houbei Type 22 missile fast attack craft. By that time, the ABS-CBN team was just around 90 nautical miles from Palawan, its report read. There have been reports of Chinese vessels driving away Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, but this could be the first known case of alleged missile-capable boats doing the chase. In response to the incident, the Armed Forces also appealed to the media to "exercise prudence in the course of their job," noting that the government previously gave the media access to maritime patrol "so they can be protected while in the practice of their profession." The Armed Forces has been criticized for these remarks. "Why blame journalists for being harassed?" the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines asked. "[T]he team was in a civilian boat sailing in Philippine waters, an act that is legal in the Philippines and presumably safe," it said. Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, vice chairperson of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, also came to the journalists' defense, saying the Armed Forces should be more concerned about defending the sovereign rights of the country and of Filipinos. The landmark arbitral ruling recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights to areas within its EEZ that Beijing contests, but the East Asian giant rejects the decision and insists on owning them as part of its vast claims in the South China Sea. Over the past weeks, the Philippines has sent diplomatic protests against the presence of suspected Chinese militia vessels at Julian Felipe Reef, also known as Whitsun Reef, an area in the KIG that lies some 175 nautical miles from Bataraza, Palawan. President Biden has named a commission to consider possible changes to the Supreme Court. (Associated Press) President Biden has turned to a familiar Washington institution the blue-ribbon commission to try to defuse a political problem. Progressive activists have been pressing the president to support an enlargement of the Supreme Court "court-packing" in Washington parlance. Such a position would be a reversal for Biden, who in 2019 said: Im not prepared to go on and try to pack the court, because well live to rue that day. The 36-member commission announced on Friday will look at "the merits and legality of particular reform proposals," That would include not only court-packing but also a proposal that justices serve lengthy fixed terms an idea endorsed by the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board. But to some progressives, court-packing is the only way to ensure that a majority of Republican-appointed justices wont thwart the agenda of Biden and a Democratic Congress. Theres also an element of revenge in the call for a larger court: Democrats are still fuming, understandably, about Sen. Mitch McConnells refusal in 2016 to let the Senate consider President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland (now the U.S. attorney general) to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who had died unexpectedly. McConnell argued that when a vacancy occurs in an election year, the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. McConnell blithely violated that invented principle in 2020 when the Republican-controlled Senate rushed to confirm President Trumps election-year nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Yet court-packing could set off a chain reaction of court enlargement every time the Senate and the White House changed hands. As Biden put it in 2019: "We had three justices. Next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has at all." Thats not the only argument against court-packing. In a speech Tuesday at Harvard Law School, Justice Stephen Breyer the court's senior Democratic appointee suggested that advocates of court-packing and other structural changes in the court should "think long and hard before they embody those changes in law." Story continues Breyer said that the court's authority relies on a trust that the court is guided by legal principle, not politics. He then warned: Structural alteration motivated by the perception of political influence can only feed that latter perception, further eroding that trust. Breyers comments were a variation of a now famous statement by Chief justice John G. Roberts Jr.: We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. Roberts description of a federal judiciary free of politics was too simple (as I wrote here). But the notion that the Supreme Court is a partisan body is also a distortion. The Supreme Court including three Trump appointees didn't come to Trumps rescue when he and his allies contested the result of the election, a fact alluded to by Breyer. Less well-known is the fact that Democratic-appointed justices have ruled against Democratic presidents in significant cases. Members of Bidens commission will hear from people who want to expand the court. They also should listen to Breyer. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Right Stuff television series, based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe, premiered on October 9, 2020 on Disney+. Unfortunately, despite the excellent reviews, Disney+ decided to cancel the series after just one season. However, theres still hope for the series to continue because Warner Bros. Television is shopping the project to other outlets. As reported by slashfilm.com, Warner Bros. Television is looking at potential new homes like TNT and HBO Max. The studio recently sought an extension of the options on the cast to return for a second season so they can figure out if the series can continue elsewhere. Whats not clear is what the direction of the series would take. Apparently negotiations with Disney+ included a potential new direction for the show with a focus on a space mission from the 1980s with a completely new cast, making The Right Stuff into an anthology series of sorts. Its not clear if that would be the plan at a new streaming home. Loosely based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe and the 1983 film adaptation that follows, The Right Stuff was the first original series produced by National Geographic for the streaming service. LHC Group Chairman and CEO Keith Myers and his wife and company co-founder Ginger are pictured during a livestream to announce that LHC Group, a Lafayette-based home health care company, will donate $20 million to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to benefit the College of Nursing and Allied Health, March 25. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size A recent edition of the University of Sydneys student newspaper Honi Soit included articles that no one could mistake for conservative. There was a queer, anti-capitalist love letter to the video game Stardew Valley and another taking aim at Western museums which, the article opined, are irrevocably entrenched in imperialism, European supremacy and colonial violence. But there was also an investigation of two Sydney University academics who, according to the student newspaper, had not fully disclosed connections to Chinese talent recruitment programs. Editors of Sydney Universitys student newspaper, the Honi Soit, pulled an article some students claimed reeked of McCarthyism 2.0. Credit:Steven Siewert The reaction from other students was swift. They accused the piece of implicitly suggesting the academics were risking national security and reeking of McCarthyism 2.0 amid rising fears of Sinophobia. Hours later, Honi Soits editors took down the piece and posted an apology. It is the latest in a string of incidents involving competing claims about free speech, racism and China on Australian university campuses as they emerge from their coronavirus hiatus. Major universities have long been accused of depending too heavily on the hefty fees paid by Chinese international students, who make up nearly a quarter of the student population on some campuses. Advertisement Academics links to China through Communist Party-controlled talent programs are also under the spotlight of a federal parliamentary inquiry examining foreign interference at Australian universities. The treatment of China in lecture halls, at campus events and even in the pages of student newspapers is therefore highly sensitive, and the Honi Soit incident illustrates the hyper-charged atmosphere surrounding Australias largest trading partner and greatest geopolitical challenge. When the newspaper removed the story from its website, it prompted a fierce response from critics of the Chinese Communist Party on campus, who accused the student editors of capitulating to CCP influence and abandoning free speech. And when the incident was reported by The Sun-Herald, it led to similar criticism from five federal MPs including Education Minister Alan Tudge. Left activists have forgotten what freedom of speech means in an era of woke culture, said Mr Tudge, who had not read the article. Certainly any claims that it was taken down to appease the Chinese Communist Party are deeply concerning. Mr Tudges decision to jump on a small-time controversy at a student paper was hardly surprising. Just last month the government passed new laws protecting free speech at universities, despite a government commissioned review finding in 2019 there was no free speech crisis. A series of incidents shows how the rancorous state of the debate has raised the stakes when students try to discuss China, made it harder for them to apologise for mistakes and created a sense of panic at sometimes modest backlashes that can lead to hasty and censorious decisions. Advertisement In Melbourne, a student newsletter published an anonymous opinion piece calling for Chinese international students to be excluded from the university and at the ANU, an independent gallery on campus took down a series of works dealing with the coronavirus and the Chinese Communist Party. In late March, Ambush Gallery took down an artwork that depicted Batman on Chinese currency. In a jab at dubious theories COVID-19 jumped directly from bats to people, the work was captioned: A shout out to the man that ate the bat in a Wuhan wet market that stopped the f---ing world (which probably didnt happen). Several Chinese students visiting the gallery told staff they saw it was feeding negative racial narratives, according to an Ambush spokeswoman, in concerns backed up by the ANU International Students Department, a campus student association. The artist, who goes by E.L.K, received online abuse over his work and agreed to have the bat image removed from display. Two others - one a commentary on CCP repression with Chairman Mao under the gaze of facial recognition technology and a second referencing the treatment of Uighurs through a visual rhyme - were also taken down without E.L.Ks permission. One of the works that was taken down. Winnie the Pooh, representing President Xi Jinping, strangles Tigger a rhyme for Uighur. Winnie the Pooh is banned in China after being widely used to mock Xi. Credit: Supplied / E.L.K Critics of the Chinese Communist Party once again cried censorship. Advertisement But in that case and the Honi Soit debacle, there was no apparent drive to appease the Communist Party. Instead, panic at a potential larger cancel culture-style backlash, which never really came, seems to have led to a counterproductive overreaction from people not used to dealing with the intensity of debates about China and race. An Ambush Gallery spokeswoman said the two works were removed not because of pressure to silence any freedom of speech, but because we just acted quickly and took down the series without thinking more broadly about how that might be perceived, she said. These incidents are awkward for the universities, which are trying to show they understand government concerns about Communist Party influence and free speech. Some have gone so far as to engage John Garnaut - a former journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age who became a senior adviser to Malcolm Turnbull and led the governments 2017 foreign interference review - to audit their connections with China. In statements, the ANU, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney variously emphasised that the campus institutions in this article were independent, that they valued free speech, monitored foreign interference risks and welcomed international collaboration and students. Loading The 10 Honi Soit student editors, battered by a week of criticism from both sides of politics, declined to be interviewed for this story. But others who spoke on and off the record described the criticism as coming mainly from former editors of the same newspaper who wanted to register their concerns with a piece they saw as poor journalism that undermined the papers left-wing tradition. Advertisement Lei Yao, who edited Honi Soit in 2020, says she thought she was the only international student to criticise the piece publicly. I dont agree with the opinion of this article at all, which doesnt mean they [the current editors] dont have freedom of speech anyway, Ms Yao says. But to name professors and humiliate them on [a] media platform is totally out of line. Feedback from Yao and others led the editors to pull the piece, which was not something all of those commenting had intended. Some had predicted correctly that removing it would only drive more attention (including from the Herald and The Age) to the piece. The 10 Honi Soit student editors, battered by a week of criticism from both sides of politics, declined to be interviewed for this story. Credit:Steven Siewert Moving forward, we will ensure that we are always critical of the sources on which we rely and we recognise our duty as student journalists to actively combat Western imperialist and xenophobic biases present in mainstream media, the editors apology read. Later, in a statement, they added: We maintain that nothing in the article was incorrect. Loading Osmond Chiu, a research fellow at the left-wing think tank Per Capita, says the Honi article had gone too far by naming the academics without evidence of wrongdoing or a response from them, especially against a background of concern from Asian Australians about rising racism. But Chiu says he had sympathy for the young editors. Its difficult for people who have been around [the issues] for the last 20 years to navigate, let alone people who are barely in adulthood. Advertisement The Supreme Court is telling California that it can't enforce Gov. Gavin Newsom's coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings. The order from the court late Friday is the latest in a recent string of cases in which the high court has barred officials from enforcing some coronavirus-related restrictions applying to religious gatherings. Five conservative justices agreed that California restrictions that apply to in-home religious gatherings should be lifted for now, while the court's three liberals and Chief Justice John Roberts would not have done so. California has already, however, announced significant changes loosening restrictions on gatherings that go into effect April 15. The changes come after infection rates have gone down in the state. California has already announced significant changes loosening restrictions on gatherings that go into effect April 15. The changes come after infection rates have gone down in the state Regulations crafted under Gov. Gavin Newsom had limited in-home gatherings to no more than three households The state currently has just over 3,590,000 people infected with COVID-19 while another 58,943 have died. The case before the justices involved California rules that in most of the state limit indoor social gatherings to no more than three households. Attendees are required to wear masks and physically distance from one another. Different restrictions apply to places including schools, grocery stores and churches. 'California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise,' allowing hair salons, retail stores, and movie theaters, among other places, 'to bring together more than three households at a time,' the unsigned order from the court said. A lower court 'did not conclude that those activities pose a lesser risk of transmission than applicants' proposed religious exercise at home,' it said. Five conservative justices agreed that California restrictions that apply to in-home religious gatherings should be lifted for now The court acknowledged that California's policy on gatherings will change next week but said the restrictions remain in place until then and that 'officials with a track record of 'moving the goalposts' retain authority to reinstate those heightened restrictions at any time.' Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent for herself and her liberal colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, that the court's majority was hurting state officials' ability to address a public health emergency. 'California limits religious gatherings in homes to three households. If the State also limits all secular gatherings in homes to three households, it has complied with the First Amendment. And the State does exactly that: It has adopted a blanket restriction on at-home gatherings of all kinds, religious and secular alike. California need not ... treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons,' she wrote. She added that 'the law does not require that the State equally treat apples and watermelons.' Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent for herself and her liberal colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, that the court's majority was hurting state officials' ability to address a public health emergency The case before the justices involved two residents of Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area, who want to host small, in-person Bible study sessions in their homes. California had defended its policy of restricting social gatherings as 'entirely neutral.' The court has dealt with a string of cases in which religious groups have challenged coronavirus restrictions impacting worship services. While early in the pandemic the court sided with state officials over the objection of religious groups, that changed following the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last September and her replacement by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. In November, the high court barred New York from enforcing certain limits on attendance at churches and synagogues in areas designated as hard hit by the virus. And in February, the high court told California that it cant bar indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic, though it let stand for now a ban on singing and chanting indoors. NRA Hails Florida Court Ruling to Uphold Law Barring Local Gun Control The National Rifle Association (NRA) on April 9 hailed a Florida appeals court ruling to uphold a 2011 state law that threatens tough penalties if city and county officials approve gun-related regulations that are stricter than state laws. MAJOR NRA COURT WIN: Florida appellate court upholds preemption statute and says that public officials can be fined for overriding state law and implementing local gun control, the gun-rights group said on Twitter. The NRA was instrumental in passing this statute and filed an amicus brief in the case. A three-judge panel of the states 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee granted an appeal from the state of Florida that sought to uphold the 2011 law. The appeal by Attorney General Ashley Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis was in response to a lower court ruling in 2019 that found the 2011 law unconstitutional. The trial court invalidated Floridas statutory penalties against local governments, local officials, and agency heads for violating the Florida Legislatures total preemption of firearm and ammunition regulation, the ruling by Judge Susan Kelsey reads (pdf). We find the challenged statutes valid and enforceable, and we reverse. Florida has had a statute since 1987, Field of regulation of firearms and ammunition preempted, that declares null and void any new gun control laws passed by local-level governments that would be stricter than state laws and override them. The statute sought to ensure that lawful gun owners wouldnt inadvertently break local rules while traveling within the state. In 2011, Florida enacted a measure providing penalties against local governmental entities or individual officials who wilfully violate the state preemption statuteeffectively giving it more teeth. The penalty provisions include fines of up to $5,000 and removal of the local officials of concern from office by the governor. The law also allows for the recovery of damages of up to $100,000 as well as court and attorney costs and fees for the prevailing party if someone successfully sues local governments over local gun laws. The 2011 law was challenged in three separate lawsuits by 30 municipalities, three counties, and more than 70 local officials, with the argument that the penalties in the 2011 law were unconstitutional. The lawsuits came in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting in February 2018, which killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Then-Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, in a ruling in July 2019 that consolidated the three legal actions, found the 2011 law unconstitutional on a series of grounds. Because local governments must have what amount to small legislatures, and because courts cannot interfere in legislative processes, neither this court, nor any other court in Florida, can enforce the civil penalty provisions [of the law] against local legislators, Dodson wrote in his order. He also focused on how the Constitution may define the concept of legislative immunity and government function immunity that would protect local officials from penalties for making decisions in their official capacity. His ruling didnt affect the 1987 statute, which wasnt challenged. Kelsey, writing for the appellate panel, rejected the lower court ruling. We hold that the statutory penalty provisions disputed on appeal are valid and enforceable. Government function immunity does not shield entities that act contrary to or more restrictively than state law in the completely preempted field of firearm and ammunition regulation. Likewise, legislative immunity does not shield individuals who knowingly and willfully act contrary to or beyond the limits of state law, she wrote. She stated that the state Legislature is authorized to enact general laws preempting all regulation in an area of the law. As this case illustrates, the Legislature has exercised its preemption authority with respect to firearms and ammunition, she said. The NRA had filed an amicus brief (pdf) to the appeals court in support of Florida in the case. Amicus briefs were also filed in support of local entities that challenged the 2011 law: one brief (pdf) was filed by the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Association of Counties, and another (pdf) was filed by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Brady gun-control group, and the League of Women Voters of Florida and Equality Florida Institute Inc. Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter who are competing to represent the open U.S. House seat centered in New Orleans earn far more than their constituents in what is one of the countrys poorest congressional districts. Peterson and Carter, both of whom are Democratic state senators, each earned more than $150,000 last year, according to personal financial disclosure reports they had to file with the Office of the Clerk in Congress. That puts the two among the top 15% of income earners in the country, according to Census Bureau figures. The 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of New Orleans and the west bank of Jefferson Parish but snakes up with the Mississippi River to north Baton Rouge, had a median income of $44,000 in 2019. Early voting starts Saturday as runoff between Troy Carter, Karen Carter-Peterson tops local ticket Voters across the New Orleans metro area, along with Baton Rouge and several southeastern parishes, can begin casting early ballots Saturday i Carter, a graduate of Xavier University, attributed his financial success to hard work. His main source of income was the $150,000 he earned from his New Orleans-based consulting firm, Policy & Planning Partners. We provide advice and counsel on various issues, planning and management consulting, he said. Some of it is government, some is B to B (business to business). None of my business is directly with government. I dont have any government contracts. Carter said he has had clients with zoning matters before the New Orleans City Council but has none now. Carter also earned $34,000 for his part-time work as a state senator from Algiers. He was elected to the position in 2015 and won re-election in 2019. Troy Carter pays fine after missing filing deadline in race against Karen Carter Peterson Troy Carter missed a deadline to file his personal financial disclosure report as a candidate in the congressional race to succeed Cedric Richmond. Carter served in the state House from 1992 to 1994, when he was elected to the City Council. He served there for two terms before losing the 2002 race for mayor. In 2020, Carter also earned $30,000 from renting out a building that houses a coffee shop on Algiers Point. He lives in the gated English Turn neighborhood. Carter also owns several residential properties in Algiers that he rents out. As The Advocate and WWL-TV reported in January, he faced strong criticism from neighbors for a home on Algiers Point that had been cited for numerous code violations and remained an eyesore after a fire 14 months earlier. Carter is now renovating the property and had workers cover the worst scars of the fire. Carter filed his personal financial disclosure more than a month late and had to pay a $200 fine as a result. 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 LaToya Cantrell backs Karen Carter Peterson in congressional race; is it the 'difference-maker?' Three days before early voting begins in the special congressional election, Karen Carter Peterson won the endorsement she had sought for week That opened him up for criticism from Peterson during a press conference on Wednesday to announce her endorsement from Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Im the only candidate in this race that filed a personal disclosure report form on time, Peterson said. Gary Chambers Jr., the Baton Rouge social justice activist and advocate who also endorsed Peterson, is also more than a month late in filing his report. Petersons report shows that her main source of income in 2020 was the $109,000 she earned working for the Dentons corporate law firm, which has thousands of lawyers throughout the world. Negative ad hits Karen Carter Peterson for missed 2020 votes, says 'she doesnt show up for work' An outside super PAC is muscling into the race for the 2nd Congressional District with a six-figure ad buy that hits state Sen. Karen Carter P ANTIGRAVITY magazine published a voter guide in February that included an archived webpage of her bio from Dentons website that listed Peterson as part of its global energy sector. She advises emerging businesses on a full range of legal matters, including incorporations, strategic and business development and local regulatory processes, it said. Peterson, a graduate of Howard University and Tulane Law School, says she is no longer with the firm. She left the law firm to focus full time on her run for Congress, a campaign spokesperson said in an email. During the press conference on Wednesday, Peterson declined to answer questions about her work for Dentons and said, I have done everything honorably. Ill tell you this, my integrity has never ever been questioned, ever been questioned. Peterson declined an interview request on Friday. Her personal financial disclosure report shows that, in addition to her work for Dentons, she also earned $24,000 for her work as chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party in 2020 a job she relinquished that year after eight years in that position. She also took in and $22,000 for her part-time work as a state senator from New Orleans. She was first elected to the House in 1999 and to the Senate in 2010. Early voting in the race begins Saturday. The election is April 24. A few days ago, Amit Sadh had quit social media with a long heartfelt note. We've been dealing with coronavirus pandemic for over a year now, with a recent second surge of cases, it looks like we won't be going to the old 'normal' any time soon. With more people staying at home, a lot of people are taking to social media to interact with their followers and bridge the physical gap we've all been experiencing. Amit Sadh, however, approached social media with a different point of view at this time. While saying that he will be taking time off, he wrote, "I AM GOING OFFLINE. The recent events have made me reflect on whether I should be posting my pictures and reels. Especially when my city Mumbai and the entire state is under strict COVID restrictions, the whole country is going through a difficult time. I believe my posts and reels of the gym sessions, the silly things that I do will not heal or entertain anyone. This is not a criticism to anyone. I personally feel the best way to be sensitive about the situation is to pray and hope for things to get better (sic)." The actor added, "Reach out to people who make very few salaries, who have two 0s or three 0s in their salary, help the daily wage earners because they suffer the most. Life must go on even though I feel burdened. I am disheartened when we do not acknowledge the seriousness and do not address it. We cannot behave that everything is okay; this is a pandemic. I will continue to do what is expected of me, wear a mask, maintain a social distance of 6 feet, step out when necessary, follow protocols and rules. I am going to be vigilant, and I urge you all to do the same. I hope things get better to a point where I can start being goofy and silly again (sic)." Adding to that, he also added, I personally feel the best way to be sensitive about the situation is to pray and hope for things to get better. In a follow-up interview with TOI, Amit Sadh strongly suggested that many celebrities post on social media in a way that shows that they're ignorant of our current reality. He further said that "Is Brad Pitt showing you that he is on an exotic island while the rest are battling corona? No, right?" he continued. "Theres so much suffering around and how can you pretend that its all okay because it hasnt affected you? This has been on my mind for weeks. Everything is fake, wheres the place for simplicity? Clearly, this is an empathetic approach in dealing with social media currently. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System will buy the existing Medical West Hospital campus in Bessemer as part of a $51.25-million deal meant to help the affiliated hospital secure a federal loan to construct a new hospital in McCalla. The UA System board of trustees formally approved the deal for the existing 9.7-acre hospital campus in Bessemer Friday morning. The Medical West Hospital Authority is an affiliate of the UAB Health System. Trustee James Wilson III commended the team working on the project Thursday. These guys and girls moved mountains to get things done. We applaud your efforts, Wilson said. The UAB Health System purchase would help Medical West secure a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan to construct a 200-bed replacement facility at a site in McCalla near Exit 1 on US Interstate 459 in unincorporated Jefferson County, according to a presentation to the board on Thursday. The undeveloped site is owned by the health system. As part of the deal, the health system would trade Medical West the undeveloped site and approximately $48.3 million in cash for the $51.25-million existing hospital site, said Clay Ryan, vice chancellor of government affairs for the system. The $48.3 million would covered with a combination of University Hospital reserve funds and an internal system loan, according to the presentation. The USDA loan sought by Medical West would be for $358 million, with 2.225% interest over 35 years, Ryan said. Medical West is in the process of finalizing the loan, according to documents provided to the trustees. The USDA loan terms require the hospital to retire its existing debt and make an equity contribution to the cost of the replacement facility project, according to the presentation. The preliminary budget for the new hospital project, overall, is $575 million, with construction expected to take approximately two years, Ryan said. Under the agreement, the health system would lease the Bessemer campus back to Medical West while the new facility is being constructed. The hospital currently operates with semi-private rooms. The new building would provide patient with more privacy and also allow for a consolidation of medical departments spread among the building of the current campus, said Keith Pennington, president and chief executive officer of Medical West. The new layout would eliminate the need for patients to travel to different building for different specialist services, he said. Those kinds of inefficiencies will go away in the new building, Pennington said. Dawn Bulgarella, chief financial officer for the UAB Health System, said the purchase matches strategic goals of UAB Medicine and the system. It falls in line with the core principles of the UA System of improving the lives and the health of the cities of our state and positively impacting our states economy and to hold ourselves accountable for our health care spending, she said. The Medical West campus, which was constructed in 1964, is located at 995 9th Ave. SW in Bessemer. In 2016, the decision was made to replace the existing hospital, and officials picked the site in McCalla, Bulgarella said. One potential option for the existing campus in Bessemer after Medical West vacates is for UAB to convert it into a mental health hospital, she said. The building layout would be less of an issue in a mental health facility, Pennington said. There is a clear need for this in the state of Alabama, and it would be a very exciting project, Bulgarella said. In 2019, Medical West received approval from the State Health Planning and Development Agency to proceed with plans to construct a replacement. For the last two years or more, we have been working on funding for the project, Bulgarella said. Science fiction inspires entrepreneur to bridge language gap Xinhua) 13:35, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- In his famous science fiction book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams created a fantastic animal called the Babel fish. As its name suggested, the little fish could bridge the language gap between people from different countries or even different planets. Anyone who put the fish in their ear could instantly talk to an alien. Inspired by the Babel fish, a young Chinese entrepreneur named Leal Tian decided to do something to change the way speakers of different languages communicate with each other. He found that, despite the boom in speech recognition technology, the usage experience provided by most translation devices could hardly meet the growing demands of international travel and communication. "It's not a good experience if you have to spend a lot of time waiting for the translator to translate every sentence when you're talking to someone," he said. He wanted to develop earbuds that could translate foreign languages instantly, just like the Babel fish. The simultaneous-translation function provided by such a device would be an improvement on the consecutive interpretation provided by existing translation technologies. In order to transform his idea from science fiction into reality, in 2016, Leal founded a tech firm called Timekettle. The following year, the translator earphones concept was launched on a U.S. crowdfunding website for the first time, attracting 200,000 U.S. dollars in project funding. There followed several years of technical development, the result of which is Timekettle's latest product, the WT2 translator earbuds. With the use of intelligent algorithms, they can translate more than 40 languages. "All you need to do is give an earphone to your foreign friend, and you can enjoy a free and immersive conversation almost without delay," Leal told Xinhua during an interview in Timekettle's meeting room, which is named after the famous science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. A Timekettle user from a multinational family once told Leal that his relationship with his mother-in-law had improved thanks to the earbuds. A total of over 100,000 Timekettle translator earbuds have been sold to customers in more than 100 countries and regions, including the United States, Europe and Japan. The company's partners, including iFlytek, Google and Microsoft, are from over 30 countries and regions. Timekettle owns more than 20 patents at home and abroad, most of which focus on algorithms to improve communication bandwidth and experience. Tian believes that the market prospects of translation devices lie in helping people communicate more freely. In the future, he hopes to launch translation earphones that allow speakers of different languages to instantly understand each other when they speak very fast or even quarrel. "With artificial intelligence booming, more and more science-fiction scenarios are coming true," Leal said. "I hope Timekettle will always be an imaginative technology company." Enditem (Du Yiting also contributed to the story.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Mumbai, April 10 : As the Centre and Maharashtra are engaged in a tug-of-war over the supply of sufficient Covid-19 vaccines, the state Congress on Saturday accused the Centre of discrimination in the distribution of medical supplies like PPE kits, N95 masks and ventilators, here on Saturday. Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that despite the state having the highest Corona caseload, it is facing a 'stepmotherly treatment' from the centre in various essential supplies for Covid-19, while states ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are getting a lion's share, citing a Lok Sabha reply of Feb. 10. "This is not only limited to the distribution of vaccines, but as can be seen in a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, in which the Govt of India has given details of the quantities of critical medical equipment supplied to each state. If we project the total quantity supplied to each State over the patient caseload, we get a shocking picture," said Chavan. Citing the example of Gujarat, he said the state got 9,623 N95 masks per thousand Covid patients, UP got 3,916/1000 Covid patients, compared with Maharashtra which got only 1,560 masks per 1000 patients. Similarly, Gujarat got 4,951 PPEs/1000 patients, UP got 2,446/1000 patients and Maharashtra just 223/1000 patients PPE kits, Chavan said. On ventilators, Gujarat got 13/1000 patients, UP was given 7 and Maharashtra only 2/1000 patients, and Kerala got even lesser than Maharashtra on a per-thousands basis, he pointed out. "As per the Lok Sabha reply (Feb. 10, 2021), in all the categories, Gujarat was given the lion's share of supply of medical equipment which is disproportionate to case load. What is this if not discrimination on the basis of politics," Chavan said. He said the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) seems to be forgetting that he is the PM of the entire country and not just Gujarat, UP or other BJP-ruled states. Maharashtra currently has 534,603 Covid-19 'active cases', a progressive tally of 32,88,540 cases and 57,329 deaths, all highest in the country, with Mumbai and Pune as the worst-hit hotspots. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Enters Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Forest Service and Engages Environmental Review Consultant VANCOUVER, BC, April 8, 2021 /CNW/ - KORE Mining Ltd. (TSXV: KORE) (OTCQX: KOREF) ("KORE" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the United States Forest Service ("USFS") and has engaged a third party consultant to complete the environmental review for KORE's proposed exploration drilling program. KORE is currently accepting bids from drill contractors and working closely with the USFS to commence drilling in safe and responsible manner. KORE remains on track to commence drilling the exciting resource expansion and underlying feeder zone targets in mid-2021. KORE's CEO Scott Trebilcock stated: "Prospecting and geophysics have shown the potential to significantly grow the gold endowment of the Long Valley gold-silver project. With the proposed program we are testing gold oxide resource expansion targets and testing the underlying epithermal boiling zone for higher-grade gold deposits. A major discovery could bring significant long term economic benefits to the region. As KORE explores for such a discovery, we are committed to safety and working in a responsible manner." KORE's proposed drill program could realize up to 15,000 meters of drilling with multiple holes planned from each of the 14 proposed drill pads. Pads were located largely off existing USFS roads, to minimize disturbance and impacts to the surrounding environment. KORE is working closely with the USFS to ensure that the Company meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements to protect the area resources and deliver a safe, low impact program. About Long Valley Gold Project Long Valley is 100% owned epithermal gold and silver project located in Mono County, California. The 15,965 acre land package is district in scale and covers all deep-rooted fault structures of similar genesis to the Hilton Creek fault, the primary 'conduit' for the current Long Valley deposit. A total of 896 holes have been drilled on the Project, the majority being completed by reverse circulation with lesser core, rotary and air track. The current mineral resource estimate is 1,217,000 ounces of Indicated gold and 456,000 ounces of Inferred gold from 63.7 million tonnes of 0.58 grams per tonne and 22.0 million tonnes of 0.65 grams per tonne, respectively. The mineral resource consists of oxide, transition and sulphides. The estimate was prepared Neil Prenn, P.E. of Mine Development Associates with an effective date of September 15, 2020. A Preliminary Economic Assessment for a shallow, low-strip heap leach Au-Ag project was filed October 27, 2020 with the following highlights: US $273 million NPV5% post-tax with IRR of 48% at US$ 1,600 per ounce gold; NPV5% post-tax with IRR of 48% at per ounce gold; Significant leverage to gold: US$ 395 million NPV5% at spot US$ 1,900 per ounce gold; NPV5% at spot per ounce gold; 102,000 ounces gold per year over 7 years mine life; Technically simple: shallow open pit, heap leach with nearby infrastructure; Unmodelled silver potential from metallurgical test-work; and Shallow oxide and sulphide feeder exploration potential to further enhance project. More information is available in the technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on KORE's website at www.koremining.com. About KORE Mining KORE is 100% owner of the Imperial and Long Valley gold projects assets in California. Both projects have positive economic assessments that put KORE on the path to produce up to 350,000 ounces of gold production per year. KORE is supported by strategic investor Eric Sprott who owns 26% of KORE's basic shares. KORE management and Board are aligned with shareholders, owning an additional 38% of the basic shares outstanding. KORE is actively developing its Imperial Gold project and is aggressively exploring across its portfolio of assets. Further information on Long Valley and KORE can be found on the Company's website at www.koremining.com or by contacting us as [email protected] or by telephone at (888) 407-5450. On behalf of KORE Mining Ltd "Scott Trebilcock" Chief Executive Officer (888) 407-5450 Investor Relations Arlen Hansen, KIN Communications 1-888-684-6730 [email protected] Technical information with respect to the Long Valley Gold Project contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Marc Leduc, P.Eng, who is KORE's COO and is the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the technical matters 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. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects", "intends", "indicates" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the actual timing and implementation of the 2021 exploration plan and strategy for the Long Valley Project, the actual timing of completion of the 2021 exploration plan for the Long Valley Project, the opportunities of expansion at the Long Valley Project, the results of the PEA, including future Project opportunities, the projected NPV, permit timelines, the current mineral resource estimate, and the ability to obtain the requisite permits, the market and future price of and demand for gold, and the ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including the all levels of government. Such forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the "Risks" section of the Company's management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 prepared as of April 27, 2020 available under the Company's issuer profile on www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserve. It is uncertain if further exploration will allow improving the classification of the Indicated or Inferred mineral resource. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. SOURCE Kore Mining Related Links http://www.koremining.com Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and the longest serving consort of any British monarch, had a reputation for putting his verbal foot in it, and to outsiders, it often seemed as if he worked hard at burnishing this image. But there was more to the duke than met the eye. Michael Dillon is presented with the Australian Duke of Edinburgh award by Prince Philip in 1963. He was also passionate about young people leading active, meaningful lives, and to this end, instituted the Duke of Edinburgh Award in 1956, which was administered by John Hunt, who had led the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. From those beginnings, the scheme rapidly expanded across Commonwealth countries, which, given the size of the Commonwealth, meant the globe. Salina, N.Y. A 29-year-old man lost control of his car Friday night causing it to roll over on Onondaga Lake Parkway, according to the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office. Three people in the car were taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, including a nine-year old, deputies said. Emergency crews responded to the crash just before 8:30 p.m. near the entrance of the Onondaga Lake Park entrance, deputies said. The man was driving a silver Chevrolet Malibu with New Jersey license plates northwest on the parkway before the crash, deputies said. The car landed in a grassy area on the east side of the road, deputies said. Witnesses say they saw the car driving recklessly and at a high rate of speed, deputies said. The driver was found unconscious behind the steering wheel by other motorist who stopped to help, deputies said. The two passengers were able to exit the car on their own before emergency crews arrived, deputies said. Deputies are still investigating the cause of the crash. 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. Two active tropical cyclones off the west coast of Australia. (Bureau of Meteorology) Western Australia Evacuations Ordered as Cyclones Loom Strong to gale force winds are expected in parts of Western Australia, as two tropical cyclones hover near the states coast. People on islands or at sea off parts of Western Australias northwest coast have been ordered to evacuate. Emergency services late on Friday told residents in the Exmouth Gulf Coast and parts of the Gascoyne Coast to prepare for severe weather expected to arrive on Saturday afternoon and evening. Tropical Cyclone Odette is expected to approach the far northwest of WA on Saturday, with a brief period of strong to gale force winds possible during the afternoon. Tropical Cyclone Seroja is expected to make landfall late on Sunday or early Monday between Carnarvon and Jurien Bay. Anyone on an island between Coral Bay and Geraldton, including the Abrolhos Islands, must evacuate by midday, the Department of Fire and Emergency services ordered on Saturday morning. Anyone at sea must leave by 6 p.m. If evacuating isnt an option they must take shelter or seek safe haven or anchorage. Authorities on Friday night also issued a blue alert for people south of Coral Bay to Geraldton, not including Coral Bay but including Geraldton, to prepare for dangerous weather as Seroja approaches. Further north, Coral Bay, Exmouth and the North West Cape have also been warned to prepare for severe weather. Acting DFES commissioner Craig Waters said there were numerous holiday-makers in the impact areas, many of whom would not have experienced a cyclone before. Recent rainfall and flooding has already battered the northern half of WA during the current cyclone season, he said on Friday. If youre in a tent or caravan, you are simply not protected against the damaging winds that may hit the region. Waters said some roads in the area are still undergoing maintenance to repair damage from recent flooding, and further damage could make roads unpassable for days, or longer. AAP ADVERTISEMENT The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, on Saturday ordered the dismantling of all illegal police road blocks on Lagos-Badagry expressway. The state police commands Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement that Mr Odumosu gave the directive on Friday while addressing Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers. In his bid to restore sanity and decency to the operations of the police along the ever-busy international route, Lagos/Badargy Expressway, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered for the immediate dismantling of illegal road blocks by the police teams from the Lagos State Police Command. He ordered the Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers whose jurisdictions fall along the Badagry Expressway; Festac and Area K, Marogbo, to withdraw their men from the illegal road blocks. He directed that they embark on aggressive motorised patrol and surveillance to police their areas and the route. The Commissioner of Police confirmed that the illegal police road blocks along the route have been condemned by the government, international bodies and interest groups and they must be dismantled without delay, he said. ALSO READ: Minister inaugurates committee to handle complaints against police The CP, however, noted that other police operatives from other police formations, outside the supervision of the Lagos State Police Command who operate along the route would be contacted to adjust and do the needful to restore sanity to their operations. The CP then warned the concerned commanders to take necessary action on the full compliance with his order as any defaulter will be sanctioned accordingly. (NAN) Haiti - Health : The Minister of Health wants another vaccine than AstraZeneca Following the announcement on April 6 in the media of Haiti's refusal to accept a donation of 756,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) via the Covax mechanism, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33423-haiti-flash-haiti-refuses-a-donation-of-756-000-doses-of-the-who-astrazeneca-vaccine.html Laure Adrien the Director General of the Ministry of Health declared "This is false, Haiti has not rejected any vaccine" while admitting that the authorities were analyzing the best option to immunize the population, taking into account the peculiarities of Haiti. However, Wednesday April 7, during the Council of Government, the Minister of Health, Greta Roy Clement, confirmed to the Ministers and to the Prime Minister Jouthe, to have written to the Gavi Alliance (global alliance for vaccines and immunization) in order to reject the WHO donation of AstraZeneca vaccines and ask them to replace this with another vaccine more suited to the country, mentioning that there are other vaccines citing the Janssen vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) by Johnson & Johnson, or that of Moderna... At the origin of this refusal, about ten cases of thrombosis (out of more than 20 million injections) which would be linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine but whose link with the vaccine has not been formally demonstrated. It should be noted that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine favored by Haiti (a single injection and storage at temperatures that do not require a special freezer and also the most expensive of the vaccines) is not immune to adverse effects. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Friday the launch of an in-depth study on this vaccine produced by the American group after 4 suspected cases of thrombosis, including one fatal, in the United States (the vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson is designed on the same principle as the AstraZeneca serum). Moderna is not immune to suspicion, as at least 23 serious cases report side effects after injection of the second dose. But beyond these few rare serious cases of which it remains to prove the link with the vaccines in question, it should not be forgotten that the laboratories at the origin of its vaccines are being waged in the shadows "a merciless war" for a global market of several billion dollars where everything seems possible to eliminate a competitor. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33423-haiti-flash-haiti-refuses-a-donation-of-756-000-doses-of-the-who-astrazeneca-vaccine.html SL/ HaitiLibre Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert was engaged to How the West Was Wons Bruce Boxleitner when he suddenly broke up with her without any explanation. It wasnt too long before they worked through their issues, got back together, and got married. But, in the interim, Gilbert struck up a flirtatious friendship with George Clooney. Just before she got back together with Boxleitner, shed been considering taking her friendship with Clooney to the next level. Melissa Gilbert; George Clooney | Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage, Getty Images; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic, Getty Images How Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner got back together, to George Clooneys dismay Just when Gilbert was getting settled into the house shed bought herself and her baby after her initial split from Boxleitner, her ex gave her a call to attempt to patch things up. As I was settling in, I began work on Cries From the Heart, my third movie with Patty Duke, and was entertaining the idea of escalating a flirtatious friendship Id struck up with George Clooney, when Bruce and I began talking frequently and rather intimately on the phone, she wrote. He had called after moving to Montreal from India. A very healing initial conversation led to others, and finally I agreed to fly to Canada for the weekend. Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner shared a romantic weekend in Canada In Montreal, Gilbert and Boxleitner shared a romantic weekend complete with champagne and strawberries. The Tron actor also explained why he had suddenly wanted to break up. By this time, I had heard Bruce confess that hed kicked me out of his house and sabotaged our relationship because, in his words, he was a sacred moron, wrote Gilbert. He was panic-stricken that we would get married and have a child, and then he would find a way to screw things up, resulting in more children with parents who had split up. Then Boxleitner played Gilbert a song: Marc Cohns True Companion. RELATED: Why Little House on the Prairie Star Melissa Gilbert Once Called 2nd Husband Bruce Boxleitner Trouble With a Capital T Bruce is not an overly romantic guy, but I could tell this song had a real impact on him, wrote Gilbert. I heard this song and all I could think of was you, he told her, according to Gilbert. I cant put anyone else in it. Nor do I want to. This is itforever and ever. When Gilbert returned home, she retrieved the engagement ring Boxleitner had given to her previously from her safe and put it back on her finger. Not too long after that, the two wed in a small ceremony at Gilberts mothers home in Los Angeles. There were about 45 guests in attendance. George Clooney told Melissa Gilberts publicist that she broke his heart Shortly after Gilbert and Boxleitner got married, they dove back into their work obligations. I was at an event for NBC affiliates, promoting Sweet Justice, wrote Gilbert. George Clooney was also there. He apparently saw me giving interviews across the room and went up to my publicist, Colleen, and said, You know your client broke my heart.' George Clooney | Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images RELATED: William Shatner Once Refused to Hold a TV Remote While Filming Because it Looked Phallic, According to Melissa Gilbert When Colleen asked Clooney what he meant, he said: She went and got married, according to Gilbert. He couldnt have given me a nicer wedding present, she wrote. What woman wouldnt want to hear that from George Clooney? But, my God, how I loved my husband! After all the work we had done together and separately to get to this point, I knew he was exactly what I wanted. Michael Reinoehl was on the run. He had been named as the suspect in the killing of a right-wing demonstrator in Portland, and had fled to Lacey, Wash., a suburb of Olympia. On Sept. 3, he is staying here in an apartment authorities say belongs to Nate Dinguss. Its just after 6:50 p.m., and Reinoehl begins the 100-foot walk to his Volkswagen station wagon. U.S. Marshals, alongside officers from local agencies, are parked in several nearby vehicles, including here, watching his movements. Reinoehl is only carrying a cellphone and a bag in his hands, says Dinguss, who is watching from the parking lot. As Reinoehl reaches his car, two unmarked vehicles speed toward him. The S.U.V.s stop a foot from the Volkswagens bumper, boxing it in. Four officers jump out. The officers claim that they shout, Stop! Police! But Dinguss and four other eyewitnesses, who are standing here, here and here, say they dont hear the officers shout any warnings or commands before firing. In the statements theyve provided to investigators, officers have given differing accounts. One officer claims he sees Reinoehl, inside the car, raise something that looks like a weapon. But two other officers say only that Reinoehl makes, quote, furtive movements toward the center console. They open fire, and bullets pierce the drivers side of the Volkswagens windshield, hitting Reinoehl, according to investigators. The bullet casings are visible here, just a few feet away. A 911 dispatch conveys the chaos of the scene. Reinoehl is wounded, but he manages to flee the Volkswagen. Officers continue to fire. Reinoehl steps from behind a truck and into the street. One officer claims that Reinoehl raises a handgun. But other officers say that Reinoehl only reaches toward his pocket. A fifth officer arrives here, in this area, and opens fire along with the others. Reinoehl falls. None of the eyewitnesses on the street has a clear view. According to investigators, four officers fired their weapons around 30 times. Investigators wont say how many times Reinoehl was shot. But The Times visited the scene, and reviewed dozens of videos and images. We found that at least eight bullets hit civilian property. Some of them flew right by 8-year-old Silas Louis, whod been riding his bike in the road. Others blew out the windows of a nearby car. At least five bullets hit the wall and the fence of Angel Romeros home. One went through his dining room, nearly hitting his brother. Officers say they find a .380-caliber handgun in the right front pocket of Reinoehls pants, his hand on or near the weapon. Though police never contend that Reinoehl fired a weapon, inside the Volkswagen, they find a bullet casing matching that handguns caliber. Investigators say it could be up to three months before crime lab results can prove whether that bullet casing actually matches Reinoehls gun. But they also say there is no other evidence that Reinoehl fired at the officers. Digital challenge forum launched to seek solutions to social issues The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has launched the Vietnam digital technology challenge forum as part of the activities to introduce Vietnamese-made platforms to serve in driving national digital transformation. Deputy Minister Nguyen Huy Dung speaking at the event On March 17, American Thinker posted an article entitled "Mask Mandates Do Not Save Lives." By comparing COVID death rates in states with no mask mandate to states in which masking was mandatory, the article was able to show that, on average, states in which masking was voluntary had lower death rates than states requiring it. The difference was marginal, so the conservative conclusion was that required masking had not saved lives. Since that study did nothing to control for potentially confounding considerations like population density or age structure, more sophisticated studies of the question are in order. What it highlighted, however, is the ongoing failure of our governments to provide measurable evidence that masks save lives. At the time that article was written, there were only ten states that had no mask mandates, but since then, seven additional states have lifted them. Those states have been heavily criticized for having done so. President Biden has referred to their decision as "Neanderthal thinking," and a great many high-profile people of a progressive bent have expressed dismay at such irresponsible behavior. However, no evidence has been brought forward to document the measured effectiveness of obligatory masking. Masking might logically be expected to influence the death rate only indirectly. If masks diminish the appearance of new cases, then other things being equal fewer cases should mean fewer deaths. On March 31, NPR posted an article entitled "How Severe is Your State's Coronavirus Outbreak?" It contains an interactive map that for each state allows the viewer to see the rate at which new COVID cases have appeared in the preceding week. The rate is expressed as the average daily number of new cases per 100,000 population. How effectively are mask mandate states containing the spread of the disease relative to the states that don't require masks? We can look at the performance of mask mandate states relative to those states not requiring masks to get a preliminary idea. There are seventeen states that did not require masks during the March 2431 week, thirty-three states that did. The following map shows which category each state falls in. The number usually in the upper right corner of a state is the average daily new case rate per 100,000 population. Since this is all about state policy regarding masks, the states are equal in weight regardless of population size. Here are the average daily new cases per 100,000 population for each of the two groups. 33 mask mandate states: 21.0 daily new cases per 100,000 people 17 mask voluntary states: 14.2 daily new cases per 100,000 people The states not requiring masks are outperforming the mask mandate states by a huge margin. Their rate is about two thirds that of the mask mandate states. This flies in the face of what the American public is being told by the news media: states without mask mandates are not driving the recent (modest) rise in infection rates; mask mandate states are. Lets break down the data a little more and extract additional detail to see if there is any evidence that masks mandates work. We will start with two separate groups of states, based on the same sort of partitioning that was done in that earlier article entitled "Mask Mandates Do Not Save Lives": the ten states that have never had any mask mandate and the ten states that implemented the earliest (and longest running) mask mandates. By now, after so many months, the ten most committed mask mandate states should be showing a significantly better performance than the group of states that have never imposed a mandate. A third group will be those states that only eventually adopted a mask mandate. One would expect that the states in this group will have done better than the group of mask-voluntary states, but not as well as the ten states that adopted the mandate early on. That leaves a fourth group: those states that had a mask mandate but recently decided to terminate it. Even though they are now misbehaving, they did for a time act responsibly, so maybe their average new case rate will fall below that of the laggardly bunch but still ahead of the incorrigibles. Here is a summary of the four categories. Early and still active enforcers of a mask mandate: 10 states Eventual and still active enforcers of a mask mandate: 23 states Enforcers of a mask mandate who have abandoned the policy: 7 states Incorrigible disbelievers in any mask mandate: 10 states Here is a modified map showing the four categories: When a standard mean value is calculated for each group, here are the results. Early mask states: 27.0 daily new cases per 100,000 Laggard mask states: 18.4 daily new cases per 100,000 Masks abandoned states: 12.4 daily new cases per 100,000 Masks voluntary states: 15.4 daily new cases per 100,000 Mask-voluntary states are experiencing new case rates so much lower than the rates of mask obligatory states that it is now reasonable to begin asking why and how this is happening. The ferocious criticism levied against states that recently dropped the mask mandate is beginning to look not just wrong, but like a desperate effort to defend the indefensible. The longer some of our governments keep insisting on the wearing of masks, the more authoritarian and the less credible their pronouncements become. It is particularly noteworthy that the states that recently dropped the mask mandate are experiencing new cases at a lower rate than any of the three other groups. These states were vilified for abandoning the mask mandate, and many supposedly expert opinions contended that their behavior would result in an explosion of new cases. Not only has this not happened, but this group of seven states is outperforming the other three groups by a considerable margin. Two states were singled out for intense criticism: Mississippi and Texas. Those two states lifted the mask mandates on March 3 and March 10, respectively. For Texas, three weeks passed with no indication of a significant rise in the new case rate. For Mississippi, there was not significant rise even after four weeks. Furthermore, both states have new case rates that put to shame those of states requiring masks. Some will argue that there hasn't yet been enough time for the COVID cases to develop, but that is simply untrue. According to WebMD, "[s]ymptoms for COVID-19 can start as early as 2 days and as long as 14 days after you are exposed. Research shows that the average time symptoms appear is around 4 to 5 days." There has been more than enough time for Texas and Mississippi to have experienced the anticipated outbreak. Mask mandate believers must come to terms with this. It is time to demand rigorously collected and objectively analyzed data showing the degree to which mask mandates allegedly suppress the spread of COVID. Pronouncements by the supposed experts are no longer enough. It is even time to begin contemplating the possibility that mask mandates have had the opposite effect of that intended. Comments and criticism can be directed to hampson@geog.utah.edu. Image via Pxfuel. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) San Miguel Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang on Saturday clarified reports he was endorsing Senator Manny Pacquiao's possible presidential run in 2022. CNN Philippines reached out to Mr. Ang to seek his clarification. Ang said the comments attributed to him were taken out of context from a broad discussion he was having with journalists about the upcoming election. Ang revealed that a follow-up question was made about who he thinks would win if elections were held today. While Ang said he did not want to make any statement or forecast about politics, the topic of "fearless forecasts" in hypothetical scenarios persisted. One of the journalists present mentioned Sen. Pacquiao's name, to which Ang said he agreed the senator would have a good chance the same way other strong contenders with their own following and track records would also have a good chance. Ang said he was even asked whether or not he would consider running for president and he categorically answered "no." Ang expounded that "in all my public life, I have never been involved with nor publicly endorsed any political candidate, even those I consider personal friends." "We will always be supportive of government and will continue to do our part in helping our nation rebound from this crisis and building a better world for the Filipino people," Ang stressed. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern paid tribute to Prince Philip on Saturday. Speaking at a news conference in Auckland, Ardern made reference to the Duke of Edinburgh's many visits to New Zealand, and his patronage of many of the country's notable organizations. Ardern said Prince Philip had "a strong connection to New Zealand", adding that "we share our condolences with the Royal Family." (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Birmingham police are investigating a triple drive-by shooting Friday night that injured three juveniles in Ensley. The three juveniles were shot in the 2000 block of Avenue O in Ensley, said Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Maudin. They were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Further information was unavailable as police continued to investigate the triple shooting. United Nations, April 10 : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the steps announced by the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) and the World Bank Group Development Committee to address debt crises and other financial distress to economies arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement issued via his spokesperson on Friday, the UN chief said developing economies had struggled to secure enough financial resources to cope with the onset of the coronavirus crisis, "let alone to recover from it", Xinhua news agency reported. Since the beginning of the crisis, the secretary-general has called for liquidity, the statement continued, through a large issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) - an instrument created by the International Monetary Fund to help supplement cash reserves - for those most in need, and a reallocation of unused SDRs. The top UN official has proposed a "three-phased approach to address debt burdens: a debt standstill, targeted debt relief for the most vulnerable, and a reform of the international debt architecture." The secretary-general welcomed the IMF committee's "concrete calls" for a new allocation of SDRs, and voluntary reallocations to countries in need. He said he was encouraged by the support given for the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which has provided 5 billion U.S. dollars in temporary relief for vulnerable countries, and for the Common Framework for Debt Treatments, agreed by the G20 economies. "Debt standstills and relief must be extended to countries that need it most - including middle income countries, which are home to more than 60 percent of the world's poor - without creating stigma or compromising their sovereign ratings," said the statement. Reforming the international debt architecture is also critical, said the UN chief, noting that a debt crisis amidst the Covid-19 emergency "would put the Sustainable Development Goals out of reach." This week's discussions on the international debt architecture are a major step in the right direction, he added. The secretary-general called on all countries and institutions to join in a global effort to "rethink the principles underpinning today's debt architecture, and urged action to "complement existing instruments with more effective debt crisis resolution mechanisms." He expressed great encouragement over the IMF's and World Bank's emphasis on a sustainable, inclusive, smart and green recovery. Nepal foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali on Friday raised the issue of delay in receiving a million doses of made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines during a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. Kathmandu was expecting Covishield vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in March, but the delay in delivery has affected the countrys second phase of inoculation drive, Nepali officials said. The neighbouring country had ordered two million doses from SII, half of which were supplied and used during the first phase of the national inoculation drive. The delay in delivery of the second consignment has left people waiting for more than six weeks for the next jab. Nepal has already made 80% of the payment for the two million doses and the remaining amount will be paid after the next batch of vaccine moves out of SIIs facilities in Pune. Nepal awaits one million doses to provide the second jab to frontline workers and senior citizens above the age of 65. According to a statement by its foreign ministry, Gyawali requested Jaishankar for necessary facilitation for the supply of vaccines for Nepal to continue administering the second dose of vaccination for people at highest risk. He also expressed gratitude to the Government of India for supporting Nepal in its fight against the pandemic, including through the gift of one million doses of vaccine. Jaishankar assured Gyawali of continued support to Nepal in its fight against the pandemic, including through the supply of vaccines, the statement added. India's vaccine Maitri programme collides with national inoculation drive Meanwhile, Iran too raised the need to expedite the delivery of Bharat Biotechs Covaxin doses that it has already paid for. The matter was raised in a set of tweets from the Iranian embassy. Indias decision to calibrate vaccine exports while also coping with a surge in domestic infections has affected several countries, including Nepal, the UK, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) speaks after reviewing the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP) The Chinese Regime Is Ready to Attack Taiwan Commentary The Chinese regimes recent activities in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait have greatly increased, and its internal activities signal that its prepared for an attack on Taiwan. On March 23, U.S. Adm. John Aquilino said during a hearing over his nomination to become commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command that an attack against Taiwan might occur much earlier than most people expect. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been making final preparations against Taiwan over the past two years. Still, the timing and the intensity of the attack probably depend on whether they believe the United States will fully support Taiwan. Recently, Chinese fighter jets have frequently entered Taiwans southwest air defense identification zone, while Chinas Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group entered the Miyako Strait between Okinawa and Japans mainland Miyako Island. This corresponds to the CCPs plan of encirclement. In the event of war, the CCP would probably use the air force as its main force to control the Bashi Strait in southwestern Taiwan and block U.S. forces from the Indian Ocean and Singapore, while likely using its Liaoning carrier battle group to control Okinawa and defend the mainland from Japan and the U.S. Army. Combat Readiness On Feb. 10, Chinese leader Xi Jinping inspected the military base in Fujian, a province on the southeastern coast of China thats less than 200 miles (321 kilometers) from Taiwan, or about 30 minutes by air. A screenshot of Google Earth: Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province, China, is only a 30-minute plane ride from Taiwan. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Xi visited the Second Mobile Corps of the CCPs Armed Police Force in Fujian to deliver a speech that stressed the importance of the military bases combat readiness, according to the CCPs official media outlet, Xinhua. The mission of the Armed Police Mobile Corps differs from that of the general provincial Armed Police Corps, and its units are generally equipped with more powerful weapons and equipment, including armored vehicles, infantry vehicles, rapid-fire guns, grenade guns, and unmanned aerial vehicles. An official noted that the mobile corps task is to undertake the handling of rebellions and riots, counter-terrorism and stability maintenance, cross-regional support operations, handling group fighting, and urban special operations. The officers and soldiers of the armed police mobile unit are all elites of the armed police, and the level of actual combat in daily training is very high. In wartime, the armed police mobile units focus mainly on providing support to the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in carrying out defense operations. The armed police mobile corps is also equipped with helicopters; the Second Armed Police Corps has more than 50. The target of the Second Mobile Corps of the Armed Police Force is most likely Taiwan. Sailors with the Chinese navy stand on the deck of a missile frigate in Manila on April 13, 2010. (Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images) The PLA Rocket Force, which is Chinas special service responsible for nuclear and conventional missiles, would take the lead in the event of an attack on Taiwan. The Rocket Force would be followed by the Air Force, then followed by the Navy and the Assault Force. Once offensive troops can establish a beachhead position in Taiwan, or use airborne to gain control of a certain area, the next wave will be the Second Mobile Corps of the Armed Police. Theyre responsible for repairing or expanding the airport terminal and providing conditions for subsequent troops to enter. Its also important to note that last October, Xi visited Chaozhou, in Guangdong Province, mainly to inspect the Fourth Marine Brigade, which is based nearby. The CCP has a total of seven marine brigades, including two in the Eastern Theater Commandin Fujian and in Guangdong. The Eastern Theater Command would be the main force in a war against Taiwan, so the Marine Brigade in the Eastern Theater is stationed in the Chaoshan area of Guangdongwhich is very close to Taiwan. The mission of the Fourth Marine Brigade is to raid the southern part of Taiwan or to seize Dongsha Island, so the unit is known as the assault force to seize the island. Taiwans Significance Why is Taiwan so important to Xi and the CCP? Xi is very interested in Taiwan and has a deep understanding of the self-ruled island, which lies about 100 miles (161 kilometers) off the coast of southeastern China, across the Taiwan Strait. Xi was once an active soldier in Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). After he left Tsinghua University in 1979, he first served as secretary in the Office of the Central Military Commission of the CCP. In 1983, Xi left the army to serve as secretary of the Party Committee in Zhengding county, Hebei Province. Two years later, he was transferred to Xiamen, Fujian Province, beginning his 17-year political career in Fujian as the deputy mayor. In public speeches, Xi has stated that one of the signs of the reemergence of the Chinese nation is the reunification of Taiwan. In his view, even if China becomes a dominant power as the second-largest economy and becomes a world power, without the reunification of Taiwan, the CCP cant be regarded as a success. In the eyes of second-generation Party leaders such as Xi, Mao Zedongs legacy was seizing the power of China and Deng Xiaopings legacy was leading China on a track of rapid economic growth. The legacy of the third generation must be to unify China; otherwise, the legitimacy and historical status of the third generation of CCP leaders is at risk. Preparing for War Of course, real victory in war is never won in combat alone. Logistics, transportation, and internal control also are extremely important factors that lead to success in war operations. The Chinese regime has also been busy making preparations in those areas. Last year, the CCP began to purchase a large amount of grain, oil, and various minerals from overseas, actions that raise serious concerns. The CCP officially claimed that Chinas domestic grain output hit a record last year, and yet the governments purchase of grain from overseas has increased by about two times. Theres also the problem of internal controls. Recently, news came out from Shanghai that all nonresidents entering the city must register within 24 hours or face a fine of 5,000 yuan. As Chinas largest city, Shanghai is the nations largest commercial trading center. Commercial transactions mean a large number of migrants, so the new policy is troubling. However, it makes sense amid the perspective of war or a pre-war preparation period. If the CCP attacks Taiwan, a missile raid is likely from across the strait, which would trigger countermeasures by Taipei. Once war escalates, Shanghai is likely to become a target, as might other cities in East China and South China, especially those with important traffic routes. Judging from all these superficial signs, the CCP appears to be making preparations for a large-scale attack on Taiwan. In the past two years, the United States cooperation with the Taiwanese military has been an excuse for the CCPs war preparations, which have been proceeding at an accelerated pace. At present, a U.S. AsiaPacific NATO-style alliance hasnt yet taken shape, and a large number of advanced weapons sold to Taiwan havent arrived for deployment. It may take about five to six years for the United States to deliver the weapons to Taiwan, which is why senior U.S. generals worry that the CCP will attack Taiwan within six years. For the CCP, these six years are a precious window. China may lose the opportunity to control Taiwan if the following events occur: mainland Chinas economic growth slows; its military technology development begins to lag; or China is contained by the United States and its allies such as Japan, South Korea, India, and Australia. If the CCP is inclined to take risks, it may take Taiwan by force in the next year or two, while the window of opportunity hasnt yet closed. Otherwise, the opportunity may be lost forever for this third generation of CCP officials. 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. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 11:57:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on April 3, 2021 shows the newly-arrived COVID-19 vaccines purchased from China at Tbilisi International Airport, Tbilisi, Georgia. (Health Ministry of Georgia/Handout via Xinhua) BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- These days, one of the most popular Western narratives against China on the topic of vaccines and diplomacy is, well, vaccine diplomacy. The story goes that the country, which has generously come to the aid of its developing peers with badly-needed, life-saving jabs, is engaged in questionable tricks with ulterior motives. Wang Yi, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, said the other day that the country is not trying to engage in "vaccine diplomacy." On the contrary, it is doing "humanitarian work." "Unlike some major countries that are hoarding the vaccines for their own interests, we want to see more people immunized," he said. By not naming names or going into further detail, Wang was being diplomatic. But richer countries are failing a rudimentary test of global solidarity by not sharing COVID vaccines. Countries with the fewest resources are facing the worst health and human-rights outcomes, thanks to the First World's near-monopoly of the global supply of vaccines. The most notable example is the United States. In early March, the White House Press Secretary claimed, unconvincingly, that "there's no export prohibition, and all vaccine manufacturers in the United States are free to export their products while also fulfilling the terms of their contracts with the U.S. government." But what is written into the contracts? "The U.S. government has not released its contracts with vaccine manufacturers in full, but clauses in the unredacted portions suggest an emphasis on domestic production and exclusivity," Bloomberg reported in late March. "The contracts obligate manufacturers to fill massive U.S. government orders first, a de facto ban on vaccine exports despite Biden administration officials repeatedly saying there's no formal prohibition." In essence, the world's richest and most powerful country has placed a de-facto "vaccine embargo" on the rest of the world, especially the numerous developing countries that are in dire need and have significantly worse public-health infrastructure. In fairness, the application of the principle of "America First" to inoculations is not without compelling justifications. The U.S. government is certainly and understandably obliged to prioritize its own citizens, bearing in mind that so many have tragically lost their lives due to the previous administration's incompetence. Make no mistake: the success of inoculations within the United States is to be welcomed, as every country and person in the world can only be safe amid the pandemic when others are safe. But the United States must shoulder an outsized burden of international responsibility, at least if it wants to continue touting itself as a "beacon of hope." Thus far, it has failed in this regard, although President Joe Biden took a step in the right direction with his recent pledge, "If we have a surplus, we're going to share it with the rest of the world." Meanwhile, China has continued inoculating its own citizens while simultaneously providing vaccine aid to 80 countries and three international organizations, exporting vaccines to more than 40 countries, and cooperating with more than 10 nations on vaccine research, development and production. The fact of the matter is that China has been a very generous provider compared to the United States, and in this context, the finger-pointing is hardly fair. To accelerate the urgent work of vaccinating the rest of the world, more scrutiny should be directed toward those who have the capabilities but have yet to step up. Armenian government representatives said late on Thursday that a new group of Armenian prisoners is about to be set free and repatriated. However, none of them was on board a Russian plane that arrived from Baku to Yerevan shortly after midnight. Unfortunately, the return of prisoners is again delayed, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian said in a statement posted on Facebook. It said that Azerbaijan is continuing to violate one of the key terms of the truce agreement. Negotiations mediated by Russia are continuing and we hope that the Azerbaijani side will at last respect the statement signed by it and implement the humanitarian agreement, added the statement. Andranik Kocharian, a senior lawmaker representing the ruling My Step bloc, said that Baku pledged to free more Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian captives as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putins latest conversations with Armenias and Azerbaijans leaders. Putin met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Moscow on Wednesday and had a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev the following day. Kocharian claimed that Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov, the commander of Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in Karabakh, travelled to Baku to escort the prisoners back to Armenia. Muradov, who reportedly arrived in Yerevan on board the Russian plane early on Friday, categorically denied that, however. It was an ordinary working visit, he told the Armenian newspaper Hraparak. Asked to comment on the Armenian officials statements about the impending release of prisoners, Muradov said: They are misleading the population. The Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement, brokered by Putin on November 9, calls for the unconditional release of all prisoners held by the conflicting sides. The Russian peacekeepers arranged several prisoner swaps in December and early this year. A total of 69 Armenian POWs and civilians have been freed to date. More than 100 others are believed to remain in Azerbaijani captivity. Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov again claimed on Thursday that all of them were captured after the truce accord took effect on November 10 and are therefore not covered by it. He said Baku regards them as terrorists and does not intend to release them. More than 50 of the remaining POWs were captured in early December when the Azerbaijani army occupied the last two Armenian-controlled villages in Karabakhs southern Hadrut district. They all are army reservists who were drafted from Armenias Shirak province during the six-week war. Scores of their angry relatives blocked on Friday morning the roads leading to Shirak to demand an urgent meeting with Pashinian. Many of them gathered at Yerevans Erebuni airport late on Thursday after hearing reports about the impending release of their loved ones. No official at the airport bothered to answer our questions, one of the protesters told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. We are waiting to see when the countrys leader, our commander-in-chief, will agree to meet us. We wont go to Yerevan anymore, he said. Relatives of other POWs and missing soldiers blockaded, meanwhile, the Defense Ministry compound in Yerevan. Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian and chief of the Armenian armys General Staff, Lieutenant-General Artak Davtian, offered to receive their representatives. The protesters rejected the offer, demanding that Harutiunian and Davtian emerge from the compound and talk to them on the spot. They tried at one point to break into the compound but were stopped by riot police. The chief of the Armenian police, Vahe Davtian, arrived at the scene to talk to the protesters. Pashinians government also faced strong criticism from the opposition. Edmon Marukian, the leader of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK), accused the government of botching the prisoner release in a failed attempt to score political points. This is yet another result of their inept and sloppy behavior which was coupled with their attempt to use this tragedy for a publicity stunt, Marukian told reporters. This Headline in the latest issue of The Epoch Times obviously caught my eye immediately so I dove into the article and sure enough the writer Barbara Kay clearly shows how left today's military has gone and wishes to go farther. She begins by bringing up the military's enhanced efforts to promote females in the military. Such things as maternity flight suits, relaxed hair regulations, body armor that fits the female figure and tailored combat uniforms. She quotes the Sgt. of the Army, Michael Grinston as saying that women will dominate ANY battlefield we're called to fight on. In general women are just not that into combat and for good reasons related to the survival of the species. She also quotes a decorated Afghanistan veteran, James Hassons' book :Stand Down, How Social Justice Warriors are Sabotaging America's Military. He is scathing on the Obama administration, packed with far-left ideologues who neither understood or cared to understand the military. Hasson supports his charge with wince inducing examples such as an Army gender integration study urging an end to hyper masculinity in combat arms units and Power Point presentations instructing commanders about male pregnancy. In a Newsweek article, Aaron Reitz, a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve and the Texas deputy attorney general for legal strategy, takes the same stance. Diversity recruitment intensified under the Obama in 2009. Reitz says when his captain told us we had to sign up a certain number of college enrolled racial minorities and females. No need to be too strict on physical fitness or academics he said, just bring them in. Commentary; With the Chinese military looking again at Taiwan and Russia playing tag with our Air Force on both coasts it doesn't look good for the good ole USA. With all the emphasis on equality and very little on combat needs I am in great fear for our country. We certainly don't have a President that has the cahones to stand up to any of our adversaries. If any of them say boo, it will probably only wake him up. Three sisters want to give evidence against their alleged abuser Malka Leifer in person as she faces dozens of charges stemming from her time at Melbourne's Adass Israel School. Leifer, a 54-year-old former principal of the ultra-Orthodox college, faces 74 charges including rape and indecent assault between January 2004 and March 2008. Siblings Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper are among 10 witnesses set to give evidence against Leifer in a five-day Melbourne Magistrates Court committal hearing scheduled for September. Malka Leifer (pictured right) is facing 74 rape and child sex abuse charges from her time as a principal at Melbourne's ultra-Orthodox Addas Israel School Sisters Elly Sapir, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer (pictured above) are alleged victims of Malka Leifer It will determine if there is enough evidence for Leifer to stand trial on 47 indecent assault charges, 13 counts of committing an indecent act with a child, 11 of rape and three of sexually penetrating a child. Prosecutor Holly Baxter on Friday told the court the sisters wanted to give evidence against Leifer in person and not via a remote facility. However, this option would remain available for them. Some other witnesses in the case were based in Israel and would need to give evidence remotely, Ms Baxter said. Leifer remains in custody and appeared in court via video link. She did not speak except to confirm she could see and hear the court. Child sexual abuse victims Nicole Meyer and Dassi Erlich campaigned for Leifer's extradition She was extradited from Israel in January following a years-long court battle and after she was found to be feigning mental illness. The abuse is alleged to have occurred in the Melbourne suburbs of Elsternwick, Elwood, Emerald and Frankston, as well as in the state's West Gippsland region and Blampied in the Central Highlands. Her accusers were last year granted a court order allowing them to keep speaking publicly about their case and under their real names. Advertisement Heather Graham looked to be in top form, when she was spotted enjoying some sunny beach time with gal pals on the coast of Mexico. The Austin Powers actress, 51, showed off her scintillating curves in a light cream-toned bikini. Her blonde hair was gorgeous and natural, hanging down over her shoulders. On Thursday: Heather Graham looked to be in top form, when she was spotted enjoying some sunny beach time with gal pals on the coast of Mexico Sitting pretty: The Austin Powers actress, 51, showed off her scintillating curves in a light cream-toned bikini Heather accessorized with a large straw sunhat, adorned with a black sash and matching detailing at the brim. She also sported big black and gold sunglasses to shield her eyes from the bright beach day. The actress was spotted lounging on a shaded chaise lounge, and taking a dip with her friend in the azure ocean waters. With her gal pals: Heather's blonde hair was gorgeous and natural, hanging down over her shoulders Protecting her youthful face: Heather accessorized with a large straw sunhat, adorned with a black sash and matching detailing at the brim Retro shades: She also sported big black and gold sunglasses to shield her eyes from the bright beach day Her swimsuit featured triangular panels at the chest, held up by a halter cord adorned with decorative knotting. Heather's thong was also triangular, and padded with multiple layers of fabric. The thong's straps were twisted cords of fabric hanging seductively low on the actress's hips. Taking a dip: Her swimsuit featured triangular panels at the chest, held up by a halter cord adorned with decorative knotting R&R: The actress was spotted lounging on a shaded chaise lounge, enjoying her vacay time As the Bowfinger star got into the water: Her light and wavy hair became slick against her head and the back of her neck Dynamite figure: Heather's swimsuit displayed her body beautifully As the Bowfinger star got into the water, her light and slightly wavy hair became slick against her head and the back of her neck. And when relaxing on the beach, she made sure to protect her youthful glowing skin by wearing her large hat and also by applying sunblock. Heather was vacationing in Mexico with her friends, actress Nina Bergman and writer-producer Debra J. Fisher. Against a backdrop of glittering seawater: Heather's thong was triangular like her bikini top, and padded with multiple layers of fabric Staying hydrated: Graham drank from a bottle of mineral water during her warm beach outing Relaxing: The actress and her friend took time to check their smartphones while reclining at the beach Three's company: Heather was vacationing in Mexico with her friends, actress Nina Bergman (far right) and writer-producer Debra J. Fisher (center right) Nina has starred in such horror fare as Doom: Annihilation and The Car: Road to Revenge, both from 2019. Fisher's latest credit as writer and producer is the hit Netflix show Ginny & Georgia. Debra has also worked on such famous hit series as the original Charmed as well as Alias, starring Jennifer Garner. Refreshing: Heather reacted to the cool and refreshing temperature of the ocean Making the most of it: The star looked youthful and serene as she bathed in the sea With her friends: The straps of Heather's thong were twisted cords of fabric hanging seductively low on her hips Taking the waves: Heather stepped into the water with her hair hanging in her face On Thursday, the day of her sighting at the beach, Heather shared a fabulous selfie video to her Instagram with Nina and Debra. In the clip, the trio of girlfriends danced in bikinis while submerged in hip-deep ocean waters. In the caption, she wrote, 'I love my #girlfriends #friends #girlstrip @ninabergman @debrajfisher ' Setting up: Here, the screen siren is seen setting up her white plastic beach chair On Thursday, the day of her sighting at the beach: Heather shared a fabulous selfie video to her Instagram with Nina (left) and Debra Under her floppy hat: Heather was all limbs in her skimpy bikini while adjusting her seat at the beach Protected: Graham made sure to protect her youthful glowing skin by wearing her large hat, but also by applying sunblock Heather reached bona fide Hollywood stardom in 1997, when she played the cocaine-addicted porn star Rollergirl in Boogie Nights opposite Julianne Moore. Since then, she's appeared in films such as Sidewalks of New York and TV series like Scrubs and Californication. Her most recent credit was the misbegotten Stephen King remake of The Stand for CBS. Lounging: Heather and Nina reclined at the beach, keeping their arms and hats over their eyes Snooze: The movie star managed to catch some zzz's at the playa as well Drinking up: The Lost In Space star drank a beverage from a plastic cup Chatting: Heather enjoyed hanging out, chatting and laughing with her beach mates Nina and Debra Black and white: Debra wore a black bikini, which complemented Heather's lighter swimsuit beautifully Hanging out: Nina's two piece swimsuit was an electric shade of blue, and she also had a straw sunhat Derriere: Heather's swimsuit showcased her derriere Tesla:Model 3 for India testing and potential sale by end 2021 A 21-year-old from Brazil will become the youngest person in recent decades to be admitted as a member of the New York state bar next Thursday. Mateus Costa-Ribeiro, who grew up in Brasilia, has already secured quite the list of accomplishments - graduating from Brazil's law school at 18 before he argued a case before the country's highest court. 'The way you deal with a client, the way you explain a tough decision that came from a judge, the way you tell someone that he or she is going to jail, you need some kind of life backbone to be able to manage these situations,' Costa-Ribeiro said to the Wall Street Journal when describing the maturity he brings to the courtroom. Costa-Ribeiro first took an interest in the legal profession when he was 13 and his sister was taking her law-school admissions exam. Their father, also a lawyer, convinced the teen to take the test too. Mateus Costa-Ribeiro will become the youngest person in recent decades to be admitted as a member of the New York state bar next Thursday Costa-Ribeiro, who grew up in Brasilia, has already secured quite the list of accomplishments - graduating from Brazil's law school at 18 before he argued a case before the country's highest court The teen passed the test but still had three more years of high school to complete, ultimately petitioning a judge so that he could take the final high-school exams at just 14. Costa-Ribeiro graduated from law school just four years later. He won the case in Brazil's Supreme Federal Court soon after at just 18, successfully arguing that a state's law pertaining to personal searches of employees was unconstitutional because labor laws in the country are set by the federal government. 'Everything with him was very, very precocious,' said Luis Roberto Barroso, a justice on the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil. The judge described the sight of the teen in the court room as highly unusual. 'He showed empathy and that's a talent different from knowledge,' Roberto Barroso added. Costa-Ribeiro then got accepted into Harvard Law School's one-year master of laws program. Costa-Riberio got accepted into Harvard Law School's one-year master of laws program When he was 19, Costa-Ribeiro petitioned the New York State Court of Appeals and was granted a waiver to take the bar exam - which he passed And while he was forced to missed out on some of the more social events, Costa-Ribeiro was steadfast and determined to make the most of his experience. 'I never wanted to be defined by my age,' he said. For Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor who supervises Costa-Ribeiro's thesis, said he connected with his student's story because his own grandfather wasn't allowed to take the bar exam when he graduated from law school at the age of 20 before World War II. Feldman shared Costa-Ribeiro's sentiment that the student's maturity has helped pushed him forward. 'I have had some other students who were also child geniuses,' he said. 'It hasn't always worked out well for them. There are some cases where the greater maturity would have been really far superior and helpful before they came into the law.' Costa-Ribeiro at Milbank LLP, a major firm in New York that offered him a job at just 19 When he was 19, Costa-Ribeiro learned that he needed to be 21 in order to take the bar exam. He had a job waiting for him at Milbank LLP, a major firm in New York, and was worried that he wouldn't be able to get his career going if he couldn't take the exam. So Costa-Ribeiro petitioned the New York State Court of Appeals and was granted a waiver to take the exam - which he passed. McAlary, executive director at the New York State Board of Law Examiners, said that Costa-Ribeiro was one of the youngest to ever take the exam. He did note, however, that when the bar exam started more than a century ago, prospective lawyers did not have to go to law school. The Maharashtra government is weighing in on the possibility of a complete lockdown as the Covid-19 situation in the state continues to be grim. On Saturday, Mumbai alone reported 9,327 coronavirus cases. While stricter restrictions and complete weekend lockdowns were announced after a cabinet meeting last week, the state is now mulling a complete lockdown. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday chaired an all-party meeting to discuss the pandemic situation in the state where a proposal of a complete lockdown for 15 days was also floated. However, the meeting ended inconclusive. At the meeting, suggestions of extending aid to the economically weaker sections and giving time to migrant workers to return to their hometowns in case of a lockdown was also discussed. The chief minister is expected to take a final call after meeting the Covid-19 task force on Sunday. Maharashtra continues to top the coronavirus charts in the country, reporting maximum cases. The chief minister has also expressed apprehensions of another spurt in the ongoing wave of coronavirus. On Friday, Maharashtra reported 58,993 coronavirus cases and has been seeing an uptrend in the cases for the past one month. Last week Maharashtra government had decided against imposing a complete weekend lockdown, but imposed stricter curbs to control the coronavirus situation. As the cases soared, the Maharashtra cabinet announced a weekend lockdown from 8 pm on Friday to 7 am on Monday. Termed as 'Break the Chain Restrictions', these curbs include shutting of schools, Work from Home for private offices, closure of multiplexes, restaurants,theatres, malls, pubs, gyms, waterparks, etc, while the public transport has been asked to operate according to its capacity. The state also imposed Section 144 through the day and night curfew during the night. The delivery personnel and newspaper sellers are advised to get vaccinated to be able to do their job hassle-free. Government offices have been asked to operate on 50% staff strength as part of the restrictions. Many other states and cities, including national capital Delhi, followed Maharashtra to impose night curfews and other restrictions to keep the coronavirus spread in check last week. Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has ruled out the possibility of lockdown, but has said restrictions will be imposed in view of exponential rise in covid-19 cases in national capital. Read all the Latest News and Breaking News here The Queen's husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, sadly passed away this morning at the age of 99. And while Buckingham Palace has yet to reveal details about his funeral, it's expected to be a private family service. As royal reporter Rebecca English notes, plans for Philip's service were made in consultation with him decades ago. However, given safety protocols surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, some of these plans will likely be changedand it remains to be seen if Philip's grandson, Prince Harry, will be able to fly from California to the United Kingdom to lay his grandfather to rest. But he certainly wants to. A source close to the Sussexes tells the Daily Mail that "Harry will absolutely do his utmost to get back to the UK and be with his family. He will want nothing more than to be there for his family, and particularly his grandmother, during this awful time. Meghan is obviously pregnant so she will need to take advice from her doctors about whether it is safe for her to travel, but I think Harry will definitely go." Individual members of the royal family haven't made any personal statements on Philip's death yet, but Buckingham Palace released a statement announcing his passing and saying that the royals are mourning his loss: It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss. Further announcements will be made in due course. You Might Also Like Former Energy Minister Hon. Boakye Agyarko has described as unfortunate a statement by Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu said it is time NPP elected a non-Akan flagbearer to lead the party into 2024. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu in an interview with Accra- based Joy News said its unwise for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to present another Akan as flagbearer for the party in 2024. Inwardly, I know also have the competence but is it wise for me now immediately after two Akans; Kufour had been the president, Akufo-Addo follows from the Eastern Region and there is a third Akan to follow? Doing introspection, I think it may not hold well for a party that is accused by some as being overly Akanistic party. But not everybody agrees with me. And that is the beauty of democracy. But speaking on Accra-based Oman FM, Boakye Agyarko said he was shocked by the comments made by the Majority leader who is an elderly and experienced man on Ghanas political scene. He recounted that the NPP has a constitution that has to be respected. He mentioned that all this jostling and craving for attention on the Presidential scene is unfortunate. He mentioned that the government was yet to be fully constituted for which all those making Presidential comments like that of Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu as unfortunate. To him, such comments should be left to the partys youth so that the elders in the party will rather call them to order and not the other way round. Hon. Boakye Agyarko who is known for His love and dedication to the NPP mentioned how a lot more people had sacrificed to see the Danquah Busia Tradition come to power. He mentioned the neglect for core party faithful who had not benefited anything yet still love the party. There is some sort of infighting in the New Patriotic Party on who takes over the flagbearership of the NPP after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Of all the suspected candidates, it is the posters of Dr. M Bawumia that have been published across some public places. Mr Boakye Agyarko , Dr. Kofi Apraku , Hon. Joe Ghartey and Alan Kyeremateng have all shown interest but restrained any public display of the campaign. 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 interim president will hold a virtual meeting on Saturday with Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states on the issue of the COVID-19 situation as the country witnessed a surge in cases. Senior party leader Rahul Gandhi will also be attending the meet. In the meeting, the status of the COVID-19 in the states will be reviewed. The leadership will also make suggestions to help the public, as per the sources. Several states including Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar are facing vaccine shortages. The meeting comes a day after leader Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to place an immediate moratorium on the export of vaccines, fast track approval of other vaccines and open up vaccination to everyone who needs it. Criticising the PM, Gandhi asked whether the export of vaccines was an effort to garner "publicity". Referring to the PM's appeal to the chief ministers to organise a vaccine festival from April 11 to 14, he tweeted that shortage of vaccines amid the rise in Covid-19 cases is a very serious issue. "India had the first-mover advantage in vaccination and yet we are moving at a snail's pace. Historically, India has achieved abundant experience in designing and executing some of the world's biggest vaccination programmes. Yet in the present case, we have managed to fully vaccinate less than 1% of the population in 3 months..." the letter said. "While our nation is facing vaccine starvation, more than 6 crore doses of vaccines have been exported... Was the export of vaccines also an 'oversight', like many other decisions of this government, or an effort to garner publicity at the cost of our citizens?""Double central allocation for vaccine procurement from the existing Rs 35.000 crore. Give State governments a greater say in vaccine procurement and distribution. Provide direct income support to the vulnerable sections in the disastrous second wave," Gandhi said in his letter. Gandhi further said that it is unfortunate that India is under a renewed attack of the Covid-19 virus, "considering our scientific community and vaccine suppliers worked overtime to develop a solution but their efforts are undermined by the Centre's poor implementation and "oversight"." He noted that India has achieved abundant experience in designing and executing some of the world's biggest vaccination programs. "Yet in the present case, we have managed to fully vaccinate less than 1 per cent of the population in 3 months," he wrote. He said that at India's current vaccination rate, it would take years to inoculate 75 per cent of the population, and it will have catastrophic effects and will gravely decelerate India's economy. Gandhi added that the "Centralization and individualized propaganda" are counter-productive. "Even though Public Health is a state subject, our states have been bypassed right from vaccine procurement to registration. Additionally, a large section of the poor has been excluded due to the initial mandatory online registration," he added. To prevent the surge in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has imposed night curfew in nine cities of Rajasthan with effect from Saturday till April 30. As per an order by the Rajasthan government, it said, "Night curfew imposed in 9 cities-Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Abu Road starting from 8 pm to 6 am, till April 30." "In Udaipur, the night curfew will start from 6 pm to 6 am", the order informed. . (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.) Every few hundred thousand years, the Earths magnetic poles switch places. North becomes South and vice versa. Politically a similar phenomenon is taking place between Labor and Liberal on the topic of immigration. A year ago, Australia was in lockdown. Though we are no longer confined to our homes, as a nation we are still under house arrest. We cannot leave without a permit, nor can we return without difficulty. Migration to Australia is all but impossible. The population has shrunk for the first time since World War I. While caps on arrivals will be lifted across all states, international borders will generally stay shut for now. Credit:Rob Homer And many Australians seem to like it. Australia has experienced a period of untroubled stability and solidarity, supported by government stimulus, increased urban to regional travel, and a halt on anxiety-inducing immigration. Its easy living. Politically, though, its a hole, and it wont be easy to climb out. Authorities at Joint Base Charleston are examining an aircraft for clues about what led the plane to catch fire April 9. The C-17 Globemaster was parked on the ground when fire broke out at some point during the afternoon. Base personnel quickly doused the flames, according to the base, and nobody was seriously injured. At the time, seven crew members and one passenger were returning from an overseas mission. Base leaders said investigators were still examining the plane by the next morning but haven't yet figured out what sparked the fire. SONG CHEN/CHINA DAILY Since its founding a century ago, the Communist Party of China has steadfastly led the Chinese people toward the dream of national rejuvenation Few countries in the world have a past associated with one of the great civilizations of history, but only the Chinese civilization can boast of having more than 4,000 years of continuity. Few countries in Asia and Africa that were under the domination of European imperialism managed to regain their status as a great power as in the past. Among these few is China. Few countries have managed to overcome scientific and technological backwardness and match the world's greatest powers. In 1949, after 100 years of humiliation, only 20 percent of the population in China was literate and it had only a few thousand scientists. Today, China is the country with the most people training in engineering, mathematics, science and information technology. This achievement has enabled the country to become the second-largest economy and the largest exporter and importer in the world. Few developing countries, by their own efforts, have managed to build a sophisticated defense system and an aerospace program. China, in 2020, was the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon. It has developed the leading 5G technology and holds the patents in artificial intelligence. China also leads the high-speed train sector, building in 10 years a network that exceeds the sum of all other countries' lines. Few countries that have suffered from imperialism and colonialism have managed to organize strategies to eliminate extreme poverty. Hunger is an open wound in most developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. But in 2020, China managed to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty after 40 years of reform and opening-up, one of the most outstanding achievements in human history. Worldwide, millions of people have died of COVID-19. Many developed countries have suffered a sharp drop in their GDP because of the pandemic and still face lockdowns that continue to hamper the economy. China, the first country to be hit hard by the virus, has managed to largely contain the cases of infection, has a shallow death rate per million and has reorganized its economy, being the only G20 country to grow last year. It has developed vaccines that are helping dozens of countries in the world to overcome the pandemic, mainly Brazil, where out of every 10 vaccines applied, nine are from China. While national selfishness is on the rise worldwide, China has become the primary supplier of inputs and vaccines to contain the coronavirus. When looking for the reasons for China's success, two answers can be found: the determination and resilience of the Chinese people and the organizational capacity of the Communist Party of China. The CPC is heir to the indignation of the Chinese youth that manifested in May 1919, when they denounced the Treaty of Versailles, which granted former German protectorates in the country to the Japanese. Revolutionary consciousness advanced with the creation of the CPC in July 1921, when Marxist ideas and the Russian Revolution's success excited the struggle against imperialism, factionalism and corruption that had weakened the country. But the CPC did not only have an anti-imperialist action. It presented a socialist program that promised a better life for the urban working class and the large mass of farmers. The great victory obtained on Oct 1, 1949, was achieved after much struggle and perseverance, not only against reactionary nationalists but against Japanese militarist imperialism. The consolidation of the People's Republic of China and the country's stabilization were achieved with great difficulty, including a costly war in the Korean Peninsula between 1950 and 1953. Also, due to an ongoing search for a Chinese way to socialism, which differed from that of the Soviet Union, the leadership of the CPC incurred mistakes, such as the "great leap forward" (1958-60) and the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), but which served as a beneficial experience for the later phase, in 1978, when the reform and opening-up period began. Western analysts often divide China's history by separating the legacy and experiences that occurred during the leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong from the period led by Deng Xiaoping. It is a mistake, because without Mao's estate, Deng era's accelerated development could never have occurred. The CPC, under the leadership of Mao, withstood international pressure, divided the rural land among villagers, contributed to women's autonomy, organized a campaign for mass education, created a heavy industrial sector and built a strong defense capacity. In other words, it guaranteed the means for national sovereignty and the next steps. Under Deng's leadership, the country shifted its focus as the "fundamental contradiction" was no longer the class struggle but the fight against backwardness and poverty. This new approach contributed strongly to the stability of the country and the CPC, despite some setbacks. The Deng era enabled China's reintegration into the world economy, reintroduced the market economy, and outlined "socialism with Chinese characteristics". The following generation of leaders, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, persevered on Deng's path, strengthening the economy and laying the foundations for the continuous improvement of the Chinese people's well-being. The successes resulting from China's rapid growth have brought new contradictions, which are currently being addressed by President Xi Jinping's leadership. Since 2013, new challenges have arisen such as promoting a new-type of urbanization, the improvement of living standards in rural areas; the widening of income disparities; the negative impacts of industrialization on the environment; the limitations of the middle-income trap; the crisis of multilateralism; the emergence of nationalism at the global level; the pressures from Taiwan separatists; the trade war initiated by the United States; and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. All these issues are complex topics, but with the experience acquired by the millions of officials and leaders of the CPC and the strong support of all Chinese people, all these problems can be overcome and China will achieve its goal of being a socialist and fully developed nation in 2049. As in life, the CPC has made mistakes and enjoyed successes, but the balance has always tipped heavily in favor of the latter. The author is a professor at the Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily. Academic Lisa Lines (pictured above) is the subject of an investigation by policing agency Interpol, with her exact whereabouts unknown A global hunt is on for an Australian academic and her two children who vanished after a bizarre axe attack in her garage. Lisa Lines, 40, a respected historian, author and former University of NSW lecturer, is the subject of an investigation by policing agency Interpol. She is believed to be living overseas with her son Parker, 7, and daughter Savannah, 5, but her exact whereabouts are unknown. Police arrived at a house in Littlehampton, in South Australia's Adelaide Hills, on October 29 in 2017 and discovered two badly injured men in the garage. Zac Bruckner had been shot in the abdomen, and Jonathon Hawtin suffered life-changing injuries after being repeatedly struck in the neck with a tomahawk. It later emerged Bruckner was the new partner of Dr Lines and Hawtin was the father of her two children. Both men blamed one another for the savage attack that left Hawtin a tetraplegic - paralysis of all four limbs and the torso. Dr Lines (pictured above) is believed to be living overseas with her two young children, but her exact whereabouts remain a mystery Following a bizarre attack involving an axe at an Adelaide address in 2017 where Dr Lines lived, Jonathon Hawtin (pictured) was rendered a tetraplegic which sees the paralysis of all four limbs and the torso He is permanently confined to a wheelchair and requires round-the-clock care in a private facility. Police eventually charged Hawtin with the attempted murder of Bruckner, but in September 2019, a jury found him not guilty. During the four-week trial, it emerged Dr Lines wanted to separate from Hawtin in June of 2017, and two months later she started a relationship with Bruckner. Following the shooting, Dr Lines refuted suggestions she was then involved in a relationship with a woman she met on a dating app. She also denied she wanted Hawtin 'out of the picture' to avoid ongoing shared custody of her children. She no longer dates Bruckner either. Dr Lines has numerous PhDs in history and creative writing, is a former lecturer in history at the University of NSW's Canberra campus. She has also described herself as one of the 'countrys most experienced academic editors'. Pennsylvania 'church' founder sentenced to 12 years in prison for labor trafficking, fraud Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Pennsylvania woman who founded her own ministry and appointed herself a bishop has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for forced labor of church members and defrauding hotels. Tracie Dickey, a 57-year-old woman who's also known by the name Tracie Williams, was a bishop of Deliverance Tabernacle Ministries, which had branches in Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina. United States District Judge Sara L. Ellis of the Northern District of Illinois imposed the 12-year sentence Monday on Dickey, who had been found guilty by a jury in 2019. According to a Department of Justice press release, Dickey ran a hotel scheme in which she forced church members to work at various hotels, bringing in more than $66,000 in fraudulent proceeds while also collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars earned by ministry members. Dickey emotionally and physically abused the members and coerced them into following her rules, stated the DOJ. Several of Dickeys victims testified at trial about their ordeals. Dickeys tactics included starving and humiliating church members, forcing some of them into homelessness, and threatening that God would harm their families if they did not comply with Dickeys rules. In February 2019, a federal jury found Dickey guilty of wire fraud and forced labor, due to her hotel scheme and the mistreatment of ministry members. Judge Ellis rejected a motion to dismiss by Dickey at the time, explaining that the ministry leader was late in filing her motion and, even if timely, it would still lack merit. This included a claim by Dickey that her treatment of the ministry members was protected by the First Amendment and the ministerial exemption from federal law. Dickey contends that the First Amendment precludes the Government from prosecuting Dickey for this crime because her conduct was religiously motivated or protected. Dickey cites no other authority to support this argument, nor does she explain why the ministerial exception would apply to criminal law. Dickey's argument on this issue is undeveloped, and as such the Court will not consider it, concluded Ellis in 2019. From the jury decision to the recent sentencing, Dickey continued to promote her ministry efforts, including a press release in May 2020 in which she was identified as an Apostle, Prophetess, Evangelist, Author, and Educator, as well as a God-appointed Bishop with a divine calling to spread His gospel throughout the nation and the world. Like Jesus Christ himself, Bishop Tracie Williams Dickey of Pittsburgh has a great heart for the people of God, stated the press release. From her seat in Pittsburgh and numerous guest spots the world over, she delivers her prophesy and life-changing messages of hope, empowerment, and deliverance. Chinese authorities fined Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 18 billion yuan or $2.75 billion for breaking antitrust rules and exploiting its dominant business position, the country's highest-ever antitrust fine. The fine, which amounts to around 4 percent of Alibaba's 2019 sales, comes despite an ongoing regulatory crackdown on homegrown technology conglomerates in recent months, which has weighed on the company's stock. Since his detailed indictment of China's regulatory framework in late October, Alibaba's billionaire founder Jack Ma's business empire has been especially scrutinized. China penalizes Alibaba for anti-monopoly violations China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) revealed that it opened an antitrust investigation into the company in late December. Authorities had previously halted Ant Group, Alibaba's internet finance arm, from launching a proposed $37 billion IPO, as per Reuters. SAMR announced on Saturday that it found that Alibaba had been abusing market dominance since 2015 by banning its merchants from using other online e-commerce sites, following an investigation conducted in December. It claimed that the practice violates China's anti-monopoly legislation by obstructing the free flow of goods and infringing on merchants' business interests. The SAMR directed Alibaba to make "thorough rectifications" to improve internal enforcement and protect customer rights. "For the time being, the market will see this punishment as bringing the anti-monopoly case to a close. China Reportedly Targets Christians By Detaining Them in Secret Brainwashing Facilities Alibaba Group accepted China's fine for its malpractice "It is, without a doubt, China's most high-profile anti-monopoly case," said Hong Hao, head of research at BOCOM International in Hong Kong. Alibaba said it accepted the decision and would "firmly implement" SAMR's findings in a statement posted on its official Weibo account. According to Al Jazeera English via MSN, it also stated that it would boost corporate compliance. On Monday, the Chinese e-commerce giant will hold a conference call to address the penalty order. Competitors and retailers have chastised Alibaba in the past for reportedly excluding its merchants from selling on other e-commerce sites. The tradition of banning merchants from listing on competing websites has a long history, and the regulator declared it unlawful in February rules. Shi Jianzhong, a member of the State Council's antitrust consultant committee and a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, wrote in the state-run Economic Times, "The fine bill is an achievement and road sign of great importance. It shows that antitrust compliance on internet sites has entered a new phase and issued strong regulatory signals." North Korea Leader Kim Jong-Un Admits Nation Faces 'Worst-Ever Situation' Party leaders are concerned about Alibaba's supremacy, which comes when the internet industry is spreading into finance, health care, and other critical fields. This year, the party thinks it will focus on antitrust compliance, especially in the tech sector. Alibaba is a company that runs online, business-to-business, and consumer-to-consumer sites. It was established in 1999. It has rapidly spread into financial services, filmmaking, and other industries. In March, Tencent Holdings, which owns games and the famous WeChat messaging app, was fined 500,000 yuan or $77,000 each for failure to report previous acquisitions and other deals, The Star reported. Why Amazon's Jeff Bezos Backs Biden's Infrastructure Plan That Would Lead to Corporate Tax Hike @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 'Wild at Heart' author John Eldredge launches resources to help those struggling with 'trauma' amid COVID Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Wild at Heart author John Eldredge believes men and women across the United States are experiencing a mental health crisis like never before. The last year absolutely clobbered us. We all just passed through extreme, global trauma thanks to the pandemic and lockdown, Eldredge, president of Wild at Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God and recover their own hearts in Gods love, told The Christian Post. As people come out of this, I think the world will realize that everyone has been through trauma. We are going to see the effects of that now. To have your normal routines disrupted, to be kept in a state of constant uncertainty that is traumatizing. And then, of course, the deaths and the losses are very real. As a result, everyone has been turning back to self-comforting, often damaging, behavior. An experienced therapist, Eldredge said hes seen domestic violence, porn addiction, depression, substance abuse, and suicide rates increase significantly amid the pandemic particularly among men. Mens core fear is failure, and they want to feel like they can tackle any challenge. But during the pandemic, they didn't know what to fix. They were told they were not essential, that they had to stay home and do nothing. Its a message that says you have no significant contribution to make, he said. This, Eldredge said, has been crippling for men, adding: Were seeing so much anger in men right now, and its misdirected because they just don't know what to fight. Though women are better at expressing how they're feeling, talking about it and making social connections than men, that doesnt mean the pandemic hasnt affected them as well, Eldredge stressed. A woman's core fear is insecurity and primarily relational betrayal, he explained. Women thrive when their world is thriving, when their relationships are thriving. And when you take that away from a woman, the primary result is anxiety. Suddenly, their world is not secure. Were seeing anxiety in women like never before. Sensing an urgent need to offer hope, encouragement, and support to men and women coming out of the pandemic, the New York Times bestselling author launched The Wild at Heart Experience and the Captivating Experience, two free, six-week programs available on the Wild at Heart website. The Wild at Heart Experience is based on the message of Eldredges book written for men, while the Captivating Experience is based on the book of the same name written by Eldredge and his wife, Stasi, especially for women. What Wild at Heart and Captivating offer are a deeper experience of the healing presence of our Father, because it's the unhealed soul that seeks out various addictions, he said. The unhealed soul is more vulnerable in an hour like this than the healed soul. What we need is wholeheartedness, because when were wholehearted, we are in a better place to resist these kinds of damaging behaviors. Men and women can participate in the program by joining groups, hosting groups, or participating online as part of the Wild at Heart and Captivating communities. Were inviting people to come on a journey through soul care, and heart-strengthening, and recovery coming out of the crazy year that we've all just been through, Eldredge shared. In addition to the film series for men and women, the father and grandfather launched theWild at Heart Expanded Edition,which features an updated introduction and answers to the authors most frequently asked questions about the bestselling title that has sold more than 5 million copies and launched a movement of freedom for men around the world. The book, Eldredge said, seeks to encourage men to recover their masculine heart, see themselves in the image of a passionate, dangerous God, and delight in the strength and wilderness they were created to offer. He pointed out that when it comes to the family unit, COVID has exacerbated already-existing issues: What we are experiencing now is the result of a perfect storm stemming from the divorce culture that brought in a whole generation of fatherlessness, the Colorado native told CP. We've lost a lot of the context within which boys used to learn dignity and the passage of masculinity." Every little boy has two core questions: Do you love me, and do I have what it takes? And hes looking at his father to answer these questions," he continued. "If the dad is not there, or if the dad is taken out through his own addictions, the boy doesn't get that bedrock and will try to get that sense of belonging and that sense of validation elsewhere. Every boy must understand that he is valued and loved, and then bring that to the world as a confident man. But if you look at the cultural story, it's pretty bad. It's a mess. Yet, Eldredge said hes encouraged by the movement of masculine fellowship and intentionality that hes seen going on in Christian communities all over the world. If you look at the cultural scene, it's pretty heartbreaking. There's just a lot of confusion. But God is at work, and there is a great deal of intentionality on the part of Christian men to recover what was lost and to offer it either to their son or to the young men in their worlds. Its becoming a global movement, he said. Through his work, Eldredge said he hopes to help men and women discover who God designed them to be and offer hope at a time when it is desperately needed. Its really remarkable that God let us get this done because we filmed this new series and wrote the expanded version of the book amid the pandemic, he said. It was extraordinary that we were able to get that done, but the timing couldn't be better, because now we can offer these resources to help people toward wholeheartedness at a time that people are pretty beat up. Holyoke police are investigating two Friday shooting incidents, one that sent a victim to the hospital with a gunshot wound. Information about the second incident is incomplete at this time. Holyoke Police Captain Matthew Moriarty said at about 4:15 p.m. Friday police investigated a report of what appeared to be a bullet hole in a car parked in the area of 542 South Bridge St. The caller told police she heard what she thought was a gunshot at about 3 p.m. As officers and detectives worked at the scene at about 4:48 p.m., police headquarters received a report of a walk-in gunshot victim at the Holyoke Medical Center. Hospital staff reported that the victim suffered a through and through wound to the right calf and was treated and later released. The victim refused to cooperate with investigators. Later, police investigated a reported shooting in the Tokeneke Road area. Officers responded to a report of shots fired with injuries at about 8:50 p.m. Officials said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and no information is currently available. Anyone with information about either of these incidents is asked to contact the Holyoke Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau at 413-322-6900. Information can be sent anonymously through the Text-A-Tip system. Text Solve plus your message (include the city or town) to 274637, then include the information you want to send to the police, then hit send. New Delhi: At least 50 people were killed and over 200 injured following a shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip on Monday. The gunman who opened fire on concertgoers on the Las Vegas strip killed himself before officers broke into his hotel room, the police said. While speaking about the incident, Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a news conference, We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry. He said officers found in excess of 10 rifles upon entering the 32nd floor hotel room from which a gunman opened fire at concertgoers below, killing at least 50 and injuring hundreds. MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said no reports have been received of any Indian nationals amongst those affected in the incident. (With PTI inputs) ALSO READ | Las Vegas shooting: 50 dead, over 200 injured; Islamic State claims responsibility For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Tibetan antelope population reaches 300,000 to 400,000 in China People's Daily Online) 17:30, April 09, 2021 Over the past 40 years, the Tibetan antelope population has risen to between 300,000 and 400,000, thanks to an intensified protection effort across China, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Tibetan antelope babies are seen at the Zhuonai Lake protection station in Hol Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin) Since it signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 40 years ago, China has steadfastly fulfilled its obligations under the convention and actively promoted its implementation, said Zhang Zhizhong, head of the wildlife protection department at the National Forestry and Grassland Administration at a symposium held on April 8. "China has carried out almost the toughest crackdown on illegal wildlife trading in the world," Zhang remarked, explaining that the country has established an inter-ministerial joint law enforcement coordination mechanism, strengthened law enforcement supervision, and organized a series of special actions in an effort to crack down on illegal wildlife trading. Through 40 years of efforts, the country has effectively protected 90 percent of its vegetation types and terrestrial ecosystems, 65 percent of higher plant communities, and 85 percent of key protected wildlife populations, said Zhang, noting that the populations of rare and endangered species such as giant panda and crested ibis have seen restorative growth. The poaching of Tibetan antelopes in China which were rampant in the 1990s, have almost been eradicated, Zhang revealed. He said that China will continue to strengthen the protection of wildlife and their habitats, prohibit the illegal wildlife trade and constantly improve the relevant laws and regulations in order to safeguard the community of all life on Earth. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) The Detroit Red Wings on Friday night made the first of what they hope will be multiple deals for draft picks prior to Mondays 3 p.m. trade deadline, sending defenseman Patrik Nemeth to the Colorado Avalanche for a fourth-round selection in 2022. The Red Wings now have nine picks in 2022, including three in the fourth round (their own, Colorados and Vegas). Detroit also has nine selections this year, including three in the second round (their own, Edmontons and the Rangers). Nemeth, 29, was one of the Red Wings many impending unrestricted free agents. He appeared in 39 games, picking up eight points (two goals, six assists) and posting a minus-1 rating. He returns to Colorado, where he played for two seasons before signing a two-year, $6 million free-agent contract with Detroit in 2019. The Red Wings retained 50 percent of his remaining salary (the prorated portion of $3 million). That is something they might need to do to make more moves because teams could be reluctant to add salary in a season where revenues are down due to few or no fans are in attendance in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 6-3, 228-pound stay-at-home defenseman appeared in 103 games over two seasons with Detroit (three goals, 14 assists). More: Trading chip Bobby Ryan done for season Red Wings might need to adjust expansion protection list Celi Lippman, 76, is no ordinary grandmother. A power lifter, Lippman says shes always full of energy. So, its not really a surprise that she wasted no time once she received her second COVID-19 vaccine dose to travel over 2,000 miles to visit her granddaughter in New Jersey. One thing the pair made sure the visits itinerary included: A trip to Selfie Stations in Westfield. The time I get to spend with her is priceless, said Lippman, with her granddaughter, Valerie Faustino, 9, eager to continue their photo op. The new 5,500 square-foot interactive space, which offers about 25 photo stations for guests to pose and snap pics, officially opened March 25. My favorite is the swings, the yellow swings, Faustino said. It reminds me of being at the playground with my friends. Madelyne La Grutta, 7, right, swings in a station while Celi Lippman poses with her granddaughter Valerie Faustino, 9. Lippman was visting from Arizona and thought it was a fun idea with her granddaughter to make memories. Selfie Stations NJ opened up in Westfield last month. Visitors for an hour get to take photos and video in some of their 25 different decorated stations. Friday, April 9, 2021. Westfield, N.J. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media Guests at the Union County space would not be blamed for thinking they had stumbled into wonderland or snagged a coveted golden ticket to Willy Wonkas chocolate factory. Giant cherries appear to float in midair when you walk in. In one booth, large slinkies hang from the ceiling. Another features a giant pair of red lips that have been fashioned into a seat cushion. As for what motivated us, Id say the times that were in. This is an enjoyable community space and we wanted to deliver to the community what theyve been missing for so long, said John Ward, 50, who owns Selfie Stations with his brother James Ward, 61. John said inspiration for Selfie Stations came from watching all the fun his daughter and her friends had posting to social media. She put [TikTok] on my phone and I remember objecting at first, but then I started to get it, John said, laughing. The Ward brothers said Selfie Stations located in a former retail store was meant to open as a pop up business. Although the initial plan was to close it in early 2022, John says the reception has been such they are keeping their options open. You can feel it when you walk in, everyones so happy, said James Ward. I think it should stay open, said Johns daughter, Sophie, 11, who was joined by her friend Alexa Reid. Its fun and I think there are more people from other states that might still want to come. We need to give everyone a chance. Makayla La Grutta, 8, left, poses with her cousin Victoria Piszel, 17, as her sister Madelyne La Grutta, 7, waits in another station to take photos with them. Selfie Stations NJ opened up in Westfield last month. Visitors for an hour get to take photos and video in some of their 25 different decorated stations. Friday, April 9, 2021. Westfield, N.J. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media Visitors to the downtown space have hailed from Harlem, Philadelphia, Sayerville and beyond. Michelle Montgomery, of Long Island, New York, says she was scrolling online when she came across Selfie Stations. She said the car trip took three hours and was worth every minute. Her daughter, Soleil Breeze, 11, who recently got a boost of Instagram followers, had a bevy of backgrounds and props to make her posts pop. I like it because its so different. Plus I can wear different clothings and change up the setting too, said Breeze, who went from 300 Instagram followers in March to over 7,000 and counting. Whenever I post, I like to surprise my followers. In addition to offering much-needed levity, Dawn Mackey, a town councilwoman and liaison to the downtown Westfield corporation, says its been a boon for local businesses. We want to get the business owners in here and ask: How do we support one another? Thats important, said Mackey. Providing optimism in the midst of the pandemic has been vital, Mackey added. As has continuing to provide safety protocols. Attendees have their temperatures checked at the entrance and hand sanitizer dispensers are located through the floor. Capacity is also limited to ensure social distancing is enforced (helped by the 8-foot by 8-foot size of each station). Selfie Stations allows for walk-in visitors, but guests can also book a group visit or rent the space for a party. Summer camps are slated to begin in June, including TikTok Dance Camp, Camp Pop-Star, and Llama Llama Pajama. General admission tickets to the space are on sale for $22 each, and those for kids ages 5-12 are $18, according to its website. While many of the stations have been a hit, John Ward said he expects some may rotate out in the future to make way for holiday themes or customer suggestions. Just come in and write it on our big wall, this is your space, he said. Patricia Okorie, left, gives advice to her friend Stephanie Goncalves prior to the two taking photos together. Selfie Stations NJ opened up in Westfield last month. Visitors for an hour get to take photos and video in some of their 25 different decorated stations. Friday, April 9, 2021. Westfield, N.J. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Maharashtra is currently left with 15.63 lakh of the 1.10 crore anti-COVID 19 vaccine doses it had received, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said Saturday and called for their "proper distribution" amid reports of an acute shortage of vaccines which the state government had blamed on the Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said that 8 lakh doses were available and "we have been told we will get four lakh doses in a day". Javadekar also said over 1,100 ventilators will be made available for Maharashtra, which is worst-affected by COVID-19 pandemic, in the next three days. He said that oxygen supply has also been routed from the industrial production units. In a dig at the Maharashtra government, which had accused the of bias in the distribution of doses to the state, Javadekar said this is not the right time to play politics over the issue, and that an "appropriate answer" will be given later. "As per the statewide report, Maharashtra received 1.10 crore doses till 6 pm on Friday. There are only three states that have received over 1 crore vaccine doses in the country. They are Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajashtan," Javadekar told reporters after attending a review meeting with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar here. Giving a break-up, Javadekar said out of the 1.10 crore doses, 95 lakh doses were used by Maharashtra till April 9. "There are 15.63 lakh vaccine doses remaining with the state. This report is known to everyone. I have spoken to Maharashtra chief secretary Sitaram Kunte," he added. Javadekar said these 15 lakh-plus doses need to be distributed properly so that "no vaccine" boards will not be seen anywhere at inoculation centres in the state. "I hope this (proper distribution of vaccine doses) will be followed," he said. The state government had feared that the healthcare system will be overwhelmed if the cases continue to rise. "Today we have 8 lakh doses available and we have been told we will get four lakh doses in a day. If the supply of doses is on a daily basis, how will the vaccines be transported to other parts of the state on time?" Tope had asked. He said that 70 vaccine centres in Mumbai have closed and places like Sangli, Satara, Panvel are also facing a shortage, due to which all the centres there have been affected. "People visiting the centres are being turned away. All this is very embarrassing," Tope had said and reiterated that the state's vaccine wastage percentage is just three per cent. "The is not addressing these issues seriously," Tope alleged. When asked about the blame game between the Centre and the state government over the availability of vaccine doses, Javadekar said this is not the right time to do politics. "When we will have to do politics, we will give a proper answer to that allegations. There is nothing greater than the interest of the people in the current situation," the BJP leader said. Tope had also alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses of vaccine. A shortage of ventilator beds is being reported from various parts in Maharashtra, which has 5,34,603 active cases at present. Acknowledging the shortage of ventilators in Maharashtra, the Information and Broadcasting minister said, "I held a detailed discussion with concerned officials and ministers. 1,121 ventilators will be made available for Maharashtra in the next three to four days. 700 ventilators would be coming from Gujarat and 421 from Andhra Pradesh". Javadekar also said that oxygen supply has also been routed from the industrial production units and the Centre would help the state to get this oxygen supply. He said the Centre would provide funds for the manpower required for testing, tracking, tracing and treating patients from the National Health Mission. "We consider this (pandemic) as a national calamity. All the states and people belong to us, so attention and solutions will be provided to those areas where the situation is critical," he said. Javadekar said more than 30 teams were sent to Maharashtra for reviewing the pandemic situation in various districts and they are considering measures to tackle the prevailing situation. "In Pune also, a team under IAS officer Kunal Kumar has arrived and held a meeting with officials," he added. Maharashtra's cumulative caseload reached 32,88,540 on Friday, while the death toll stood at 57,329, as per the state health department. The state has been recording more than 55,000 cases over the past few days. In a bid to tackle the spike in cases, the state government had imposed various restrictions, including the night curfew which will remain in force till April 30, besides weekend lockdowns from Friday night to Monday morning every week. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 01:55:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Medical workers analyze samples collected for COVID-19 tests at a laboratory in Rabat, Morocco, on April 9, 2021. Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 500,948 on Friday as 625 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua) RABAT, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 500,948 on Friday as 625 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the death toll rose to 8,885 with 12 new fatalities, while 442 people are in intensive care units. The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 487,414 after 501 new ones were added, the statement said. The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.8 percent while the recovery rate is 97.3 percent. Meanwhile, 4,449,047 people have received so far the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, and 4,103,257 people have received the second dose. The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines. Enditem ADVERTISEMENT A riot that broke out at the National Correctional Centre, Bauchi, has left five inmates and two officers injured, according to the centres spokesman, Abubakar Adamu. Mr Adamu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday, in Bauchi, that the incident occurred as a result of trafficking of items to inmates by a prison official. There was a riot that broke out as a result of a prison officer trafficking handsets, drugs and other related items, to inmates inside the centre. Unfortunately for the officer, intelligence caught him and in the process of investigation, the inmates got wind of the incident and broke into the store and catered away shovels, daggers and diggers. The inmates, who were chanting songs and slogans, broke some items inside the prison which forced the prison officials to start shooting in the air to scare them. In the melee, five inmates and two officials were injured, he said. Mr Adamu said the situation had been put under control, while the inmates had returned to their rooms, adding that the general public should go about their normal business as calm had returned to the centre. NAN reports that security had been beefed up, with vehicular and traffic movement around the area restricted and the roads leading to the correctional centre barricaded. (NAN) Osaka Prefecture reported a record 918 new coronavirus cases on Saturday amid growing signs of a fourth wave of the pandemic driven by new variants. The daily figures in Osaka, which had a quasi-emergency measure imposed earlier this week, have topped those of Tokyo for 12 consecutive days. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases estimated that new variants were responsible for about 70% of new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures earlier this month, which likely pushed up a recent surge in infections. That compared with about 10% in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, but the government is worried that there could be a spike in the greater Tokyo area as well. Tokyo reported 570 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, exceeding 500 for a fourth straight day, as the government was set to put the capital plus Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures under coronavirus quasi-emergency measures starting Monday. The figure was significantly more than the last two Saturdays, which saw 446 on April 3 and 430 on March 27. It was the highest number since Feb. 6. The average number of daily new cases in Tokyo jumped to 458.6 in the week through Saturday from a total of 383.7 as of April 3. Of Saturday's new cases, 162 were confirmed among people in their 20s, 117 among those in their 30s and 96 among those in their 40s. Those age 65 or older accounted for 48 cases. The number of infected people with severe symptoms under the metropolitan governments criteria fell by six from the previous day to 37. Get the SC business stories that matter. Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free. Tri City Urology in Saginaw, MI was fined $1500 Tri City Urology in Saginaw, MI was fined $1500 On March 25, 2021, Tri City Urology in Saginaw, Michigan, was fined $1500 for a violation of the COVID-19 workplace safety requirements for not conducting a common screening protocol for all patients, including a temperature check. The inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint. View citation. Mumbai, April 10 : Veteran actor Satish Kaul, who was best known for his role of Lord Indra in BR Chopra's "Mahabharat", passed away in Ludhiana on Saturday. He died owing to Covid-19 complications. The late actor, said to be in his early to mid-seventies, had also acted in the popular show "Vikram Aur Betaal", and was often hailed as Amitabh Bachchan of Punjabi cinema in his heydays. Kaul, who worked in over 300 Punjabi and Hindi films along with several TV serials, shifted to Punjab from Mumbai in 2011 with plans to start an acting school in Ludhiana. However, things didn't work out and the project failed badly, bringing financial woes. The actor was living in financial difficulties from last few years and had even sought help publicly from the film industry. Speaking to IANS last year, he had given an update on his situation, saying: "I don't stay in the old age home. I am staying in a rented place in Ludhiana," Satish dispelled the rumour, speaking to IANS in a frail tone. I shifted to this place from the old-age home two years ago. I am staying here with a woman, Satya, who takes care of me." Kaul is survived by Satya Devi, his caretaker. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text 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. Reporter Heather Bellow, a member of the investigations team, joined The Eagle in 2017. She is based in the South Berkshire County bureau in Great Barrington. Her work has appeared in newspapers across the U.S. Saturday, April 10, 2021 Clay Bertrand supposedly called lawyer Dean Andrews, who was in the hospital with double pneumonia, on November 23, 1963 and asked if he would go to Dallas to represent Lee Harvey Oswald. In 1966, Jim Garrison decided that Clay Shaw was the elusive Clay Bertrand. What few people realize is that the FBI, the Secret Service, and the New Orleans Police Department made a concerted effort to find Clay Bertrand in 1963 with no luck. Here are some excerpts from a variety of Warren Commission documents: Warren Commission Document #75 Warren Commission Document #75 Warren Commission Document #75 Warren Commission Document #75 Warren Commission Document #75 Warren Commission Document #87 Warren Commission Document #87 Warren Commission Document #87 (this section on Tulane University) Warren Commission Document #87 Warren Commission Document #126 Warren Commission Document #126 And, Warren Commission Document #1203, contains a letter that Carlos Bringuier wrote to FBI SA Warren deBrueys on November 27, 1963 - Here are some loose ends I have heard mentioned: The police here were looking for a certain Clay Bertrand who is a pervert. Clay Bertrand could not be found - most probably because he was a figment of Dean Andrew's imagination. Now, fast forward to 1966-1967, and Garrison is once again looking for Clay Bertrand. You can read about the search in his book, On The Trail of The Assassins: (page 86) "Gradually, my men began encountering one person after another in the French Quarter who confirmed that it was common knowledge that "Clay Bertrand" was the name Clay Shaw went by. However, no one would authorize the use of his name or even sign a statement to be kept confidential. No one wanted to get involved. This was quite curious considering Shaw's reputation throughout the city as a man of decorum and distinction." But, is that what really happened back in 1966-1967? Dean Andrews refused to identify Clay Bertrand - but was quite adamant that he wasn't Clay Shaw. Garrison had his investigators comb through the French Quarter. And, guess what? Once again, the elusive Clay Bertrand couldn't be found. Here is an entry from the Tom Bethell diary for August 19, 1967: I talked to Alcock today; he seems to be the most intelligent, and the most communicative person in the office. He said several things, some of them astonishing. First, he told me that Gene Davis had called Dean Andrews at the Hotel Dieu. I asked him how he knew that and he said that Davis had called him and admitted it. It now begins to look as though Gene Davis really is Clay Bertrand, inasmuch as anyone is. Alcock suggested that Dean might have just made up the name Bertrand. He said there was a rumor that there had been a nurse at the Hotel Dieu while Andrew was there named Clare Bertrand, and that as far as he knew nobody checked this out. Here is an entry for October 2, 1967: Alcock repeated what Garrison had already said to Epstein and myself in Junethat Shaw became the suspect because they were looking for Clay Bertrand and Clay Shaw had the same first name; also Clay Bertrand was presumed to be a homosexual. Thus Shaw came to light. Garrison had said earlier to Epstein and myself that Sciambra had "squeezed the quarter" looking for Clay Bertrand, but that he could not be found. The Richard Billings journal has an entry for February 23, 1967: Giant says Andrews now tells him there is no such man as Clay Bertrand . . . They also went to speak to Eva Springer (see above), Dean Andrew's secretary, on April 13, 1967. Here are two excerpts from her interview: And, how about this memo? Garrison's notation reads as follows: "Lou Ivon also has tape in which confidential informant (ML) is advised by Prentiss Davis that Bertrand apparently did not exist - that Andrews really made no effort to locate him (+ Davis, his investigator, would have known.)" And, when Dean Andrews testified before the grand jury, he said that the phone call in the hospital came from Gene Davis (who he sometimes referred to as Clay Bertrand): A few minutes later, he added: Of course, Gene David would not admit to being Clay Bertrand - and he wasn't. But, he did call Dean Andrews on the afternoon of November 23, 1963. And, at the Dean Andrew's trial for perjury, here is some testimony that might be close to the truth: David called Andrews. Andrews then made up the story of being asked to represent Lee Harvey Oswald, and said that Clay Bertrand called him. Perhaps David Ferrie said it best when asked about Clay Shaw and Clay Bertrand (his interview with Andrew Sciambra on February 18, 1967): "Dean Andrews might tell you guys anything. You know how Dean Andrews is." Jessica Alba is a woman who wears many hats as an actress, entrepreneur and mother of three children. And as she fast approaches her milestone 40th birthday at the end of April, the Fantastic Four star stepped out to take care of some business at her headquarters for The Honest Company in Los Angeles on Friday. Alba came dressed to impress in a casual-cool outfit that had an array of colors as spring shone through on another warm and sunny day. Business ready: Jessica Alba was all about color when she headed to the headquarters for The Honest Company in Los Angeles on Friday With the temperatures inching to the upper 70's Fahrenheit, the Southern California native wore olive-green pants with a peach blazer over a grey t-shirt. She made her way around a winding walkway towards her company's office in shiny brown combat boots while carrying a large bag that contained some of her essentials needed for the workday. The ensemble was rounded out with dark sunglasses and her brown tresses styled long, straight, and with a part in the middle. Colorful: The Southern California native wore olive-green pants with a peach blazer over a grey t-shirt for her day at the office of her consumer goods company Glorious day: With the sun glaring down, she opted to wear dark sunglasses as she made her way closer to her company's headquarters at the end of the workweek With COVID-19 still very much a health crisis, the Southern California native wore a light green protective mask over her mouth and nose while out in public. Alba has a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks in her personal life. She turns 40 on April 28, which is now less than three weeks away. The Sin City actress will also have another joyous milestone when she and husband Cash Warren celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary on May 19. Big bucks! Alba's The Honest Company was first valued at $1 billion in 2015, just three years after she co-founded the company in 2012 The big 4-0: Alba will celebrate her milestone 40th birthday on April 28 And then, of course, she has a lot to proud of when it comes to her wildly successful consumer goods company -- The Honest Company, which was inspired, in part, by her 12-year-old daughter, Honor. The initial idea, following Honor's birth in 2008, was to provide an alternative to the massive baby product market, with an emphasis on ethical consumerism. Alba eventually launched the company with business partners Brian Lee, Sean Kane and Christopher Gavigan in 2012 with 17 products, and was valued at $1 billion for the first time in 2015. Along with Honor, the couple are also proud parents to daughter Haven, nine, and son Hayes, three, whom she shares with husband Cash Warren, 42. Antioch Historical Society & Museum A few weeks ago, I was reading through a list of sundown towns in California. Although many people think of them as Southern, Jim Crow phenomena places where Black people were told to get out before sundown or else they were incredibly widespread throughout the United States. And technically, a sundown town refers to an area that uses laws, intimidation or violence to exclude any non-white people. One jumped out to me: Antioch. San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, they all get big play as historic Bay Area cities. When you think history, you probably dont immediately jump to Antioch, but its one of the regions oldest towns. By 1851, theyd already put an ordinance on the books that banned Chinese people from using city streets after dark. There were only a few passing mentions in articles and resources online to the time Antioch expelled its Chinese population in 1876. So I went digging in old newspapers and found the horrifying, visceral story met with great enthusiasm by white Californians of how Antioch burned down its Chinatown, an act of violence that would have ramifications for the towns demographics for nearly 100 years. The persisting stand-off with China must make India rethink its relationship structures both in the Asian and global context The persisting stand-off with China must make India rethink its relationship structures both in the Asian and global context. How is India geo-strategically placed currently? On its northern borders it confronts an aggressive China. On its western borders it is currently in a state of a partial thaw qua Pakistan. A melt that can again go back to a state of deep freeze at any point of time. On the east the strains with regard to the economic blockade of Nepal in 2015 still continue to linger. Bhutan is caught in the Sino-Indian cleft stick. Bangladesh, though reaffirming the centrality of India to its external environment, is both conscious of and eager to leverage the rise of China. Myanmar is in the throes of violent convulsions following a military coup detat on February 1, 2021, that is having reverberations across the Indo-Burmese border as well. Down south, the Rajapaksa administration in Sri Lanka still continues to bend to the Chinese wind. Relations with Maldives have definitely improved after Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ascended to office in September 2018. His predecessor President Abdulla Yameen foreign policy was most eloquently summed up by current Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid in the following sentence, The mistake President Yameen made was to play India against China and China against India. That is a childish way of dealing with international relations; it will blow up in your own face. However, Maldives debt to China that ranges from 1 to 3 billion USD should worry India, too, for Maldives GDP is only 5.46 billion USD in 2021. Things could easily go the Hambantota way. On balance it does not seem to be a very happy situation for India overall. However, it is the reinvigorated great game in Afghanistan that could once again have a profound impact on the future of the region. As the Americans desperately attempt to sever the two-decade-old umbilical chord in Afghanistan, a deep void may open up in that country once more. Pakistan, Iran, Turkey China and Russia view this vacuum from their own strategic perch. India should also seriously evaluate what its hard strategic interests are in Afghanistan and then proceed accordingly. Further west, the Saudi Arabia-UAE-Israel triangle is not going to have a free run of the Middle East and Gulf region as it did under the Trump Administration. President Joe Biden is seeking to pick up the threads of the Donald Trump aborted Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) colloquially referred to as the Iran Nuclear deal once again in Vienna through the E3+2 process. The JCPOA signed on July 14, 2015, was further endorsed by the UN Security vide Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015. President Trump unilaterally walked out of this arrangement on the 8th of May 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Iran. The irony is that none of the Second Nuclear Age powers are party to the current process as they were not to the previous one either. For India, the Iran situation is further compounded by the epic 25-year Sino-Iranian Strategic Partnership agreement signed on the 27th of March 2021 that envisages a range of investments by China into Iran in fields ranging from oil to agriculture. Interestingly, Iran metaphorically booted India out of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway link in the July of 2020, citing a lack of interest by the Indian side. If the Iran nuclear deal gets reinstated it would further expand Iranian influence in the Middle East. Iran has been the biggest gainer of the ill-conceived American intervention in Iraq and the subsequent developments in the region post 2003. The US invasion of Iraq allowed Iran to create the Shia crescent encompassing Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, and embracing the Shia populaces in each of these countries. Anchored by Tehran, it spawns major surrogate satellites such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, and southern Iraqi militias. A rejuvenated Iran in partnership with China having its own strategic interests in Afghanistan and profoundly averse to the growing Saudi-UAE-Israel-India bonhomie would be something New Delhi should watch closely. Indias great power relationships are also far from rock steady. With Russia warming up to both Beijing and even Pakistan and the United States also requiring Pakistans help qua the Taliban to action the Doha deal signed between the US on February 29, 2020, things look rather messy for India. What then are Indias options to protect its broader strategic interests, namely, keep the Chinese at bay, guarantee that the Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) in the Indo-Pacific open, not allow Afghanistan to become Pakistans strategic depth, insulate Indias energy security from the evolving dynamic in the Middle East and ensure that the great powers while acting in their own interests do not end up acting against Indias interests? One option that needs to be focussed upon among myriad others is to reengage with the European continent across the spectrum. This essentially from a strategic perspective entails an assignation with Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Arrangement) Conceived as a cold war construct in April 1949 to keep the Soviet Union at bay, Nato, over the years, has evolved both in its role and character. An engagement does not mean that India should become a Nato adjunct or be designated as a Non-Nato ally by the United States. What it would mean is that India would be able to have access to both political and the military-to-military relationship with 30 odd European nations. Europe remains the neglected template that can still be leveraged by India to further its interests. The experience and evolution of the Nato alliance over the past seven decades could provide interesting institutional pointers to New Delhi if it were to consider at some point in time in the future the possibility of turning the Quad between US, Japan, Australia and India into the linchpin of a broader Asian Nato. Moreover, Indias engagement with Nato would also be a salutary signal to even Russia that, while India values the special relationship of the erstwhile years, it would not be averse to exploring alternative avenues, including alliance arrangements, if Russias relationships with China or Pakistan start becoming too close for comfort. To the Chinese, the message would also be clear that its belligerence would only expand the hub and spoke US-anchored security architecture in Asia currently from Japan all the way downwards to Australia into a more multilateral framework with Nato as the foundational template. It is an idea whose time may have come. Imperial Valley News Center Leader of Neo-Nazi Group Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime and Conspiracy Charges for Threatening Journalists and Advocates Seattle, Washington - A Washington state man pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Cameron Shea, 25, a leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, pled guilty to federal conspiracy and hate crime charges for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism. Shea pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States: interference with federally-protected activities because of religion; mailing threatening communications; and cyberstalking. He also pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion. Shea and three co-defendants were charged with conspiring via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and advocates they wanted to threaten in retaliation for the victims work exposing anti-Semitism. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. The group created posters, which featured Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening messages, to deliver or mail to the journalists or advocates the group targeted. Shea messaged the group that he wanted Atomwaffen members in different locations to place posters on their victims homes on the same night to catch journalists off guard and accomplish a show of force. The posters were delivered to victims in Tampa, Seattle, and Phoenix. Shea mailed posters to several victims, including a poster sent to an official at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that depicted a Grim Reaper-like figure wearing a skeleton mask holding a Molotov cocktail outside a residence, with the text Our Patience Has Its Limits . . . You have been visited by your local Nazis. Two of Sheas co-defendants, Ashley Parker-Dipeppe and Johnny Roman Garza, previously pled guilty to the conspiracy charge and were sentenced. The fourth co-defendant, Kaleb Cole, pled not guilty and is awaiting trial. Shea will be sentenced on June 28. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the hate crime charge and five years for the conspiracy charge. The case is being investigated by the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Tampa, Seattle, Houston, and Phoenix with assistance from National Security Division Counterterrorism Section Trial Attorney David Smith and the Seattle Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods of the Western District of Washington with assistance from the U.S. Attorneys Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona, and Central District of California. As U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently stated: [The Justice Department] will persist in our efforts to investigate and appropriately prosecute those who attack members of our communities, set fire to places of worship, or use the Internet to threaten bodily injury to other persons because of their real or perceived protected characteristics. Mumbai, April 10 : Babil Khan, son of late actor Irrfan Khan, has wrapped up his first shooting schedule. The budding actor shared the news on Saturday along with a picture he posted on Instagram. In the photo, he is seen posing with a friend against the backdrop of snow-covered mountains. "I have finished my first shooting schedule," he wrote, without divulging details of the shoot. He added: "Damn. Also with my childhood best friend bama side. In the process, I realised that it is absolutely necessary to remember that your self-importance will drown you if you're not extremely careful and honest with yourself." Babil then stressed that it will be the story that will be greatest. "You are part of a story and the story will always be bigger than you. (Whether you are an actor or not). Have a great day today!" wrote Babil, who had earlier hinted about his acting debut. According to unconfirmed reports and a now-deleted Instagram Story post by actress Triptii Dimri, Babil will make his debut in a project produced by Anushka Sharma's banner Clean Slate Filmz. The reports have suggested Triptii, who will co-star with Babil shared a picture post on Instagram Story where she is seen posing in snow-capped mountains. In the post she had written that the project is titled "Qala". The actress had tagged Babil, making it official that he is also a part of the project. No announcement or details have been shared about the project yet. 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(Ng Han Guan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Nearly 700 Americans Data Captured in Giant Chinese Surveillance Sweep Information on nearly 700 Americans was flagged on a secret Chinese security watchlist during their visits to Shanghai, according to a leaked database seen by The Epoch Times. The list of 697 American citizens, some of them as young as 3 years old, is part of a 1.1 million record dataset involving more than 5,000 foreign citizens. The details recorded include their full names, birth data, and passport numbers, which were captured as the individuals were entering and leaving Shanghai from 2018 to 2020. Shanghais Public Security Bureau, which stored the information on its server, answers to the Ministry of State Security, the central governments top intelligence agency. Among the people on the watchlist were also 172 Canadians, 161 Australians, and hundreds of travelers from Asian countries such as Japan and Taiwan. Three of the people tracked hold diplomatic passports. While the Shanghai records are far from exhaustive, it is a small, but highly detailed window into the surveillance state of China, said Robert Potter and David Robinson of Internet 2.0, an Australia-based cybersecurity firm that analyzed the data. A subset of the data leak includes a blacklist containing 10,000 people tagged as suspected terrorists, composed of 93 percent Uyghurs. Thousands of them got flagged for accessing the internet. Hundreds of individuals were placed on the watchlist for having access to dangerous chemicals, drugs, or materials for making explosives. Nearly a half of them were employees working for foreign firms or joint ventures, among them U.S. manufacturing giant 3M, Kansas-based chemical firm Invista, and Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi. The database was first reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. A man wearing a face mask walks under surveillance cameras as China is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, China on March 4, 2020. (Aly Song/Reuters) Records from one district called Jinshan around Shanghais harbor also revealed how officials deployed surveillance cameras to track individuals in real time, recording their car registration details and movements when possible. Internet 2.0 noted how the local level data were merged into a single system to further the surveillance state. This system is demonstrative of how China broadly seeks to control all data points within the enforcement of law and political control, the company said, noting that the tools it mobilizes are significantly more advanced in both scope and scale than those operated in democratic states. Michael Shoebridge, the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes defense director, previously told The Epoch Times that the mass of information from the leak shows the leverage that Beijing has in targeting anyone who runs afoul of the regime. Despite enormous investments in cybersecurity, online monitoring, surveillance, and a deeply controlling central authority, he said, this is a large vulnerability in the Partys operating model that seems to be growing, not contracting. A State Department spokesperson said that they are aware of these reports, and are following them closely. The safety and welfare of U.S. citizens abroad is the top priority of the U.S. Department of State, the spokesperson told The Epoch Times. The article has been updated to include a statement from the State Department. Money flows into U.S. bond funds climb as yields retreat- Lipper U.S. one hundred dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration taken in Seoul (Photo : REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won) U.S. money market funds saw strong demand for the second week in a row as concerns over higher U.S. bond yields and rising COVID-19 cases in Europe sent investors to safer avenues. The prospect of losses for U.S. banks, following hedge fund Archegos Capital's default on margin calls, also had market participants concerned. Advertisement U.S. money market funds received a net $50.35 billion in the week to March 31, after an over $60 billion inflow in the previous week, data from Refinitiv Lipper showed. On the other hand, investments into U.S. equity funds tumbled to $4.62 billion, a 67% decline from the previous week, as U.S. Treasury yields surged. U.S. growth funds, which house most of the high-flying technology-related stocks, faced outflows of about $3.49 billion. Graphic: Fund flows into U.S. equities bonds and money market https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/jbyvragkope/Fund%20flows%20into%20U.S.%20equities%20bonds%20and%20money%20market.jpg Higher yields tend to hurt the flow of money into growth sectors, as they lower the present value of the future cash flows of growth stocks. However, value funds, which have cyclical sectors such as financials and industrials, attracted inflows on hopes that swift vaccinations, a massive U.S. fiscal stimulus program and U.S. President Joe Biden's push to improve infrastructure would aid a faster recovery. The financials and industrials sectors saw inflows of $1.76 billion and $1.04 billion, respectively, the data showed. Graphic: Fund flows into U.S. growth and value funds https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/rlgvdbdnkvo/Fund%20flows%20into%20U.S.%20growth%20and%20value%20funds.jpg U.S bond funds received inflows of $8.5 billion last week. U.S. taxable bond funds saw $7.37 billion worth of net buying, while U.S. municipal bond funds had $1.1 billion. Graphic: Flows into U.S. equity sector funds https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xlbvgxkbnpq/Flows%20into%20U.S.%20equity%20sector%20funds.jpg U.S. high-yield bonds lured inflows of over $1 billion after witnessing heavy outflows in the previous week. Graphic: Flows into U.S. bond funds https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xegpbgramvq/Flows%20into%20U.S.% Channel 10 recently held a traditional 'welcome to country' ceremony near the Neighbours set at Ten's Nunawading Studios. Hosted by an Aboriginal Elder, the ceremony took place five weeks ago. 'We all stood together and everybody got involved. An elder made a speech, they lit the gum leaves, we all took part in having the smoke waft across us. We all took turns, then went back to work,' a source told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday. Ceremony: Channel 10 held a traditional 'welcome to country' ceremony near the Neighbours set after Shareena Clanton (pictured) made racism claims about her time on the hit soap 'We were told it was out of respect for the original landowners. It was a welcome to country ceremony like they do at the footy,' they continued. 'We all stopped work, and it went for half an hour. It was really good to learn about the history of the area,' the source added. A Welcome to and Acknowledgement of Country ceremony is held to show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional owners of the country. A 10 spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that the ceremony took place. 'We were told it was out of respect for the original landowners. It was a welcome to country ceremony like they do at the footy. We all stopped work, and it went for half an hour. It was really good to learn about the history of the area,' a source said Saturday. Clanton is pictured It comes after Shareena Clanton came forward to make racism claims about her time on the hit soap. Clanton, 30, alleged producers fostered a toxic workplace environment and claimed the show was a 'culturally unsafe space' in a bombshell Instagram post on Tuesday. Among several complaints, Clanton accused a staff member of making crude remarks and claimed she heard the N-word used on set twice, prompting production company Fremantle to bring in an Indigenous consultancy firm to carry out a review. Clains: Fremantle Media has launched an independent review of Neighbours after the actress accused the show of racism in a lengthy Instagram post In a statement, Fremantle's Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor said 'all complaints are taken seriously and we are investigating all allegations fairly'. 'Fremantle is committed to providing an environment where employees and others in the workplace are treated fairly and with respect, and are free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and bullying,' Mr Oliver-Taylor said. 'We do not tolerate behaviour that does not align to our Anti-Discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Harassment and Bullying Policy and take all complaints very seriously, investigating all allegations fairly and thoroughly.' Speaking: Clanton (pictured) alleged that producers fostered a toxic workplace environment and that the show was a 'culturally unsafe space' Fremantle has asked Campfire X, creative leaders in Indigenous Cultural Protocols, to 'conduct an independent review of Neighbours and the production process'. Clanton, who has also starred on Wentworth, vowed to never work on Neighbours again after claiming her stint on Ramsay Street was marred by 'multiple racist traumas' which have required ongoing counselling. 'I'm struggling to post anything positive about the months I endured on Neighbours after multiple racist traumas and navigating ongoing counselling from this highly problematic show,' she wrote on Instagram. 'It's been lonely, triggering and traumatising to work in such a culturally unsafe space.' Remarks: Among several complaints, Clanton (pictured) accused a staff member of making crude remarks and claimed she heard the N-word used on set twice While she didn't name specific staff members, Clanton listed several 'racist' and problematic incidents she apparently witnessed during filming. She claimed: 'A (staff member) thought it funny and appropriate to openly laugh at the word 'c*m sl*t' by a cast member who loudly spoke about 'c*m', 'c*m', 'c*m' in front of other cast and crew. 'Due to my insistence of engaging a Wurundjeri Elder to be included for ongoing cultural safety reasons like cultural protocols followed and debriefing, I was told 'this is not a film production, Shareena' and that 'we simply don't have the budget'. 'The humble few hundred dollars a week Aunty and I proposed was in contrast to the thousands of dollars actors were receiving each pay. I paid Aunty directly out of my own income to make up for this lack of budget.' Further claims: Aboriginal actor Meyne Wyatt (pictured) also took to Instagram to claim he 'experienced racism on set' when he was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016 She continued: 'A senior staff member openly laughed whilst using the term 'slave driver' in reference to him 'working hard'. My management at the time didn't help as they endorsed/encouraged this 'office banter'. I fired the agent. 'Overt and covert levels of racism were rife, often disguised as 'jokes', like a white actress openly calling another actress of colour a 'lil' monkey'.' 'Twice I endured the N-word openly being used on-set and in the green room. I was even told to 'go somewhere else' by staff when confronting the actor directly because I was making others 'uncomfortable'. 'A white actress openly laughed at the racist N-word to only lie about laughing about it when questioned by HR. She said that I 'misconstrued' what she was 'laughing at' and that she was laughing at 'something else'. That is a blatant lie. He wrote: 'It is disappointing, but not at all surprising, to hear that five years later racism continues to be present in that workplace. But what can you say, we are in Australia' 'The retaliation for calling out this misconduct and racism often left me ostracised and further marginalised. What was meant to (be an) HR follow-up (to) discuss this led to them saying they were unsure of 'what else they could do'.' Aboriginal actor Meyne Wyatt, who was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016 playing Nate Kinski and Mason Turner, also took to Instagram to claim he 'experienced racism on set'. 'It involved the c-word and I called that sh*t out and it didn't happen around me again,' Wyatt claimed. 'I did walk in on this incident in particular, so I have no doubt things were being said behind my back. I have too much experience to believe otherwise. And it is disappointing, but not at all surprising, to hear that five years later racism continues to be present in that workplace. But what can you say, we are in Australia.' Comment: On Saturday, Former Neighbours star Sharon Johal (pictured) added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram Stories post revealing her mental health has been affected by the backlash On Saturday, Former Neighbours star Sharon Johal added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram Stories post revealing her mental health has been affected by the backlash. She wrote: 'I can't pretend everything is "normal" and keep going about my life like nothing has happened. This week has been purely and utterly mentally and emotionally exhausting. 'Whilst I'm supporting both publicly and privately, and even though there's much you don't know about my own personal trauma, I can't even imagine what they are going through. 'My own mental health is in the bin. I'm having to handle it. To preserve it I've also had to take a break from social media/online after seeing the vile vitriol and backlash out there much of which these brave souls have had to experience. She wrote: 'It's inescapable. It's everywhere. Indigenous Australians and people of colour/ diverse background don't "get to" escape racism. We don't have that privilege;' 'Yet it's inescapable. It's everywhere. Indigenous Australians and people of colour/ diverse background don't "get to" escape racism. We don't have that privilege'. Johal played Dipi Rebecchi on the soap between 2017 and 2021. Meanwhile, Clanton's guest appearance on Neighbours is set to air next week. A Freemantle spokesperson told TV Blackbox: 'Neighbours strives to be a platform for diversity and inclusion on-screen and off-screen. 'Our quest is always to continue to grow and develop in this area and we acknowledge that this is an evolving process. 'Shareena's involvement in the creative process and on set was invaluable and hugely educational and will benefit the series moving forward. 'There have been significant and lengthy discussions with Shareena during her time on Neighbours and we will continue to work with all cast and crew to ensure Neighbours continues to be a fully inclusive environment.' " " People celebrate Bastille Day outside a Paris cafe on July 14, 1930. The Lost Generation referred to young people who came of age during Word War I and were disillusioned by it. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images After the dust of World War I settled and the troops came home or didn't come home it became evident that the world was changed forever. World War I ushered in a modern era of warfare with new fighting methods that affected an entire generation of young people. New technology introduced during World War I shaped the way wars would be fought from then on. For the first time, tanks, airplanes and machine guns made their way onto the battlefield. These new technologies magnified the effects of war, both in terms of how war was fought, but also how war affected people. World War I had a devastating effect on the world in terms of lives lost, with over 37 million casualties [source: Infoplease]. Advertisement Countries that were hit hardest by the war lost entire villages of men. Those who came home were profoundly affected by their war experience. Feeling cynical about humanity's prospects, they rebelled against the values of their elders, seeking debauchery instead of decency, and hedonism instead of ideology. The generation born between 1883 and 1900 that came of age during this time became known as the Lost Generation. This moniker is credited to writer Gertrude Stein, who passed on her garage mechanic's words to his employee "You are all a lost generation" during a conversation with writer Ernest Hemingway [source: University of Oxford]. Hemingway used this phrase in the epigraph of his book "The Sun Also Rises," and the name soon stuck. The phrase "Lost Generation" is also used to describe the literary landscape of this era. After the war, American writers felt lost, aimless and without purpose. Many flocked to Paris during the 1920s to escape their traditions at home. These expatriates managed to capture the zeitgeist of the time. What were the attitudes of this Lost Generation? Let's take a look at how disillusionment manifested itself in a generation of youth. Michael Sanchez's attorney told DailyMail.com via email that he neither served as the Enquirer's source for the affair story Lauren Sanchez's brother has doubled down on his claim that he didn't leak Jeff Bezos' explicit selfie to the National Enquirer, days after it was claimed in court documents that it was his sister's ex-husband who served as the Enquirer's source for the affair story. Michael Sanchez's attorney told DailyMail.com via email that he neither served as the Enquirer's source for the affair story, nor did he share any of the photos that backed it up. The affair was revealed in January 2019 when both Bezos and Sanchez were still married. They trailed the pair for months when they met up secretly, then splashed photos of them together across the magazine. It was an enormous scandal and contributed to the divorce of Bezos and his then-wife MacKenzie, which ended up being the most expensive divorce in history. The Enquirer also, according to Bezos, got their hands on an explicit selfie he had sent Lauren, that they tried to use to blackmail him. Who tipped the Enquirer off remains a source of contention. Michael Sanchez has long insisted that he was not the source. In court documents, the Enquirer reporter who covered the story claimed that Patrick Whitesell - Lauren's husband at the time - was one of the sources. Patrick denied it, telling The Daily Beast that Michael was trying to shift the focus off of himself. Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos in January 2020, a year after their affair was revealed by the Enquirer Michael is suing AMI - American Media Inc, the company that owns the Enquirer - for claiming that he was the sole source. In an email to DailyMail.com on Saturday, he insisted again that he wasn't the only source, and said he did not give the Enquirer the shirtless selfie that Bezos sent Lauren. Michael is suing AMI, the Enquirer's publisher, for naming him as the sole source of the story 'The AMI whistleblower confirmed what Michael Sanchez has always maintainedhe was not AMIs sole source, the story was already in the can before the Enquirer even reached out to him, and however AMI got its hands on the below-the-belt selfie it used to try to blackmail Mr. Bezos, it did not come from Mr. Sanchez. 'We look forward to reviewing the 10 terabytes of additional evidence in the possession of the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office,' he said. In court documents, reporter Nikolaos Tzima Hatziefstathiou said that Whitesell was one of his sources. 'Mr. Whitesell discovered the Affair, and by serving as AMA's (then the name of the National Enquirer's parent company) secret, undisclosed source, literally turned the divorce into a ''get out of divorce free' card via a pre-divorce, in which he appears blameless and scandal-free, just months before WME's planned initial public offering,' he said. Lauren was married to Hollywood mega agent Patrick Whitesell when she and Bezos started their affair. The three of them are pictured in 2016 Whitesell is now engaged to Australian actress Pia Miller. An Enquirer reporter claimed in court documents earlier this week that he tipped off the Enquirer because he wanted to get out of his marriage Whitesell's spokesman denied it. 'This is categorically untrue, and unfortunately not the first time we have seen this desperate attempt from Michael Sanchez to perpetuate this odd and tiresome circus. 'The fact that Patrick has been implicated in this bizarre series of lawsuits and incriminations is a direct result of the character of those involved and is completely disconnected from reality. 'Any suggestion to the contrary is malicious and libelous,' his spokesman said. Hatziefstathiou has a questionable past of his own after being charged in 2019 with tampering with public records and forgery, among other charges. Prosecutors accused him of posing as a Good Morning America producer and a New York Times reporter to obtain government documents. He also reportedly sent dozens of prostitutes to his neighbor's home and then reported a disturbance to the police. Whitesell has moved on with Australian actress Pia Miller. They are now engaged. Lauren and Bezos are not engaged but remain together. He is still the richest man in the world with a reported fortune of $177billion. Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, also known as Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have posted a tribute to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on their website Archewell. The tribute posted on their website read, "In loving memory of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh 1921-2021. Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed." While Meghan will be in California with son Archie, Prince Harry is expected to return to the UK for the first time to attend his grandfather's funeral. Prince Harry is extremely attached to his late grandfather as they were often seen smiling and giggling during their official tours together. Philip also played a significant role in the lives of Prince William and Prince Harry after the death of their mother, Princess Diana. Prince Philip retired from royal duties in 2017. He had attended Harry and Meghan 's wedding in 2018. Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband and the longest reigning consort to the monarch, passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on April 9, i.e., Friday. Prince Philip, who was to mark his 100th birthday on June 10, had been discharged from hospital after 28 days. He was first admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital on February 16 before moving to a National Health Service (NHS) specialist St. Bartholomew's Hospital two weeks later, where he underwent a surgery for a pre-existing heart condition. Prince Philip was also taken to a hospital via a helicopter from Sandringham after suffering chest pains when the Royal Family was preparing for Christmas in 2011. He was treated for a blocked coronary artery at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire and a stent was installed. After the news of Prince Philip's death was confirmed by the Royal family, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson , Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris paid their tributes. Also read: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris mourn Prince Philip's death Also read: PM Modi mourns death of Prince Philip; says thoughts and prayers with Royal Family An Armenian law bans any year-on-year reduction in the amount of budgetary funds allocated to the office as well as a number of other public bodies. The bill drafted by the Ministry of Finance and approved by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians cabinet as recently as on March 11 would abolish this clause. The ministry has given budgetary and economic reasons for the proposed measure condemned by Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan and opposition parties as politically motivated. Tatoyan has insisted that the bill runs counter to international standards and would effectively end his offices independence from the government and the pro-government majority in the National Assembly. If the bill had been passed and led to a change in our current status, it would have meant an immediate drop in the countrys democracy indicators, Tatoyan told RFE/RLs Armenian Service on Friday. He suggested that the government decided not to push the bill through the Armenian parliament because of concerns voiced by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europes Venice Commission and Western human rights groups such as Freedom House. This new bill, if passed, will further constrain the independence of the [Human Rights Defenders Office] and impede its mandate to protect human rights in Armenia, Freedom House said in a March 12 statement. The government has so far declined to comment on its decision to withdraw the proposed change. It is not clear whether the government plans to amend the bill or scrap it altogether. Tatoyan has regularly criticized the current and former Armenian governments actions and policies since taking over as ombudsman in 2016. While the U.S.-educated lawyer has rarely faced public criticism from the current government, Pashinians supporters have attacked him on social media in recent months. QUEBEC CITY, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada continues to encourage alternatives to plastic waste. We are dedicated to creating jobs and driving innovation by investing in climate solutions. Joel Lightbound, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Louis-Hebert, on behalf of Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., today announced a $1-million investment to BOSK Bioproducts Inc. as part of the second phase of the Bioplastics Challenge. This challenge is aimed at helping small businesses reduce pollution by turning forest-based residue into sustainable plastic materials. With this funding, BOSK Bioproducts Inc. will focus on the installation of a small-scale production line for proto-typing the formulations of compostable bioplastics made from forest biomass, developed at National Research Council Canada. Additionally, it will allow for product formulation and better compatibility with existing industry manufacturing equipment. As part of the first phase, BOSK Bioproducts Inc. developed a highly compostable and cost-effective new bioplastic made from paper mill sludge and wood fibre residue that could be used in areas like 3D printing, food packaging, plastic bottles and containers for cosmetics. Natural Resources Canada collaborated with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to implement this challenge as part of the Domestic Plastics Challenge under the federal government's Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC). ISC is a $100-million program dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing innovative and sustainable solutions to complex environmental challenges. The government may then act as a first customer, helping these small businesses to commercialize their innovations, scaling up their business and creating good jobs for Canadians. Clean innovation benefits our economy, our communities and our well-being. Investments in bioplastics present new opportunities in the forest industry while fighting global pollution and embracing a sustainable way of life for the future. Quotes "These investments shine a light on the innovative nature of our local forest sector. With companies like BOSK Bioproducts Inc., we are reducing plastic pollution and building more sustainable communities. We will continue to empower and support local efforts to meet the challenges of climate change." Joel Lightbound Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Member of Parliament for Louis-Hebert "Canada's forests offer us so much, and we've become leaders in finding new ways to use this rich resource. Bioplastics made from forest biomass are compostable. They can reduce plastic waste in our landfills. They can be used in 3D printing and food packaging. It's good for the environment, and it's good for jobs." The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr. Canada's Minister of Natural Resources "There are so many farmers and agri-food businesses developing new and innovative renewable materials that cut down on plastic waste. Our government is committed to investing in bioplastics and to helping our agri-food sector lead Canada's transition to a cleaner economy." The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food "The Government of Canada is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses. It is becoming increasingly important to invest in sustainable solutions that will support not only our economy but also our environment. When the Government of Canada invests in innovative and sustainable work from small businesses like BOSK Bioproducts, it supports the economy, helps build Canadian technological leadership and contributes to Canada's fight against global warming." The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry "La contribution de RNCan et ce programme de Solution Innovatrice Canada ont ete le coup d'envoi pour realiser notre projet. Ceci a permis de rallier differents joueurs du domaine prive et public autour d'un objectif commun, nous permettant de passer a une etape cle de notre strategie de developpement de marche. Ce projet permet de positionner le Canada comme un producteur de bioplastiques compostables en accord avec les fondements du developpement durable pour offrir enfin une solution concrete a la crise du plastique." Laurence Boudreault General Manager, BOSK Bioproducts Inc. Associated Links Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada For further information: Ian Cameron, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-447-3488, [email protected]; Media Relations, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, 343-292-6100, [email protected] Related Links www.nrcan.gc.ca KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's defence minister said on Saturday his country could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in the conflict area of Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. The minister, Andrii Taran, said Russian accusations about the rights of Russian-speakers being violated could be the reason for the resumption of armed aggression against Ukraine. "At the same time, it should be noted that the intensification of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is possible only if an appropriate political decision is made at the highest level in the Kremlin," he said in a statement. Kyiv has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and over a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass. The Russian military movements have fuelled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat, but says they will remain as long as it sees fit. Senior Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak last week said Russia would be forced to defend its citizens in eastern Ukraine depending on the scale of the military conflict there. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French and German counterparts on Friday called on Russia to halt a troop buildup and reaffirmed their support for Kyiv in its confrontation with Moscow. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by William Maclean) Richard Wilkins has paid tribute to Prince Philip on Weekend Today. In a segment on the Channel Nine breakfast show on Saturday, the 56-year-old shared some kind words about the late Duke of Edinburgh who passed away on Friday in Windsor at the age of 99. 'He had a wicked sense of humour and didn't suffer fools easily,' Richard said to fellow host Rebecca Maddern, who were both dressed in black to pay their respects on air. 'He had a wicked sense of humour and didn't suffer fools easily': On Saturday, Richard Wilkins paid tribute to the late Prince Philip on Weekend Today In the segment, Richard and Rebecca were joined by Royal commentator Camilla Tominey, who shared her own experience having spent decades following the Royal family. 'There was a sense really that he was the queen's warm up act, he used to put people at ease who were waiting to meet his wife like rabbits in headlights,' Camilla said. 'I remember being in Malta where he turned to a well wisher who was about to meet the Queen who had a beard and he said, "shouldn't you have shaved before meeting Her Majesty?" She added that both Prince Philip and the man burst out laughing. Paying their respects: Richard and co-host Rebecca Maddern were both dressed in black to pay their respects on air and were joined at one point by Royal commentator Camilla Tominey 'There was a sense really that he was the queen's warm up act, he used to put people at ease who were waiting to meet his wife like rabbits in headlights,' Camilla said She added that over the years there were a lot of moments where Prince Philip broke the silence in a room with his gaffes. 'As a journalist you had to follow Prince Philip around if he deviated off somewhere to speak to well wishers because you knew he would come out with something ingenious,' she said. At the weekend, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also paid tribute to Prince Philip after his death with a moving speech praising his life of service. Praise: At the weekend, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also paid tribute to Prince Philip on the morning after his death with a moving speech praising his life of service So sad: The Queen on Friday announced with 'deep sorrow' the death of her husband Prince Philip - who spent his final days at Windsor Castle after a 28-night stay in hospital The Prime Minister singled out the Duke of Edinburgh's comfort to survivors of a bushfire in Tasmania in 1967 in his speech from Kiribilli House this morning. 'As the Governor-General reminded us last night, he visited our country on more than 20 occasions,' he said. 'But there were also moments of deep compassion, in particular, in the terrible bushfires of 1967 in Tasmania, where he comforted the victims and he toured the burnt out Cascade Brewery.' The Queen on Friday announced with 'deep sorrow' the death of her husband at age 99 - who spent his final days at Windsor Castle after a 28-night stay in hospital for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. Her Majesty announced Prince Philip's death at 9pm on Friday (AEST) as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace and on public buildings across the UK and Commonwealth - including Australia. OneWeb previously launched its internet satellites to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink internet rockets. And now, the two companies' satellites almost collided with one another. According to The Verge's latest report, two satellites from OneWeb and SpaceX Starlink's lineup were able to dodge each other before they clashed. Fortunately, the possible space accident was prevented, thanks to the red alerts that were sent by the United States Space Force. Five days after OneWeb launched its first batch of internet satellites, the new space company was already receiving some red alerts from the U.S. Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron. The military agency warned Starlink's competitor about a possible collision of their two rockets that are now in orbit. Why Starlink and OneWeb's satellite almost crash The reason behind the possible collision was the OneWeb satellites' orbit level. The internet rockets of Starlink's competitor were set to orbit higher than SpaceX's satellites. Because of this, OneWeb needs to pass through the mesh of Starlinks since Elon Musk already launched thousands of them in space. Also Read: SpaceX Starlink's Rival Claims Launching Thousands of Satellites is No Good: OneWeb Goes Head-to-Head To avoid this, U.S. Space Force alerted OneWeb that there is a 1.3% that one of its satellites will crash with another Starlink. This was a close call since if it really did happen, the collision will have a domino effect and could lead to a more serious space disaster that could destroy other OneWeb and Starlink satellites that are in orbit. SpaceX also coordinated with OneWeb to save their satellites. Musk's space agency said that they disabled their automated AI-powered collision avoidance system. Thanks to these measures, OneWeb was able to safely steer away from its satellite and avoid the accident. Elon Musk will no longer catch rocket components? The prevented OneWeb and Starlink collision is also good news for Elon Musk since he seems tired of catching rocket components. BGR previously reported the twin recovery ships, Ms. Chief and Ms. Tree, were already stripped away from SpaceX branding. Although this is the case, Elon Musk still confirmed that he will still recover and reuse the latest rocket components that are still in the sea. You can click here for more details. For more news updates about OneWeb, SpaceX, and other internet satellites, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: SpaceX Launches Another Batch of Starlink Satellites, Company Nearing its Goal This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Giuliano de Leon 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Trent Ashby is the state representative for District 57 that includes Angelina, Houston, Leon, Madison, San Augustine and Trinity counties. His email address is trent.ashby@house.state.tx.us. China on Friday urged Japan to be cautious about its plan to deal with radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear power plant, calling for the Japanese government to make decisions based on consultations with neighboring countries. The Japanese government is set to announce, as early as Tuesday, a plan to dilute radioactive Fukushima wastewater and release it into the ocean, according to Japan's state broadcaster NHK. - CGTN Taiwan thanks Japan for sending vaccines NHK - Jun 05 Taiwan's foreign ministry has expressed gratitude to Japan for donating more than one million doses of coronavirus vaccines. The vaccines arrived at an airport near Taipei on Friday afternoon. Taiwan's foreign ministry has expressed gratitude to Japan for donating more than one million doses of coronavirus vaccines. The vaccines arrived at an airport near Taipei on Friday afternoon. Sexual minorities urge LDP to pass LGBT bill NHK - Jun 05 Representatives of sexual minorities have called on Japan's main ruling party to swiftly pass a bill designed to enhance public understanding of LGBT. Representatives of sexual minorities have called on Japan's main ruling party to swiftly pass a bill designed to enhance public understanding of LGBT. Japan dismisses South Korean protest over disputed islands ABC News - Jun 04 Japan has rejected South Korea's objection to a Tokyo Olympics map, which marks a group of South Korean-controlled islands as Japanese territory. Japan has rejected South Korea's objection to a Tokyo Olympics map, which marks a group of South Korean-controlled islands as Japanese territory. Suga pledges $800 million to COVAX Facility NHK - Jun 03 Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has pledged to provide an additional 800 million dollars to an international framework aiming for a fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines worldwide. Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has pledged to provide an additional 800 million dollars to an international framework aiming for a fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines worldwide. China condemns Japan offering vaccine to Taiwan NHK - Jun 01 China has reacted harshly to Japan's proposal to offer coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan, saying vaccine assistance should not be a political tool. China has reacted harshly to Japan's proposal to offer coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan, saying vaccine assistance should not be a political tool. Advocacy groups ask Japanese government to rethink harsher anti-cannabis law Japan Times - May 30 Advocacy groups submitted a written request to health minister Norihisa Tamura on Thursday asking the government to reconsider its plans to criminalize the use of cannabis, asserting the need for support over punishment. Advocacy groups submitted a written request to health minister Norihisa Tamura on Thursday asking the government to reconsider its plans to criminalize the use of cannabis, asserting the need for support over punishment. Singapore lifts import restrictions on food from Fukushima Prefecture Japan Today - May 30 Singapore has removed its remaining import restrictions on food from Fukushima Prefecture imposed in the wake of the 2011 nuclear disaster, Japan's farm ministry said. Singapore has removed its remaining import restrictions on food from Fukushima Prefecture imposed in the wake of the 2011 nuclear disaster, Japan's farm ministry said. Japan ruling party abandons LGBT bill as consensus elusive Nikkei - May 29 Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday gave up on legislation to promote public awareness of sexual minorities, proving unable to overcome opposition within its own ranks. Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday gave up on legislation to promote public awareness of sexual minorities, proving unable to overcome opposition within its own ranks. Japan permits continued stay of Myanmar residents due to coup Kyodo - May 29 Japan will allow Myanmar residents to extend their stay for an additional six months as an emergency measure due to the unrest following the Feb. 1 military coup in the Southeast Asian country, Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Friday. Japan will allow Myanmar residents to extend their stay for an additional six months as an emergency measure due to the unrest following the Feb. 1 military coup in the Southeast Asian country, Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Friday. Japan considers sharing vaccines with Taiwan NHK - May 29 Japan's Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu has indicated that the government will provide extra coronavirus vaccine to other countries and regions, including Taiwan. Japan's Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu has indicated that the government will provide extra coronavirus vaccine to other countries and regions, including Taiwan. Panel approves extension of coronavirus emergency NHK - May 28 An advisory panel to the Japanese government has approved an extension of emergency coronavirus measures for Tokyo and eight other prefectures. An advisory panel to the Japanese government has approved an extension of emergency coronavirus measures for Tokyo and eight other prefectures. No longer top dog, Japan languishes at fifth place in foreign aid Nikkei - May 27 Japan doled out more foreign aid than other countries in the 1990s but now ranks only fifth, partly on the ending of assistance to China. Japan doled out more foreign aid than other countries in the 1990s but now ranks only fifth, partly on the ending of assistance to China. Japanese government offices hacked NHK - May 27 Hackers have accessed information-sharing software developed by Japan's Fujitsu, resulting in data leaks from Japanese government offices. Hackers have accessed information-sharing software developed by Japan's Fujitsu, resulting in data leaks from Japanese government offices. Gov't considers new cash handout for needy households Japan Today - May 26 Japan's government is considering another cash handout program of up to 100,000 yen each for needy households to help ease the financial strain of the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, sources close to the matter said Tuesday. Japan's government is considering another cash handout program of up to 100,000 yen each for needy households to help ease the financial strain of the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, sources close to the matter said Tuesday. Ex-town councillor found strangled in Kumamoto tokyoreporter.com - May 25 KUMAMOTO (TR) Kumamoto Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation after a former town councillor was found dead in Kumamoto City, reports TBS News. KUMAMOTO (TR) Kumamoto Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation after a former town councillor was found dead in Kumamoto City, reports TBS News. Lee University will host the 2021 65 Roses 5K to raise funds for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The in-person 5K race/walk will take place on Lees campus Saturday, April 17, at 9 a.m. Proceeds from the 5K will benefit the CF Foundation and its Cleveland Great Strides walk, a virtual event this year culminating in a celebration on May 15. Although the world slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the need for a cure for all people with cystic fibrosis is as pressing as ever, said Vanessa Hammond, Cleveland Great Strides co-chair. We are excited to host an in-person race and walk to raise awareness and funds for CF research and care, and we look forward to a great morning to celebrate progress and encourage those in our community who are impacted by this disease. The April 17 event will follow the regular 65 Roses 5K route through downtown Cleveland. All are welcome to run or walk the 5K (or 1K Fun Run). Runners and walkers will receive dri-wicking running shirts and beanies this year for their participation, and chip timing will be provided by Terra Running Company. The race cost is $25, and event day registration will begin at 7 a.m. The 5K race/walk begins at 9, and the 1K Fun Run will take place at 9:30. Race awards will be announced virtually via the Terra Running website, and the 65 Roses 5K fundraising total will be announced via social media later that day. Awards may be picked up at Terra Running Company following the completion of the event. Participants are encouraged to register online by Thursday, April 15, and to go to early packet pick-up at Terra Running Company from 11 a.m.6 p.m. on Friday, April 16. Cleveland Coffee & Market is offering everyone a free coffee while they are there to pick up their packets. Although last minute registration will be available Saturday morning, due to COVID-19 safety protocols, runners should register before the Saturday race day if possible. In order to follow recommended state and local guidelines for social distancing and hygiene, all runners will be placed in a specific corral to allow for proper social distancing. Lee University also asks that all individuals wear a face covering while on campus, though face coverings may be removed once an individual begins running. Five corrals will be named in honor of local individuals and families affected by cystic fibrosis with their team names for the Cleveland Great Strides. Team names include Getting It Gone for Garrett, Team Nathan, Olivias Ohana, Lucass Avengers, and Team Holly & Jimmy. The community is also heavily involved with the 65 Roses 5K. Chick-fil-A will serve as Community Champion Sponsor this year and Regions Bank has donated a green Regions bicycle that will be presented to the 65th runner to cross the finish line. Dos Bros is donating 30 percent of sales for every purchase on Wednesday, April 14, 3-9 p.m. with mention of cystic fibrosis or CF. Even though we dont have the food and fanfare of previous years, we are really excited to get the community back together for this great cause, said Dr. Bill Estes, race coordinator and dean of the Helen DeVos College of Education. We appreciate all the communitys support, especially cooperation of the Cleveland Police Department. The 65 Roses 5K began in 2003 as an opportunity for those interested in doing more than walking at Great Strides, the CF Foundations largest national fundraising event. All proceeds from the 65 Roses race will go to support the CF Foundation and Clevelands virtual Great Strides. This event consistently rallies hundreds of community participants and Lee University students to raise money for the Foundation. To date, Great Strides has raised more than $42 million with over 125,000 participants at events all across the nation. The Cleveland event has reached over $1.1 million raised for CF research since the local events founding in 2001. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a nonprofit donor-supported organization dedicated to attacking cystic fibrosis from every angle. Its focus is to support the development of new drugs to fight the disease, improve the quality of life for those with CF, and ultimately find a cure. In the last 30 years, the life expectancy of a child with CF has doubled, and research is happening daily to find a cure and develop drugs available to those living with CF. For more information about the CF Foundation, visit cff.org. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Ms. Hammond at vhammond@leeuniversity.edu. For more information or to register for the 65 Roses 5K race, visit www.leeuniversity.edu/cf. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has been deployed against Covid-19 in at least 115 countries, some of them for several months now. But it wasnt until a few cases of a rare blood-clotting disorder some fatal emerged within the past month or so that many European nations began to rethink its use across all age groups. Several of those countries, well stocked with alternate vaccines, have now limited use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot to older people, and a few have stopped using it altogether. While the incidence of these clotting disorders is extremely low, regulators and researchers are trying to raise public awareness of certain symptoms including headaches, leg swelling and abdominal pain especially in younger people who have been vaccinated. Public health experts, however, have expressed concern that publicity surrounding the rare vaccine-related reactions will fuel hesitancy, a particular problem in Europe. They continue to emphasize that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines benefits far outweigh the risks. In many nations, it is the only vaccine available. Below are some frequently asked questions. What is a blood clot and what causes them generally? A blood clot is a thickened, gelatinous blob of blood that can block circulation. Clots form in response to injuries and can also be caused by many illnesses, including cancer and genetic disorders, certain drugs and prolonged sitting or bed rest. Covid itself can trigger serious clotting problems. Clots that form in the legs sometimes break off and travel to the lungs or, rarely, to the brain, where they can be deadly. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Legislature has passed a bill that allows the state to withhold funding to cities that fail to protect public monuments and memorials from vandalism. It's part of an attempt by Republican lawmakers to deter protests that have elevated since the death of George Floyd. State agencies would be allowed to withhold certain discretionary funds from local governments that don't prioritize the protection of certain facilities, monuments, memorials and statues. The Senate measure was also amended by lawmakers in the House to revive language from another bill to make it easier to charge rioters with a felony. The bill now heads to the governor. (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.) Zimbabweans should not be tempted to gather as they celebrate the impending 41st Independence anniversary on April 18 but should instead, uphold the measures put in place by Government and World Health Organisations Covid-19 protocols, President Mnangagwa has cautioned. This comes as Zimbabwe has registered a spike in infections, with 11 deaths and 236 cases in the last seven days, the highest such figures in six weeks. At least 15 schools countrywide had some of their students and teachers testing positive after failing to heed the Presidential order to desist from going back home during the Easter Holidays. President Mnangagwa poses some questions with Sunday Mail Editor Victoria Ruzvidzo (left) and ZBC Head Television Production Merit Munzwembiri during an interview in Harare yesterday. Picture: Justin Mutenda In an interview at State House in Harare yesterday, the President said although Zimbabweans were in a festive mood as Independence commemorations draw closer, it would be unfortunate were they to throw caution out the window. Whereas I would love to see our population, our people revelling day and night celebrating this freedom, this independence which gives our people dignity and self-determination, but because of the Covid-19 conditions I appeal to our people to restrain from massive gatherings. Let them observe the measures we have put in place. The WHO protocols must be observed. For instance just now as a result of this Easter that has passed again there is a spike going on now. I would not encourage our people to assemble in huge groups, let us take these measures and preserve the lives of ourselves, our beloved ones and everyones life. It is important. Enjoying ourselves will always be there when the time is correct, when the time is suitable for us to do so. The President said Zimbabwes vaccination programme and the success rate so far, was now an envy of many, with countries and organisations from outside appealing for their leaders to come over to get vaccinated. He said the doors would be open for such cases but stressed that all foreigners would pay for the vaccinations but this remained free for Zimbabweans locally and in the Diaspora. Vaccinations have since been opened up to every Zimbabwean following the importation of more jabs over the last few weeks. I have been approached by several countries as well as organisations and individuals wanting to send their leaders to Zimbabwe to be vaccinated here because they think that we are doing well. But I am saying that for all Zimbabweans whoever they are, local or in the diaspora, if they come here they will receive the vaccine for free but anybody else if they come here they will receive the vaccine at a cost. This is a human element where we cannot deny anybody but if you are not Zimbabwean we will give you the vaccine at a cost but if you are Zimbabwean the Government of Zimbabwe is giving you for free. But he cautioned that vaccination was not a guarantee against infection but it reduces the infection rate and vulnerability. So far more than 150 000 people have been vaccinated, with more visiting health centres to receive their jabs. Government has opened more vaccination centres countrywide to facilitate easy access. The President himself was vaccinated last month in Victoria Falls. We chose Victoria Falls because we felt that Victoria Falls is our tourist destination totally important to Zimbabwe and it is necessary that we achieved herd immunity there. So I avoided to get vaccinated when the first consignment came and I had my Vice President take it because the plans were that I should do it in Victoria Falls to demonstrate to the people of Victoria Falls to come forward and be vaccinated and achieve herd immunity so that tourists coming to Victoria Falls know that the entire population of 50 00 people will be vaccinated and when I informed my colleagues, the principals of political parties, they accepted to come The President was accompanied by MDC_T president Douglas Mwonzora and 22 other political leaders who all received their vaccines. He was thankful that the leaders came with him in a demonstration of the unity of purpose. That was the most beautiful thing, this is what should happen on a daily basis, I had leaders from the political parties who agreed to accompany me to Victoria Falls.. So when I was there people were gathered and I said I know as you are gathered there not all of you support Zanu PF. Here are leaders of political parties. If your leader is not here its not my fault. I think that people appreciated it because as the vaccination teams were going round there was no discrimination in terms of political affiliation and I said the virus has no political affiliation. It has affiliation with human beings so as long as you are human it will attack you, it doesnt matter which political party you belong to or church, it will affect you, he said. Sunday Mail Safe Spaces Endanger Minds Commentary The safe spacea place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm, according to the Oxford Dictionaryarose out of a perceived need for designated places in which marginalized groups could feel permitted to express themselves openly, and therefore is theoretically predicated on the ideals of free speech. But as safe spaces have sprung up on college campuses around the world, theyve turned on that mission entirely. Rather than promote open expression, safe spaces instead specialize in stifling contrarian ideas. By conflating words with violence, they merely provide protection by shielding students from opposing ideologies that might cause them offense. In doing so, theyve emotionally and ideologically bubble-wrapped a generation. By delineating echo chambers, safe spaces endanger minds. The concept came to national attention in 2015 when The New York Times reported on a safe space at Brown University for students triggered by Wendy McElroys invitation to speak on campus. According to the report, the room was furnished with pillows, blankets, calming music, puppy videos, cookies, bubbles, coloring books, and even Play-Doh. Since then, the phenomenon has continued to capture headlines for its growing absurdity. Simultaneously, universities are implementing other mechanisms of safetyism in their efforts to protect students from intellectual discomfort. Trigger warnings now litter course catalogs while restrictive speech policies threaten violators with disciplinary consequences. In 2020, nearly a quarter of universities speech codes earned a red light rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), indicating at least one policy both clearly and substantially restricting freedom of speech. Simultaneously, the no-platforming of controversial speakers continues to insulate student minds from viewpoint diversity. Perhaps the most famous example comes from Middlebury College, where political scientist Charles Murray was shouted down and attacked in his car by rioters in 2017. That same year, conservative commentator Ben Shapiros speech at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley cost the university $600,000 in security. The precedent has preemptively prevented many potential guests from visiting campuses. Even comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld openly refuse to perform for hyper-sensitive students. Academias insistent promotion of ideological safety is insulating an entire generation. These policies are shielding young people from intellectual discomfort. If students are justified in all of their preconceptions, why should they even attend college? Engagement with differing viewpoints is central to the academic experience. Debate is critical to the development of nuance and the reformation of presuppositions. In fact, a FIRE student survey found 64 percent of students admit to having changed an opinion after listening to a guest speaker. Even still, fewer and fewer heterodox speakers are being allowed on campuses. In their efforts to protect students, colleges and universities are rendering them entirely unprepared for life. In a world where law school professors are giving trigger warnings while teaching rape law, how could we possibly produce prepared or competent lawyers? Were raising a generation utterly unprepared for the reality outside of campus gates. The real world is full of bad ideas and offensiveness. The infantilization of students underestimates their capability to handle adversity and fundamentally undermines their intellectual integrity. Unfortunately, the concept of safetyism doesnt cease upon graduation. As coddled college kids enter the workforce, theyre bringing this mindset with them. Major corporations have established safe space policies for employees, and studies suggest their popular support among young people. A 2015 Pew Research survey found 40 percent of millennials are okay with the government censoring statements considered offensive. The American guarantee of free speech has traditionally been near-absolute. This was best demonstrated in 1977 when David Goldberger, a Jewish lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, defended the free speech rights of Nazis to demonstrate in the majority-Jewish neighborhood of Skokie, Illinois. Yet, today, more and more Americans believe merely offensive speech should be shut down. We seem to be forgetting a quintessential American principle: I might not like what youre saying, but I will defend your right to say it. The sacred right to free speech is unprecedented in human history. Young Americans abandonment of this ideal demonstrates their lack of historical awareness. They insist upon opening a Pandoras box of governmental censorship despite the countless historical examples of its consequences. Those who have lived under oppressive regimes can attest to the dangers of stifling free thought. Ironically, the curtailment of free speech continues to be pushed by those who have never known life without it. Rikki Schlott is a writer and student based in New York City. As a young free speech activist, her writing chronicles the rise of illiberalism from a Generation Z perspective. Schlott also works for The Megyn Kelly Show and has been published by The Daily Wire and The Conservative Review. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A gun salute in honour of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh took place today, Saturday, performed by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment at The Tower in MOD Gibraltar, while flags on the Rock are to remain at half-mast until the day after his funeral. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, GSD leader Keith Azopardi and Together Gibraltar leader Marlene Hassan Nahon all paid their personal tributes to the Prince on Friday, following the sad news that he had passed away earlier that morning. In a statement on behalf of the government, the chief minister said Prince Philip had always had an interest in Gibraltar. He visited in November 1950 for the inauguration of the then Legislative Council and on several other occasions. He personally berthed the Royal Yacht Britannia alongside in the dockyard on the final stretch of his Arctic Adventure, and remained on the Rock for ten days. His Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme touched the lives of many young people in Gibraltar and around the world, and in 1991 he personally piloted the aircraft in which he flew into Gibraltar airport for a visit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his award scheme. He was also Admiral of the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club. A book of condolences following the Duke of Edinburghs death will be available to members of the public in the foyer of the Governors residence, The Convent, from Monday to Friday next week, from 9am to 5pm. A sociopolitical organization, World Igbo Peoples Assembly, WIPAS, has warned the Nigerian Army to stop alleged killing of innocent Nigerian... A sociopolitical organization, World Igbo Peoples Assembly, WIPAS, has warned the Nigerian Army to stop alleged killing of innocent Nigerians in some parts of Akwa Ibom and Benue States. In a statement by its Board of Trustees, BoT chairman, Mazi Chuks Ibegbu, and made available to newsmen on Saturday, WIPAS called on the Nigerian Army to rather face the killer herdsmen, Boko Haram and bandits in the North. The killer herdsmen are in our forest and our army should go and flush them out and not waste time looking for IPOB and ESN, the group said. The body warned the Army not to do anything that will cause social anarchy in Nigeria by its seeming sympathy to any group in the country against others. WIPAS also took swipe at some misguided Nigerians that issued quit notices to fellow Nigerians, noting that such elements should be arrested and made to face the law for treason. No such quit notice will happen in Igbo land, a home for all Nigerians and black race except killer herdsmen and evil people. These illegal quit notices have occured in the North, West and recently in Calabar area. WIPAS insisted that the narrow rail guage which the Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi allegedly deceived the President to award in the East must be reversed to Standard guage, lampooning the Minister for such crime against his own people. Today, there are transport university, Air force university, Army university and now standard rail guage in the west and from Nigeria to Maradi in Niger republic. Amaechi did not deem it fit to at least recommend a standard rail guage for his people in the East, the group lamented. It warned against labelling every Igbo youth as Indigeneous People of Biafra IPOB, or Eastern Security Network ESN, just as Northern youths cannot all be labelled as Boko Haram or Fulani killer herdsmen. The WIPAS, however, called on all Nigerians to shun ethnicity and religous differences and build an all inclusive nation. Chandigarh: Actor Satish Kaul passed away in Ludhiana on Saturday. The 73-year-old actor had reportedly tested Covid-19 positive. In May 2020, the veteran actor had talked about his financial troubles. Satish Kaul Kaul, whose credits include working in over 300 Punjabi and Hindi films and played the role of Lord Indra in Mahabharat, had said that contrary to rumours, hes not in an old-age home. Im staying in a small rented place in Ludhiana. I was staying in an old-age home earlier, but then Im here at this place with my good Samaritan Satya Devi. My health is ok, Im doing fine, but the lockdown has made matters worse. Satish KaulIm struggling for medicines, groceries and basic needs. I appeal to the industry people to help me. I got so much love as an actor, I need some attention now as a human in need, Kaul said. The 73-year-old actor had also worked in films like Pyaar Toh Hona He Tha, Aunty No 1 and show Vikram Aur Betaal. San Francisco missed the yellow tier by the slimmest of margins last week, but the city will relax a few more pandemic restrictions soon anyway, public health officials said. In addition to allowing indoor live events to resume this Thursday, the city will lift its 11 p.m. curfew on restaurants and allow more households to mingle, along with other somewhat subtle reopening gestures. San Franciscos coronavirus cases remain too high to drop down into yellow the least restrictive tier of the states four-level reopening plan. But even though its been in orange the second least restrictive level for more than three weeks, it hasnt fully embraced that tier, Dr. Susan Philip, county health officer, said during a virtual meeting with residents and business owners Thursday. That means theres some wiggle room to open a bit more, she said. San Francisco has not expanded fully to the extent of orange tier as allowed by the state, Philip said, noting that she and other local public officials have taken a slightly more cautious approach a position theyve carried throughout the pandemic. But even as cases have leveled off in San Francisco, hospitalizations remain low and Philip said that vaccines are an important new tool that make her feel more confident reopening. To date, more than 50% of San Franciscos 16 and older population has received at least one vaccine dose, though Philip said supply is still an issue. We believe that we can (expand reopening) cautiously, because the new variable that was not here during the past three surges is vaccine, Philip said. San Francisco had been on track to reach the yellow tier this Tuesday, when the states weekly tier adjustments come out. But last Tuesday the city reported an adjusted coronavirus case rate of 2 cases per 100,000 residents just over the maximum 1.9 cases per 100,000 needed to move to yellow. If its case rate improves, the earliest it could move to yellow now is April 20. But if coronavirus cases and hospitalizations remain stable over the next few days, the orange tier expansions will take effect this Thursday, Philip said. Much of the expansion allows for additional capacity for operations that have already been open. The city also announced that live indoor events can resume with capacity limits and proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test from those in attendance. But there are a few other changes: For restaurants, the 11 p.m. curfew for dining on site will be lifted. Tabletop cooking by restaurant staff can also resume. Outdoor bars can seat up to eight people per table. Indoor conventions, meetings and receptions can be held with up to 150 guests, with face coverings and social distancing. Outdoor conventions, meetings and receptions can be held with up to 300 guests with proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test three days before the event. Outdoor gatherings can be held with up to 50 people if no food is served, and up to 25 people with food. Social distancing is recommended without food and required if participants take off their masks to eat. Indoor gatherings can be held at up to 25% capacity and no more than 25 people. Hotels may host private meetings, conferences and receptions with capacity limitations. Receptions for funerals and weddings may resume with attendance limitations. Outdoor recreation activities like adult sport leagues and clubs may have up to 50 participants on each team. Indoor recreation activities can have up to 25 participants per team. Spectators are allowed consistent with state rules. The 25-person limit on open-air boat and tour operators is lifted. At drive-in events, more than one household is allowed per vehicle. As weve been able to open as much as we have, we knew that all of us were coming into more contact with each other and thats a good thing. We want businesses and activities and recreation to all open up," Philip said. But we do have to be cautious and make sure (the recent case increase) is not a sign of a trend. Meghan Bobrowsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: meghan.bobrowsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MeghanBobrowsky OK, much of it may have been justified to control the coronavirus. Newsom was trying. Give him that. Our health may well have been worse without the restrictions, which were among the tightest in the nation. As it is, California has had around 3.6 million cases of COVID-19, including around 59,550 deaths. One of Newsom's problems is that he has failed to adequately explain his actions to the public, despite a continuous series of live-streamed briefings last year. They were usually painful to watch too long-winded and saturated with numbing statistics. But, hey, the governor's poll ratings are roughly the same today as they were before the pandemic disrupted our lives. In a March poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, 53% of likely voters approved of how Newsom was handling his job, and 42% disapproved. That's virtually identical to a PPIC survey taken right before Newsom issued his stay-at-home orders in March of last year. It's a reflection of our political polarization: Democrats overwhelmingly support Newsom, and Republicans even more lopsidedly oppose him. But there are nearly twice as many Democrats in California. And independents lean toward the governor. Heng Swee Keat in July 2020. (File photo: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images) Singapore Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat is standing aside as leader of the 4G team, citing age as a factor in his decision. Heng will remain as DPM and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, and step down as Finance Minister. With the successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong now out of the picture, the question of who will take over as the Republics next leader is now open. Who would you like to see as the next leader of the fourth-generation leadership? Have your say in our poll. Related stories: DPM Heng Swee Keat steps aside as leader of 4G team, 'setback for succession planning' My age is key reason in decision to step aside as leader of 4G team: Heng After Singapore shakeup, here are possible successors to PM Lee COMMENT: Heng Swee Keat - Chosen as Singapore PM, chose to quit Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 9, 2021) - Zedcor Inc. (TSXV: ZDC) (the "Company") today announced its financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2020 and continued expansion of its MobileyeZ fleet of security towers, including investment in environmentally friendly options. Expansion of MobileyeZ fleet: Due to increased customer demand, the Company continues to innovate and invest in its fleet of security towers, including investment in environmentally friendly options to help customers meet their carbon reduction targets. As at December 31, 2020, the Company had 130 solar hybrid security towers in its fleet ("Solar Hybrid MobileyeZ"). 84 of these towers were equipped with disturbance sensors. Subsequent to the end of the year, the Company announced the purchase of 20 additional Solar Hybrid MobileyeZ in order to satisfy customer demand. These security towers are equipped with solar panels and lithium-ion batteries; the solar panels power the batteries during the day, and coupled with diesel fuel allow for uninterrupted security coverage at night, substantially decreasing overall fuel consumption in comparison to a diesel-powered alternative. During the year, the Company developed a fully electric security tower ("Electric MobileyeZ"). The Electric MobileyeZ are zero emission and easy to deploy allowing customers to simply plug into any existing electrical power source. Once plugged in, the Electric MobileyeZ provide immediate, 24/7 Live Verified security for customers. The Company built and deployed 14 additional electric security towers in Q4 bringing its total fleet to 26 Electric MobileyeZ. Zedcor remains committed to providing environmentally friendly security solutions for our customers. The Company is currently in the process of developing a security tower that is powered entirely by solar power, removing the need for any diesel or other power sources. This will provide additional options to our customers and further reduce the Company's carbon footprint. Financial and Operating Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2020: Three months ended December 31 Twelve months ended December 31 (in $000s) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Revenue 3,967 3,384 13,762 16,962 Adjusted EBITDA1,2 1,789 1,305 5,913 6,832 Adjusted EBIT1,2 833 (741 ) 911 (1,792 ) Net loss from operations (2,250 ) (3,930 ) (4,678 ) (8,035 ) Net loss per share from operations Basic ($0.04 ) ($0.07 ) ($0.08 ) ($0.15 ) Diluted ($0.04 ) ($0.07 ) ($0.08 ) ($0.15 ) 1 Adjusted for severance costs 2 See Financial Measures Reconciliations below Zedcor recorded $1,789 of adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2020 and $5,913 of adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. This compares to adjusted EBITDA of $1,305 and $6,832 for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019. The S&S segment saw increased revenues and margins compared to 2019. This was offset by decreased revenues and margins from the Rentals segment, especially during Q2 and Q3 2020. The Rentals segment derives a significant portion of its revenues from customers involved in the oil & gas industry. Oil prices and demand for services were lower due to global oversupply and reduced energy consumption as a result of public health measures taken to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") resulting in minimal drilling and completions activity across Western Canada since March 2020, resulting in decreased demand for the Company's rental equipment. The Company qualified for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy ("CEWS") and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy ("CERS") programs as enacted in 2020 by the federal Government of Canada which supported the Company's results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020. The Company recognized $936 of CEWS and CERS in the EBITDA amounts for 2020. Zedcor is actively managing risks related to the volatility in the oil & gas sector by continuing to diversify its revenues and customers, and market its fleet of rental assets to other industries. This is in addition to the Company's focus on expanding its S&S segment. Financial and operational highlights for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020 include: Continued successful execution of a strategy to diversify away from its traditional oilfield rentals business towards a technology based, security solutions company. For the three months ended December 31, 2020, the S&S segment generated $2,458 or 62% of total revenues. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, the S&S segment generated $7,001 or 51% of total revenues. Due to increased customer demand, the Company continues to invest in its fleet of security towers. As at December 31, 2020, the Company had 130 solar hybrid light towers in its fleet ("Solar Hybrid MobileyeZ"). 84 of these towers were equipped with disturbance sensors. The Company also purchased and deployed 14 additional electric security towers in Q4 bringing its total fleet to 26 electric security towers ("Electric MobileyeZ"). Continued focus on operational efficiency and cost savings. Direct operating costs for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 were lower as a percentage of revenues: Twelve months ended December 31 2020 2019 % change Direct operating costs 5,156 6,758 (24%) Direct operating costs as a percentage of revenues 37% 40% (6%) Direct operating costs were lower as a result of continued focus on cost reductions, revenue mix driven towards less labour intensive work, and the CEWS which reduced direct operating costs by $121 for the 3 months ended December 31, 2020 and $590 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. Selling under-utilized Rental segment assets for proceeds of $2,041, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, which resulted in a loss of $84. The proceeds were used to pay down debt and invest in S&S segment assets. Streamlining operations and focusing on reducing fixed costs. During the year, the Company, disposed of a lease on a right-of-use property that was no longer required operationally. This resulted in a gain of $105 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. In addition, management reassessed the renewal periods of two of its leases, and concluded that it was unlikely to extend the leases. This resulted in lease liabilities being reduced by $3,133. Net loss from operations was $2,250 and $4,678 for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020 compared to $3,930 and $8,035 for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019. The decrease was a result of impairment charges of $2,118 for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to an impairment charge of $2,252 for the three months ended December 31, 2019. Without the impairment charge, net loss from operations for the three months ended December 31, 2020 would be $132 compared to $1,696 for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The lower loss in 2020 was due to lower general and administrative expenses, assets being sold for less of a loss, a gain on debt modification and government subsidies which reduced the loss by $234. On December 4, 2020, the Company extended and consolidated its Loan and Security Facility. This extension provides the Company with financial flexibility for the next two years and allows it to continue to invest in its S&S segment with an available $2.0 million accordion feature. It also simplifies the Company's debt structure with one lender and a defined repayment plan which puts the Company on target to meet its goals to reduce debt. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, along with depressed commodity pricing and activity in the oil & gas sector in Western Canada, the Company recorded an impairment loss on its Rentals CGU assets of $2,118. SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Unaudited - in $000s) Dec 31 2020 Sep 30 2020 Jun 30 2020 Mar 31 2020 Dec 31 2019 Sep 30 2019 Jun 30 2019 Mar 31 2019 Revenue 3,966 2,668 2,412 4,716 3,384 3,865 3,750 5,963 Net loss from continuing operations (2,250 ) (1,006 ) (1,135 ) (287 ) (3,930 ) (1,617 ) (1,805 ) (683 ) Adjusted EBITDA 1,789 1,151 901 2,066 1,305 1,509 1,264 2,758 Adjusted EBITDA per share - basic 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.05 Net loss per share from continuing operations Basic (0.04 ) (0.02 ) (0.02 ) (0.005 ) (0.07 ) (0.03 ) (0.03 ) (0.01 ) Diluted (0.04 ) (0.02 ) (0.02 ) (0.005 ) (0.07 ) (0.03 ) (0.03 ) (0.01 ) Adjusted free cash flow 190 (320 ) 2,098 903 1,240 (264 ) 2,431 676 1 See Financial Measures Reconciliations below LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES Loan and Security Facility: On December 4, 2020, the Company restructured and extended its Loan and Security Facility. The key terms of and changes to the Loan and Security Facility are as follows: Term of the Loan and Security Facility was extended to January 1, 2023 with an option to renew for an additional 12 months at the satisfaction of the lender. Bears interest at a rate of 12.75% and is secured with a first charge over the Company's assets; Extension fee of 2% per annum, a portion of which was capitalized to the loan and a portion of which has been paid with the issuance of 2,000,000 common shares of the company; Amortized over 60 months with a monthly blended interest and principal payment of $391; Does not require quantitative financial covenants, but imposed restrictions on the Loan's collateral, being the property and equipment of the Company, and has a $2.5 million personal guarantee from a Board Member of the Company; and As part of the restructuring, the Company consolidated its Term Loan Facility and Equipment Term Loan Facility into the Loan and Security Facility. In addition, there is a $2.0 million accordion feature available to the Company under the Loan and Security Facility. $1.0 million of this accordion feature was drawn upon by the Company on December 29, 2020. On January 10, 2020, as part of the renewal in 2019, the Company issued the lender an additional 112,565 share purchase warrants. Each warrant entitles the lender to acquire one common share in the Company at an exercise price of $0.145 per warrant. The warrants expire on January 25, 2023. The Company also entered into a Warrant Amendment Agreement which extended the expiry dated of the previously issued warrants to January 25, 2023. On December 4, 2020, as part of the consolidation, the Company issued the lender an additional 730,562 share purchase warrants which expire on November 25, 2024. Each warrant entitles the lender to acquire one common share in the Company at an exercise price of $0.12 per warrant. The Company also amended and extended all previously issued warrants to have the same exercise price and maturity date as those issued on December 4, 2020. Operating loan, term loan and equipment term loan facility: On December 4, 2020, the Company repaid its Term Loan Facility and Equipment Term Loan Facility while leaving the $3.0 million Operating Loan Facility in place with the lender. The revolving Operating Loan Facility is payable on demand by the lender, bears interest at a rate of prime plus 5.0% and is secured by the Company's accounts receivable. The Operating Term Loan Facility requires that the Company's current ratio does not fall below 1.50:1.00, the debt service coverage ratio does not fall below 1.00:1.00 until December 31, 2021 and 1.25:1.00 thereafter and imposes a maximum debt level for the Company. As at December 31, 2020, the Company's current ratio, as defined to exclude the current portion of debt, was 3.05:1.00, the debt service coverage ratio, calculated in accordance with the agreement with lender, was 1.41:1.00 and the Company's total debt of $27,461 was below the maximum of $33,000. OUTLOOK The public health containment measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 have significantly reduced economic activity and reduced global oil demand, pressuring oil prices to historical lows. While containment measures were being eased across the world, there were increased infections in the latter half of Q4 2020 and certain countries reimposed containment measures during Q4 2020. This is causing uncertainty on the pace and timing of the economic recovery. The pandemic is an unprecedented situation whose ultimate duration and magnitude are currently unknown. Despite the challenging operating environment and reduced economic activity, the Company continues to execute on its long-term strategy of growing its S&S segment. We continued to effectively use cash flow to retrofit existing equipment in order to provide surveillance services. In addition, the Company has used technological solutions in order to reduce the capital costs of expanding this service line and providing lower cost security solutions to customers. The Company's surveillance towers fitted with high resolution cameras and supported by live, 24/7 live verified, remote monitoring, continue to see high utilization and we continued to see this trend subsequent to the end of the year with the announcement of two contracts for 115 Solar Hybrid MobileyeZ and approximately $15.8 million in revenues over the two year contract terms. In addition, the Company continues to expand its security service offerings with on-site security personnel services and remote monitoring solutions. While oil prices have stabilized and activity has slightly increased in Western Canada, the Company anticipates that demand for rental equipment which supports drilling and completions activity in the WCSB will stay at historical lows during 2021 and the Company does not have a lot of visibility to activity beyond Q2 2021. While pricing has stabilized, it is still at all-time lows and the Company is not forecasting significant growth for this segment. The outlook remains uncertain and customers are very reactionary as commodity prices change. Most customers are not providing external guidance on activity which makes it difficult to predict utilization of the rental equipment fleet. As a result, the Company continues to focus on maintaining strong relationships with existing customers and cost reductions for this segment. By focusing on cost efficiencies and providing value added services to customers, Zedcor is committed to generating strong free cash flow from operations in order to further reduce debt and strengthen the financial position of the Company. The Company plans to pursue low capital intensive growth projects by utilizing existing infrastructure, where possible. This includes expanding the number of remote surveillance sites that can be serviced by our monitoring center in Leduc. Where the opportunity arises, the Company will strengthen the balance sheet by selling underutilized assets. NON-IFRS MEASURES RECONCILIATION Zedcor Inc. uses certain measures in this press release which do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). These measures which are derived from information reported in the consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other reporting issuers. These measures have been described and presented in this press release in order to provide shareholders and potential investors with additional information regarding the Company. Investors are cautioned that EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA per share, adjusted EBIT and adjusted free cash flow are not acceptable alternatives to net income or net income per share, a measurement of liquidity, or comparable measures as determined in accordance with IFRS. A reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA is provided below: reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA is provided below: Three months ended December 31 Twelve months ended December 31 (in $000s) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Net loss* (2,250 ) (3,930 ) (4,678 ) (8,035 ) Add: Finance costs 988 954 3,476 4,050 (Gain) loss on foreign exchange 4 2 7 (2 ) Depreciation of property & equipment 1,034 1,286 4,298 5,478 Depreciation of right of use assets 249 335 1,217 1,354 Amortization of intangibles - - - 440 Income tax recovery (23 ) (18 ) (88 ) (74 ) EBITDA 2 (1,371 ) 4,232 3,211 Add: Stock based compensation 49 23 77 87 Severance costs - 1 83 15 Impairment of property and equipment 2,118 2,252 2,118 2,252 Loss (gain) on sale of equipment & right-of-use assets 196 400 (21 ) 1,267 Gain on substantial debt modification (576 ) - (576 ) - Adjusted EBITDA 1,789 1,305 5,913 6,832 *Net loss is reduced by $936 of CEWS and CERS for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 Adjusted EBIT Adjusted EBIT refers to earnings before interest and finance charges, taxes, and severance costs. A reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBIT is provided below: Three months ended December 31 Twelve months ended December 31 (in $000s) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Net loss (2,250 ) (3,930 ) (4,678 ) (8,035 ) Add: Finance costs 988 954 3,476 4,050 Impairment of property and equipment 2,118 2,252 2,118 2,252 Income tax recovery (23 ) (18 ) (88 ) (74 ) Severance costs - 1 83 15 Adjusted EBIT 833 (741 ) 911 (1,792 ) Adjusted free cash flow Adjusted free cash flow is defined by management as net income plus non-cash expenses, plus or minus the net change in non-cash working capital, plus severance costs, less maintenance capital. Maintenance capital is also a non-IFRS term. Management defines maintenance capital as the amount of capital expenditure required to keep its operating assets functioning at the same level of efficiency. Management believes that adjusted free cash flow reflects the cash generated from the ongoing operation of the business. Adjusted free cash flow is a non-IFRS measure generally used as an indicator of funds available for re-investment and debt payment. There is no standardized method of determining free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow or maintenance capital prescribed under IFRS and therefore the Company's method of calculating these amounts is unlikely to be comparable to similar terms presented by other issuers. Adjusted free cash flow from continuing operations is calculated as follows: Three months ended December 31 Twelve months ended December 31 (in $000s) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Net loss (2,250 ) (3,930 ) (4,678 ) (8,035 ) Add non-cash expenses: Depreciation of property & equipment 1,034 1,286 4,298 5,478 Depreciation of right of use assets 249 335 1,217 1,354 Amortization of intangibles - - - 440 Impairment of property and equipment 2,118 2,252 2,118 2,252 Loss gain on sale of equipment & right-of-use assets 196 400 (21 ) 1,267 Stock based compensation 49 23 77 87 Finance costs (non-cash portion) 172 103 538 444 Current taxes (23 ) (18 ) (88 ) (74 ) 1,545 451 3,461 3,213 Add non-recurring expenses: Severance - 1 83 15 1,545 452 3,544 3,228 Change in non-cash working capital (1,267 ) 743 (517 ) 786 Maintenance capital (88 ) 27 (156 ) 33 Adjusted Free Cash Flow 190 1,222 2,871 4,047 No Conference Call No conference call will be held in conjunction with this release. Full details of the Company's financial results, in the form of the consolidated financial statements and notes for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Management's Discussion and Analysis of the results are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.zedcor.ca. About Zedcor Inc. Zedcor Inc. is a Canadian public corporation and parent company to Zedcor Security Solutions Corp. ("Zedcor"). Zedcor is engaged in the providing security & surveillance services, and rental of surface equipment & accommodations in Western Canada. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZDC". Zedcor operates with two business segments: Security & Surveillance and Rentals (formerly Energy Services). FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including management's belief that streamlining rental assets with newer equipment will drive improvements in equipment rental rates and utilization, and that the expanded market reach and customer base will lead to more diversity in the Company's revenue stream and increase utilization. Forward-looking statements or information may contain statements with the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "budget", "should", "project", "would have realized', "may have been" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or expectations. Although the Company believes that the expectations implied in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of assumptions about the future and uncertainties. These assumptions include that the Company's new solar hybrid light tower and related security and surveillance service offerings will lead to more diversity in revenue streams and protect against future down swings in the economic environment. Although management believes these assumptions are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct, and actual results will differ materially from those anticipated. For this purpose, any statements herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new contrary information, future events or any other reason, unless it is required by any applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. For further information contact: Todd Ziniuk Chief Executive Officer P: (403) 930-5435 E: tziniuk@zedcor.ca Amin Ladha Chief Financial Officer P: (403) 930-5435 E: aladha@zedcor.ca Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80014 Are you ready for the forthcoming "Vincenzo" episode? We bet many of you are already curious on the possible twists and turns in Vincenzo Cassano's story after he was cornered by his former fellow mafiosos. Uninvited Guest Appeared Inside the Jipuragi Office After the Vincenzo squad fulfilled their mission at the art gallery, viewers are now anticipating new interesting scenarios in "Vincenzo" Episode 15. In the new stills of the hit weekend drama, Jang Han Seo (Kwak Dong Yeon) paid a surprise visit to the Jipuragi law firm office. It seems like he is there to propose an alliance. Previously, Jang Han Seo tried to be an ally to Vincenzo to get rid of his brother Jang Han Seok (2PM's Taecyeon) as the Babel Group's CEO. But the Italian lawyer declined. And for the second time around, Jang Han Seo would like to try his luck again and secretly visited the Jipuragi squad. On the other hand, when Vincenzo poured out his epic surprise to Jang Han Seok, Jang Han Seo was impressed. His devilish grin hinted that he had found a new person who could help him with his plan. Jang Han Seo Tries His Luck Again to Team Up with Vincenzo Hong Cha Young (Jeon Yeo Bin), Mr. Nam (Yoon Byung Hee), and Vincenzo are shocked to see one of their enemies making a friendly visit to their office. Basing it on the cuts, they doubt his motives. Will Jang Han Seo win an alliance with Vincenzo? Let's all find out in this week's episodes! Meanwhile, one of the staff members shared that viewers should look forward to the villains and dark heroes in the upcoming war, and discover who will be the one to take the real victory. Betrayals are becoming more evident in the story plot of "Vincenzo." The people whom the characters trusted are now turning their back to take revenge. But this gives an intriguing and unexpected twist that many of the viewers are excited to know about. Now that there are five episodes left, "Vincenzo" team announced that they will be having a one week break on primetime. It is to ensure the quality of the drama. Some adjustments will be done accordingly. For the meantime, tvN will be producing a special episode broadcast of "Vincenzo" on April 17. You can watch and enjoy "Vincenzo" Episode 15 and Episode 16 on April 10 and 11 (Sat-Sun) 8 p.m (KST) on tvN and 11 p.m (KST) on Netflix. What are you most excited about in "Vincenzo" episode 15? Share it with us in the comments below! For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars. Kdramastars owns this article. Written by Shai Collins Here's what you need to know: Saturday, April 10 Fog and Light by Woody LaBounty January 2002 "I couldn't live out there in all that fog." This comment, so often offered when someone found I was a resident of the Avenues used to puzzle me. I thought it wasn't foggy enough. Sure it's often overcast in the Richmond and Sunset, but that isn't real fog. As opposed to the dull slate of overcast skies, fog is a sensual banquet. You can taste fog, feel the wet mist on your skin, see how its cottony skein erases the world halfway down the block. And fog, so silent, is always accompanied here by the doleful bellowing of foghorns. As kids we knew the foghorn variations. We mimicked the cadences and dropped pitches to salute each other. When we got separated in our games in Mountain Lake Park, we found each other in the thickets using foghorn calls. On the Rocks Before 1903, ships were guided into the Golden Gate by bells, cannon fire and, of course, the powerful rays of lighthouses at Alcatraz, Fort Point, Lime Point and Point Bonita. The first fog "horn" for the San Francisco Bay was installed after the Rio de Janeiro didn't hear the bell at Fort Point and crashed on the rocks in 1901. One hundred lives were lost in the worst shipwreck in San Francisco history. The public called for updated equipment and better plans to keep ships safe. Congress appropriated funds, and part of the new strategy was the construction of a remarkable lighthouse. North of Point Lobos, at the mouth of the bay, are two rocks that peek out of the water, appearing and disappearing with the waves. Here, on the larger of "Mile Rocks," was built what has been called "one of America's greatest engineering accomplishments." Erected by sailors recruited from the waterfront (because regular construction workers refused, fearing for their safety), the lighthouse was built in rough seas on a small barnacle-encrusted rock just forty feet long and thirty feet wide. The workers arrived at the job by jumping from a small boat and often ended up in the water soaked to the skin. The slender tower, telescoping in smaller white cylinders for three levels and topped by a black lantern room, housed a horn, whistle, and a 4'8" lens sending warning to all vessels entering the Gate. Ralph and Lisa Woo Shanks, in their book Guardians of the Golden Gate did an excellent job describing the difficult lives of the "wickies" who manned the lonely outpost. While tantalizingly close to the city, the keepers lived confined, isolated days and nights. The station was too small for family. The four-man crew lived in close quarters with limited recreational opportunities. Just getting to the beacon involved maneuvering a small boat, sometimes in the midst of 15-foot swells, under a lighthouse boom to scale a rope ladder. Not surprisingly, one of the hardest things to get used to working at Mile Rock was the regular oppressive blast of the fog signal. Chopped in Half At the end of El Camino del Mar, a small road just east of Sutro Heights, you can see Mile Rock now. If the fog isn't in. At the viewpoint the Park Service has installed an informational sign titled "Shipwrecks." Here is ample justification for the lighthouses, for foghorns. At low tide appear the remains of the Frank H. Buck and the Lyman Stewart, oil tankers that wrecked on the rocks here in the 1920s and 30s. But you won't see the white 85-foot tower at Mile Rock anymore. In the 1960s the Coast Guard dismantled the top half of the sentinel, creating a helipad, and automated the station's light and signal. Now Mile Rock looks like a stubby striped mushroom, as elegant as a mayonnaise jar. Ending another tradition, the Coast Guard stopped the distinctive foghorns in 1992, replacing them with electronic signals. Protests from romantics all over San Francisco brought some of the horns back. The fog doesn't care one way or another. Lighthouses, foghorns, wrecked ships, and hooting kids won't stop its return. If you don't like it, you'd better move to the Mission District. Bibliography: Guardians of the Golden Gate, Ralph Shanks and Lisa Woo Shanks, 1990; San Francisco Secrets, John Snyder, 1999; San Francisco Chronicle, March 24, 1904. Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places. Tehran, April 10 : A senior military commander said that Israel and the US are suspected to be behind the recent attack on an Iranian ship in the Red Sea. Tehran will "definitely" respond to the attack on the country's ship in the Red Sea, Xinhua news agency quoted Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, as saying on Friday. "We need to ascertain the source of the incident. If we uncover the source of the attack on the ship, we will definitely respond. We will never be silent," Shekarchi was quoted as saying. "Washington is undoubtedly involved in any attempt to undermine and harm the Islamic Republic," he added. On Wednesday, Iran confirmed an explosion in the commercial ship Saviz in the Red Sea. Iran's Tasnim news agency had originally reported on the explosion and damage to the ship, which escorts Iranian merchant ships in the Red Sea. It did not give further details. According to the US website GlobalSecurity.org, the damaged freighter is used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Foreign Ministry spokesman described the ship as a "security guarantor for shipping routes". New Delhi: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday (April 9) declared to remove the management of 51 temples from the control of the Char Dham Devasthanam Board while also seeking to review the boards formation. "I have decided to take out of the Devasthanam Board's ambit 51 temples which had been brought under it, Rawat told reporters after his meeting with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal. He added that the state government will also reconsider its decision regarding the Board's formation. The Devasthanam Board was formed in December 2019 during the tenure of former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. It was assigned the management of 51 temples of the state, including the four famous shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The seers and 'teerth-purohits' had not welcomed the decision for the formation of the Board as they felt their traditional rights over the temples would suffer because of it. They had also accused the government of not providing them assurance while taking such a major decision. Defending the governments decision on the formation of the Board, state Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj had said the creation of this board was necessary for better management of the temples. Meanwhile, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Uttarakhand government on Friday decided to impose a night curfew in Dehradun from 10 pm to 5 am. All schools from class 1 to 12 have been shut till April 30 in parts of Haridwar, Nainital as well as Dehradun. (With PTI inputs) Live TV FILE PHOTO: Philippine Department of National Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong talks to reporters in Quezon City, Philippines on Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) MANILA, Philippines (AP) The Philippines could seek the help of the United States, with which it has a mutual defense treaty, to protect its interests in the South China Sea, Manilas defense department said Thursday in a veiled threat amid an escalating feud with China over a contested reef. The Philippine government has demanded that dozens of Chinese vessels it suspects are operated by militias to leave Whitsun Reef, which Manila claims in the most hotly contested Spratly region of the waterway. China has insisted it owns the reef and that the Chinese vessels are sheltering from rough seas. The Philippine military has deployed coast guard and navy patrols near the area, flown surveillance aircraft and released pictures of the Chinese vessels, many of them arrayed side by side while moored at the reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe. The standoff has sparked a heated exchange between Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and the Chinese Embassy in Manila. As the situation in the West Philippine Sea evolves, we keep all our options open in managing the situation, including leveraging our partnerships with other nations such as the United States, Department of National Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong said in a statement, using the Philippine name for the South China Sea. We are continuously in talks with the U.S. on the matter of mutual defense, Andolong said. Both parties are committed to undertake their obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty so that neither stands alone in these issues involving the two states inherent right of self-defense. The United States has said it would stand by the Philippines amid the dispute and accused China of using maritime militia to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations. Andolong welcomed remarks by U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who reiterated in a recent news briefing that an armed attack on Philippine military forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the allies 1951 treaty, which provides that both nations would support each other if either comes under attack by another country in the region. Story continues Invoking the treaty, however, could be a complicated step and could be stalled by opponents from either side, including by U.S. lawmakers. The Chinese Embassy has said it is completely normal for Chinese fishing vessels to fish and take shelter at Whitsun, which it calls Niue Jiao. Nobody has the right to make wanton remarks on such activities, it said. Amid the standoff, Andolong said the Philippines will protect and defend its national interests while upholding the security and stability in the region through peaceful and a rules-based approach. The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest, saying the reef, which lies about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometers) west of the Philippine province of Palawan, is within an internationally recognized offshore zone where it has the exclusive right to exploit fisheries, oil, gas and other resources. For every day of delay, the Republic of the Philippines will lodge a diplomatic protest, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said. The Spratly chain of islands, islets and atolls are also claimed entirely or partly by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. China has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in recent years, ratcheting up tensions. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 10) Metro Manila has no more hotels to spare for the government's proposal to convert these into isolation facilities or temporary hospitals, an industry leader said Saturday. In a virtual briefing, Philippine Hotel Owners Association president Arthur Lopez said all hotels in Metro Manila are already "fully booked" as the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration tapped them as quarantine facilities for returning Filipino workers from abroad. The Philippine Hotel Owners Association, he noted, is composed of 70 owners with a total of 300 hotels. Lopez said that while some of the member-hotels were tapped for the government's "Oplan Kalinga" targeted for mild and asymptomatic patients, converting accommodation establishments into temporary hospitals may not be feasible. "That's going to be very difficult kasi maraming kailangan to support patients... so I dont know. But ang problema wala tayong maibibigay na hotel," he said. [Translation: Thats going to be very difficult because there are many requirements needed to support patients... so I don't know. But the problem, there is no hotel available.] READ: Treatment czar backs proposal to turn hotels into temporary COVID-19 hospitals Lopez said owners saw at least an 80% drop in revenues since the COVID-19 pandemic began. "Yung nakukuha ng OWWA, were able to pay our employees who are working this time and also able to pay electricity namin... Nakakatulong ng malaki sa mga hotel yan otherwise tuluyan na magsasara kami," he said. [Translation: What we're getting from the OWWA, were able to pay our employees who are working this time and pay for our electricity... It helped a lot for the hotels, otherwise, we will be forced to shut down.] While most hospitals in areas under enhanced community quarantine are now at critical level, with more health workers getting infected, a health official on Saturday said the medical workforce is "not yet depleted". "Hindi po talaga depleted nang husto ang ating health workforce," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in the same briefing. [Translation: Our health workforce is not really depleted.] This, despite the move to deploy health workers from provinces to the NCR Plus bubble. Last week, Vergeire said the DOH deployed more than 100 medical workers. She added more people will add to the workforce in the coming days. New Delhi: The Uttarakhand government on Friday (April 9) announced a night curfew in Dehradun from 10 pm to 5 am in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases. All schools from class 1 to 12 have also been closed till April 30 in parts of Haridwar, Nainital and the state's winter capital Dehradun. All schools from class 1 to 12 in Dehradun district barring Kalsi and Chakrata areas and in the municipal limits of Nainital and Haldwani will also remain closed till April 30, PTI quoted Cabinet Minister and state government spokesman Subodh Uniyal as saying. The night curfew will come into effect from Saturday (April 10). Uttarakhand on Friday reported 748 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total tally to 1,06,246. The active cases in the state stand at 5,384, while five deaths and 327 recoveries were logged in. As per the Ministry of Health data available on Friday (April 9), India reported 1,31,968 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally to 1,30,60,542. 780 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 1,67,642. The active caseload stands at 9,79,608 with 61,899 recoveries. (With inputs from agencies) Live TV ANN ARBOR, MI After four months with no word from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on whether shell support a federal Superfund cleanup of the Gelman dioxane plume in Ann Arbor, local advocates are getting ready to travel to Lansing. Theyre planning to rally on the lawn of the Michigan Capitol at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 13, urging Whitmer to issue a concurrence letter in support of having the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency consider placing the decades-old plume on the National Priorities List for a Superfund cleanup. A group of us will be delivering a message to the governor on the grounds of the Capitol on April 13, if she hasnt heard strongly enough that we want that letter sent, said Ann Arbor City Council Member Kathy Griswold, D-2nd Ward. I just feel like theres a communication problem, and if it means the public has to show up and make a very public statement on the lawn of the Capitol, people are willing to do that. EPA open to Superfund cleanup in Ann Arbor if state is on board Community members feel they must go to Lansing due to a lack of action on the part of the governor, Griswold said. A spokesperson for Whitmer did not respond to a request for comment Friday, April 9. A map of the Gelman dioxane plume spreading through the Ann Arbor area, moving east through the city's west side toward West Park and branches of the Allen Creek drain system that discharge to the Huron River. Gelman Sciences is removing water from the ground using extraction wells and then treating it to remove dioxane. Treated water with lower levels of dioxane is then discharged to Honey Creek, which flows to the Huron River upstream of Barton Pond, Ann Arbor's main municipal water supply. The toxic pollution originating from the old Gelman Sciences filter manufacturing complex off Wagner Road has been spreading through the areas groundwater for decades, posing threats to drinking water supplies, among other concerns. The state began investigating it in 1985 and filed a lawsuit against the polluter in 1988, which led to a Circuit Court consent judgment in 1992 that has been revised multiple times and has kept the polluter doing pump-and-treat remediation for many years. Local officials and residents want a better cleanup and some think a Superfund cleanup overseen by the EPA is the best option, given the limitations of state environmental laws. Ann Arbor resident Beth Collins, a member of the local Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane who lives atop the plume, is helping organize Tuesdays rally and calls it a grassroots effort. They will have some EPA Now masks and buttons, and theyll be practicing social distancing, she said in an email. State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, said he plans to attend the rally to show support. Its time for the governor to request EPA action immediately, he said. We have waited long enough for this mess to be cleaned up. I have vocally supported EPA involvement for years. We need the better resources and higher cleanup standards that come with federal involvement. Corporations think they can walk over us and get away with window dressing cleanups, but this community has been relentless in demanding better. City Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward, promoted the rally in an email newsletter, telling residents a letter from the governor is necessary to start the Superfund process. Local officials have been trying to get their message across to the governor for months that they want to start the years-long Superfund petition process while the state and local governments continue to pursue a new cleanup plan through litigation against polluter Gelman Sciences. Three days of court hearings in the case are scheduled for May 3-5. Judge signals intent to order cleanup plan in Ann Arbor dioxane pollution case Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Scio Township and Ann Arbor Township all sent letters to the governor in December urging Whitmer to support a Superfund cleanup, and EPA officials have said theyre open to considering it if the state is on board. Mayor Christopher Taylor said he wont be at Tuesdays rally in Lansing, but hes working closely with leaders of Washtenaw County, Scio Township, Ann Arbor Township and the Huron River Watershed Council to coordinate sending a new joint letter to the governor making it clear they are unified in seeking her support to start the Superfund process. Local officials have been told in public by both state and federal officials that a dual-path strategy pursuing a Superfund cleanup while continuing litigation in court is appropriate, Taylor said. And with that in mind, we encourage her to issue the letter, Taylor said. For those planning to attend the rally, organizers note on-street parking is available throughout the Capitol area, and theres a parking deck off Washtenaw Street between Townsend and Capitol streets a short walk to the Capitol. MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Theyre going to be everywhere. Ann Arbor preparing for massive swarms of cicadas Proposed law gives Ann Arbor renters 240 days before landlords can show occupied apartments City reverses position, releases police report involving Ann Arbor official and ex-senator Ann Arbor seeks progressive criminal justice reform with ordinance review project Despite pushback from landlords, Ann Arbor bans criminal background checks The Rt Rev. Charles Jenkins, the former Episcopal bishop who was both broken and transformed by the ordeal of Hurricane Katrina and who subsequently retooled the work of his 19,000-member Diocese of Louisiana to remedy the social injustices exposed by the storm, died Friday, the diocese said. Jenkins, who had pancreatic cancer and lived in St. Francisville after retirement, was 69. A native of north Louisiana cotton country, Jenkins left a boyhood in the Southern Baptist Convention to become an Episcopal priest in several parishes before being elected to shepherd 54 Episcopal churches in southeast Louisiana in 1997. Jenkins, rector of St. Lukes in Baton Rouge at the time, was consecrated bishop the following year. The global Anglican Communion was then in an acute phase of an internal struggle over the theology of homosexuality. The tensions threatened to split the U.S. branch from the global communion, even as the U.S. church threatened to unravel internally. As pressure mounted over several years before and after Hurricane Katrina, Jenkins was among a handful of U.S. bishops who urged national and global unity despite rising calls for schism. Jenkins was deeply involved in that issue when, seven years into his episcopacy, Hurricane Katrina almost destroyed New Orleans in 2005. Safely evacuated but alone in Baton Rouge, he saw televised images of thousands of suffering New Orleanians, mostly Black people, stranded for the better part of a week at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The sight of their misery almost broke him, he said later. It compelled Jenkins, a White man in a majority-White church, to face systemic racial and economic inequities that he had seen in New Orleans but not appreciated. As national relief money poured in, Jenkins launched ministries that put the Louisiana diocese into new work such as building houses, running medical clinics and forging new relationships with African American neighborhoods and ministries. Jenkins said he wanted to institutionalize in his church the "reckless generosity" that prevailed in the first months after the storm. "How do we make sure that this is not an aberration, but becomes part of our identity as Christians, so that we cannot not do this and still claim to be who we are," he said at the time. Episcopal Bishop Charles Jenkins charts a new course after being traumatized by Hurricane Katrina G. Andrew Boyd / The Times-Picayune He described Katrina as the death of many things that I took for granted. After the storm he actively sought the company of Black pastors and community leaders to see the city through their eyes. As New Orleans crafted its hotly contested rebuilding agenda, he supported Black residents who feared they were being deliberately marginalized. All of it triggered a wrenching personal transformation. You have a man [who] was deeply shaken at time of Katrina, to the depths of his soul, said the Rev. Canon Mark Stevenson, a Jenkins top aide who now works at national church headquarters in New York. He had to come to grips with his own history, with his own complicity as a White man in a city filled with racism and classism and all sorts of other -isms. Jenkins was a candidate for presiding bishop, head of the U.S. church, in 2006 but was not elected. 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 In 2007, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, then the archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Communion, and other Anglican leaders attended a regularly scheduled meeting in New Orleans of the U.S. church's House of Bishops. Jenkins used the ordeal of New Orleans to display the consequences of poverty and social injustice. And in a series of internal meetings, Jenkins was among a few bishops who fashioned a compromise that staved off schism in the global union. In time, however, Katrina, the stress of rebuilding and especially the systemic inequities that it laid bare to him ultimately proved disabling to Jenkins. He was diagnosed with depression and worsening post-traumatic stress disorder. He continued working under medical care, but after almost five years of post-storm leadership, announced he would take early retirement at the end of 2009. Episcopal priest who moved mountains after Katrina resigns The Rev. Jerry Kramer, a hyper-energetic Episcopal priest who transformed a small neighborhood church into a powerhouse that helped drive the I think Charles really understood the Jesus ministry after Katrina. Its hard. And it can break your heart, said the Rt. Rev. Morris Thompson, who succeeded him as bishop. More than 15 years after the storm, one of the Jenkins ministries born from Katrina, a homebuilding project called Jericho Road, survives. The others directly linked to the diocese eventually closed as funds dried up, Thompson said. Jenkins retired to St. Francisville and sought personal solace puttering about outdoors. At times he presided over services at St. John's, Laurel Hill, the chapel of Grace Church. Friends who called on him found him more at peace, said Courtney Cowart, a Katrina relief organizer whom Jenkins had recruited. She said Jenkins prayed daily and fished frequently. Wed go riding in the country on his ATV. He taught me to shoot a Beretta. He was a wonderful raconteur. I hope they remember Charles as a bishop who came terms with his own racism, and desired to understand it and be changed, Thompson said. And I hope that would be the goal for all of us White people with privilege, to make a difference. Were still in that conversation. We still struggle with that. Jenkins is survived by his wife, Louise; sons Benjamin and Edward; and two granddaughters. A funeral service is tentatively scheduled May 8 at Grace Church in St. Francisville. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the 2007 New Orleans meeting at which Jenkins sought a compromise to stave off schism in the global Anglican Communion. Colorado Politics senior political reporter Joey Bunch is the senior correspondent and deputy managing editor of Colorado Politics. His 32-year career includes the last 16 in Colorado. He was part of the Denver Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 and he is a two-time finalist. Editor: The Childrens Organ Transplant Association was founded in April 1986 when residents of Bloomington, Indiana, rallied around a toddler who needed a lifesaving liver transplant. In fewer than eight weeks, the community raised $100,000 to place the boy on an organ waiting list. But he died before an organ was found. Those community volunteers, along with his parents, turned tragedy into triumph by using those funds to help other transplant families. For 35 years, the association has assisted thousands of transplant families by helping to raise funds for transplant-related expenses. The association has built extensive volunteer networks across the nation in an attempt to ensure that no child or young adult needing an organ or tissue transplant is excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lack of funds. We need help to make sure that tragedies, like the one that was the catalyst in founding the association 35 years ago, are not repeated. April is National Donate Life Month. Every day 20 people die in the United States while waiting for an organ transplant. One organ donor can save eight lives. Today, 110,000 people await lifesaving transplants. Please go to www.RegisterMe.org and register to be a designated organ and tissue donor. RICK LOFGREN CHILDRENS ORGAN TRANSPLANT ASSOCIATION BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA Editor: The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nations largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for millions of Americans affected by mental illness. We are the nations voice on mental illness. During a Feb. 8 Fox 56 news report, School parents, officials continue to show frustration over school bus policy change, we were troubled by a comment made by Rosemary Boland, president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers: We have some serious people out in the street with mental illness and other issues and they could harm children. The alliance wants to correct common misperceptions about mental illness. One in five people struggle with mental health issues. One in five members of our community, one in five teachers and one in six children experience mental disorders. Whenever we talk about mental illness we should consider all who may struggle because stigma affects all of us. The suggestion that people with mental illness could harm children is a common and unfortunate misconception that often leads to stigma, shame and fear. They are barriers to helping people get the treatment and services they need. The truth is the vast majority of people with mental health problems are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Only 3% to 5% of violent acts are attributed to individuals with serious mental illness. In fact, people with severe mental illnesses are 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crime than the general population. Friends, family and community members can be important influences to help someone get help. Learning and sharing facts about mental health, treating people with respect and refusing to define people by their illness are important steps to make a difference, not only for people affected by mental illness, but for our whole community. MARIE ONUKIAVAGE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NAMI NORTHEAST REGION Editor: The Times-Tribune reported that the city of Scranton will receive $69.9 million from the allocation of federal stimulus money. There will, no doubt, be many good uses for that money. It has also been reported that the pool at Nay Aug Park will not open again this summer due to the expense to put in a new liner and possible other repairs. Is there any way the city would be able to use some stimulus money to fix the pool so it will be usable this summer? The pool with its exciting slides would be a much safer place to swim than the alternative, which is, to many kids, the Nay Aug Gorge just down the hill from the pool. It might be illegal to swim in the gorge but with the pool closed for another summer, for many kids the gorge is an attractive and risky place to swim on a hot summer day. We only have to look to the past to see the tragedies that have taken place at the gorge. To use a bit of stimulus money to fix up and open the pool would be well worth it. MARY LOU SEALEY SCRANTON Editor: I couldnt agree more with Times-Tribune editorial cartoonist John Coles drawing that featured a Scranton diver doing a belly flop into a pool of American Rescue Plan funds for refurbishing the Nay Aug pool complex (April 2). The most expensive option would include a lazy river, climbing wall and more, at an estimated cost of $8 million. This represents the Cadillac of plans presented. I have a better option. Why not combine the leisure pool and deep pool into one? A splash pad is definitely needed for toddlers and preschoolers. Ax the lazy river and climbing wall ideas, which are amenities typically found at resorts. Also, reuse existing slides. This may sound ludicrous to politicians since this money belongs to Scranton residents. Why not put a good chunk of these funds into some kind of an investment instrument that is easy to draw on for rainy days should emergencies arise? Scrantonians should learn a valuable message from the stupidity of former Lackawanna County administrations. We still dont know the costs of converting the former Globe Store to county offices. There is more granite installed at Courthouse Square than exists in the hills of the Granite State of New Hampshire. Please, lets have no more county fairs. Theyre money losers. Politicians, please dont waste the stimulus funds given to the city. BOB QUELL SCRANTON Mumbai, April 10 : Actress Sonakshi Sinha looks quite the diva in her new Instagram post on Saturday, but the lockdown-like situation owing to a resurgent spate of Covid means she is all dressed up with nowhere to go. In the snapshot, Sonakshi wears an off-shoulder, fitted embellished gown and completes her look with minimal make-up and soft beach curls. She urges people to stay at home amid the pandemic. "All dressed up and nowhere to go #gharperaho (stay at home)," she wrote as caption. Professionally, Sonakshi is gearing up for her next release, "Bhuj: The Pride Of India". The film also features Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sharad Kelkar, Ammy Virk, Pranitha Subhash and Nora Fatehi. The story is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pak war of 1971. Sonakshi recently announced her other upcoming project "Bulbul Tarang", which will have an OTT release. She is also gearing up for her web series debut in "Fallen", which casts her as a cop. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Gurugram, April 10 : As remote education gets extended in the second Covid wave, Samsung on Saturday announced the 'Back to School campaign in India that will help students and educators experience innovative and education-friendly Galaxy tablets at an affordable price. The company said that offers are now available on Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Galaxy Tab A7, Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7+. "With 'Back to School' campaign, we aim to contribute to the education of students and educators seeking affordable e-learning tools that help them embrace smart learning," said Madhur Chaturvedi, Director, Tablets Business, Samsung India. As part of the campaign, students and educators can avail additional discount of up to 10 per cent on Galaxy Tab S7+, Galaxy Tab S7, Galaxy Tab S6 Lite and Galaxy Tab A7 purchased via Samsung Student Advantage on Samsung.com. To avail the offer, students and educators can use their official school or college email address to login to Samsung Student Advantage or validate their credentials via Samsung's official student ID validation partner, Student Identify. Customers purchasing Galaxy Tab S7+ and Galaxy Tab S7 will be eligible for Rs 10,000 discount on the keyboard cover. The effective price of keyboard cover will be Rs 7,999 and Rs 5,999 for Galaxy Tab S7+ and Galaxy Tab S7, respectively with the bundled offer. "HDFC Bank Credit and Debit card users can avail cash-back offer of Rs 10,000 on Galaxy Tab S7+ and Rs 9,000 on Galaxy Tab S7," the company said in a statement. On purchase of Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, customers will get Galaxy Buds+ at a special price of Rs 1,999. HDFC Bank Credit and Debit card users will get an additional cash-back of Rs 3,000. "Those purchasing Galaxy Tab A7 can get the Book Cover at a discounted price of Rs 999. HDFC Bank Credit and Debit card users will get an additional cash-back of Rs 2,000," said Samsung. The company also announced a new Galaxy Tab A7 variant with 64GB storage and a 7040mAh battery. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The first turkey that ever came to me on the ground did it a long time ago. I sat there with my hands shaking and my breath short and my heart hammering so hard I could not understand why he could not hear it. The last turkey that came to me last spring had exactly the same effect, and the day that this does not happen to me is the day that I quit. - Tom KellyThe turkeys eyes are such that he can see a bumblebee turn a somersault on the verge of the horizon. - Archibald RutledgeThe opening morning of Tennessee turkey season inevitably brings some amount of relief.After what feels like too much of a long layoff with the double barrel and a string of flash floods constantly interrupting crappie fishing, sitting in the early spring woods brings respite and a time for introspection.With time spent on the ground in budding spring, comes a fair chance at a dance with a Meleagris Gallopavo feeling the urges that make the majestic and colorful ground eating birds vocal and amorous.By the time I parked the jeep it was obvious that the flashlight was no longer necessary to get where I needed to sit and squirm. No good excuse was to be had and when this sort of tardiness is evident, (which seems to happen more frequently with every passing spring), I seem to quite often blow the whole affair. This is an easy excuse when the birds, from their roost in the big woods, manage to spot me on a clumsy approach in the grayness of the predawn light.On this cold morning, Im almost confident that I somehow managed to reach a big oak undetected when finally settled on the edge of a freshly planted strip of clover.Hard labor equity might finally pay off. Thinking positive seems to come with any opening morning of every new season.The sun filtered through the gray hardwoods and the dense brown mat of last falls leaf litter making the Privet and Cedar light up in vibrant shades of green that only early spring can bring. The clover matched the bright green hues, glistening with frost. Small birds in the hardwoods made calls I couldnt seem to connect to the species until I actually saw the creature making the calls.After so many years of doing this sort of thing I wondered why some little feathered songbird calls were still a mystery to me. I vowed that it was once again time to work on this particular problem.Time drifted by, as time seems to drift, when you plant your yourself with your thoughts at the base of an Oak in the spring woods. Waiting for turkeys to address the early light with their distinctive voices leaves you time to worry about ticks, snakes and chiggers. It also seems to cleanse the mind of things that managed to keep you awake through the long winter nights.Thats about the time you start hearing things. Was that a gobble? Was that a fly down cackle? Was that scratching in the leaves just over in the next hollow?Sitting under a big Oak on a cold opening morning somehow makes an expensive hearing aide worth the trouble. More importantly; which direction did it come from? Maybe it was just another auditory hallucination, but it surely results in a decent pump from the old adrenal gland.The adrenal gland may be the whole reason some of us hunt turkeys to begin with. Not too may birds that I can think of have the ability to result in a decent shot of adrenaline. Bald Eagles and road-rage birds aside, dont even seem to do it like they used too.Two hens show up first, and as they peck away frantically at the young clover, two or three unseen male birds begin to gobble at them from the edge of the field.The adrenal gland slips effortlessly into high gear. Time flies out the window.Shoulder to shoulder, wing tip to wing tip, two males strut up in neon red, white and blue, slowly entering the fields edge.The big birds remind me of British officers from the war of 1812. Tails spread, wings dragging the ground. Huge and in charge, festooned in military finery, gaudy and stiff like they were on some palace parade ground strutting like grand soldiers for some British King. The birds were doing all they could do to look all majestic, like warriors on a foreign parade ground before they ship off to the Americas to reclaim another land that they expect to conquer.This parade is mesmerizing.Its a glorious sight that only a spring morning can deliver.Suddenly this precession renders my bifocals with double vision. They close the distance into range for the side by side 10 gauge. Two big birds become four huge birds as I squint to make sense of whats happening. This double vision thing has never happened before.At least Ive never had the occasion to use double vision as an excuse for missing before.Slowly sliding the glasses from my nose, I realize that this fumble of a move was a huge mistake.The closest hen, at about twenty yards, sees something she feels she needs to investigate and its me. She slowly investigates to within ten feet of my quaking position .She suddenly cocks her grey head to one side and decides its time to let everyone in the world know that I appear to look stupid and all hardwood creatures in hearing distance should take immediate notice.The whole procession, unfolding in my lap, jams to an abrupt halt, heads erect. All eyes are immediately on me and the hen at my feet.Show time!This sort of ludicrous phenomenon replays itself every spring I think to myself as the safety is slowly eased off of the old double barrel.The echo of the shot reverberates across the mountain like a cannon in the first salvo of every war ever fought with big guns and black powder.All but one out of the ten or so birds take flight, and spring returns to the hardwoods, quiet and calm, following one brief and chaotic moment.The greens become more intense as I step into the clover and retrieve the Tom and admire the finery of another opening day and the end of winter as we know it.The parade, the march of the majestic birds, the hardwoods, with their grey and brown hues, soon to be renewed with budding green shoots of another season growing old, seems to bring solace and more introspection each year.Some call it hunting. Some call it other things that arent so charitable.Spring magic seems to me to be the best I can come up with. EUGENE, Ore. -- For the second time in two years, Devin Frazer is in the Lane County Jail for charges related to trespassing and criminal mischief. His mother says his troubled past can be attributed to lack of help for his schizophrenia. Police said Frazer, 29, broke into the home of a Eugene family and got into the bed of their 7-year-old daughter early on Thursday. The homeowner, Steve, said during the time of the incident, Frazer was seemingly unaware of his whereabouts. When the girl verbalized that she was in the bed as well, Frazer immediately got up and relocated to a couch elsewhere in the house. RELATED: MAN WITH KNIFE INVADES EUGENE HOME, GETS INTO BED WITH CHILD, POLICE SAY "He never tried to touch her, and was genuinely surprised when he became aware of the fact that she was even in the bed," Steve said. In 2019, Frazer was arrested for a burglary at Willamette Christian School in which he and a woman threatened employees in the church with "bladed objects." He was sentenced to five years but ultimately served a year and seven months, some of that time in a mental hospital. When he was released, Frazer went to Sponsors, Inc., an organization dedicated to helping people re-enter society once they get out of jail or prison. MORE: TWO ARRESTED IN WILLAMETTE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL BURGLARY "We really provide a broad range of supports that are wrapped around our housing programs, and the goal is to get people to a place of self-sufficiency," said executive director Paul Solomon. According to his mother, Sherri Jackson, he was with the service for a few months, but because it was not court mandated, he elected to stop before he could reach full stability. The pandemic has put organizations like these to the test, as they were already stretched thin beforehand. "It's always been a resource issue. We have more people in need of our services than are available," Solomon said. Jackson said she doesn't think her son receives the proper attention from community resources when it comes to his mental health issues. "Eugene is very social service centric, but for some reason, this particular sector, those that are suffering from mental illness, they're falling through the cracks," Jackson said. She also noted how thankful she was that no one was harmed in the incident on Thursday morning. "My greatest fear was that something would happen to my son, or he would do something to someone else under an induced state, whether it's a mental psychosis or drug usage," Jackson said. Frazer is still being held at Lane County Jail. "When he came out from being in that hospital for months, he was completely, completely lucid," Jackson said. "It wasn't until he wasn't taking any medication and had no supervision that things just went completely south." She went on to say that he's been dealing with this condition for several years. She said she hopes this terrible incident can help shine a light on an often-overlooked topic. Newspapers around the world have paid tribute to Prince Philip following his death, aged 99. The Duke of Edinburgh died at Windsor Castle on Friday after seven decades of service to his country, the royal family announced. It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, a statement read. The duke was hailed as the Queens strength by The Sydney Morning Herald echoing the monarchs golden wedding anniversary speech in 1997. El Mundo also featured Philips death on its front page, describing him as the politically incorrect, loyal consort. Liberation, the French newspaper, featured an image of Philip prominently on its over. The black-and-white photograph shows the duke in profile, taking off his bowler hat. (Liberation) El Mundos cover carried a vintage image of the Queen and her husband. (El Mundo) The Sydney Morning Heralds front page had a large colour photo of the couple with their eldest children, Charles and Anne. (Sydney Morning Herald) Canadas National Post carried a full poster image on its front page. The stylised painting captures the duke in three-quarter profile. Above the image, the newspaper printed a quote from the Queen, which read: The only man I could ever love. (National Post) The West Australian supplemented its front-page story about Philips death with a 16-page souvenir wrap, which led with the headline A life of service. It featured a formal portrait of Philip and the Queen on its cover. (The West Australian) Chinas state-run Global Times also featured Philips death on its front page, printing a large image of Picadilly Circus advertising billboard which had been used to pay tribute to the duke. London/New Delhi, April 10 : After years of persuasion, the US has reportedly dropped an extradition request against Jabir Motiwala, the alleged financier of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Jabir, involved in drug trafficking and handling of international financial deals of Dawood Ibrahim, has been detained in London since 2018 on the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Jabir would now be freed from a London prison, as per the reports of a prominent Pakistan TV channel, which spoke to the lawyers of Dawood's aide. For Indian intelligence agencies, the US move to drop the extradition request against the D-Company-aide has come as a surprise. "Until we see the court order, it would not be appropriate to comment on this issue. The US, particularly the FBI officials, had gathered strong evidence against Dawood's key operative for years. Of late, if the US has withdrawn the extradition process against D-Company, it appears to be an unusual step at least against a dreaded underworld syndicate involved in drugs and terror related crimes," said an IPS officer holding senior rank in the Indian security agencies. IANS had earlier reported that the officials of the Pakistan High Commission in London were supporting Jabir Motiwala's case in a bid to thwart the extradition process which had the potential to expose D-Company's nexus with Pakistani agencies in a US court. Businessman-turned-underworld operative, Jabir Motiwala, a Pakistani national also known as Jabir Siddiq, had earlier appealed against his extradition order in the High Court of London and was awaiting judgment when the extradition request was reportedly withdrawn by the US authorities. The US extradition request in the British court had revealed that Jabir Motiwala reported directly to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who is a designated global terrorist and is wanted in the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai. While security agencies of both India and Pakistan were awaiting the judgement of the high court on Motiwala's extradition, the eleventh hour decision of the US on withdrawing the extradition process was not expected by many. Earlier, a section of Pakistani media had said that Motiwala, who hails from a well-to-do family in Karachi, is being framed by the US law enforcing agencies in connection with drugs operations. On the other hand, the US agencies had initially provided documentary evidence of drug dealing and handling the finance of D-Company, including tapes, against Motiwala in the court. Pakistani diplomats had earlier tried to thwart the extradition move by submitting a letter on behalf of the accused's lawyer in the Magistrate's court, saying Motiwala was a "well known respected businessman in Pakistan". In fact, Pakistani diplomats feared that once Motiwala is extradited to the US, the close aide of D-Company could reveal the entire nexus between Dawood Ibrahim's underworld network (being operated from Karachi) and the don's connection with Pakistan's spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). The US had already declared Dawood Ibrahim a global terrorist running an international drug syndicate and sharing the gang's routes with Pakistan-based terror outfits. In August 2018, Motiwala was produced before the Magistrates court in London after his arrest by the Scotland Yard Extradition Unit on charges of money laundering and sharing the proceeds of narcotics money earned on behalf of the D-Company. Sources said that Barrister John Hardy, appearing on behalf of the US government, had earlier revealed to the Magistrate's court that Motiwala travelled extensively and conducted (underworld crimes related) meetings for his boss Dawood Ibrahim. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. A light rain falls early on a cool spring morning. The field of ramie (a type of nettle with fibrous stems) in Dong Ve Village seems fresher from the moisture. Luong Thi Dan, 33, from the Xa Pho ethnic minority group, works her land with a keen eye, clearing away wild grass from the roots of the ramie and sometimes picking little worms off the leaves. She loses herself in what has been a daily task for the last two years. Nearby, her husband, Vu Van Toan, 40, works a hoe on a bare plot of land. He will soon seed new ramie in the ground. LIFE CHANGER: Local women can earn stable incomes from growing ramie. VNS Photo Nguyen Nam The couple chat with their children from time to time. Incredibly, just two years prior they spent almost the whole year working elsewhere, sometimes apart from each other, while their children stayed with their grandparents. We barely made ends meet here, so we had to find work wherever we could and send money home for my parents to raise our children, said Dan. At the end of 2018, many women in Dong Ve Village, Chieng Ken Commune, in Van Ban District, northern Lao Cai Province, began talking about how planting ramie was easy and brought in a good income, and the couple decided to stay home and see if it was indeed possible. TROUBLE-FREE: Growing ramie really is quite simple. VNS Photo Vu Chau Ngoc The income from planting ramie is four or five times higher than from planting rice, corn, or cassava, Dan said. We earned about VND40 million [US$1724] for each hectare last year. That meant we could stay at home and spend more time taking care of our children and my parents, who are getting old and frail. She was even able to repair her dilapidated house and buy some new furniture and things like a fridge, a TV, and a motorbike. I feel content now with my work and life, she said. At last, we can earn a stable income in our homeland and enjoy life with our children and families. Dan is one of hundreds of women from ethnic minority groups to benefit from a project entitled Developing the Value Chain for Ramie by Women in Van Ban District, carried out in ten communes between 2018 and 2021 by the local womens union, the An Phuoc Textile Company, and the GREAT (Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism) Program supported by the Australian Government. According to Tran Van Lien, chairman of the local Gia Lan Agriculture, Forestry, and Environmental Services Cooperative, ramie is quite easy to invest in compared to other crops. READY TO GO: Ramie can be harvested a mere 3 months after being planted. VNS Photo Nguyen Nam You need only invest in the seedlings and fertiliser initially, which cost about VND25 million per ha, care for the crop for three months, and then harvest it every 45-60 days for a period of ten years, he said. It then needs to be replanted. So, each year there are five or six harvests, with earnings reaching VND100 million per ha per year. He was among the first in the district to try and grow the plant. Upon seeing the results, he joined with staff from the local womens union to knock on every door to persuade people to plant ramie. It was difficult at first, as people had been disappointed many times before after being persuaded to switch crops, he said. Projects introducing crops like tomato and turmeric all failed, as there were no links between farmers and wholesalers. People became wary of new projects, and only believed me when I told them I had done it myself and earned a lot more money. From a handful of households in the village making the change, there are now 30 households involved. The cooperative buys seeds from An Phuoc, nurtures the seedlings, then sells them to farmers. When they harvest, they sell the ramie stems to the collective, who then send it on to the company for further processing. The total growing area in the district now stands at some 50 ha belonging to 171 households, including 332 women, most of whom are from the Tay, Dao, Mong, and Xa Pho ethnic minority groups. Dan said she and her husband were trained by specialists from Hanoi, together with other farming families. We, the ramie planting team in the village, were given watering equipment and processing machines to lessen the workload, she said. The farmers have no concerns about their crop, as the company has committed to buy all of their harvest for the next ten years. AT HOME: Growing ramie creates many jobs for local women. VNS Photo Nguyen Nam We sell the stems to the company for weaving fabric, while the leaves can be used to make banh gai (dumplings), or as cattle feed or for planting mushrooms, and the roots can be sold to make herbal medicine, she said. Nguyen Thi Quyen, who works at the womens union, said they very much appreciated GREATs support. We have joined hands with other agencies to implement similar projects to improve incomes for local people, but GREAT is the first partner to provide skills training to farmers and to combine gender training to help women become more confident and encourage men to pay more attention to sharing the housework, she said. "In other projects, farmers are only given information and little else. Its rare to receive the training and close support GREAT provides," she added. Local women now make their opinions heard more often at community meetings. Prior to the project getting underway, if both the husband and wife attended a community meeting, only the husband would speak, Quyen said. The local weather and soil conditions were a factor in growing ramie, as specialists from An Phuoc confirmed that productivity and quality would be higher here than in other areas around the country and even in China, where the seedlings originated. We are already seeing substantial growth but it really needs to be taken to the next level, said Phil Harman, Team Leader of the GREAT Program, The sector needs additional investment, especially in seedling production, and further support in logistics and training. The fibre from the ramie stems is much sought after by textile companies around the world, particularly because of its strength, which makes it suitable for products like parachutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY: Nguyen Thi Quyen, (second from left), from the local women's union, often visits women working in the ramie fields to stay abreast of the crop situation. VNS Photo Vu Chau Ngoc Tran Thi Viet, Deputy Secretary of the Van Ban District Party Committee, said that after two years of implementing the GREAT project, the lives of local women had been greatly improved. Earning a stable income gives them the opportunity to better take care of themselves and their families, teach their children, and no longer be forced to leave home and seek work elsewhere, she said. The womens union expects to expand the ramie planting area to 500 ha, providing stable incomes to 3,550 women from ethnic minority groups. VNS Sa Pa ethnic women benefit from stable work After 11 years of marriage, Chau Thi Pang, a Mong ethnic woman in the northern province of Lao Cais Sa Pa District, has for the first time realised that she used to think of her job as helping her husband provide for the family. 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. Efforts to unionize Amazon.com warehouse workers in Alabama were defeated on Friday by a more than 2-to-1 margin in a major win for the online retailer, but the union trying to organize workers was set to challenge the results, assailing the company's methods. According to the latest unofficial tally, 1,798 voted against forming a union, with 738 ballots in favor. A simple majority is needed for victory, but both sides have the right to challenge the eligibility of ballots. Counting concluded and would next focus on adding up challenges and voided ballots but the margin of victory may be too much to change the outcome. Amazon shares rose 0.8% Friday, adding to earlier gains. Union leaders had hoped the election outside Birmingham would spark a new era of worker activism. Instead, it illustrated the continued challenges facing the labor movement, joining high-profile failures to start unions at auto and plane factories in the US South. The US south has been an especially difficult region for unions to make inroads because many of those states, including Alabama, passed so-called right-to-work laws that curtail unions' abilities to mandate dues and other measures. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which is trying to organize the Amazon employees, said it is filing objections, charging that Amazon interfered with the right of its Bessemer, Alabama employees to vote. It has the same legal options as Amazon: challenge the eligibility of individual voters or allege that coercive conduct tainted the election. In the latter case, the dispute would play out before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and then likely in a federal appeals court. Unionizing Amazon, the second-largest private employer in America, would be a start to reverse long-running declines in union membership, which fell to 11% of the eligible workforce in 2020 from 20% in 1983, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The vote count followed more than a week of challenges to ballots during closed-door proceedings that could influence the final result. Lawyers for Amazon and the union were allowed to question ballots on suspicion of tampering, a voter's eligibility and other issues. The union says there have been hundreds of contested ballots, making it unclear the number of votes needed to declare a winner. The NLRB, which is overseeing the election, would adjudicate challenges in coming days. Amazon for years has discouraged attempts among its more than 800,000 US employees to organize, showing managers how to identify union activity, raising wages and warning that union dues would cut into pay, according to a prior training video, public statements and the company's union election website. Amazon has said it is following all NLRB rules and wants employees to understand each side of the contest, and that the RWDSU does not represent a majority of its employees' views. The company has said it wants as many of its employees to vote as possible. The union objection will focus in part on what it described as Amazon pressuring the US Postal Service to install a mail box and then pressuring employees to bring their ballots to work and use the mailbox. Also Read: Amazon Vs Future: Jeff Bezos-led company moves SC against HC order Our support staff heard many stories from nurses: sleepless nights, never-ending stress, repeated loss of patients, consoling family members -- along with concern for their own health and the health of their loved ones. -- Tory Lyons, Senior Recruitment Manager Nurses have not only served as clinicians, but also as a support system for many patients and their families. They held the hands of the sick and dying so that patients were not alone during their final hours. Nurses have also celebrated victories of recovery. A Newfound Appreciation for Nurses One positive outcome of the pandemic is likely to be that more young people, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, now see nursing as a heroic profession and choose it as a career. It is also hoped that experienced RNs -- some of whom may be ready to step back from the floor -- choose to become nursing instructors. Hiring qualified educators is a key to reversing the long-time U.S. nursing shortage. Gratitude for Travel Nurses Who Fortified the Front Lines As patient acuity grew, and the number of COVID-19 positive patients increased, travel nurses stepped in to support permanent staff. Travel nurses, so-named because they travel to hospitals where they are needed, were able to fill many of the gaps. Nursing shortages were particularly dire in the ICU, in Progressive Care units, and in Med/Surg units. Hospitals were desperate for staff, and pay increased accordingly. When the Coronavirus first peaked in April of 2020, American Traveler saw a 600% increase in the number of interested applicants. Some candidates had been out of practice for a time; many were recent nursing school graduates. All had an earnest desire to help. They knew they were needed, in spite of the risks. Changes in the Travel Nursing Landscape After COVID The pay rates for travel nurses have decreased from the peak of the pandemic, but the demand for supplemental staffing remains strong. Although many areas throughout the country have started to control COVID-19, there are still locations that need help. For RNs who specialize in areas other than critical care, the good news is that elective procedures and Emergency Room visits continue to rise -- and not just for COVID-19 cases. Travel as a Way to Easing Back Into or Out of Nursing Staff RNs who chose to step back from full-time nursing have the option to ease their way back into the job with a travel nursing job, knowing that they can take a break between jobs, and work when and where they like. The pandemic has proven once again to the healthcare community that travel nurses are a vital resource. Whatever form the next nationwide healthcare crisis takes, travelers will be on the recovery team. President Biden campaigned on a promise to unify America. An inspiring goal, to be sure, but one that aint anywhere close to happening. Decades of polarization, turbocharged by the us-versus-them philosophy of former President Donald Trump, have left the nation so divided that it can feel as though the two political teams are not only talking past each other but speaking in entirely different tongues. English is a living language, built to grow and evolve, but the red-blue political split is pushing its limits. There are increasingly fierce disagreements over what it means to be canceled, what constitutes bipartisanship and dont even try to figure out what counts as infrastructure. At this point, each team could use its own dictionary, with contested terms defined according to that sides worldview. Think of it like a French-to-English dictionary, only angrier. Some terms cry out for translation more than others: Bipartisanship. This seems straightforward enough. If both political parties support a proposal, its bipartisan, right? Not so fast. There has been much debate of late about which team members count. If a majority of Republican voters and a majority of Democratic voters favor a bill, does that make it bipartisan? Democrats, and especially the Biden White House, say yes. Or is an idea only bipartisan if lawmakers from both parties sign on? Republicans in Congress appear to support this narrower interpretation. China promotes COVID-19 vaccination with high efficiency Xinhua) 13:41, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Wearing masks and protective gear, technicians were moving back and forth on a vaccine production line inside a 24-hour manufacturing plant of Sinopharm in Beijing. The Chinese pharmaceutical giant said its daily output of COVID-19 vaccines had reached about 3 million doses and would be further expanded to meet the growing demand of China and other countries. Another Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech is also racing to pump out more doses, saying that the third production plant for its COVID-19 vaccine has started manufacturing procedures for vaccine ingredients, doubling the company's annual capacity to 2 billion doses. The remarkable progress made in vaccine production has accelerated China's COVID-19 vaccination efforts, with more than 149 million doses administered across the country as of Wednesday. Vaccination is the most effective means of preventing and controlling COVID-19, and it is currently China's top COVID-19 prevention and control strategy. A number of creative, considerate and non-coercive approaches have ensured that vaccination in the country is both easy and efficient. Photos of people lining up and getting vaccinated across Ruili City in southwest China's Yunnan Province soon made headlines. Dozens of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases have been reported in the border city since March 30. A Shenzhen hospital drew media coverage by providing people waiting to get shots with free tea, milk and bread. It also set up women-only vaccination sites and "green channels" for those with children to help them quickly complete vaccination. Beijing and Shanghai have deployed mobile vaccination vehicles in downtown areas. The bus-like facilities, equipped with vaccination stations, medical refrigerators and first-aid equipment, have been rolled out to save time and improve inoculation efficiency. Posters of catchy and amusing slogans about vaccination -- adapted from the lyrics of pop music or created based on internet buzzwords -- have appeared in city streets and are sweeping social media. Choices made by the public will be crucial in achieving herd immunity. According to the latest World Economic Forum-Ipsos survey on global vaccine confidence, vaccination intent is highest in China, where 80 percent of respondents agreed with the statement "if a vaccine for COVID-19 were available, I would get it." Du Qiusheng, a blind masseur who lives in Beijing, got his first jab last week at a vaccination site. "I serve many clients every day, which presents a high risk of being infected," he said, adding that the COVID-19 vaccine is necessary for him. The nationwide vaccination campaign also involves the popularization of vaccine science, as many do not feel an urgent need to get vaccinated or have misgivings over possible side effects. Health experts are sparing no efforts to provide clear information for those who remain skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccines. Wang Huaqing, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said women who are hoping to become pregnant in the near future can safely get the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines are also safe for those with allergies to substances such as pollen and antibiotics. "The current COVID-19 vaccines do not contain antibiotics and therefore this is not a contraindication," said An Zhijie, a Chinese CDC official. "The more people are vaccinated, the more people have immunity, and the spread of the virus in the population can be effectively controlled," Li Bin, deputy head of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference in March. Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese CDC, said during a recent interview with state media that China aims to vaccinate 70 percent to 80 percent of its population between the end of this year and the middle of next year. "China should take the lead in achieving herd immunity to contribute to the global battle against COVID-19," he said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Five men charged in a sex abuse case at a New Hampshire youth detention center made court appearances Friday. A judge set bail at $50,000 for Jeffrey Buskey, 54, of Litchfield, New Hampshire. He has been charged with five counts of rape involving four former residents between 1996 and 1999 at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Bail was set at $25,000 for Stephen Murphy, 51, of Danvers, Massachusetts. Murphy is charged with five counts of rape. Murphy went on to work as a clubhouse attendant for the Boston Red Sox. A spokesperson for the Red Sox, Zineb Curran, said Friday that the team had suspended him without pay when we learned of the allegations. Curran said the team would have no further comment. A judge also set bail at $15,000 for James Woodlock, 56, of Manchester, New Hampshire, who has been charged with being an accomplice in several rapes. Gordon Thomas Searles, 65, of Brooksville, Florida and Frank Davis, 79, of Contoocook, New Hampshire, also appeared. The attorney for Davis requested that the hearing be rescheduled to Monday. Searles, who also made an appearance, had his hearing rescheduled to Monday because he does not have a lawyer. A total of seven men have been charged. Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday that this first seven is probably just the first seven. I imagine more charges will come. The Sununu Youth Services Center named for former Gov. John Sununu, father of the current governor, and formerly known as the Youth Development Center has been under investigation since July 2019, when two former counselors, Murphy and Buskey, were charged with raping a teenage boy 82 times in the 1990s. The Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)AP Those charges were dropped last year in order to strengthen the expanded investigation, but both men were arrested again Wednesday, along with four others based on allegations from 11 victims from 1994 to 2005. Several of the defendants were named in a lawsuit filed last year in which more than 200 men and women allege they were physically or sexually abused as children by 150 staffers at the Manchester center from 1963 to 2018. ADVERTISEMENT The police in Lagos have arrested two robbery suspects for allegedly breaking into a warehouse at Alaba International Market and stealing goods worth N3 million. This is contained in a statement released by Muyiwa Adejobi, the Lagos police spokesperson. The suspects, Nnanji Emmanuel and Christian Chukwu, were arrested on Thursday while moving the stolen goods from the warehouse, the police spokesperson said. They were arrested by police operatives attached to Ojo division and the stolen goods recovered from them. The Police operatives attached to Ojo Division of the Lagos State Police Command, on 8th April, 2021, at about 1.50pm, arrested 2 suspects for breaking into the warehouse of one Mr Chidi Okonkwo at Shop C1, Ifelodun Section, Alaba Market, Lagos State and stealing goods worth three million naira (#3,000,000) The suspects, Nnanji Emmanuel, m, 33, of Jakande Street, Ajamgbadi, Lagos and Christian Chukwu,m, 32, of Ilaje Area, Ajamgbadi, Lagos, broke into the warehouse, stole the goods and called on a carrier (labourer) in the market, Bashiru Bala, m, to assist in evacuating the goods before Bashiru, who knows the owner of the warehouse, called his attention to the incident. The owner raced to the warehouse in company of some market security men and the police, and the suspects were arrested. The stolen items were recovered from them, Mr Adejobi said. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the State, Hakeem Odumosu, urged Lagosians to be their brothers keeper and assist the police in protecting lives and property, according to the statement. Inyo County Sheriff's Office An Arizona Congressional staffer was found dead in Death Valley National Park on Friday after he and his girlfriend went missing during a camping trip earlier this week. Alexander Lofgren, 32, was pronounced dead upon rescue after the Inyo County Search and Rescue Team found him and Emily Henkel, 27, on a "remote and steep ledge," according to the sheriff's office. Henkel was airlifted for medical treatment, the sheriff's office said. Her condition is unclear. The sheriff's office did not provide details on what exactly had happened to the couple. The Inyo County Sheriff's Office was notified that Lofgren and Henkel were potentially missing on Tuesday evening when the pair who were considered experienced campers were due back from their trip on Sunday, April 4, and had not returned. Authorities located their white Subaru around 11 a.m. on Thursday on Gold Valley Road. On the car, the sheriff's office said there was a note that read "Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days' worth of water." The couple was located by aerial rescue teams around 4 p.m. on Friday. "A hoist operation was attempted, but due to the extreme location the two team members who rappelled down were unable to reach Lofgren and Henkel," the sheriff's office wrote in an earlier statement. They were extracted from the ledge around 6:15 p.m. upon a second attempt. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. "This has been a tremendously difficult operation in a very unforgiving geographic area of Inyo County, I sincerely hope for healing and recovery for all involved," Inyo County Sheriff Jeff Hollowell said in a statement. Lofgren was a Congressional staffer for Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represents Arizona's 3rd District. Grijalva said in a statement Friday that he was "heartbroken" by the news of Lofgren's death. Story continues "Alex lived a life of service and always put the needs of others first," the statement reads. "After serving our country in Afghanistan, he came home to Arizona to serve veterans right here in Southern Arizona as a caseworker in my office. The passion he dedicated to his work each day touched countless lives. No matter the situation, Alex met those he helped with a smiling face, a caring heart, and an unrivaled empathy." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Lofgren served for four years as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, according to The Arizona Republic. He was working for Grijalva on issues regarding Veterans Affairs healthcare, benefits and more. "Alex will forever be a part of our family, and my heart is with his family, his loving partner Emily, and his colleagues who mourn him today," Grijalva said. Henkel is a contracted marketing assistant for the Arizona Army National Guard, the Arizona Republic reports. Gaza, April 10 : The Islamic Hamas movement has condemned Israel for refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the investigation into the alleged war crimes in Palestine. Hamas spokesman in Gaza Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Friday that the refusal to cooperate with the ICC reflects the Israeli logic in dealing with the international agencies and resolutions, reports Xinhua news agency. "Israel acts as if it is above the law, and it doesn't comply itself with the scope of accountability," Qassem said, adding that it's a test for international institutions "to enforce their decisions, achieve justice, and punish the criminals". On Friday, the Palestinian government said that it would cooperate with the ICC, which will investigate alleged war crimes that were committed during the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2014. The Foreign Ministry said Palestine, which is a member state of the ICC, will "fully cooperate with the court to achieve justice for the Palestinian people and hold Israel accountable for its crimes". Israel on Thursday officially informed the Hague-based ICC that it does not recognize the its authority's launching of the investigation. On March 3, ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the investigation would be launched, which was later welcomed by the Palestinian government. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has condemned the ICC's decision, accusing the court of "hypocrisy and anti-Semitism" and vowing to "fight for the truth". The Federal Ministry Education, in collaboration with UNICEF, is reviewing the National Policy on Gender in Basic Education to tackle insecurity and other emerging gender issues. Azuka Menkiti, UNICEFs Education Specialist, told reporters in Abuja on Saturday at the end of a two day Consultative and Critique Meeting that the review was long overdue. She said the review of the 14-year-old policy was aimed at finding a lasting solution to emerging gender issues. She said the review would broaden the scope of the policy, which focused only on basic education to ensure inclusiveness for better implementation. According to her, works are being concluded on the document for onward presentation to relevant authorities for approval. UNICEF, with support from Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is supporting the Federal Ministry of Education to review the existing National Gender Policy on Basic Education. The existing policy is focused only on basic education and it has been there since 2006. We felt that we needed to support the government to review it, especially because there are emerging gender issues affecting enrolment, retention, completion and transition, especially for girls. We felt that this is the time to sit down to take a look at the document to see how it fits into emerging issues and how its able to solve the issues that are affecting education for children both boys and girls, Ms Menkiti said. She added that a review of level of implementation of the policy became imperative to ascertain the level of compliance. After series of consultations, we came up with the fact that for us to start this review, we need to assess the implementation status of the existing policy documents. We wanted to find out what happened; how far the document is being implemented and we realised in that process that a lot of people said they never knew about the policy. However, there are different strands of gender-based programmes influenced not by the policy documents, but by other programmes. So we felt we should support the Federal Government to review the existing document to ensure that it is all-encompassing and able to address the gender inequality that we are struggling with in the education system, she said. Experts Ms Menkiti said a team of experts were drawn from different levels of education to lead the review of the document in view of its importance. She explained that the review process was not only about critiquing the draft copy, but also to build consensus on implementation plan. According to her, it is to avoid the policy being reviewed, approved and shelved in offices. She added that building consensus around the document would go a long way in ensuring adequate implementation. ADVERTISEMENT Ms Menkiti stressed that in order to make the document acceptable to all, stakeholders, including Civil Society Organisations, religious and traditional leaders, and experts from various states of the federation were part of the process. It is good to mention here that while this process is going on, the Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) met and presented the draft and I am happy to announce that it has been approved. So, what we are doing here is to make sure that everybodys comment is put into consideration for a final document that will be presented to the Council on Education. We have people from universities, primary and post primary schools here to make sure that the content addresses series of gender issues. This revised policy will take care of all categories of education, basic, post- basic and tertiary. It is going to be a very comprehensive document that will address all gender issues, she said. In a few weeks Ms Menkiti assured that work would be completed on the document in a few weeks for onward presentation to the Ministry of Education. She added that once that was done, the ministry would be expected to convene a meeting of the National Council on Education for approval. In a separate interview, Enakeme Nnorom, Deputy Director, Gender 2, Federal Ministry of Education, said when approved, the policy would go a long way in redefining education in Nigeria. She said when put in place, girls and boys would have quality education because there would be easier access. She added that there would be mechanisms to check sexual harassment, while channels for reporting and punishing bad behaviours would be put in place. We all know that when you put up a policy, after a couple of years, there should be a review. The policy has never been reviewed and its now about 14 years since it was produced. The ministry interacted with UNICEF and UNICEF agreed to fund the process of the review.The existing policy is only for basic education, while the one we are working on is all-encompassing, including people with special needs and others, Ms Nnorom said. She expressed optimism that the document would be approved before the end of the year. (NAN) To truly close the gender gap, gender equality must be mainstreamed into economic policymaking. Ashwini Deshpande writes: The latest edition of the annual Global Gender Gap Report, produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF), was released at the end of March. It examines gender gaps along four dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Flash China on Friday expressed hope that the Japanese government will conduct a thorough assessment of the possible impact of the disposal plan for tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. "The radioactive leak caused by the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has had a profound impact on the marine environment, food safety and human health," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily press briefing. "We hope the Japanese government will act with a high sense of responsibility toward its own people, neighboring countries and the international community, conduct a thorough assessment of the possible impact of the disposal plan for tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, disclose relevant information in a voluntary, timely, strict, accurate, open and transparent manner, and make prudent decisions after full consultation with neighboring countries," Zhao said. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday that his government will soon decide whether to discharge treated radioactive water building up at the disaster-stricken nuclear complex in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea despite strong opposition from the fisheries sector. (@FahadShabbir) Energy giant Saudi Aramco said it has struck a 12.4-billion-dollar deal to sell a minority stake in a newly formed oil pipeline business to a consortium led by US-based EIG Global Energy Partners Riyadh, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2021 ) :Energy giant Saudi Aramco said it has struck a 12.4-billion-dollar deal to sell a minority stake in a newly formed oil pipeline business to a consortium led by US-based EIG Global Energy Partners. The deal underscores how Aramco -- the kingdom's cash cow -- seeks to monetise its once-untouchable assets to generate revenue for the Saudi government as it accelerates efforts to diversify the oil-reliant economy. "Upon closing, Aramco will receive upfront proceeds of around $12.4 billion, further strengthening its balance sheet through one of the largest energy infrastructure deals globally," the company said in a statement late Friday. "As part of the transaction, a newly-formed Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company, will lease usage rights in Aramco's stabilised crude oil pipelines network for a 25-year period." The EIG-led consortium will hold a 49 percent stake in the subsidiary, Aramco said, adding that it will retain "full ownership and operational control". In a separate statement, EIG, a Washington-based energy investment firm, said the new venture is valued at approximately $25.3 billion. The deal covers all of Aramco's "existing and future stabilised crude pipelines" in the kingdom, an elaborate network that connects oil fields to downstream facilities, EIG said. "We are proud to partner with Aramco in this marquee global infrastructure asset," said EIG chairman R. Blair Thomas. Neither company said which other firms were part of the consortium. The announcement comes as Aramco faces pressure to maintain hefty dividend payments to the Saudi government, its biggest shareholder, despite posting consecutive falls in profits since it began disclosing earnings in 2019. Last month, Aramco posted a 44.4 percent slump in 2020 net profit due to lower crude prices, piling pressure on government finances as Riyadh pursues multi-billion Dollar projects to diversify the economy. The company's debt has climbed as Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, was hammered last year by the double whammy of low prices and sharp cuts in production triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Even so, Aramco said it stuck by its commitment to pay shareholders dividends worth $75 billion in 2020 -- an amount that exceeds the declared profit and available cash flow. - Saudi 'crown jewel' - "The (EIG) deal marks an innovative step for Aramco as it seeks to monetise assets to pay down debt, maintain its dividend payments and fund planned investments," the Energy Intelligence group said. Long seen as the kingdom's "crown jewel", Aramco and its assets were once tightly under government control and considered off-limits to outside investment. But with the rise of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pushing to implement his "Vision 2030" reform programme, the kingdom has shown readiness to cede some control. Aramco sold a sliver of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering. In January, Prince Mohammed said the kingdom would sell more Aramco shares in the coming years. He said future share offerings would be a key way to boost the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund which is the main engine of its diversification efforts. In a major new diversification push late last month, Saudi Arabia announced plans to pump investments worth $3.2 trillion into the national economy by 2030, roping in the kingdom's biggest companies including Aramco. Under a programme named "Shareek", or partner, Aramco and other top Saudi companies will lead the investment drive by contributing five trillion Riyals ($1.3 trillion) over the next decade, Prince Mohammed said. In a briefing to reporters, he added that the companies, many of them listed, had agreed to lower their dividends and redirect the money into the domestic economy in exchange for incentives such as subsidies. In the statement announcing the deal with the EIG-led group, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said the company was "capitalising on new opportunities that also align strategically with the recently-launched Shareek programme". An open letter, signed by more than 500 Google employees, to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai urged the company to stop protecting those accused of harassment. The letter demands that harassers should not be allowed to lead or manage a team. It further urges that harassers should be forced to change teams if the allegations against them are substantiated so that employees don't have to work alongside their harasser. The letter comes close on the heels of a New York Times article by former Google engineer Emi Nietfeld which recounted how she was forced to attend one-on-one meetings with her harasser and even made to sit next to him in the office despite an HR complaint. ALSO READ: Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama vote against unionisation "This is a long pattern where Alphabet protects the harasser instead of protecting the person harmed by the harassment... The person who reports harassment is forced to bear the burden, usually leaving Alphabet while their harasser stays or is rewarded for their behaviour," The Verge quoted the open letter to Pichai. Allegations of harassment have hounded Google in the past. Back in 2018, Android co-founder Andy Rubin was paid $90 million despite being accused of sexual misconduct. Around 20,000 Google employees had walked out to protest the company's handling of sexual harassment at the workplace. The walkout organisers had demanded an end to forced arbitration clause in contracts. While the tech giant had rolled back the clause for employees, it continues for contractors and workers at other Alphabet companies. ALSO READ: RIL, Google, Facebook to be pitted against Visa, Mastercard; here's how "Alphabet has not changed, and did not meet any of the Google Walkout demands (temps, vendors, contractors, and workers from Alphabet companies other than Google are still forced into arbitration)," the letter says demanding blanket end to forced arbitration. "We've already raised these issues before. The Google Walkout demands are still waiting to be met!" Talking to The Verge, a Google spokesperson claimed that the company has evolved in the way it handles harassment allegations since the walkout days. Significant changes have been introduced in handling and investigating employee concerns, and new care programmes for employees who report concerns, the spokesperson added. By Ji Cheng According to an AP report, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently announced that the Australian government plans to invest A$1 billion to develop guided missiles with the US, to boost Australias national defense capacity while increasing job opportunities in the defense technology sector. Australia stressing a sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability Morrison stressed that it is crucial for Australia to create a sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability, citing the changing global environment. The Australian Department of Defense will choose an experienced strategic industry partner which will be contracted to operate a joint venture for missile manufacturing in a bid to accelerate the implementation of Australias missile development plan. Australia made the creation of a sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability a priority on the agenda of its national defense sector mainly for the three reasons as follows: First, Australia intends to mend its weak link in domestically developed guided missiles. According to the US media, Australia hasnt produced advanced missiles by itself for decades but depends on imported missiles to meet the needs of national defense. TheAustralian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) estimated that if Australia continues relying on imports, it will spend at least A$100 billion purchasing missiles and other guided weapons in the next 20 years. If Australia partners with others to produce missiles on its own land, it is expected to fill in its strategic blank of missile manufacturing. Second, Australia hopes this move will improve its defense supply chain and boost the employment of military enterprises. From Australia's perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the global supply chain, and it is imperative to enhance the sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability, so that Australia will be able to ensure weapon and equipment support for its military operations if the global supply chain is suspended. The move is also expected to boost employment in the military industry. Australian Minister for Defense Industry Melissa Price said that producing domestic missiles will create about 2,000 jobs in Australia. Third, Australia hopes this move wouldboost the exporting of military products and reshape the international competitiveness of its defense products. In 2018, the Australian government released a new defense products export strategy and announced the plan to invest A$200 billion within ten years to support the development of its defense industry, in a bid to make the military sector a pillar industry with international competitiveness by 2028. Australia intends to become one of the worlds top 10 weapon exporters by developing domestic guided missiles. The real intension of Australia-US collaboration in joint missile development In recent years, the Australia-US military alliance has been increasingly consolidated, long been the cornerstone of Australias defense policy. According to some media outlets, the underlying reason that Australia partners with the US to produce guided missiles lies in its Asia-Pacific strategy. Australias 2020 Defense Strategic Update states that the Asia-Pacific region is a priority in its future defense strategy, and it plans to spend A$270 billion over the next ten years addressing military conflicts that may emerge in the region and collaborate with other countries to develop offensive military equipment, with the focus of its defense policy shifting from homeland defense to offensive expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. The move to partner with the US in developing missiles is an important measure Australia took to strengthen its defense capability, as well as a continuity of the previous maneuvers to strengthen its military and strategic presence in the Asia-Pacific region. For Washington, the unique geographical advantage of Australia and their defense alliance make Australia an indispensablechess piece in implementing its Indo-Pacific strategy and strengthening its military deployment in the region. However, Australias economy was seriously weakened in 2020, making it short of funds to support the development of advanced weapons. Also, considering Australias immature technical ability, there is a high possibility that Australia will be unilaterally reliant on the US in their defense cooperation. That Australia follows the pace of Washingtons military strategy to adjust and expand its armament under the pretext of regional tensions will not only weaken the independence of its security policy but also threaten overall regional strategic stability. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com, on Twitter @BE_cfanto or at 413-637-2551. In early January, once vaccines hit pharmacy shelves, seniors in Louisiana were calling up pharmacies to get on waitlists, driving across state lines and waiting on hold for hours to get an appointment. By early April, when getting a vaccine might be as easy as strolling up and rolling up a sleeve, providers havent seen the same banging-down-the-door enthusiasm from young people since the state lifted all requirements nearly two weeks ago. The younger crowd isnt calling us, said Lisa Carr, co-owner of Carr Drugs in Algiers, one of the first pharmacies to give out vaccines in the state. I dont know if theyre going to mass vaccination sites, or if they are waiting for a good reason to have to get the vaccine like a trip or return to college. Though younger people are getting the vaccine by the thousands, theyre not showing up in the same numbers as people over 40, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Health. In the last week, only an additional 3.8% of 18 to 39-year-olds received the vaccine, compared to about 5% of 40 to 59-year-olds, even though people over 40 are more likely to have a condition that qualified them for the vaccine earlier. If 18 to 29-year-olds were getting vaccinated at the same rate as 50 to 59-year-olds, an additional 11,236 of them would have had their first shot by now. A lack of fear of the coronavirus may have lessened young peoples sense of urgency to get the vaccine, experts said. One of the big battles were dealing with is they dont perceive themselves at high risk, said Susan Hassig, an epidemiologist at Tulane University. People in their early 20s and younger, especially, have an invincibility modality that is operating for a lot of them." +13 Vaccine appointments in Louisiana are going unfilled - sooner than officials thought When COVID vaccines first opened to Louisiana residents over 70 in January, there was a mad scramble for appointments. Overloaded phone system A recent survey on vaccine willingness by the Louisiana Public Health Institute Survey found that hesitancy was highest among adults under 30. About 77% of Black adults under 30 and 67% of White adults under 30 said they were unwilling or hesitant to get the vaccine. That's significantly higher than the next age group, which includes adults ages 30 to 44. In that category, 64% of Black adults were unwilling or hesitant and 47% of White adults were as well. Ki'Amber Whitley, an 18-year-old student at Dillard University, said she'd rather continue to mask and social distance to protect herself. "I trust my body, said Whitley. I havent had the flu shot since 2014 and I havent been sick since 2014. But young people are not invincible against the coronavirus. Across the country, states are seeing a shift in the type of patient showing up to the emergency room with the coronavirus. We are seeing these increases in younger adults, most of whom have not been vaccinated, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in a call with reporters on Friday. And though Louisiana is not seeing troubling spikes in cases like some states in the Midwest, hospitals are seeing younger patients. We have had in the past month people extremely sick in our hospitals in their 30s and 40s, said Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, an infectious disease specialist at Ochsner Health. Weve had at least two teenagers in with COVID. 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 Also troubling is the unknown long-term effects of coronavirus infection, sometimes showing up as long COVID, a constellation of symptoms that include fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations and loss of taste and smell. Some studies suggest the coronavirus may have untold effects on organs like the heart, brain and lungs. A small study on student-athletes with coronavirus showed signs of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart connected to sudden death, in as many as one in five athletes, though later studies have shown a smaller incidence. Everyone should be concerned about what we don't know about what happens in the long term from having the COVID illness, said Kemmerly. The options for the long haulers are not very good. We dont understand it particularly well It doesnt seem to correlate with however sick you were with COVID. Some young people who have gotten the shot said they were motivated by freedom rather than fear. My senior year was ripped away from me, said Daniel Porea, a 17-year-old at Lusher Charter School who got the first Pfizer dose last week. If there was anything I could do to remediate and ease the tension, the pain I've gone through over the past year because of this virus, I was all for it, so I was all for the vaccine. Others are motivated to get vaccinated because they want to protect others. I know that if I were to get COVID I'd probably end up OK, but I think it was important to get it because I've been worried about how other people are going to respond, said Sofia Mongillo, a 20-year-old Loyola University student who will get her second Moderna shot next week. I'll be fine, but I don't know how someone else would be." Holly Haney, a 20-year-old sophomore at Tulane University, has received her first shot of Pfizer. She said she got vaccinated because her job put her in contact with people more at risk. I work at a church so I'm interacting with old people a lot, she said. I'd like them not to die. +4 New Orleans EMTs deliver vaccines to homebound residents: 'They just thank us so much' Just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, emergency medical technician Shakera Brown pulled up to a brown house with green trim in the Gentilly ne Public health experts recognize they will need to pivot outreach to match the shift in motivation. Dr. Jason Halperin, an infectious disease expert at Crescent Care, is working with bars and restaurants like Dragons Den and Melbas Poboys to hold events that will attract young people, incentivizing them with a feel-good social setting after a year of isolation. Dragons Den is offering shots for shots a free shot of liquor for every Johnson & Johnson dose given at an event with DJ RQ Away on Friday night. Halperin has seen a specific hesitancy in some of his young Black patients who still feel like they should prioritize more vulnerable members of their community, an attitude likely stemming from just weeks earlier when the supply of vaccine did not meet the demand. They dont feel they should take an appointment, said Halperin. Its this consideration that older members of their family should go first. People between 18 and 30 make up Louisianas largest adult population, making them a crucial group for making it to herd immunity. Theyre also the same population visiting bars in large numbers and going to places like sporting events and competitions where the state has seen large outbreaks. This is the population we know is having more COVID and bringing it home and potentially getting someone sick, so we really do need to prioritize them, said Halperin. This is what gets us back. Staff writer Jeff Adelson contributed to this report. Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. J.S. writes: I have been invited to join the Winners Circle, a multi-level marketing company. It seems you earn an income from recruiting other people, and also from currency trading signals they send daily. However, I can find no address for the company. Is this a legitimate way to earn extra money? Winners Circle is not legitimate. It is not even a company. It is nothing more than a name used to suck people into the clutches of a dodgy American business called IM Academy, which advertises training courses on how to make money by trading on the foreign exchange markets. 'Winners Circle is not legitimate. It is not even a company,' says Tony Hetherington British-based Winners Circle was set up by two experienced MLM (multi-level marketing) operators, Simon Brookes and Roger Garth, with slogans like: 'Winning at forex is easier than you think. Just follow our system.' Recruiting material signed by Garth tells recruits that the Winners Circle receives tips from professional forex traders: 'When they identify a trade that they believe will be profitable, they send it to you via a mobile phone app; you then follow the instructions given to place the trade including what to buy or sell.' In a YouTube video, Brookes claims the scheme 'is a licence to print money'. He then hands over to Garth, who talks about the trading signals they issue to their members, assuring them that 'some have all the information you need to trade, even if you are a complete newbie'. The tips on which currencies to trade come from IM Academy. According to Garth: 'Simon and I will continue to analyse every signal sent by IM.' And he pledges: 'We will only send signals we are prepared to put our own money into.' Now, I cannot question Garth about any of this as he died recently. But Winners Circle is continuing under Brookes, who told me that members pay $234 (about 170) to join, followed by $174 a month. The joining fee goes to IM Academy, but a big slice of the monthly fee goes to the recruiter, so Brookes gets a major share of payments made by his recruits. This is how MLM works. Denial: Boss Simon Brookes says Winners Circle 'doesn't give advice' The big question is whether all this is legal. I do not believe it is. Telling people how to invest is educational, and needs nobody's permission. But telling them what to buy and sell is financial advice, pure and simple, and anyone offering this service has to be vetted and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, or they could face up to two years in prison. Despite all the written claims and the video evidence, Brookes insisted to me that he needed no FCA approval, saying: 'We are only an educational opportunity and we never give any advice.' So what about the trading signals and the mobile phone messages, telling members what to buy and sell? According to Brookes, this does not count as advice because it is up to Winners Circle members to decide whether to invest. Of course, the same could be said of any genuine stockbroker who gave a share recommendation to a client, but the broker still has to be authorised by the FCA. IM Academy and the company behind it, New York-based International Markets Live, are well known to financial watchdogs. Regulators in Spain, Belgium and France have issued public warnings about them. And in 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined the company $150,000 for operating an unlicensed scheme which let investors 'mirror' forex trades made by its own traders. Our own Financial Conduct Authority is well aware of International Markets Live. It warned investors three years ago to stay away from it, as it is completely unauthorised. So what does it think of Winners Circle? A few days ago, the FCA told me: 'Where new information comes to light, we will always take this into account when dealing with reports of unauthorised business activity.' Well, so much for the FCA's 2018 alert. But now it knows that a British-based bunch is actively recruiting for the very service it warned against, will it do anything stronger than simply posting yet another warning on its website? The FCA long ago lost sight of the fact that it was created to protect consumers from financial harm. It now prefers to devote time and energy to areas such as monitoring 'diversity' in the financial sector. Here is a chance for it to take real action, but I am not holding my breath. Your refund is finally sailing home K.N. writes: My wife and I booked through Planet Cruise to go on Royal Caribbean International's ship, Jewel of the Seas. We paid for this in January last year, and were due to sail in June last year but, due to Covid, RCI cancelled the cruise. I have been chasing Planet Cruise for my cash ever since. I do not want a credit for a future cruise as at age 74 there would be too much uncertainty. Planet Cruise did not deny that you were entitled to a refund. Its chief executive Richard Downs told me: 'Often, we are waiting for funds to be transferred to us by third party suppliers before we can refund the consumer. 'Additionally, each cruise line, airline, accommodation provider and land tour operator has its own set of rules in relation to any cancellations, refunds and credits.' Staff have now been transferred from other work to speed up customer enquiries and refund claims. Planet Cruise has transferred 4,354 to your bank account, and the original deposit of 400 which you paid by credit card has been transferred back to your card account. Why did Lloyds hold on to my 700? Ms C.N. writes: We were due to fly to Florida with Virgin Holidays, but this was cancelled due to the pandemic. Virgin refunded the holiday cost some months ago, but the initial deposit of 700 is still owed. Virgin says it returned the money to my Lloyds account, but Lloyds says it has not received it. After I contacted Virgin, staff there called you to say that the missing 700 had been sent to Lloyds but had bounced back. And Lloyds said that so much time had passed since you paid the deposit in 2019 that the refund had not been recognised when it was returned. Apparently the system does not cope well if more than 365 days separate the original payment and the refund. Virgin has sent the payment again, so you now have your 700. Lloyds says it could have done better at handling your repeated enquiries about the missing money and has therefore added 75 to the total by way of saying sorry. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. Marking the latest development regarding Dubais missing Princess Latifa, the United Nations (UN), on April 10, said that it has failed to get any compelling proof, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that the princess was still alive. In February, BBC released a video that featured Sheikh Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum revealing that she has been held hostage by her own father, the ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the UAE. However, the Arab state dismissed the claim stating that Latifa was home and was being cared for. No proof of life Since the video clip surfaced, the UN Human Rights office has repeatedly asked Dubai to provide proof of life for Latifa. The organisations call has also been reiterated by a number of foreign leaders including UK foreign Secretary Dominic Raab amongst others. Regardless, Dubai has failed to report the condition of Princess Latifa or even respond to the UNs request. We havent got any proof of life, and we would like one, one that is clear compelling evidence that she is alive. Our first concern of course is to be sure of that, that she is still alive, UN spokesperson Marta Hurtado told a briefing in Geneva. In February 2021, the Arab royal reappeared in a BBC investigative news programme, where she accused her father, UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of holding her hostage in a villa-turned jail in Dubai. In the video, Sheikha Latifa, who tried to flee UAE in 2018 but was allegedly captured by the Indian coast guard and sent back to her home country, was seen recording the video inside a bathroom, saying it is the only room with a door. Further in the programme, Sheikha Latifa says she is worried about her safety and life. Shekha Latifa claims that the house where she is being held "hostage" has only tinted windows and she has not seen sunlight for a very long time. According to the documentary, Tiina Jauhiainen, a friend of Sheikha Latifa, somehow managed to get her a cell phone a year after the failed escape attempt. Sheikha Latifa used the phone to record the videos and send them to BBC for the news programme. Image Credits: Associated Press N. Oregon Coast / Cannon Beach Lectures Continue With Climate Change Event Published 04/08/21 at 7:05 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Cannon Beach, Oregon) - The World of Haystack Rock Library Lecture Series continues online next week with its next-to-last event, held April 14 at 7 p.m., through Facebook Live. Find it at @Friends of Haystack Rock. (Photos above courtesy Friends of Haystack Rock) This time around features Katie Volkie talking about Conservation IS Climate Action! Its a presentation and conversation about climate change and what we can do in Oregon and on the coast to combat it with local conservation. It will also delve into why the time really is now. Volkie is head of the North Coast Land Conservancy, whose entire goal is to preserve the western peaks of a large section of the north Oregon coast. The group is now laying the groundwork for perpetually protecting and rewilding 3,500 acres of temperate rainforest - creating Oregon's own Rainforest Reserve. Voelke was raised in a home under oak trees where she spent many hours collecting bugs, making mud pies with her sister, and camping and hiking with her parents in the summers. She is sure that this life-long exposure to the natural world is what led her on a path to study biology in school. Katie settled on Oregons north coast with her husband Scott in 2003 and spent time doing field work with the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife before she finally found her calling: working in land conservation with NCLC. In 2005 Katie started as NCLCs first Stewardship Director working under founding Executive Director, Neal Maine. After 3 years of learning the ropes alongside Neal, she took the helm in 2008 as Executive Director. Although her job at NCLC keeps her inside more that she would like, she manages to get her fix of the outdoors following in her parents footsteps: bug collecting with her three sons and spending the summers hiking and camping with family. The final installment of these lecture series happens May 12, with Tim Halloran talking about Just how do you monitor the puffins? MORE CANNON BEACH / N. COAST BELOW Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted But it is also true that they are relatively friendly toward the business and real estate communities. And on the spectrum of mayoral candidates, they are also more moderate on policing matters, even as they promote criminal justice reform. (Indeed, Mr. Adams, a Black former police officer who says he has experienced police brutality himself, spent much of his career urging changes in the system, but he is also a onetime Republican who speaks often about the constructive role he believes policing can play in promoting public safety.) Those stances are sharply at odds with the anti-real estate, anti-corporate and defund the police rhetoric that has animated the left-wing New York scene in recent years and in particular after the killing of George Floyd last May but that has largely been untested in a citywide race. As more voters tune in, the contest will offer the clearest picture yet of the political mood of a large, racially diverse city on issues surrounding economic recovery, a rise in violent crime and deep inequality that the coronavirus pandemic has only worsened. Across the city, younger left-wing activists have been part of a coalition that has shaped legislative and House races. But that contingent has not been determinative in statewide races for governor or, at a national level, in the presidential campaign, where moderate Black voters and other older, more centrist voters played a decisive role in giving President Biden the nomination. Even as some activists worry about the state of the mayors race, many are struggling to coalesce behind one of three candidates most consistently mentioned as progressive contenders: Mr. Stringer, the well-funded city comptroller who boasts a raft of endorsements from left-wing lawmakers; Ms. Morales, who is perhaps the most left-wing candidate in the race; and Ms. Wiley, a former MSNBC analyst and counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who on Friday was endorsed by Representative Yvette Clarke, a Brooklyn Democrat. Prince Philips children have paid tribute to their father following his death aged 99, with Prince Charles praising the Duke of Edinburghs astonishing energy. In interviews recorded for broadcast after the dukes death, they reflected on their relationship with the man who spent his life as the Queens consort. Prince Charles told the BBC that, while his father was known for his no-nonsense approach, he was good at giving him guidance and always offered faithful support to the Queen. Charles said: Well you know he didnt suffer fools gladly, so if you said anything that was in any way ambiguous hed say, Make up your mind. So perhaps it made you choose your words carefully. He added: He was very good at showing you how to do things and would instruct you in various things, and that his energy was astonishing in supporting my Mama, and doing it for such a long time. Prince Charles is believed to have stayed with the Queen at Windsor Castle until late on Friday, while Princes Andrew and Edward arrived on Saturday morning to support their mother as she grieves for her husband of 73 years. Princess Anne praised the double act her father maintained with the Queen. Without him life will be completely different, she said. The Princess Royal said she would remember her father as an ever-present mentor. She said: I will best remember him as always being there and a person you could bounce off ideas, but if you were having problems you could always go to him and know that he would listen and try to help. The Royal Family together in 1968 (PA) Philips youngest son Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, said his father had always been there as that rock in the Queens life. Edward said: It was always a challenging role to take but he has done it with the most extraordinary flair and an extraordinary tact and diplomacy. He has never ever tried to overshadow the Queen in any shape or form and I think he has always been there as that rock in the Queens life, and certainly within his family that was exactly the same. Edward also said his father had a wonderful sense of humour, but noted that people could misinterpret things or turn it against [him]. Edward said: The public image that certain parts of the media would portray was always an unfair depiction. He used to give them as good as he got and always in a very entertaining way ... He was brilliant. Always absolutely brilliant. The Queen, Prince Philip and their children at their silver wedding anniversary in 1972 (PA) Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, recalled how Philip used to read to the family in the evenings. Andrew said: Like any family of the day your parents went out to work during the day, but in the evening, just the same as any other family, we would get together, we would sit on the sofa as a group and he would read to us. Following the royals death, and in keeping with the Letters Patent issued when George VI gave Prince Philip the title in 1947, the Prince of Wales has now gained the title of Duke of Edinburgh. However, when Prince Charles ascends the throne, the title will merge with the crown and can be regranted. It is likely then to be passed on to his brother Prince Edward. Pilot Club of Jacksonville member Shelle Allen was drawn to the service organization by its mission to bring positive change to the community and its focus on brain health. The club will mark 70 years of making positive change in Jacksonville on Wednesday, though the small celebration planned wont happen until later this month. That Pilot Club also supports some of the communitys unsung heroes wasnt lost on Allen, who will take over as district governor on July 1. One of the biggest things, and one of the reasons I chose our club, our big thing is supporting caregivers, Allen said. They do so much and they dont do it for recognition, but its something Pilot is really good about. We want to recognize those people because they do so much for their loved ones. When nursing homes went into lockdown early in the pandemic, Pilot members provided food for the staff of a local nursing home. Even though its a job, theyre caregivers, Allen said. For me, personally, my daughter was very ill 10 years ago we had such love and support from our community. I knew I somehow wanted to give back to our community. I dont have millions of dollars to give, but what I do have is my time. I went to other service clubs, went to their meetings, but Pilot Club was so fitting for what I wanted to do. Pilot International got its start 100 years ago this year and the Jacksonville club was started 30 years later. While its always been about making a positive change in the community, the mission has evolved. Over the years, way back when before I ever joined, we were known at The Tree Ladies, member Vickie Austin said. Dutch elm disease took a lot of the elm trees in Jacksonville, and Pilot was responsible for replanting a lot of trees in the city parks. As time went on, the focus became more about brain injuries, brain disabilities. Weve done a number of things with that over the years, and its really been neat to be a part of that. To that end, the club provided iPads for Washington Elementary School to use with autistic students, items for a multi-sensory room at Pathway Services and equipment for a play-for-all park in South Jacksonville. Before technology outpaced their equipment, the club used to work with Jacksonville Police Department and Morgan County Sheriffs Office on a program known as Care Track, which provided bracelets for autistic children, dementia patients and others who were at risk if they wandered away from home. The bracelets allowed law enforcement to track those at-risk people and bring them home safely. Technology has kind of changed, but wed like to see that start up again in some fashion, Austin said. Pilot Club also has raised money for The Salvation Army, plays host to the free Concerts in the Park each summer in Community Park, funds mammograms for women who cant afford them, and has smaller monthly projects such as donating to a food bank, donating coats, and providing gift cards for meals to people struggling with health issues. Its a great service club, said Karla Stice, the clubs current president and a member since 2008. She soon will become district governor-elect, in line to take over the district leadership from Allen in July 2022. Weve done a lot of great things for Jacksonville and the surrounding community. But the service to her community isnt the only appeal, she said. Its more than that, she said. Its the friendships you develop over the years. One of my very best friends now is through being a member of Pilot Club; thats pretty meaningful. We dont really have any drama. We come to serve and have fun and thats what we do we put our heads together about what we want to do, and we work well together. The club pledged $35,000 to The Salvation Army for the new Citadel they had planned in Jacksonville. While the Citadel hasnt come to fruition, the club honored its pledge well in advance of its goal, Stice said. Thats a pretty big feat when you have a small club, she said. Among the clubs fundraisers are popular events such as the Taste of Chocolate and Dancing with the Stars, which draw broad support from the community, including members of other service clubs, Stice said. Karla Henderson is one of the clubs longest-serving members, having joined in 1993 and serving as Jacksonville club president and district governor during 2016-17. Her enthusiasm is what several members cite when explaining why they joined. I originally joined to do it with my daughter, Henderson said. We had a good time, traveled some together to meetings. There are so many things that make me feel good (about Pilot, including) the service for the community. Henderson has her own personal connections to Pilots support of brain health, and she tells a story about an encounter she had during a Pilot convention in Hawaii. During the convention, she was on a flight to a neighboring island and struck up a conversation with a father and son on the flight. The son asked why she was in Hawaii and she explained about Pilot. I told him it meant a lot to me personally because just about everybody in my family had a brain issue, Henderson said, explaining that her father had a stroke; her mother had organic brain syndrome, which led to symptoms similar to those of dementia; and her brother suffered epileptic seizures after hitting his head during gym class as a child. My daughter, when she had cancer, it started as breast cancer but it metastasized to the brain, she said. Pilots work makes her feel like shes doing good things for people, she said. One of my favorite things is to invite people to join Pilot, she said. They tell us to tell our own story and then people will be interested. In the instance in Hawaii, it worked. When the father and son were leaving the next day, the son stopped by Hendersons table. He came over and said, I want to donate $100. I have $100 left from my vacation fund and were leaving today. I wont spend it, she said. That was so nice, and that was just from my telling him my story and why I liked Pilot. Henderson also believes club membership has health benefits. Its real healthy for you, she said, noting that their conventions always include a memorial service for members who have died during the past year. Theyre usually in their 80s or 90s, she said. Theyve lived a great life. Pilot Club of Jacksonvilles official anniversary is Wednesday, though the club plans a small celebration April 28 during its regular monthly meeting. Pilot International is celebrating its 100th anniversary all year. Supreme Court Blocks Californias Restrictions on In-Home Religious Gatherings The Supreme Court has ruled against Californias COVID-related restrictions on in-home Bible study groups and other religious gatherings. The courts narrow 54 ruling on April 9 was in favor of a group of Santa Clara residents who asserted the restrictions violated the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Applicants are likely to succeed on the merits of their free exercise claim; they are irreparably harmed by the loss of free exercise rights for even minimal periods of time; the State has not shown that public health would be imperiled by employing less restrictive measures, an unsigned opinion of the courts majority said in its opinion. The ruling marks the fifth time the nations highest court has overruled the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on the states COVID-19 restrictions, including a February ruling that saw the court grant a worshippers application asking for restrictions on in-person religious services be rolled back. It is unsurprising that such litigants are entitled to relief. Californias Blueprint System contains myriad exceptions and accommodations for comparable activities, thus requiring the application of strict scrutiny, the majority wrote on April 9. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The blueprint system is the statewide criteria for loosening or tightening restrictions based on the level of CCP virus spread. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett made up the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts, another Republican-nominated justice, joined the courts liberal wing in dissenting, although he didnt sign on to the dissenting opinion authored by Justice Elena Kagan. Kagan said she would have rejected the application for relief because she felt the state complied with the First Amendment in its limiting religious gatherings in homes to three households since the state had the same restrictions on secular gatherings in homes. It has adopted a blanket restriction on at-home gatherings of all kinds, religious and secular alike. California need not, as the per curiam insists, treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salonsand thus unlike at-home secular gatherings, the obvious comparator here, she wrote. The original order in the case denying the application for relief came from U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who said that in light of the unique risks of gatherings in spreading COVID-19; the deaths and serious illnesses that result from COVID-19; and the overwhelming strain on the health care system, enjoining the state and county restrictions on in-home religious gatherings would not be in the public interest. The 9th Circuits panel upheld Kohs ruling, writing last month that appellants had not satisfied the requirements for the extraordinary remedy of an injunction pending appeal. Specifically, the panel held that appellants had not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits for their free exercise, due process, or equal protection claims, nor had they demonstrated that injunctive relief was necessary for their free speech claims, the panel wrote. Lawyers for the plaintiffs and defense didnt respond to requests for comment by press time. California had argued in a brief on April 8 that its policy regarding in-home gatherings applied to all gatherings, no matter their purpose, while also offering that the court didnt need to intervene because the state will relax restrictions later this month. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 23:14:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to Queen Elizabeth II on Friday to express his "deep condolences" on the death of her husband, Prince Philip. "Many important events in the modern history of your country are associated with the name of His Royal Highness. He rightfully enjoyed respect among the British and international authority," Putin said in the message. The Russian leader wished Queen Elizabeth II courage and mental fortitude, and also extended sincere sympathy to all members of the royal family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace announced earlier. Enditem New actors just starting off will sometimes claim to have many different skills to be considered for roles in films. The thinking is simple: an actor with more skills should have more offers. But one Chinese American actor set a clear limit early in her career. Olivia Liang made a promise to herself. She would never learn martial arts until someone paid her to do it. When I started off in the industry, people would ask me why martial arts was not (wasnt) on my resume, said Liang. She explains that many people expect Asian actors to have martial arts skills. However, having that ability could typecast an actor. Typecast means always to cast, or assign, a certain kind of actor the same kind of role. Liang kept her promise. She has learned martial arts as she takes the starring role in The CW Networks new series Kung Fu. And she got paid to do it. Kung Fu comes from the 1972 series starring David Carradine. It stars Liang as Nicky Shen. While visiting China she joins the Shaolin Temple where she learns Shaolin values and martial arts. After her teacher is killed, she returns home to find her community unsettled by a local gang. She must use the martial arts skills she learned to protect her neighborhood and family. Soon she discovers that she is being targeted by the same killer responsible for her teachers death. The CW network is based in the United States and is known for superhero shows. However, Liang says Kung Fu is different. Nicky is heroic, but she doesnt see herself as a hero, explained Liang. She sees bad things happening and feels like she needs to do something about it. The series has mostly Asian American actors. Also, the showrunner and executive producer in charge of the show is Christina M. Kim, an Asian American. The showrunner has creative control over a program. Im so excited that I get to give some people this opportunity to shine, said Kim. When Kim watched the first camera test for the show, she remembered thinking: Ive never seen the screen filled with Asian American faces like this is. Kim says the show has five writers of Asian ancestry. Half of the writers are also women. Kim says this is usually not the case. Usually, its just me and one other woman in a room. Playing Nicky's father, Jin, is actor Tzi Ma. He says it is wonderful to have so many people with Asian ties working on the show. The people making creative decisions on the show, he says, actually know the Asian experience. Not only is there representation on screen, but we back it up from our writers room to all our guest directors, said Ma. He added that it is something he has never seen in his long career as an actor. Ma hopes the authenticity of the series will help to change the public view of Asians. Currently hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise. The Asian American community is also paying attention -- not only to see their stories on television but to see how they are told. Valerie Soe is a professor in the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. She hopes the shows producers and writers will be careful with what imagery is presented to viewers. She thinks the gang storyline could be problematic. It could increase the stereotypes that all Asian men are gangsters or criminals. However, Soe says the series is generally a win for her because it gives one more example of an Asian American story. She uses a common expression to describe her feelings: The more the merrier. This means that the more people involved in something, the more fun, or merrier, it will be. Soe says, I think not everythings going to be exactly what we want. But, if you have a lot of different choices, then you dont expect everything from one. Im Anna Matteo. Alicia Rancilio wrote this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. ______________________________________________________ Words in This Story role -n. the character played by an actor martial arts -n. any one of several forms of fighting and self-defense (such as karate and judo) that are widely practiced as sports resume -n. a short document describing your education, work history, etc., that you give an employer when you are applying for a job gang -n. a group of criminals opportunity -n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done guest -n. person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor authenticity -n. the state of being true and accurate stereotype -n. to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same the more the merrier phase : used to say that more people are welcome or invited to do something fabulous -adj. very good ROCHESTER, Minn. - A longtime Med City nature educator is expressing concern about Rochester's plan to manage its geese population. This month the city's parks and recreation department will work with a wildlife management contractor and team of volunteers to addle goose eggs using oil, a process which prevents them from hatching. The activity is required to follow specific protocols recommended by PeTA and The Humane Society. The Humane Society says addling using oil is ethical as long as eggs have been incubated for less than two weeks. However Greg Munson, who served as the director of Quarry Hill Nature Center for 22 years, has concerns about the practice and believes there is a more ethical solution. Munson says on average, goose embryos take 28 days to fully develop. He says as they approach 14 days of incubation, embryos go through significant changes, leading him to believe oil addling is inhumane at that stage. Rather than oil addling, Munson believes eggs should be replaced with ceramic lookalikes as they're laid, ensuring embryos don't develop at all before being removed. The Humane Society calls this form of addling the "removal and replacement" method, another method it recommends. "The most humane way is to go in, take the eggs out before they start incubating, replace them, and then there has been no development whatsoever," Munson said. Munson tells KIMT he is confident geese at Silver Lake Park are already incubating their eggs, and starting to addle using oil by the middle of next week is not acceptable to him. "If their eggs were 11 or 12 days old when they go and oil them, and it takes three or four days, whatever it is, to asphyxiate or suffocate those young, I've got pictures that show an 11 and a 14 day old goose, and they look quite a bit like a goose." Rochester Parks and Recreations Department Director Paul Widman says the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have approved the procedures for the city's current addling plan. He adds staff have been in communication with these agencies for nearly a year. Widman also tells KIMT, "there will be plenty of nests untreated up and down stream of all the parks where this work will be conducted. We will not be treating nests that are on private property adjacent to the parks. We are likely to miss many nests in the four parks where this work will take place: Silver Lake, Cascade Lake, Foster Arend and Soldiers Field. This will result in many goslings present later this spring." The city's addling permit also requires it to submit a report summarizing the date, numbers, and locations of nests and eggs taken. Widman says the data will help inform control efforts going forward. "This work is being conducted to address two main issues of goose - human conflict: 1) Geese droppings making trails unnavigable, and park amenities such as picnic tables and playground equipment undesirable. 2) Goose feces which contributes to water contamination at public beaches," Widman said. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size A tour company best known for its Antarctic expeditions has begun to provide a new service offering flights to the aurora zone located close to the frozen continent. Chimu Adventures has chartered Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft and crew, which leave from several Australian cities including Sydney and Melbourne and head south to the region between Macquarie Island and Antarctica. There, passengers get to witness the Southern Lights, otherwise known as the Aurora Australis - the battle between electrically charged particles from the sun and earths magnetic field playing out. The Southern Lights. Credit:Nick Moir On Friday night, this photographer witnessed curtains of green and red dance across the heavens as the particles interacted with gases at an altitude of about 100 kilometres. At first, it is barely a green smudge on the black horizon. But as the aircraft speeds south, the shimmering ethereal curtains start to appear and disappear from horizon to horizon over the aircraft. Scientists and astronomers specialising in the phenomena are provided by the tour company to answer questions from the mixture of amateur photographers, retirees and travellers desperate for a unique sight rarely seen in mainland Australia. New Delhi: Intensifying their protest against the three farm laws, farmers blocked the Kundli Manesar Palwal expressway at some places in Haryana on Saturday. The blockade started at 8 am and would last 24 hours. Farmer unionsThe Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of protesting farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the agriculture-related legislations, on Friday gave a call for a 24-hour blockade of the KMP expressway. The 136-km-long expressway is also known as the Western Peripheral Expressway. Protesting farmers, however, said emergency vehicles will be allowed to ply. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal said the blockade would be for 24 hours. Haryana Police in the meanwhile issued a traffic advisory, asking travellers to avoid the KMP expressway. Farmers' protest Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Navdeep Singh Virk on Friday said elaborate arrangements were in place to maintain peace and order, prevent any kind of violence and facilitate traffic movement and public transport on the expressway. Traffic diversions have been planned by affected districts especially Sonipat, Jhajjar, Panipat, Rohtak, Palwal, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Nuh, Virk said. Passengers coming from Ambala/Chandigarh side on National Highway-44 may go towards UP's Ghaziabad and Noida via Karnal to Shamli and from Panipat to Sanauli. Vehicles going towards Gurgaon and Jaipur can take National Highway-71A from Panipat and travel via Gohana, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Rewari. HACLA Stands in Agreement with HUDs Withdrawal of Proposed Rule on Mixed Status Families Friday, April 2, 2021, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pubished a Federal Register notice that announced the Departments withdrawal of HUDs 2019 proposed rule on changes to the treatment of mixed status households receiving federal housing assistance. According to the notice, HUD has identified that the proposed rule is inconsistent with recent executive orders and the principles of advancing racial equity and improving immigration policies to better promote integration, inclusion, and paths to citizenship. The proposed rule, published on May 10, 2019, was seen as an attack on the immigrant community that would bar mixed-status families from residing in public housing and using Section 8 programs. Mixed-status families are households where member(s) who are eligible for public housing assistance live with member(s) who are ineligible for housing assistance due to their immigration status. Under this proposed rule, mixed-status households would have had to make the impossible choice between tearing their families apart or being evicted from their homes. ADVERTISEMENT During this time, HACLA collaborated and partnered with industry partners and California State Attorney General Xavier Becerras office to oppose the rule. Additionally, HACLA was in constant communication with its residents, encouraging everyone to participate in the public comment period and share how this proposed rule would impact their families and community. HACLA also submitted a comment, calling the rule punitive, inhumane, immoral, and void of fiscal responsibility. A total of 30,450 public comments were received overall. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles was always in opposition to this proposed rule, said HACLA CEO Doug Guthrie. Not only was it completely contrary to our mission to expand deeply affordable housing and improve the quality of life for Angelenos, but it also instilled fear and uncertainty among our residents. That is never something we could support. This Thursday, April 8, 2021 photo provided by the Marine Mammal Center shows an adult female gray whale that washed up on Muir Beach cause of death believe to be trauma due to ship strike. Four dead gray whales have washed ashore San Francisco Bay Area beaches in the last nine days and experts said Friday, April 9, 2021, one was struck by a ship. They were trying to determine how the other three died. "It's alarming to respond to four dead gray whales in just over a week because it really puts into perspective the current challenges faced by this species," says Dr. Padraig Duignan, Director of Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center.(The Marine Mammal Center via AP) Four dead gray whales have washed ashore San Francisco Bay Area beaches in the last nine days, with experts saying Friday one was struck by a ship. They were trying to determine how the other three died. "It's alarming to respond to four dead gray whales in just over a week because it really puts into perspective the current challenges faced by this species," says Dr. Padraig Duignan, Director of Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center. The carcass of a 41-foot (12.5 meter) adult female gray whale landed at San Francisco's Crissy Field on March 31. A second adult female was found last Saturday in Moss Beach in San Mateo County. A third was found Wednesday floating near the Berkeley Marina and the following day one washed up in Marin County's Muir Beach. The whales migrate 10,000 miles (16,090 kilometers) to winter off Mexico's waters, where they mate and birth calves near the coast of Baja California. They head back north and stay off the coast of California in spring and summer to feed on anchovies, sardines and krill before continuing on their northerly migration to cool, food-rich Arctic waters. In 2019, at least 13 dead whales washed ashore in the Bay Area and scientists said they feared it was because the animals were starving and couldn't complete their annual migration from Mexico to Alaska. Biologists have observed gray whales in poor body condition during their annual migration since 2019, when an "unusual mortality event" was declared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This Thursday, April 8, 2021 photo provided by the Marine Mammal Center shows an adult female gray whale that washed up on Muir Beach cause of death believe to be trauma due to ship strike. Four dead gray whales have washed ashore San Francisco Bay Area beaches in the last nine days and experts said Friday, April 9, 2021, one was struck by a ship. They were trying to determine how the other three died. "It's alarming to respond to four dead gray whales in just over a week because it really puts into perspective the current challenges faced by this species," says Dr. Padraig Duignan, Director of Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center. (The Marine Mammal Center via AP) Malnutrition, entanglement in fishing gear, and trauma from ship strikes have been the most common causes of death found by the center's research team in recent years. A necropsy of the whale found at Muir Beach revealed significant bruising and hemorrhaging to muscle around the whale's jaw and neck vertebrae consistent with blunt force trauma due to ship strike. But experts noted the whale was in good body condition based on the blubber layer and internal fat levels, the center said. Experts haven't determined how the other three whales died or if starvation was behind their deaths. Nearly one in four gray whales migrating along the U.S. West Coast has died since the last recorded population assessment in 2015 and 2016, according to NOAA. "This many dead whales in a week is shocking, especially because these animals are the tip of the iceberg," said Kristen Monsell, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Oceans program. This photo Thursday, April 8, 2021 photo provided by The Marine Mammal Center shows a subadult male gray whale on Angel Island State Park via San Francisco Bay, Berkeley Marina cause of death was undetermined. Four dead gray whales have washed ashore San Francisco Bay Area beaches in the last nine days and experts said Friday, April 9, 2021, one was struck by a ship. They were trying to determine how the other three died. "It's alarming to respond to four dead gray whales in just over a week because it really puts into perspective the current challenges faced by this species," says Dr. Padraig Duignan, Director of Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center. (The Marine Mammal Center via AP) Experts estimate the washed-up whales represent just 10 percent of the total number of the dead, with the rest sinking into the sea unnoticed by humans. Monsell said California lawmakers need to require fishing gear that doesn't use rope, and federal regulators should set mandatory speed limits for ships. "Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements kill many whales that we never see," she said. Her organization is suing the federal government to get speed limits in shipping lanes off California, Monsell added. Explore further Two dead whales wash up on Bangladesh beach 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Secondary schools will fully reopen on May 10 after final exams have taken place, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. The prime minister also said that the operative board responsible for measures to control the epidemic had also decided that the exams will be written only. He noted that last year, too, the school-leaving exams were confined to written papers and this should be the case this year to keep matters fair and consistent. Orban noted that the British coronavirus variant was more aggressive and destructive than the variant that had spread during the first wave of the pandemic. During the first wave, lockdowns and isolation were enough to rid the country of the epidemic for two to three months, he said. But the British variant was different, he added, and lockdowns could only slow down its transmission, while only vaccines could get rid of it. We have been living under warlike conditions for a year, under conditions that people knew only from their grandparents stories and films, he said. Government experts have said that peacetime can only be restored if the virus is defeated with the help of vaccination, he added. MTI Photo: Tibor Rosta Gwen Soderberg-Chase is the executive director of Douglas County Partners for Student Success and the Umpqua Valley STEAM Hub. She has been an educator in Douglas County for more than 40 years and is currently an Associate Professor of Education at Umpqua Community College. She also serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Umpqua Valley. First, the good news: The United States reported a record-high 4.6 million doses of vaccines administered in one day, according to data published Saturday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Amazing Saturday! +4.63M doses administered over total yesterday, a new record," tweeted Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, the White House Covid-19 data director. "More than 500K higher than old record last Saturday. Incredible number of doses administered." The problem is that more than 75% of the US population isn't fully vaccinated, according to CDC data Saturday. Now the bad news: For the third straight week, new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing, according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walenky. "Cases and emergency room visits are up," Walensky said Friday. "We are seeing these increases in younger adults, most of whom have not yet been vaccinated." The B.1.1.7 variant isn't just more contagious than the original strain of coronavirus -- it's now the dominant strain the US. Experts say the B.1.1.7 variant might cause more severe disease and may also be more deadlier. In the past week, the US averaged more than 68,000 new Covid-19 cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That's up more than 20% since the March 10 seven-day average. Nationwide, more Americans age 18 to 64 have gone to emergency departments for Covid-19 complications, Walensky said. She said the trends are "magnified" in one part of the country: the Upper Midwest. "CDC is working closely with public health officials in this region to understand what is driving these cases and how we can intervene," Walensky said. 'A life and death race' Florida has the highest number of reported B.1.1.7 cases, according to the CDC, followed by Michigan, which is reporting thousands of new Covid-19 cases daily. Michigan health officials say they're in the middle of another Covid-19 surge. "This B.1.1.7 variant...is more contagious, and I think there's just fatigue from this pandemic out there so a lot of people don't wear masks, don't social distance, so we've basically taken a step back in Michigan," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "It's really frustrating, because we're almost there," he said. "We have to hang in there for the next two months and we're not doing that." Some Michigan hospitals are delaying and rescheduling non-emergency procedures on a "case-by-case basis," a spokesperson for the Michigan Health & Hospital Association said. "Hospitals want everyone to get the care they need and only reschedule procedures as a last resort," John Karasinski said. "We want to stress that hospitals are safe for all who need care and any individual with an emergency medical need should seek care immediately." In both Michigan and Minnesota, "there is concern about transmission in youth sports -- both club sports, as well as sports affiliated in schools," Walensky said Friday. Minnesota health officials warned the state was seeing a "sharp increase" in Covid-19 cases, saying it's "more important than ever" to keep wearing a mask and physical distancing. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the number of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions in his state are all rising. "We're moving now in the wrong direction," DeWine said Thursday. "More than half of our counties, 53, have seen increases." "We can still turn this around if more people continue to get vaccinated," he said. "This is a race. We are in a race. And it's a life-and-death race." New York loosens physical distancing rules for some students By contrast, New York is seeing a drop in hospitalizations and its lowest 7-day average positivity rate since early December, according Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office. Hospitalizations are the lowest since December 2 at 4,083, while New York's statewide positivity rate dipped just below 3%. New York City's 7-day positivity rate also dropped to its lowest level since December 1, hitting 3.58%, the governor's office said. Those numbers, combined with recent CDC guidance, prompted the New York Health Department to update its physical distancing rules from 6 feet to 3 feet for elementary, middle, and high schools with low and moderate risk of Covid-19 transmission. Schools with substantial risk of transmission may also maintain a distance of 3 feet but must also implement cohorting when possible. Cohorting is when groups of students are kept together and with the same staff throughout the day to reduce the spread of Covid-19, according to the CDC. Middle and high schools with high risk of transmission must maintain 6 feet apart when cohoritng is not possible, the state said. However, high-risk elementary schools can still follow the 3 foot requirement. "Evidence indicates that there is lower susceptibility and incidence of COVID-19 among younger children than compared to teenagers; therefore, in-person instruction represents less risk of on-site transmission in elementary schools compared to middle and high schools," the health department said. There are still some times when 6 feet must be maintained, the state said, including between students and teachers, between students when they are eating, and when students are in common areas outside of classrooms such as in gymnasiums, cafeterias and hallways, according to the new rules. These new social distancing guidelines come after the CDC made similar recommendations in March. CNN has reached out to the New York Department of Education and the New York City Department of Education for comment. More proof that vaccines are safe and effective While more young, unvaccinated adults get hospitalized with Covid-19, the number of elderly Americans getting hospitalized or dying from Covid-19 keeps decreasing. Health experts say that's because elderly people are more likely to be vaccinated than younger adults. More than 78% of people age 65 and over have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 60% have been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. And there's growing evidence showing how safe the vaccines are for adults of all age groups. Fewer than 1 in 28,000 people who got a Covid-19 vaccine -- or less than 0.004% -- have reported serious adverse reactions, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services' Vaccines Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. Vaccine providers "are encouraged to report any clinically significant health problem following vaccination to VAERS, whether or not they believe the vaccine was the cause," the VAERS website said. The good news is even when severe reactions do happen, "they usually happen in the first 30 minutes," said vaccinologist Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine. "That's why vaccine sites keep people there for 15 to 30 minutes afterward," he said. The CDC recommends people who have had a history of severe allergic reactions stay for 30 minutes after vaccination. Others could leave after 15 minutes. All places administering vaccines must be armed with epinephrine to quickly combat any cases of anaphylaxis, the CDC said. The Surgeon General said there are simple steps to end this pandemic: "One: Get vaccinated as soon as you can," Dr. Vivek Murthy said. "And two: Help the people you care about get vaccinated as well." SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTHI) - The City of Sullivan is asking for community help for the Sullivan city pool project. Mayor Clint Lamb told News 10 it will take a partnership between the city and the community to fund this project. He says parks and recreation is at the top of the list for Sullivan's development priorities. This is in partnership with the Wabash Valey Community Foundation. You can donate at Sullivan City Hall. Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations, has called on the international community to make constructive contributions to help Myanmar prevent violence, promote an environment conducive to dialogue and reconciliation while respecting the country's principles of independence, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity. Myanmar police tighten security in Yangon city (Photo: VNA) During an Arria-formula online meeting of the UN Security Council member states which was co-chaired by the UK, the US, Estonia, France, Ireland and Norway on April 9, Ambassador Quy urged supporting the role of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General on Myanmar and creating favourable conditions for the envoy's working trip to Myanmar. He stressed the top priority to ensuring life, security and safety of all, and unobstructed humanitarian aid to those in need of help, especially vulnerable groups in society. He called on parties concerned in Myamar to refrain from violent acts, conduct dialogues and reconciliation according to will and aspirations of the people, for the sake of peace and stability in the region. Quy affirmed that Myanmar is a member state of the ASEAN family and the bloc is ready to help the country in a constructive and peaceful manner via related mechanisms. ASEAN member states, including Vietnam, has been working with parties concerned in Myanmar to promote dialogue and seek solutions to the issue, he said. He also called on the international community to support ASEANs efforts and stance, and wished that discussions at the UN and relevant important issues need consultations with ASEAN member countries and others in the region. Rapporteurs at the event expressed concern over current situation in Myanmar and warned about the risks of economic, food and health crises as well as a civil war. Many opinions called for refraining from violence and preventing tension escalation, while asking to settle differences and disputes via dialogue and reconciliation that meet Myanmar people aspirations. Arria-formula meeting is an informal meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss important and emerging issues with the participation of countries in and outside the UNSC as well as related organisations./. VNA On Friday the Biden administration revealed the outlines of a proposed $1.52 trillion discretionary federal spending budget for the fiscal year 2022. The budget is separate from previously misnamed coronavirus relief bills, as well as Bidens proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan and is considered a starting point for negotiations with the Republicans. The proposed budget will likely be modified dramatically before it is actually approved and implemented by October 1, when the new fiscal year starts. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the proposals represented the beginning of what we know is a long journey. In announcing the proposal, Shaldana Young, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said that the budget reflected a chance not simply to go back to the way things were before the Covid-19 pandemic and economic downturn struck, but to begin building a better, stronger, more secure, more inclusive America. Biden speaks at The Queen theater, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, in Wilmington, Del. [Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum] One aspect that all sections of the ruling class are in agreement is increasing the gargantuan US military budget. This comes after a year in which more US citizens, over 570,000 as of this writing, died from COVID-19 than died in World War II, Vietnam and the Korean War combined. Despite increasing military spending by nearly $13 billion, to $753 billion, apologists for the Democratic Party are hailing the proposed increase in domestic spending, from $663.7 billion to $769.4 billion, as a sign of the progressive character of the Biden administration. The increase in domestic spending across every single cabinet department is not a sign of departure from the previous administration, but a recognition of the shared priorities of the ruling class in combating global competitors, namely China. The proposed increase in spending in education and health care, as outlined in a letter to shareholders by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jaime Dimon earlier this week, demonstrates that spending has very little to do with improving the health and minds of the population but instead at ensuring the US military is able to fulfill its recruitment quotas. In his letter, Obamas favorite banker noted that while American high schools graduate approximately 85% of its students, many of our inner city schools dont graduate half of their students. This, coupled with a reduction in life expectancy, due to increases in diabetes, cancer, stroke and obesity, led Dimon to note an alarming statistic. Seventy percent of todays youth (ages 17-24) are not eligible for military service, essentially due to a lack of proper education (basic reading and writing skills) or health issues (commonly obesity or diabetes). This is what is driving the increase in domestic spending outlined by the Biden administration, which does not include any proposed tax hikes on the ill-gotten wealth of financial oligarchy. This is to be expected after Biden received donations from 230 US billionaires for his presidential campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. This represents 25 percent of US billionaires, including nearly $53,000 from Judy Dimon, wife of Jaime Dimon. Comparatively, Trump received donations from roughly 14 percent of US billionaires. Even the modest 15 percent minimum tax on large, profitable corporations proposed in Bidens infrastructure plan is a significant reduction from his campaign proposal. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department revealed that the proposed tax, which only applies to companies with income exceeding $2 billion, up from the $100 million Biden proposed during the campaign, would only affect 180 companies, with only 45 eligible to pay the tax. Likewise, Biden has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate by an insignificant 7 percent to 28 percent. The figure is still seven percent lower than it was in 2016, and 18 percent lower than the 1986 corporate tax rate of 46 percent under President Ronald Reagan. In an effort to keep schools open and parents on the job producing surplus value for the ruling class, the budget proposes that the Education Department receive a 40.8 percent increase in funding to $102.8 billion, with $36.5 billion set aside for so-called Title 1 grants, which were slashed under the Obama administration. This relatively modest increase in school funding is not enough to compensate for the decades of cuts to education. The budget proposes a 23.1 percent boost in base funding to the Department of Health and Human Services, totaling $133.7 billion, including $6.5 billion for a proposed Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health inside the National Institutes of Health. Modeled after the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the program would pursue research in diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimers. However, if it is anything like DARPA, it will be used to funnel millions of dollars to politically connected contractors. The budget also includes a proposed $1.6 billion increase in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget, up to $8.7 billion and $10.7 billion for research and opioid addiction prevention, a nearly $4 billion increase from the previous year. Attempting to give the proposal a progressive veneer, the word climate is repeated 151 times throughout the proposal. $14 billion is proposed to be allocated to measures meant to allegedly combat climate change, but in reality they will contribute to further destruction of the planet. The $14 billion is spread across federal agencies and would be used to subsidize the electric auto industry through the purchase of fleets of electric vehicles, the building of charging stations, renovating federal buildings and providing tax credits. Continuing the bipartisan assault on immigrants, the budget includes $52 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with an additional $1.2 billion allocated to expanding the police-state apparatus with investments in border security technology. The DHS and Department of Justice are also slated to receive an additional $111 million. $45 million is earmarked to the FBI for domestic terrorism investigations, according to the Hill, with another $40 million for US attorneys to compensate for increasing domestic terrorism caseloads. Demonstrating the fact that the January 6 coup attempt involved elements within the state and DHS, the budget also set aside $84 million to ensure that DHS workforce complaints, including those related to white supremacy or ideological and non-ideological beliefs, are investigated expeditiously. According to a press release from the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) on Thursday, three people in Cambridge, Ontario, have been arrested after an investigation into the drug overdose death of a toddler to whom they are linked on December 1. Three arrested after a boy died from a drug overdose in Ontario Local law enforcement responded to a 911 call about a young male, age 2, in trouble at a Winter Court residence in Cambridge around noon on December 1, 2020. "This is a really tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the families and the whole community," WRPS public relations officer Cherri Greeno told Newsweek. According to WRPS, law enforcement arrested a 59-year-old man and two females, aged 54 and 29, on Thursday and charged them with criminal negligence, as per Kitchener. The three people were all from Cambridge, although their identities have not yet been revealed. According to the police department's report, the toddler was discovered by Emergency Services without any vital signs and was then pronounced dead. The death inquiry was made possible by collaborating with the WRPS Major Crime Unit officers and the coroner's office. South Carolina Shooting: Police Puzzle Why Ex-NFL Pro Philip Adams Killed Dr. Robert Lesslie and Family The drug suspected for the toddler's overdose is yet to be confirmed. "We are constrained on the details we are willing to disclose because this case is still underway and is currently in front of the justice system," Greeno said. WRPS said all three people connected to the toddler would appear in court on Friday at Kitchener's Ontario Court of Justice. Meanwhile, WRPS's August 4 media release indicated that another toddler died in the Waterloo area last August, and the death was investigated as a murder-suicide. Police were called to a home on Forsyth Drive in Waterloo around 9 A.M. on July 31, where they discovered a 2-year-old boy and his 38-year-old mother in medical distress. The responding officers and paramedics "performed life-saving procedures," the statement said, before taking the two to the hospital. On August 2, the toddler "succumbed to his injuries" and died. The next day, the mother "surrendered to her injuries" and died. Police were not searching for any more suspects at the time of the investigation, and the child's death was being investigated as a murder by the WRPS Major Crime Unit. WRPS is urging those with relevant information to the pending inquiry into the 2-year-old's drug overdose death to call them or notify Crime Stoppers. 1 Dead, 5 Others Shot In Texas Cabinet Plant Shooting; Suspect In Custody The latest case of a drug overdose of a 2-year-old boy In another case, a mother and father have been charged with first-degree murder in the suspected drug overdose death of their 2-year-old son in a Kansas City suburb. Shelly Vallejo, 29, and Jean Morales, 26, both of Shawnee, were in court for the first time on Friday. They are both charged with aggravated child endangerment and a criminal allegation of using Fentanyl, a toxic synthetic drug that may be fatal if misused. Both are being held in custody on a $1 million bail, WIBW via MSN reported. Boy Dies After Jumping From 15-Story Apartment Building, Landing on a Car in New York @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. One of the drawings by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh that will be on display at three county locations during The Berkshire Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Forces One Book, One Community Celebration 2021. Meghan McCain defended her stance against abortion following criticism from a pro-abortion organization. Captured by Christian Headlines, "The Chat" tweeted a video clip of Sara Haines, McCain's co-host in "The View," quoting her statement about vaccine passports. "I cannot argue privacy on a public health issue like this when I don't understand how the most private thing in my body - my uterus - seems to be open for business when it is convenient politically," she said. Haines did not mention McCain and the latter did not respond as well. But "The Chat" included a comment, saying, "Sara to Meghan McCain," hitting the conservative Republican over her pro-life belief. Planned Parenthood then retweeted it, adding fire emojis. McCain replied to Planned Parenthood, defending her stance. "I believe life begins at conception - I will NEVER apologize or back down from defending the rights of the most vulnerable in our society, the unborn," McCain said. I believe life begins at conception - I will NEVER apologize or back down from defending the rights of the most vulnerable in our society, the unborn. https://t.co/fmF0Zgj443 Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) April 7, 2021 Pro-life advocates then applauded McCain, Christian Headlines noted. "Thank you for standing up for women & children, Meghan!" Live Action said. "Life begins at conception and ends at Planned Parenthood," Susan B. Anthony List stated. McCain continued by adding another tweet, stating, "Always. Abortion is murder." When some commenters argued that pro-life individuals only care about babies before birth but not after they're born, Live Action refuted the claim, enumerating pro-life groups' contribution to society. "In a single year, PRO-LIFE Pregnancy Resource Centers: Served 1.85M people, Provided $267M in FREE services, Gave parenting courses to 313,328, Provided 1,290,079 packs of diapers, Supplied 2,033,513 baby outfits. Not one is run by a 'pro-choice' advocate," Live Action tweeted. Daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, she has always been vocal about her stance against abortion. In 2019, McCain was presented with "Defender of Life" award by the Americans United for Life (AUL), a group that opposes abortion rights. AUL President and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster said that the organization admired "McCain's courage in the cause of life," upholding the Planned Parenthood to be defunded and supporting the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. In a February 2020 interview, McCain confronted Pete Buttigieg over his "radical" pro-choice view. He stood by his opinion but McCain warned that it would "hurt" him, trying to win over the Republicans. However, Buttigieg dropped out from the race as a Democratic presidential nominee the following month. On Jan. 28, Biden rescinded the Mexico City Policy. The policy states that in order for foreign NGOs to receive funding for global family planning from the U.S. government, they must certify that they will not "perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning" using funding from any source. Also known as the "gag order," it was first introduced by Ronald Reagan during an international conference on population in 1984. Since then, Republican presidents have been supporting the policy while Democratic presidents would seek for its reversal. Biden's action was criticized by pro-life leaders. Jean Mancini, president of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund, said that the move went against the "wishes" of the majority of the American people, wherein 77% of the citizens opposed the federal funding of abortion overseas. Further, Rep. Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-life Caucus, stated that the grant money allotted for the U.S. foreign policy and the country's foreign entities should "affirm, care for, and tangibly assist women and children - including unborn baby girls and boys." ADVERTISEMENT A former Chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area in Kaduna State, Isah Danssallah, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Danssallah cross carpeted to the APC on Sartuday at Afogo, his political ward in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna State. Addressing party members and executives, he said, It is with great pleasure and reverence to God that I resolve to come back to APC which I left to join the PDP. The decision and resolve is predicated upon my desire to continue contributing meaningfully to the success of the party in Kajuru, the state, and beyond, as I did during my tenure as the first interim chairman in 2015. I have come back to the APC because of its progressive nature, as well as the existence of men of calibre and focus that are piloting its affairs at all levels of the party in the state and country at large. I have come to know that the PDP has lost touch with reality. Earlier, in his remarks, The Chairman of Kajuru LGA, Cafra Caino, said Mr Danssallah had been a dedicated politician who had fought for the existence of APC in the locality. Represented by Hope Alexander, the wards councillor, Mr Caino, expressed joy at the return of Mr Dansallah to the APC, describing him as a leader worthy of emulation. Also speaking, Maza Yari, chairman of Afogo ward of the party, commended Mr Danssallah and his supporters on their return to the ruling party. Danssallah did very well when he was the interim chairman of Kajuru in the first APC administration in 2015 before he decamped to the opposition party. We are happy to receive him back again. You have worked tirelessly and brought us development during your administration. As you now return to us, we urge you to continue doing the needful in order to move Kajuru and Kaduna State in general forward, Mr Yari said. (NAN) Lewis Hamilton has been the most successful F1 driver of all time since last season. There is no arguing about that anymore. He has won the most Grands Prix, was on pole position the most times and now has as many world titles as Michael Schumacher. But is he also the best driver of all time? "I don't know," said Jacques Villeneuve when asked by Corriere della Sera if he is better than Schumacher and Senna. "Michael and Ayrton won with cars that were not meant to win, in complicated situations, without the support of the team. Lewis, on the other hand, has always dominated with the best equipment and with internal support. We should see him without these two conditions". Read more Hamilton's win in Bahrain marks the 300th victory for a Briton in F1 It is indeed true that no team has ever been as dominant as Mercedes in the period that Lewis Hamilton drives there. Even in Michael Schumacher's dominant period, there were only two seasons that compare to this (2002 and 2004). It is also true that Hamilton has had a winning car at his disposal from the beginning of his career. Is Villeneuve right? Still, you would be selling the Briton short if you argue that he has only won races with the best car. From 2009 to 2013 that was certainly not the case and even then Hamilton won at least one Grand Prix in every season. Thanks to his latest win in Bahrain, Hamilton has therefore equalled one of Schumacher's records once again. Both champions have now won a Grand Prix in fifteen consecutive seasons. That puts them in a unique position. Alain Prost is in third place with ten seasons. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 18:44:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 shook Davao Occidental province in the southern Philippines on Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. The quake, which struck at 5:30 p.m. local time, hit at a depth of 314 km, about 148 kilometers southwest to Sarangani town, said Phivolcs, explaining the quake was tectonic in origin. The quake will trigger aftershocks but will not cause damage, said Phivolcs. The tremor was also felt in Alabel town in Sarangani province as well as in the Mindanao region. The Philippines has frequent seismic activity due to its location along the Pacific "Ring of Fire." Enditem ldiers of the People's Liberation Army are seen before a giant screen as Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks at the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. (Jason Lee/Reuters) Chinese Leader Xi Jinping Signals Return to the Mao Era Analysis April 4, 2021, Easter Day, was the same day as the Ching Ming Festival in China, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, the day when the Chinese honor ancestors and families gather to pay respect to the dead. On this day, the Chinese regime quietly opened the grave of former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Mao Zedongs wife Jiang Qing, but blocked that of former General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who stepped down because of his opposition to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. This opening of one and closing of another released an important political signal. On April 4, Chinese writer Gao Falin tweeted: At this moment, it is the morning of April 4 in China. I received a post: Tomb-sweeping Day today. Strange things in Beijingthere are many people paying homage to Jiang Qing. The passage to Ziyangs grave has been guarded and no one is allowed to approach it. The next day, Cai Xia, a former professor of the Communist Party School currently in exile in the United States, reposted this tweet and explained: People are not allowed to pay homage to the grave of Zhao Ziyang, and the grave of Jiang Qing is open to the public. This tells clearly who the CCP authorities admire and fear. Jiang Qing: Implementer of the Cultural Revolution Jiang Qing, formerly known as Li Yunhe, Mao Zedongs last wife, was Maos vanguard in launching the Cultural Revolution. With her special status, Jiang Qing had been at the forefront since Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966. She incited civil strife and persecuted dissidents. On many occasions, she played the role of Maos spokesperson. After Maos death in 1976, Jiang Qing was arrested as a member of the Gang of Four and sentenced to death with a suspended sentence. In 1991, she committed suicide in Beijing Qincheng Prison. Since then, Jiang Qing has been taboo for the CCP. Since the era of Deng Xiaoping, the CCP has held a negative attitude toward the Cultural Revolution. People have not been allowed to visit Jiang Qings tomb. Now the CCP has opened the site Jiang Qings grave to the public, which is considered to be a strong signal that Xi Jinping will return to the Mao era. Jiang Qing was also an important promoter of revolutionary operas during the Cultural Revolution. Revolutionary operas, or model operas, are reformed traditional Chinese Peking operas with modern musical elements. The contents were all red plays that promote the CCP. In that era, all traditional Chinese operas were forbidden. Jiang Qing used model operas to change traditional art and made it a weapon for persecuting dissidents. In July this year, the CCPs theatrical performances celebrating the centenary of the founding of the party will once again stage those red model operas. In this regard, NTD current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan believes that Xi Jinping is launching a soft cultural revolution. He said, Xis promotion of the model operas marks that he has launched a campaign to purge the ideological and literary circles from now until he completes his reelection. Zhao Ziyang: The CCPs Biggest Taboo Zhao Ziyang, one of the general secretaries of the CCP in Deng Xiaopings era, was an important promoter of political reforms. Because his proposals were different from Dengs economic reforms, Deng called him a liberal and refused to accept him. During the 1989 student movement, Zhao was ousted because he sympathized with the students, opposed repression, and exposed his conflict with Deng to the international community. Zhao was placed under house arrest until his death in 2005. After Zhaos death, his ashes were kept at his Beijing residence until his families were allowed to bury him with his wife on Oct. 18, 2019. His wife, Liang Boqi, died in 2013. Because Zhao Ziyangs reform proposals won the hearts of the people, a large number of people go to Zhaos former residence to mourn each year on the anniversary of his death. It is considered a sensitive time, and the CCP always sends a large number of police officers to block the road. In this regard, Li Yanming, a current affairs commentator on the China issue in the United States, believes that Zhao represents public opinion to a certain extent and poses a threat to the CCP. According to a tweet by Chinese independent journalist Gao Yu, the CCP has notified Zhaos family to move out of his Beijing residence. Gao Yu posted relevant pictures on Twitter and left a message saying: Today is Ching Ming, packed boxes are in every room of this residence which Ziyangs family has been using for 32 years. Is this the last Ching Ming in this courtyard? Xi Returns to the Mao System for Centralization Xi is the second party leader since Mao Zedong to hold the power of the party, government, and military. In 2017, in the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was written into the party constitution, making Xi the second party leader with an ideological system in the history of the CCP. He was dubbed Xi Zedong. Chen Daoyin, a Shanghai-based political scholar, believes that although Xi Jinping Thought was written into the party constitution, the long qualifier shows that his actual power has not reached the height of Maos. Li Yanming indicated that if Xi Jinping wants to completely retain power, in addition to continuously attacking opposition forces in the party through his campaign of anti-corruption, he must also firmly control the nations ideology, and Mao Zedongs high-handed and centralized rule is the best model. In this regard, Li Yanming commented: Xi Jinping must abandon Deng Xiaopings reform ideas if he wants to return to the Mao era. Economic development will help the CCP gain support from the people, but the CCP must not make political concessions. Borrowing what Xi said at the end of 2018, it is, We must resolutely reform what should and can be changed, we must resolutely not reform what shouldnt and cant be changed. In fact, Xi Jinpings plan to return to the Mao era is already in progress. For example, on Sept. 15 2020, the General Office of the Central Committee of the CCP issued Opinions on Strengthening the United Front Work of the Private Economy in the New Era, requiring private enterprises to always be politically sensible, encouraging private enterprises to participate in mixed ownership reforms, accept the united front, and actively participate in major strategies, including participation in the Belt and Road initiative. As early as Sept. 20, 2019, the officials of Hangzhou, where large Chinese companies gathered, announced that they would deploy 100 government officials to 100 companies including Alibaba, Hikvision Digital Tech, Geely Auto, and Wahaha Group. They would become the first batch of Government Affairs Representatives in 100 key companies. Although Xi Jinping has adopted various methods to prepare for a full return to the Mao era, whether he can be reelected at the 20th National Congress of the CCP next year is still a big question. NTDs current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan believes that if Xi wants to completely abolish Deng Xiaopings line, it is tantamount to cutting off the idea of taking turns to be the leader of the powerful families of the CCP. Whats facing him will be a frantic counterattack from many political opponents. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. KUALA LUMPUR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2021 ) :At least 20 civilians in Myanmar lost their lives during protests in the region of Bago against the recent military coup that saw numerous elected government officials detained, local media reported on Saturday. Soldiers in the Ma Ga Dit district opened fire on demonstrators, leading to the deaths of at least 20 people, according to eyewitnesses. It was reported that the soldiers gathered the bodies of those killed at a Buddhist temple in the county."Local media confirmed 20 casualties so far, but the civilians we contacted in the region claim that at least 60 people died. We heard that the clashes continued until midnight and that the bodies of the killed civilians were hidden in military vehicles," activist Keren Khin told Anadolu Agency. In their desperation, the junta want to suppress the protestors by stepping up the violence as much as possible, Khin added.Underlining that the army used heavy ammunition against the civilians, Khin said thousands of locals had abandoned their homes, with many more on the verge of doing the same. Myanmar's military seized power on Feb. 1, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and ending the country's brief experiment with democratic rule. In response to the coup, civilian groups across the country launched a civil disobedience campaign with mass demonstrations and sit-ins. (Natural News) The far-left American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has claimed to stand for constitutional freedom over the years but have frequently failed to live up to their mandate. (Article by Shane Trejo republished from TheBigLeaguePolitics.com) A recent update to the ACLUs privacy policy has exposed that the group is sharing sensitive information about donors to service providers such as Facebook and Google. Former Obama White House senior advisor Ashkan Soltani exposed the ACLU in a Twitter thread: Yesterday, @ACLU updated their privacy statement to finally disclose that they share constituent information with service providers like @Facebook for targeted advertising, flying in the face of the orgs public advocacy and statements. (1/11)https://t.co/jOT85NVdfM pic.twitter.com/hKu5JYMXYS ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 2, 2021 Soltani exposed how the ACLU has withheld information from the public in order to avoid being labeled as hypocrites for their data policy: Unfortunately, after reviewing my findings, the ACLU decided against publishing my report and instead sat on it for ~6 months before quietly updating their terms of service and privacy policy without explanation for the context or motivations for doing so. (3/11) ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 2, 2021 He showed how the ACLU has pumped nearly half a million dollars into Google in the past couple years and even more money into Facebook: For example, public transparency data from Google shows that @ACLU has paid Google nearly half a million dollars to deliver targeted advertisements since 2018 (when the data first was made public) https://t.co/h5k8tPlVoa (5/11) pic.twitter.com/Mpvt8Uuj6L ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 2, 2021 Soltani demonstrated how the ACLU was deliberately misrepresenting themselves to the public while claiming they support privacy rights: These relationships fly against the principles and public statements of the ACLU regarding transparency, control, and disclosure before use, even as the organization claims to be a strong advocate for privacy rights at the federal and state level https://t.co/FHMqIQbwlY (7/11) pic.twitter.com/sQLuO2CXZn ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 2, 2021 He noted how the ACLU has been investigated for their deceptive privacy policy in the past. They have also lobbied against stronger privacy protections in at least one instance: And to be clear, the practices described would very much constitute a sale of members PII under the CPRA. The irony is not lost on me that the ACLU vehemently opposed the CPRAthe toughest state privacy law in the countrywhen it was proposed (9/11)https://t.co/GWLf6E1IRB ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 2, 2021 Soltani is calling for non-profit organizations to be forced under law to respect the privacy rights of their supporters: My experience with @ACLU further amplifies the need to have strong legal privacy protections that *apply to nonprofits* as well as businesses partially since many of the underlying practices, particularly in the area of fundraising and advocacy, are similar if not worse (11/11) ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 2, 2021 Big League Politics has reported on the shameful anti-1st Amendment hypocrisy of the ACLU, as they support the glorification of Satan in the public square while demanding for Christians to be shuttered: Because of the subversive work of the far-left American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the dark lord is now being honored in the public square. Satanic Temple member Iris Fontana, thanks to successful lawfare efforts by the ACLU, won the right to say a demonic prayer where she proclaimed Hail Satan to start a government meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough in Alaska. That which will not bend, must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared as demise. It is done, hail Satan, Fontana said as part of an invocation to start the government meeting, according to local radio station KSRM. A dozen officials and other attendees walked out of the proceedings while Satan was being glorified on the public dime. Around 40 protesters were outside demonstrating against the despicable display. They held signs with messages such as reject Satan and his works and know Jesus and his love. God will be pleased with our public prayers of reparation. We want Gods blessings on America, not Satans curses. Lucifer is the eternal loser. Lets keep him out, protester William Siebenmorgen told KSRM. The ACLU of Alaska sued the Borough following a policy issued in 2016 stating that those who wanted to give invocations at public meetings were required to be a part of official organizations that had an established presence on the Kenai Peninsula. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled last October that this policy was unconstitutional, overriding local control and thus allowing this Satanic prayer to be read. As leftists become more open about their sanctification of the dark lord, America is embracing abominable practices that put even Sodom and Gomorrah to shame. The ACLUs cowardice is emblematic of Leftism as a whole. They defended civil liberties right up to the moment when those freedoms needed to be defended. Read more at: TheBigLeaguePolitics.com and Deception.news. Israel reported significant progress last month on an underground fence around the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Officials say Israel is close to completing the underground component and can see the finish line with the above-ground elements (roughly 80% complete). Once fully assembled, the three-layered barrier may be the most sophisticated barrier in the world. The threat to Israel from Gaza and other adjacent territories has been constant. Suicide bombings by Hamas, Fatah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad during the Second Intifada prompted Israel to build a barrier to control border crossings. This inspired Hamas to instead construct and fire thousands of crude rockets into Israel. In response, Israel developed the Iron Dome missile defense system (and others for longer range threats). Frustrated again, Hamas began digging commando tunnels for fighters to reach Israel to gather intelligence, conduct terrorist attacks, or even launch surprise, coordinated assaults. The Israelis first understood the need for such a barrier during the 2014 Gaza conflict, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, after uncovering several commando tunnels. But it was not until 2016 that Israel set out to build this complex, multilayer barrier. The new border fence has three levels: a deep underground layer, an upper fence physical layer, and an upper hi-tech layer that includes detection devices like robots, drones, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and more. They are all equipped with visual, electronic and intelligence equipment and powered by artificial intelligence. And they all operate through command-and-control bases along the barrier. The physical upper layer of the Gaza barrier is similar to what Israel erected along the Egyptian border. It stretches across the entire 40-mile border with the coastal enclave. All of the elements are not yet public. But Israeli officials say it is adaptable to a range of threats. The underground layer includes a high-tech cement wall extending tens of meters beneath the ground (the exact depth is not public). It is equipped with a multi-dimensional sensor net to detect any activity near, at, or under the barrier. The barrier even stretches into the Mediterranean Sea to stymie Hamas naval commandos from penetrating Israel, as occurred at Zikim Beach during the 2014 conflict. Israel also set out to detect and destroy existing tunnels. In total, more than 20 were found and neutralized. At the start, the Israel Defense Force harbored concerns that Hamas might accelerate efforts to attack Israel via tunnels. But the use it or lose it calculus did not push Hamas to engage. After more than five years of tunnel detection and destruction, officials are confident the threat is neutralized. While the high-tech Gaza fence is likely to attract attention now, Israel now seeks to fulfill its total fence protection doctrine on all of its borders, as articulated in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus 2018 National Security Strategy. Under the leadership of Brigadier General Eran Ophir, Israel has built more than 620 miles of fence along the borders with Egypt (150 miles), the West Bank (370 miles), the Golan Heights (68 miles), Lebanon (8 miles) and Jordan (21 miles). More adaptations are likely, but they hinge on technical, budgetary, and political considerations. These fences have prevented unlawful entry and violence, but they are not without controversy. Fences can inadvertently signal Israels view of legal borders particularly those subject to bilateral or multilateral disagreement. Domestically, there is disagreement about the path of some fences. The Israeli left protests when fences divide Palestinian villages. The Israeli right protests when settlements are not included on Israels side of a fence. Controversy also surrounds the military message that barriers send. Some in the IDF believe the construction of expensive and high-tech fences sends a message of weakness or a defensive posture. They argue that effective fences might prevent political leaders from taking decisive action during conflict, particularly if they feel the barrier might shield the country from a wider conflagration. Barrier proponents argue these measures prevent terrorism and loss of life. The West Bank fence brought the number of suicide bombings to near zero. The Egypt border fence brought smuggling down to negligible numbers, too. As with Iron Dome, some argue that advanced fences give political leaders flexibility to decide exactly when and how to launch a military response to provocations. As always, the debates will continue in Israel. But in the meantime, the Gaza border is likely safer -- until Hamas invents new ways to attack. Brigadier General (Res.) Jacob Nagel is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a visiting professor at the Technion Aerospace Engineering Faculty. He previously served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus acting national security advisor and head of Israels National Security Council. Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president at FDD and a former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury. Follow Jonathan on twitter @JSchanzer. Federal guidelines enacted last March helped ensure most people can get a free COVID-19 test, but there are exceptions that are saddling some uninsured patients with fees, federal officials acknowledge. Insured patients also have reported being billed copays or deductibles for office visits that in most cases their carriers should cover entirely, according to federal guidelines. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) bars providers from billing insured patients any portion of charges not covered by their insurance known as balance billing as long as a medical provider deemed the test necessary for diagnostic purposes. For uninsured patients, providers are free to bill for the test and/or other services provided, including an office visit exam, according to guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Anticipating that could be a hardship, Congress earmarked $2 billion to cover the testing cost for the uninsured through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an arm of HHS. Providers are not required to seek payment from the fund, however, so its important to inquire about costs before booking an appointment, said Scott Kodish, a spokesman for HRSA. Michael Esteras of Jessup said he wishes he had known about the fund before scheduling a COVID-19 test at Express Urgent Care in Dickson City, one of at least three Lackawanna County urgent cares offering the tests. The other two are Medicus Urgent Care in Dunmore and Lake Scranton Urgent Care in Moosic. In Luzerne County, MedExpress Urgent Care in Edwardsville and Wilkes-Barre Twp. offers the tests. None of the businesses participate with the HRSA program, which means patients are responsible for the charges. Uninsured, Esteras said he sought a test because he had symptoms and was charged $200 for the test and an office visit. He was advised in advance he would be charged and agreed to the fee. At the time, he did not know providers could seek payment from the HRSA program. I did not know until I started doing research, Esteras said. Im upset about it. Esteras said hes also unhappy he was required to undergo an office visit to receive the test a policy Medicus, Lake Scranton and MedExpress also follow. That issue has been a source of controversy at the Scranton-based Wright Center for Community Health, which recently promised to refund all patients who were charged office visits for COVID-19 tests after determining it had wrongly engaged in balance billing. Federal regulations do not place a blanket ban on charges for office visits. Medical providers are allowed to charge an office visit if its deemed medically necessary to diagnose the patients condition, according to the HHS guidance. Dr. Shahroon Choudhry, medical director for Express Urgent Care, defended the centers policy. If they have symptoms, we have to evaluate them, Choudhry said. That requires a physicians time and expertise. Choudhry did not respond to questions on why the center does not participate in the HRSA program. Lake Scranton Urgent Care spokesman Gerald Coyne said it does not participate because its a small provider with limited staff and the process to obtain reimbursement is overly burdensome. He said the center advises patients of fees upfront and encourages those without insurance to seek a test at drive-by clinics, which have no cost. Local municipalities also routinely provide free drive-by tests. The Pennsylvania Department of Health maintains a list of municipalities that have scheduled drive-by testing clinics at www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus. Insured patients who were billed copays should check with their insurance companies to see if the visit qualifies for forgiveness under the FFCRA. The act protects patients from any cost-sharing except in cases where patients with no symptoms or exposure sought the test solely because an employer required it for them to return to work. Coyne and Natalie Fritz, office manager at Medicus, said insurance companies require them to collect copays at all visits. If the visit is covered under the FFCRA, insurers pay the centers, which then reimburses patients. Insured patients who believe they were improperly charged can file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department at www.insurance.pa.gov/Consumers. Uninsured patients can file a complaint with the state attorney generals office at www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint. She's been one of the biggest names in fashion and modeling for a generation. Iman was seen hailing a cab on the street in New York City on Friday, in an all-black ensemble that had both casual and chic notes. The supermodel, 65, sported a cute black blazer that had the sleeves bunched up at her forearms. 'Taxi!': Supermodel Iman was seen hailing a cab on the street in New York City on Friday, in an all-black outfit that had both casual and chic notes The Mogadishu, Somalia-born beauty wore a loose fitting black V-neck shirt underneath, that looked to be partially tucked in to her pants at the side. She donned black track pants with snaps all the way up both legs, along with red and white piping. On her feet, Iman wore comfy-looking sneakers. She added a touch of high-end class with her chic beige Gucci tote bag, which was adorned with the fashion labels unmistakable pattern along with pink and green floral garland detailing and brown leather handles. Fetching ensemble: The supermodel, 65, sported a cute black blazer that had the sleeves bunched up at her forearms The runway star kept her jewelry to a minimum, with one flashy bauble on her left middle finger and a delicate chain around her neck. She had on large square-shaped black sunglasses fit for a celebrity, and masked up with a simple black face covering as the coronavirus pandemic persists in the northeastern US. Her dark, auburn-toned hair was down and straight, parted at the middle and hanging well past her shoulders. Touch of class: She added a touch of high-end class with her beige Gucci tote bag, which was adorned with the fashion labels unmistakable pattern along with floral garland detailing Iman is the widow of David Bowie, with whom she shares daughter Alexandria Zahra Jones. The pair were married from 1992 until Bowies death at age 69 in 2016. The supermodel, who has been active in the industry since the mid-1970s, also lent her timeless beauty to her Instagram feed on Friday, in support of her makeup brand Iman Cosmetics. Longtime love: Iman is the widow of David Bowie, with whom she shares daughter Alexandria Zahra Jones; the pair seen here in 2010 Timeless beauty: The supermodel also lent her timeless beauty to her Instagram feed on Friday, in support of her makeup brand Iman Cosmetics In that trio of snaps, Iman wore a lovely ruffled brown blouse, along with a gorgeous mane of tight curls with blonde highlights. Her makeup look, by artist Keita Moore, was subtle and stunning, featuring delicate touches around the eyes along with a glossy pink lip. As seen on the brands Instagram page, Iman Cosmetics is designed specifically for women of all ethnicities and skin tones. China urges Japan to thoroughly assess radioactive water disposal plan Xinhua) 09:19, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday expressed hope that the Japanese government will conduct a thorough assessment of the possible impact of the disposal plan for tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. "The radioactive leak caused by the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has had a profound impact on the marine environment, food safety and human health," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily press briefing. "We hope the Japanese government will act with a high sense of responsibility toward its own people, neighboring countries and the international community, conduct a thorough assessment of the possible impact of the disposal plan for tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, disclose relevant information in a voluntary, timely, strict, accurate, open and transparent manner, and make prudent decisions after full consultation with neighboring countries," Zhao said. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday that his government will soon decide whether to discharge treated radioactive water building up at the disaster-stricken nuclear complex in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea despite strong opposition from the fisheries sector. Enditem (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) RTHK: New EU vaccine probe deepens Europe's Covid woes Europe's stuttering vaccine rollout faced multiple hurdles on Friday as EU regulators said they were reviewing side effects of the Johnson & Johnson shot and France further limited its use of the AstraZeneca jab. The US drugs regulator said it had not found a "causal" link between the J&J vaccine and blood clots, but that its probe was continuing after "a few individuals" suffered complications. Much of the world is still in the clutches of the pandemic that has killed 2.9 million people, from Brazil, where the virus is killing more than 4,000 people a day, to Japan where the government has tightened restrictions once again. In India, the worst-hit state of Maharashtra is running out of vaccines as the health system buckles under the weight of the contagion. Home to megacity Mumbai, Maharashtra has been placed under a curfew and weekend lockdowns. And across Europe populations are facing some of the world's toughest anti-virus measures, yet the epidemic refuses to be curbed. All of France is subjected to restrictions of some form, and the country has so far doled out jabs to more than 10 million people. But it has repeatedly changed the rules on AstraZeneca's vaccine, first over doubts about its efficacy, then over fears that it could be linked to blood clots. On Friday it did so again, with Health Minister Olivier Veran saying citizens under 55 who had been given a first shot with AstraZeneca would be given a different vaccine for their second dose. But shortly after he spoke, the World Health Organisation said there was "no adequate data" to support switching Covid-19 vaccines between doses. As Europe continues to reel from constant rows over AstraZeneca's jab, the EU's medicine regulator announced it would be probing a second jab over bloodclot concerns. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said four "serious cases" of unusual blood clots had been reported - one of them fatal - with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which uses similar technology to the AstraZeneca one. The US Food and Drug Administration said it had found no "causal" link yet between the jab and clots. But it noted "a few individuals" in the country had clots and low levels of platelets in the blood after receiving the vaccine, and its investigation was continuing. "Both conditions can have many different causes," the agency said. Johnson & Johnson released a statement saying the company was aware that "thromboembolic events... have been reported with all Covid-19 vaccines". But the statement added: "At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine," referring to J&J's European subsidiary. Both jabs are approved for use in the European Union but the J&J vaccine has not yet been rolled out, and various EU countries have stopped or limited the use of AstraZeneca. Supply problem are also hampering vaccine rollouts. India, which is one of the world's leading manufacturers of vaccines, is suffering its own problems with jabs in Maharashtra, home to more than 100 million people and the economic hub Mumbai. "Most hospitals in Mumbai will exhaust their supplies by the end of the day," said Mangala Gomare, who oversees the city's vaccination programme. In the United States, deliveries of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are set to drop off sharply next week, US health authorities warned on Friday. Meanwhile Pfizer-BioNTech asked for authorisation to use their Covid-19 vaccine on 12-15 year olds in the US. The companies said in a statement that they plan to make similar requests of other regulatory authorities worldwide in coming days. In Europe, an AstraZeneca spokesman said half of its vaccine shipments to the EU will be delayed this week. Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said on Friday she would skip a forthcoming climate meeting in Britain because countries were unable to participate on even terms. "With the extremely inequitable vaccine distribution I will not attend the COP26 conference if the development continues as it is now," Thunberg said. Illustrating her point, Britain has so far given at least one jab to more than 31 million people, almost half of its population, compared with poorer countries like Mexico, which has administered fewer than 10 million jabs to only seven percent of its people. Germany's central government has tried hard to defeat the virus through restrictions on movement and commerce, but several states have torpedoed the strategy by refusing to go along with the proposals. Now Berlin is changing the rules to gather more centralised power. The proposed adjustments are likely to usher in night-time curfews and some school closures in especially hard-hit areas. Japan has also tightened measures in the capital Tokyo and other areas, mostly calling for bars to close early. On the other hand, Italy is set to end lockdown measures from next week for Lombardy, the epicentre of its coronavirus pandemic, and several other regions with improving contagion statistics. Neighbouring Slovenia also announced it will ease coronavirus restrictions and suspend a six-month-long curfew starting on Monday. And in badly hit Brazil, the Senate said it will open an inquiry into the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to resist lockdown measures even with Covid-19 deaths at new records. Yet Rio de Janeiro on Friday was reversing restrictions in place for two weeks, reopening restaurants and bars, though the city's famed beaches remained closed. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-04-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. BRIDGEPORT At the Geraldine W. Johnson School in Bridgeport, about a third of the students were repeatedly not showing up for class. It was a trend seen district-wide with some schools seeing chronic absenteeism rates upward of 50 percent as the pandemic shifted learning online and took kids out of the classroom. The surge was staggering for the neighborhood school, though, which serves approximately 800 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Before the pandemic closed school buildings last spring, Principal Luisa Wolf said just 9 percent of students were chronically absent. So teachers and administrators banded together to see what they could do. The school opened up full-time, in-person learning to students with spotty attendance; assigned educators to certain students to form relationships; and sent home letters to families showing how their attendance compared with class averages. Two second-grade teachers, who were distributing materials for a class project on erosion, visited students at their homes. School staff raffled off a Nintendo Switch to students with good attendance. Any absence is a day missed of learning, said Wolf, noting its a blanket loss extending beyond math and reading. If students are not in school, we cant determine how to help them, she said. And when they come to school inconsistently, they dont form those relationships with teachers and friends and classmates that help in the process of becoming a well-rounded individual. But Johnson School might be turning a corner. Last month, the share of students chronically missing school decreased to 27 percent, or from 235 to 200 students. Kids are considered chronically absent if they miss 10 percent or more of available school days. These breakthroughs at Johnson School reflect signs of a district-wide recovery. About 30 percent of students in Bridgeport Public Schools 5,509 children were chronically absent in March, compared with 35 percent the month prior. And though the share of students with poor attendance is still towering, its much improved since the height of school closures: Half of Bridgeport students didnt attend class regularly during remote learning, compared with about 20 percent who were chronically absent before buildings closed. Statewide, about a fifth of students were chronically absent this pandemic winter. We need to get kids into school and they need to be attending regularly if were going to have any success in educating them, said Superintendent Michael Testani. All absences contribute to chronic absenteeism tallies, including those excused. Testani said even if students can explain the absences, theyre still missing out on invaluable instruction, and educators need to track that loss. Students who miss 19 days of school (10 percent of total days in a school year) remain on the districts chronic absenteeism list for the rest of the academic year. There is a lot of research about student achievement tied to chronic absences, said Carli Rocha-Reaes, Bridgeports coordinator of school counseling and parent partnerships. As a district, we want to be able to identify students that are chronically absent and put interventions in place to support their academic success and their social and emotional well-being. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Rocha-Reaes sits on a district-wide attendance committee thats met in person at City Hall every two weeks throughout much of the pandemic. At Blackham School, a large elementary school with upwards of 1,000 children to keep track of, more than a third of students were still chronically absent in February, data show. By the next month, a substantial collaborative effort between school staff, families and the broader Bridgeport community brought that number down to 27 percent. Michele Maggiore, a school counselor at Blackham, was at the forefront of the endeavor as one of educators and parents first points of contact. Its looked like more phone calls, more meetings, more referrals to support families, she said. The volume of everything has been increased this year because of the pandemic. As the North End school passed the one-year mark since shuttering for the pandemic, Maggiore said shes glad to see her teams efforts trickle down to the children. Fewer Bridgeport students chronically absent Fewer Bridgeport students are repeatedly missing school. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10 percent or more of available school days. All absences contribute to chronic absenteeism tallies, including those that are excused. Name February March Edison School 50.25% 42.13% Columbus School 48.80% 42.97% Jettie S. Tisdale School 46.30% 40.57% Paul Laurence Dunbar School 43.54% 35.61% Read School 41.57% 35.68% Beardsley School 39.78% 33.09% Roosevelt School 39.63% 32.87% Madison School 37.75% 31.40% Thomas Hooker School 37.17% 32.57% Cesar A. Batalla School 34.66% 28.67% Hallen School 34.10% 27.27% Blackham School 33.06% 27.39% Harding High School 31.85% 27.47% Geraldine Johnson School 31.63% 26.70% Hall School 29.34% 25.75% Bridgeport Military Academy 25.96% 22.44% Central High School 24.00% 21.15% Classical Studies Academy Annex 23.08% 20.77% Information Technology & Software Eng. HS 21.99% 21.69% Classical Studies Academy 20.97% 17.98% Black Rock School 19.39% 16.36% Park City Magnet 19.11% 15.56% Aerospace/Hydrospace Eng. & Physical Science HS 18.31% 16.27% John Winthrop School 17.97% 14.70% Biotechnology Research and Zoological Studies HS 16.52% 13.68% Interdistrict Discovery Magnet School 12.60% 8.48% High Horizons Magnet 11.81% 8.10% Multicultural Magnet School 8.69% 6.10% See More Collapse Its just a relief, she said. Thinking about our students, we want to make sure theyre getting the education that they need and they deserve. Lower rates of chronic absences spanned grade levels last month, with an overall drop of 5 percentage points among elementary schools and 3 percentage points among high schools. While eight elementary schools saw more than half of students chronically absent in February, just Waltersville School and Wilbur Cross School still passed that threshold last month. Bassick High School, the only high school in February with more than half of its students chronically absent, saw 5 percent of its students shed their chronically absent designations last month. The school recently added advisory periods to help students form meaningful connections with at least one adult in the building. Principal Joseph Raiola said advisors serve as first lines of intervention if advisees persistently miss school. Likewise at Bridgeport Military Academy, where high schoolers explore careers in public safety, the principals, teachers, counselors, social workers and psychologists focused on relationships with students to bring them back to school. It was all hands on deck, said Ca'Tisha Howard, a guidance counselor at the school. This was not just going to fall on counselors. From February to March, Bridgeport Military Academy saw 11 of the nearly 300 students fall off the chronic absenteeism list as they attended more school days. I plead and I beg (for students to come back), but it gets the job done, said Howard. As long as I can see that child walk through those doors, Im golden. And Im at the door waiting. One of the Aboriginal dancers who Prince Philip infamously asked if indigenous Australians 'still throws spears at each other' says the comment was not racist and he had 'deep respect' for the royal. The Queen's husband died at Windsor Castle on Friday aged 99 after a long illness, with his death confirmed by Buckingham Palace at 9pm AEST. Warren Clements, an Aboriginal performer who greeted royal couple at an event in Far North Queensland in 2002, said the dancers went off-script to try to impress them, and were honoured by their greeting. 'We had royal fever so we said: "Let's go out the back and throw some boomerangs and spears and hopefully we'll get a glimpse of them as they come down." They waved and we were showing off,' Mr Clements told the ABC. 'I think Prince Philip took that in, and that's why he said it. He's been taken out of context.' One of the Aboriginal dancers who the late Prince Philip infamously asked if they 'still throws spears at each other' says the comment was not racist and he had 'deep respect' for the royal 'People should not judge someone unless they have met them and, most importantly, do research before they start creating media sensationalism' Mr Clements said of Prince Philip The Queen's husband died at Windsor Castle on Friday aged 99 after a long illness The Queen on Friday announced with 'deep sorrow' the death of her husband - who spent his final days at Windsor Castle after a 28-night stay in hospital for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. Mr Clements met the Queen and Prince Philip at the Tjapukai Cultural Centre in Smithfield during a visit that caused controversy around the world after what were perceived as racist comments from the royal. The performer though says it was nothing but 'media sensationalism' and that he felt honest respect from the Queen's husband. 'When I shook his hand, there was so much energy you don't build fellas like that these days. He was tough as nails,' he said. 'From that moment I had a deep respect for him. 'People should not judge someone unless they have met them and, most importantly, do research before they start creating media sensationalism.' Prince Philip announced his retirement in May, 2017, after completing more than 22,000 solo appearances, spanning seven decades, including in Australia. At an engagement on the day of the announcement, a guest told Philip he was sorry to hear he was standing down. Not shy of expressing his uncensored and often politically incorrect opinions on a variety of subjects, few have been spared from his comments, including the Queen herself. In 1994 he shouted from the deck of Britannia in Belize 'Yak, yak, yak; come on get a move on' as she chatted to her hosts on the quayside. Prince Philip accepts flowers from the crowd at the Great Aussie Barbecue in Perth, 2011 The Queen and Prince Philip attend an event at the Sydney Opera House in 2006 Her Majesty announced Prince Philip's death at 9pm on Friday (AEST) as the Union Flag was lowered to half-staff outside Buckingham Palace and on public buildings across the UK and Commonwealth. 'Australians send our love and deepest condolences to her Majesty and all the Royal family,' Mr Morrison said on Friday evening. 'God bless from all here in Australia... The Commonwealth family joins together in sorrow and thanksgiving for the loss and life of Prince Philip.' Flags across Australia are flying at half staff and there will be a 41-gun salute outside Parliament House on Saturday in honour of the late royal. The prime minister singled out the Duke of Edinburgh's comfort to survivors of a bushfire in Tasmania in 1967 in his speech from Kiribilli House this morning. 'As the Governor-General reminded us last night, he visited our country on more than 20 occasion,' he said. 'But there were also moments of deep compassion, in particular, in the terrible bushfires of 1967 in Tasmania, where he comforted the victims and he toured the burnt out Cascade Brewery.' Prime Minister Scott Morrison and wife Jenny meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2019 Mr Morrison said he felt particularly for the Queen, and asked she let Australia as a nation help her mourn and heal Former Prime Minister John Howard, who was the last PM to greet the Prince to Australia, described his marriage to the Queen as 'a partnership for the ages' and paid tribute to his sense of humour. 'He gave short shrift to political correctness when he encountered it, and that endeared him to millions of people,' Mr Howard said on Saturday morning. 'And so far from those responses constituting gaffes, they were things that people warmed to. He had quite a connection with Australia.' Mr Morrison extended his sympathies to The Queen and assured her, and the British people, that Australia grieved with them. 'On behalf of the Australian people, and the Australian government, I extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Her Majesty and the royal family to the passing of the Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh,' he said. 'Your Majesty, here in Australia, and indeed across the world, your Commonwealth family joins in your sorrow and your morning and that of your family. 'But also, we give thanks for the life of who you described as your strength and your stay. Your Prince, Prince Philip. Husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Drug giant and its partner in developing the first COVID-19 vaccine that received emergency authorisation in the US want to allow more adolescents to receive the vaccine. New York-based and BioNTech SE of Germany have asked the US Food and Drug Administration to expand the emergency use authorisation for their vaccine to include adolescents ages 12 through 15. Back in mid-December, the two-dose shot received emergency clearance for vaccinating people ages 16 and up. and BioNTech said they are working closely with the FDA and regulators in other countries to get emergency or conditional authorization as quickly as possible for kids ages 12 through 15. The companies noted in a statement that preliminary results through March 31 from late-stage testing in that age group found the vaccine safe and 100 per cent effective in blocking infections. They said side effects were consistent with those from testing of volunteers ages 16 through 25: pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headaches, fever and nausea. All participants in the study of 12- through 15-year-old volunteers will be monitored for two years, starting after they received their second dose, to watch for any safety issues and determine how long the vaccine protects recipients. (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.) VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has ordered work on the construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital to resume with immediate effect after Government injected $47 million for the completion of the 250-bed medical centre. Dr Chiwenga, who is also Health and Child Care Minister, visited the hospitals construction site yesterday morning and said the project should be completed by next year. Speaking after touring the site, VP Chiwenga said it was unacceptable that Matabeland North, which has a population of close to 700 000 people, is the only province which does not have a provincial hospital. The purpose of my visit was to accelerate the construction of the Lupane Provincial Hospital. This project as you are aware started way back in the First Republic in 2004. It had stalled to an unacceptable level. When the President visited Matabeleland North Province, this matter was also highlighted. We have been looking at ways of resuscitating all legacy projects which had stalled during the First Republic and we want to finish them. VP Chiwenga said the completion of the hospital should be done expeditiously. The length and breadth of this hospital demands that this institution be completed as a matter of urgency. And so, we wanted to see what the plan was at that time, what is it that can be done now and how can we quickly complete this project. Government has already put in some resources. By last week we had already put resources to kick start this place. We want to see how we can utilise those resources and go full throttle and have this project completed by next year. Asked why the project had stalled since its inception in 2004, VP Chiwenga said those tasked with such projects have been approaching them lethargically. The sum total of it (delays) is lethargy, there wasnt that passion and push. There is no excuse that we can give ourselves for having stalled this project for such a long time. Now we have to work 24/7 to complete it, he said. Matabeleland North Provincial Medical Director, Dr Munekai Padingani, said the visit by the Vice President heralded a new beginning in the construction of the hospital. Upon completion, the hospital will boast of staff accommodation for both junior and senior members, theatres, casualty, out patients departments, general wards, paediatric, psychiatric and isolation wards, a mortuary, kitchen and an Intensive Care Unit. Meanwhile, mobile phone operators have been urged to play their part to expand network connectivity in the country so as to bring development to previously marginalised communities. Speaking at the commissioning of Nachulwe base station in Siansundu Village, Binga yesterday afternoon, VP Chiwenga said all mobile operators players must work together to achieve all round connectivity countrywide. The base station was constructed by NetOne in partnership with Huawei international. It is a known fact that if a nation has robust telecommunications infrastructure. The chances of an improved Gross Domestic Product are higher than a less developed country. NetOne and other operators are critical in the provision of network connectivity. This will bring inclusivity to previously marginalised communities, VP Chiwenga said. Our joy comes from the fact that nearby schools, hospitals and community at large can now benefit from this enhanced connectivity brought about by NetOne Cellular. As the Government of Zimbabwe, we urge other players to do the same until we achieve all round connectivity across the country. Sunday News New National Disability Insurance Scheme Minister Linda Reynolds says she has no intention of excluding Australians from the scheme on the basis of their diagnosis, appearing to dump radical reforms drafted under the previous minister Stuart Robert. Leaked documents revealed by the Herald and The Age last month showed the Morrison government was considering cutting NDIS funding to people living with acquired brain injury and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and reducing avenues of appeal for participants as part of a bid to save costs. Linda Reynolds is the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The government was also accused of tampering with the independent report used to justify controversial reforms such as independent assessments to review NDIS users eligibility for the scheme, which disability advocates have criticised as a cost-cutting measure. Ms Reynolds, who returned from leave last week following the Brittany Higgins sexual assault allegations, said the NDIS would continue to provide a reasonable and necessary level of funding to meet disability support needs. LINCOLNVILLE Plans to include bus stops in this small community as part of the Lowcountry Rapid Transit project were nixed, frustrating some in the town. Mayor Charles Duberry said Lincolnville, just outside the larger town of Summerville, feels excluded from the project that's expected to improve mobility and spur development in the Charleston area. "Just because we're a small municipality, does that mean you leave us out?" The decision was made because project organizers could not prove ridership demand in the area. The Lowcountry Rapid Transit system, a mass capacity high transit project, will connect communities between Dorchester and Charleston counties. The project, planned by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, involves running a bus in a dedicated bus lane along the U.S. Highway 78 and U.S. Highway52 corridor. The idea is to provide regional traffic relief. Initially, bus stops were planned from downtown Summerville to downtown Charleston. But several Lincolnville residents recently learned two individual transit stops planned in and around the town, and two stops in Summerville, were removed from the project. Individual transit stations will now be built between the Ladson fairgrounds and downtown Charleston. The stops won't be part of the initial transit line due to funding issues. Charleston County will pay $180 million for construction costs and $70 million for operation costs. The federal Capital Investment grant program will add $180 million to the construction funds. The entire project will cost $360 million. Proving ridership demand is a critical component in securing the grant, said Sharon Hollis, COG's project lead for the rapid transit system. Planners couldn't prove the ridership demand for the Summerville and Lincolnville areas, which was needed to qualify for the federal money. Lincolnville has a population of about 2,000 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The town had been looking forward to direct access to the mass transit line. Longtime resident Anna Gleaton said the bus route will be good because it'll help connect those in Lincolnville to jobs and hospitals downtown. The line would also be an asset for accessing recreational spaces, such as the beaches, where there's limited parking, she said. She was discouraged to hear that some stops were taken off the plan. "I was disappointed for the people that it could help," she said. In lieu of the LRT line stretching to Summerville, planners are now looking to develop a bus route between the Summerville and Ladson station. Though the route won't be part of the LRT line, it'll help improve access. The route would connect people in Summerville and Lincolnville to the main route along U.S. 78 and U.S. 52. The goal is to get people to the line," Hollis said. The Council of Governments and the town are conducting an online transit survey focused on the public's transportation needs. Town residents can voice their concerns in the the survey, available through April 20 at surveymonkey.com/r/LTNS032021. The people of Lincolnville are a valued part of the region and theyre going to be connected to this transit system," said Daniel Brock, a regional strategist with COG. But some still feel the efforts aren't enough. William Hamilton, executive director of Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit, said Lincolnville has been promised for years it would have a bus station. He wants to see individual stations for Summerville and Lincolnville to be put back in the plans for the transit line. Organizers of the project estimate one-way trips would take an hour. This would enable those who'd prefer to live in Lincolnville, a smaller community, to still get to work on the peninsula in a reasonable amount of time, Hamilton said. Thats the best in both worlds," he said. That's what it's all about giving people good places to live, ways to get to work, and ways to enjoy their families." Lack of minimum preventive steps by private travel agencies and APSRTC for their services results in a rise in the spread of Covid-19 virus to urban areas and also the interiors. Representational image/AFP ANANTAPUR: As the Indian Railways may not resume its normal operations and general tickets are not available at any railway station, passengers have no alternative other than hiring taxi or travel by private buses for interstate journeys. Private transport operators are not complying with the regulations set by the governments. They are not checking passengers with thermal scanners and sanitizers are not provided at the boarding points. Lack of minimum preventive steps by private travel agencies and APSRTC for their services results in a rise in the spread of Covid-19 virus to urban areas and also the interiors. A traveller Dr Suresh who travelled to Hyderabad from Anantapur on Thursday night observed lapses on the part of travel agencies. Recalling the experience, Dr. Suresh said he booked a ticket through a private travel agency to travel to Hyderabad from Anantapur on Thursday night. When I entered the bus, there were no preventive steps in place. He said all the transport operators should follow the standard operations procedure (SOP) under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Considering the duration from the present level of the daily new cases to the peak India saw last year, the country is likely to reach the high in the second half of April. The second wave, which could last until the end of May, could see an additional of 25 lakh cases if the present trends are taken into consideration. Though the global Covid-19 experience shows the second wave was much higher in intensity than the first wave, the presence of vaccine makes the difference now, Dr Suresh said. Here are just some of the stranger structures to receive heritage listing in Sydney and NSW. An underground public toilet Twenty-three toilets are listed on the online database State Heritage Inventory - the same number as heritage-listed swimming pools - including Sydneys oldest, surviving underground public toilet in Taylor Square in Darlinghurst. Sydneys oldest, surviving underground public toilet in Taylor Square in Darlinghurst is on the State Heritage Register. Credit:Steven Siewert The Underground Public Conveniences and Substation No. 6 are a rare and distinctive group of public utilities from early-twentieth century Sydney, the listing notes. The Taylor Square toilets is one of 1740 items of state heritage significance listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, compared to more than 36,000 items of local heritage significance listed by local councils. A Heritage NSW spokesman says placement on the State Heritage Register was a rigorous process that involved consultation with owners and other stakeholders, public advertising and assessment. Listing on the State Heritage Register does not stop development but is a mechanism for ensuring that change is compatible with or complements the heritage significance of the item, the spokesman says. Bus shelters Bus shelters around Sydney have been given heritage listings, including North Sydneys distinctive timber and terracotta-tiled bus stops that date from the 1980s. Modelled on an original former tram shelter near North Sydney Oval, the bus shelters are well-maintained, but some have been modified to accommodate unsympathetic advertising panels. A number of North Sydney bus shelters have been heritage listed. Credit:James Brickwood When I started those bus stops, you have no idea how nervous I was. I thought people would scream about the waste of taxpayers money, scream about pinko colours - and it didnt happen, former North Sydney mayor Ted Mack told the Herald in 1987. People liked them because it gave them a feeling of belonging, it gave them a sense of local identity. Electricity substations More than 200 substations appear in the State Heritage Inventory, including sites at Auburn, Bondi and Randwick that have state heritage significance. The heritage-listed electricity substation no 57 in Hurlstone Park. Credit:Heritage NSW Built in the style of a Californian bungalow, the Floss Street electricity substation no 57 in Hurlstone Park does not quite rise to those lofty standards but still marks the roll-out of electricity to suburban areas in the 1920s and 1930s. Professor Logan says infrastructure buildings sometimes had a landmark quality that gave them a strong civic presence even when they are modest in size. The road around Sydney Airports domestic terminal Sydney Airport appears on local, state and Commonwealth heritage lists, noted for its links to Australias earliest experiments with aviation and pioneering flyers Charles Kingsford Smith and Nancy Bird Walton. Some of its heritage-listed features are more peculiar than others such as the horseshoe shape of Keith Smith Avenue, the road which runs through the domestic terminals T2 and T3. Parts of Sydney Airport are heritage listed including Keith Smith Avenue, the horseshoe-shaped access road to the domestic terminals. Credit:Kate Geraghty The airports own heritage management plan, commissioned under the Airports Act, declares three features of the airport to have exceptional heritage value: the Mill Pond and Mill Stream (where Sydney Water periodically releases raw sewage); the main north-south and east-west runways; and the distinctive horseshoe shape of Keith Smith Avenue. The form of this road has continued to dictate the siting of hangars and terminal buildings at the airport [and remains] an evocative link to the early development of the aerodrome into a civilian airport, the plan says. A Willoughby incinerator Best known for ruining sheep paddocks near Yass with his design for Australias new capital city, American architect Walter Burley Griffin is also responsible for one of five heritage-listed incinerators in the state. The Incinerator Gallery, designed by architects Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony. Credit:Richard Cornish One of the most significant buildings erected in Australia in the 1930s, the Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator in Willoughby also became a flashpoint in wars over heritage and waste disposal. Built of sandstone and concrete and decorated with pyramidal designs, the incinerator has a new life as a cafe which overlooks Hallstrom Park. Olympia Milk Bar, Stanmore The Olympia Milk Bar in Stanmore, now boarded up after it was forced to close by the Inner West Council four years ago, makes the cut as evidence of the development of commercial leisure activities along Parramatta Road. The building is rare for its surviving 1939 shopfront and interior shop fitout, which is historically associated with the Olympia Picture Theatre, its heritage listing states. The Olympia Milk Bar in Stanmore, pictured in 2017. Credit:Jessica Hromas David Burdon, director of conservation at the NSW branch of the National Trust, says heritage lists should be diverse but added we cannot and should not seek to list everything. If we only list one type of item such as a large historic house or a town hall and forget the other parts of our history such as a shearing shed or a milk bar we will have a very one-sided view of history that does not reflect broader society, he says. Bondi Ocean Outfall Sewer Swimmers and surfers may no longer have to contend with Bondi cigars at Sydneys most famous stretch of sand, but the occasional stomach-churning odour is a reminder of one of the citys most important engineering marvels. The old sewage ocean outfall at Bondi that is now incorporated into the Sydney Water Bondi Waste Water Treatment Plant. Credit:Kate Geraghty The Bondi Ocean Outfall Sewer did wonders for the health of Sydneys burgeoning population by moving polluted waters offshore, while its construction is associated with advances in technology in removing sewage from the city. Yet tourists are hardly going to rubberneck over the cliffs at Ben Buckler to watch the sewer in action. Our system of heritage assessment stresses a range of criteria, several of which have nothing to do with aesthetics, Professor Logan says. Community members are perhaps more inclined to think of a beautiful building or park when they think of heritage. A gutter in St Peters Victoria Street in St Peters scores a heritage listing for its sandstone guttering and brick pavements and road surface, even though part of the road is now asphalt and the brick paving has been removed. Professor Logan says there were lots of gutters and culverts on the states heritage list as well as more than 50 kerbs and five car parks. Victoria Street in St Peters has a heritage listing for its sandstone guttering, brick pavements and road surface. Credit:Marrickville Council Machattie Park in Bathurst with the Crago memorial fountain erected in 1891. Credit:Wikipedia / Creative Commons An Inner West Council spokeswoman says the historic brick paving on Victoria Street referenced the areas industrial past. Living evidence of the past gives character to the spaces we inhabit and makes them places with rich layers of meaning and memory, she says. The Inner West has a unique and fascinating past, which has shaped what it is today. A park bench in Bathurst Comfort does not appear to be a requirement for a heritage listing if a park bench in Bathursts Machattie Park is any guide. Of simple and elegant design, the cast iron and timber bench is perhaps not the most appealing feature of the park established in 1890 by doctors Thomas Machattie and William Spencer on the site of the old Bathurst Gaol. The park, which is also heritage listed, is a significant example of a late 19th century Victorian country town park, according to Bathurst Regional Council, and also features a bandstand, Caretakers Cottage, Crago memorial fountain, a fernery and collection of exotic trees including Huntington Elms, Red Beech and English Oak. Brick paving in Tempe Brick paving in Hillcrest Street in Tempe appears on the State Heritage Inventory, which notes the surface is slightly uneven, with weeds growing through the joints. Brick paving in Hillcrest Street in Tempe is heritage listed as an example of an important local scheme to employ people during the Great Depression. Credit:Marrickville Council Last week, customs officers at Dublin Port stopped and searched a car, where they found 13 puppies. They were crammed into two separate cages in the footwell area behind the driver and passenger seats. These pups had no access to water or food and had already travelled for almost two hours in these conditions. DSPCA inspectors took the animals and thankfully they are now being looked after under DSPCA veterinary care. Sadly, one pup died from parvovirus. As always, our advice to anyone planning to purchase a pup is to never purchase online, and to do your research. Also, it is very important to make sure that your dog or cat is microchipped. Dog of The Week This beautiful German Shepherd is Poppy. She is an absolutely amazing dog who is truly deserving of a fantastic home. She came to us from Ashton pound, and is now waiting for a perfect family to come and make her theirs. She is a more mature lady, at seven years old, and is very friendly, absolutely loving human companionship. She loves her walks, and as she can sometimes be a little strong on the lead in certain situations. We have found that walking her using a canny collar is very effective at preventing excessive pulling. She is fully house trained, loves to play ball and loves a trip to the beach. She is perfect in a house, but would be completely unsuitable as a guard dog. The home that we feel will best suit Poppy is a home without cats. She gets along with some dogs, and dislikes some others, therefore a meet and greet would be essential if she is to go to a home with another dog. We will give priority to applications from families that do not have another dog, and have experience of the breed or similar restricted breeds as adult owners. We hope to find a home in a rural location for her as she can be excitable when she meets other dogs, therefore an area where she does not meet many dogs when out and about will be preferable. We will also prioritise applications from families where there are no children under 16, because she is a restricted breed and cannot be under the control of anyone under the age of 16. There is a requirement that she must be muzzled in public. Poppy has been neutered, vaccinated and chipped (chip number 941000016284713, origin Ireland). Because of the Covid-19 travel and safety restrictions, the shelter is closed to visitors at the moment, so if you are interested in adopting Poppy or have any queries about adoption please email kwwspcadogrehoming@gmail.com. There is more detailed information about how our adoption process works on our website on our Adoption Process page. ABOUT US The Kildare & West Wicklow Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (KWWSPCA) is a Registered Charity which investigates and deals with reports of cruelty and neglect to animals, family pets, wild animals and birds, horses and ponies, throughout County Kildare and West Wicklow. The Society is run entirely on a voluntary basis, there are no paid employees. Charity Number, CHY 6280 Helpline: 087 1279835 Email: kwwspca@gmail.com Website: www.kwwspca.ie Follow us on Facebook A professor named Liam O'Mara from Chapman University in California, who was also a candidate for a Riverside County congressional seat, tweeted a picture of a Ku Klux Klan hood to Candace Owens, which read, "Yikes. You may've dropped this." This was because Miss Owens previously tweeted, "The #1 violent offenders against black people are other black people." Miss Owens stated that Mr. O'Mara had been harassing her for two years, but this time she had to respond. It turns out that he did eventually capitulate and stated, "I made a terrible mistake. I'm officially (resigning) from all my responsibilities within the Democratic Party and am no longer running for Congress. What I did was a display of white privilege." His tweet, as well as his Twitter account, have since been deleted. Miss Owens followed up with a tweet of her own: "For everyone that is suing @Twitter for clear cut bias they have written to me to let me know that sending Klansmen hoods to black people does not violate any of their rules. Racism is ok on their platform! Thanks @TwitterSafety!" This sort of reminds me of the fact that Hitler's Mein Kampf is still for sale on Amazon, but Ryan Anderson's When Harry Became Sally is verboten there. It is interesting, what "progressives" deem appropriate and inappropriate. The New York Times motto claims All the News That's Fit to Print, but a more accurate one would state All the News That We Deem Fit to Print. For instance, if you follow only left-wing news outlets, then you may not have heard about the 65-year-old Asian-American woman who was walking to church when a suspect assaulted her and said, "F--- you, you don't belong here," on 03/20/2021, according to the NYPD. On 03/25/2021, police arrested and charged a suspect wanted in the homicide of a 74-year-old Asian man in Phoenix, AZ. He was punched in the face, and his skull fractured when he hit the ground, causing brain bleed. Marcus Williams was charged with second-degree murder. You also may not know that the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is currently seeking a suspect who assaulted an Asian woman on 03/27/2021 at the 51st Street and Lexington Avenue subway station. He too made anti-Asian, racist statements during the attack. Also on 03/27/2021, a 38-year-old Asian man walking with his wife and five-year-old son was sucker-punched in an unprovoked Central Park attack. On 03/28/2021, two teenagers (15 and 17) in Milwaukee found an Asian woman alone in a park, assaulted her, dragged her to a pond in the woods, then raped and killed her. They recorded the crime on their phones. Around the same time, a man named Chris Hammer was arrested over multiple hate crime attacks on Asians in Seattle. He is a BLM activist and was a participant at CHAZ. His social media profile is filled with posts against Trump and Republicans. On 03/28/2021, an Asian woman was struck in the face by a man spewing ethnic slurs at her in a Manhattan subway station. Currently, the NYPD Hate Crimes is asking for help identifying a man who assaulted an Asian woman in front of her three children while on the 5 train heading to Times Square on March 30. He made racist comments to her as well. An elderly Asian couple in Oakland, CA was robbed by four males after they returned home from grocery shopping. The video went viral. A male robbed a Korean-American-owned convenience store in Charlotte, NC on 03/30/2021. He destroyed the store with a metal bar during the attack and screamed, "That's what you get, you Chinese m-----------!" Police have not charged him with a hate crime. Currently, police in Tacoma, WA are asking for information regarding a viral video showing a group of males assaulting a Korean couple who are screaming for help. On 04/01/2021, two men were arrested and charged over the slaying of a 48-year-old Vietnamese-American, Tong Nguyen, in San Jose, CA. He was shot in the head. Also on 4/1/2021, an Asian woman named Ke Chieh Meng, 64, was attacked by Darlene Stephanie Montoya, 23, a transient, and was stabbed to death in a "random" attack in CA while walking her two dogs. The Ontario Police Department in CA made an arrest over the hate crime felony assault of an Asian couple. The perpetrator, Tuvorius Mencer, is also facing a charge for assaulting an officer. A South Asian immigrant who ran a souvenir shop on the Atlantic City boardwalk died after being robbed by an armed group of youths, and the NYPD held a press conference recently showcasing people they have apprehended for attacking members of the Asian community. In the latter case, the perpetrators consisted of four black males, one black female, and one Middle Eastern man. That is the point in all of this. The current #StopAsianHate movement seems to focus of Caucasian perpetrators of racial hate crimes, but all of the aforementioned cases were conducted by non-white people. In other words, if the true focus and goal of this movement is to stamp out unjust crimes against Asian-Americans, then we may have to perform the unenviable task of looking at other minorities. Image via Pexels. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Chennai, April 10 : International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to invest $100 million in secured debt of Hero Fincorp Ltd belong to the Hero Group. Hero Fincorp is primarily into financing of two-wheeler purchases, loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), personal loans, used car purchase loans and corporate loans, IFC said. According to IFC, the proposed investment will enable Hero Fincorp to expand is loan book across its business verticals. The company will also deploy three times its loan amount, through its own resources and other sources of funding, towards the same target beneficiaries over the next three years, IFC added. According to IFC, the consolidated loan portfolio composition of Hero Fincorp includes two-wheeler finance (37 per cent), used car finance (7 per cent), personal loans (11 per cent), home loans (6 per cent), MSME loans (21 per cent) and corporate loans (18 per cent). The shareholders of Hero Fincorp include Hero MotorCorp Limited (41.2 per cent), investment companies of the Munjal family (38.3 per cent), Credit Suisse (2 per cent), Chrys Capital (10 per cent) and Apis Growth (2 per cent) and HFCL's dealers/employees (6.5 per cent). -- Syndicated from IANS Kolkata, April 10 : Violence erupted in the fourth phase of elections in Bengal in which five people were killed in two separate incidents. Four persons were killed when central forces opened fire on an unruly mob in Sitalkuchi assembly constituency in Mathabhanga block in Cooch Behar district on Saturday. In another incident in the same constituency a first-time voter was killed, taking the total number of deaths to five. Sources in the Election Commission said that a preliminary report that reached the special police observer Vivek Dubey suggests that the central forces had to open fire in self-defence. According to the report, there was tension at booth no 126 at Amtali in Jor Patki village in Sitalkuchi since the morning and as there were more than 400 people in front of the booth, the central forces tried to disperse the mob. When they were trying to move the mob away from the booth more people started rushing in and tried to snatch the firearms from the security forces. This prompted the force to open fire in which four people were killed. The Election Commission asked for a detailed report from CEO Ariz Aftab. Deputy election commissioner in-charge of West Bengal Sudip Jain asked the CEO to send a detailed report including video footage of the incident. Jain also wanted to know what led the force to open fire on the people. The poll body assured of an impartial inquiry into the incident. In another incident a first-time voter Ananda Baraman (18), son of Jagadish Barman of Pathantuli, Golenawhati GP, Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar died when he was shot from a firearm by unknown miscreants after he cast his vote and came out from the polling booth. He was brought to the local health center (BPHC) at Sitalkuchi where he was declared dead. His mother was also injured in the incident, the police said. "Police reached there and detained two suspects for their involvement in the said incident. Raid is going on at the probable hideouts of the suspected accused persons whose names have surfaced at the local level during preliminary inquiry. Additional S.P, Mathabhanga and OC Sitalkuchi P.S also visited the P.O and supervised the incident. Additional S.P, Mathabhanga is camping there," a senior police officer said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The returning ex-GIs from World War II little expected that they would fight another armed battle when they arrived back in McMinn County in 1946. Political corruption and improper government had existed in Athens and Etowah for many years. Citizens complaints of election fraud in 1940, 1942 and 1944 had gone unheeded with no action being taken by the United States Department of Justice after investigations. In 1936, the Democratic candidate for sheriff from Etowah had won the office as part of the Roosevelt landslide across the country and established the political machines that would lead to the violence in the August 1946 election. McMinn County had a long history of bribe taking by local politicians, the financing of the McMinn sheriff by a fee system based on the amount of fines collected from often illegal arrests and a pattern of voting fraud by both Democrats and Republicans. Approximately 3,000 soldiers had fought in World War II from McMinn County. Many of them decided to get involved in the 1946 election in an effort to provide an honest ballot count and reform of county government. They put forth a slate of political candidates in various offices that would oppose the political machine headed by the local sheriff, Pat Mansfield, and his colleague, Paul Cantrell, who had previously served as the chief law enforcement officer in the county and would again run in 1946 for sheriff. In opposition, the community put forth an all ex-GI non-partisan ticket. The politicking became heated and it became obvious that the threat of violence loomed over the upcoming August election. In the local newspaper, the Daily Post Athenian, on June 17, 1946, one GI speaker said, The principles that we fought for in this past war do not exist in McMinn County. We fought for democracy because we believe in democracy but not the forum we are under in this county. In an effort to intimidate voters (or keep down violence), Sheriff Mansfield swore in some 200 special deputies to oversee the election. The most vivid historical depiction of the events of the election is described in a book by C. Stephen Bynum. The Battle of Athens; Parker Productions, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1987. As expected, violence erupted, one African-American voter was shot in the back, ex-GIs were fired upon and the ballot boxes were seized by the sheriffs deputies and taken to the McMinn County jail for counting. This further enraged the citizens and they placed the jail under siege with the sheriff and approximately 25 deputies inside. In addition to their individual firearms, the GIs borrowed a set of keys to the National Guard and State Guard Armory and seized three M-1 rifles, five .45 semi-automatic pistols and 24 British certified rifles. Gun battles took place with varying dispositions. Estimates ranged from a few rounds fired up to over 3,000 as later described by participants and witnesses. Parties on both sides were wounded and around 2 a.m. on Aug. 2, GIs threw dynamite sticks onto the jails porch causing substantial damage. The deputies immediately surrendered and the GIs took possession of the jail and the ballot boxes were secured. A count of the election results showed that the GIs candidate for sheriff, Knox Henry, had beaten Paul Cantrell 1,168 votes to 789. Other GI candidates for Circuit Court Clerk, County Trustee and Register of Deeds won by similar margins. In the aftermath, special deputies were appointed to maintain law and order and citizen patrols consisting of both GIs and citizens were appointed until the general election. The battle attracted nationwide attention with extensive coverage in the New York Times and other publications. Both Chattanooga newspapers sent reporters to cover the unfolding story and both of them got heavily involved in the activities. Times reporter Richard Rogers was seen mingling in the crowd as an outsider and was confronted by one of the ex-GIs and asked about his purpose for being in Athens. He was then escorted into a garage where four deputy sheriffs were being detained. One of the veterans used his wartime intimidation and humiliation tactics and threatened to shoot the deputies. Rogers was later released. Veteran News Free Press reporter J.B. Collins had a less friendly experience. He was carrying a camera and took an incriminating picture of a deputy sheriff removing a ballot box from one of the voting precincts and replacing it with an identical ballot box containing presumed pro-administration ballots. The original boxes were then taken to the jail for storage. J.B. took a photo of the illegal exchange of the boxes but his camera was abruptly seized and the film was destroyed denying the printing of this historical picture. He also was incarcerated for about two hours in the county jail. Reports of the National Guard being mobilized proved to be false as there was reluctance by both the Governor and State Adjutant General in calling out troops to possibly engage in combat with the ex-GIs who had just served their country. The actions of the veterans in McMinn County was a motivating factor in the creation of the Good Government League in Chattanooga by Attorney Jac Chambliss and others to fight similar machine politics in Hamilton County. * * * Jerry Summers (If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com) Despite violence and bloodbath in the fourth phase of the assembly polls after five people including four in the firing by the central forces died at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district, a high voter turnout was recorded till 3 p.m. Though the police claimed that the on duty opened fire in self defence that led to the death of four people, the Chief Minister asked for an explanation from the Home Minister saying that she would visit the violence hit area on Sunday. The four persons who died on Saturday are identified as Monirujjaman (28), Hamidul Miyan (30), Nur Alma Miyan (21) and Samiul Haque (20). They were all residents of Jor Patki village and the voters of booth no 126 where the incident took place. Following the incident, the Election Commission adjourned the polling on the booth and sought a report from the Special Observers and CEO Ariz Aftab by 5 p.m. on Saturday. According to the preliminary reports that when an unruly mob tried to snatch the firearms from the central forces at Booth no 126 at Amtali at Jor Patki village in Sitalkuchi assembly seat, the central forces opened fire in self defence that took the lives of four people. "A 14-year-old boy who came with his mother to the polling station suddenly fell ill and a QRT (Quick Response Team) van that was nearby sent the boy to the hospital. Suddenly this incident triggered a rumour that the boy was shot by the central forces and hundreds of people started gathering around the booth. They started agitating and also tried to snatch away the firearms from the security forces. Unable to control the unruly mob, the jawans on duty opened fire on the mob killing four persons," DIG of Jalpaiguri range Annappa E told the media. In another incident, a first-time voter Ananda Barman (18), son of Jagadish Barman of Pathantuli, Golenawhati GP, Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar died when he was shot at from a firearm by unknown miscreants. The incident snowballed into a major political controversy with the Trinamool Congress demanding probe into the high-handedness of the central forces in the election management. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that armed central police shot four people dead who were standing in a queue to vote in Sitalkuchi. While speaking at a public meeting at Hingalganj, she asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain why lives were lost in central forces' firing during the fourth phase of polling. She also said, "after killing so many people they (Election Commission) are saying the firing was in self-defence. They should feel ashamed. This is a lie." Mamata Banerjee will also hold a protest rally in Cooch Behar on Sunday against the alleged killing of four people. Despite violence and deaths, high voter turnout has been recorded in all the five polling districts. According to the Election Commission data, 66.76 per cent polling was recorded till 3 p.m. on Saturday. Cooch Behar, where the incidents of violence took place, recorded the highest polling percentage of 70.21 per cent followed by Alipurduar where 68.51 per cent polling was recorded. Apart from that, Hooghly recorded a polling percentage of 67.42 per cent and Howrah had a voter turnout of 65.23 per cent. South 24 Parganas experienced the lowest turnout of the five districts with a voter turnout of only 64.07 per cent. --IANS saibal/skp/ (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.) One Arrested, One Charged in Marshall Traffic Stop By West Kentucky Star Staff MARSHALL COUNTY - A traffic stop in Marshall County led to a man's arrest on DUI and drug offenses, and a woman being charged with drug offenses.The Marshall County Sheriff's Office says a traffic stop was conducted late Thursday evening, just before 11:00, in reference to a vehicle that had crossed the centerline several times on Aurora Highway.Deputies found that the driver, Lawrence S. Lozano was intoxicated.Lozano was arrested and charged with first offense DUI, possession of open alcoholic beverage container, first degree possession of a controlled substance-(methamphetamine), and possession of drug paraphernalia.A passenger in the vehicle, Amanda M. Hall, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and released. There are many reasons Manitoba lags behind most other provinces in terms of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. There are many reasons Manitoba lags behind most other provinces in terms of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Public health officials have made some improvements in recent weeks, such as opening more supersites and fixing some of the operational issues at the Winnipeg convention centre site. For the most part, though, the provincial government has tied itself to a sluggish, inflexible distribution model that hadn't kept pace with a rapidly growing vaccine supply. Provincial officials argue the slower system is deliberate. Its designed to strike a balance between speed and ensuring vulnerable people have access to vaccines, including in rural areas. Those are excuses, not valid reasons. Manitoba has only administered 63 per cent of the 409,470 doses it has received to date, among the lowest in Canada. There is still a stockpile of 149,623 doses in freezers, even after a data update on Friday added more than 25,000 doses to the total number of shots administered since Dec. 16. CP Manitobas inventory of vaccines has nearly tripled over the past month. (Manu Fernandez / The Associated Press files) Two weeks ago, the province claimed it had enough supply to last five days, if no new shipments arrived. That has doubled to 10 days. Meanwhile, Manitobas inventory has nearly tripled over the past month. Clearly, supply is not the problem. There are five key areas that have contributed to Manitobas slow rollout. All of them should be addressed immediately, especially with COVID-19 cases on the rise again in Manitoba: Pop-up sites and focused immunization teams are too slow (and closed on Sundays) Provincial officials call these their "smallest pipes" of distribution, designed to get vaccines to people who live in congregate settings and to people who cant access super-sites. The provinces latest projections show both modes of distribution combined dole out fewer than 500 doses some days. They shut down on Sundays. Pop-up sites and focused immunization teams are slow by design, the province says. However, they dont have to be. Theres no reason more teams and sites cant be deployed to ramp up volume, including running on Sundays. AstraZeneca not going through the fastest channels More than 70,000 doses of AstraZeneca have been distributed to pharmacies and medical clinics with no control by the province over how quickly shots get into arms. Thats left up to individual providers, many of which are busy clinics that dont have time to prioritize immunizations. It took at least two weeks to administer the first 18,000 doses through this channel. There are no estimates on how long it will take to dole out the latest 54,000 doses. Requirements should be in place to have them administered in a week or less. Those who cant meet that target shouldnt qualify as providers. Speed is too important right now. Doses should be distributed to clinics and pharmacies that can administer them the fastest. CP Drive-thru clinics would be a faster and easier alternative for some people (C.B. Schmelter / Chattanooga Times Free Press files) Innovative ideas such as drive-thru clinics ignored Other provinces use innovative ideas such as drive-thru and walk-up clinics to administer doses more quickly. For some, drive-thru clinics would be a faster and easier alternative than going to a busy downtown site. Some provinces also use wait lists to fill slots that open up due to cancellations. Manitoba could get more needles into arms faster if it adopted some of these options. Doctors want to help Doctors Manitoba says physicians have the ability to administer Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. So far, the province wont give them any. Some Manitobans, particularly the elderly, feel safer getting their shot at their doctors office. Given the size of governments growing inventory, the province should provide physicians with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to help ramp up the rollout. Appointments cancelled too easily The province cancelled pop-up clinic appointments last week because two shipments of the Moderna vaccine (25,000 and 28,000 doses) were a week late. Meanwhile, the province has a stockpile of nearly 150,000 doses, some of which could have been used to backfill the late shipments. The system needs to be more flexible to shift resources between supply channels. Failure to do so is a supply management weakness thats slowing down the rollout. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca An undated photograph showing Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with, Charles, Prince of Wales (L) and Princess Anne (R) - AFP via Getty Images Princess Anne has summed up what life will be like without her father to guide the Queen, the institution of the Monarch and his family. Quite simply, she said, it will be completely different. Speaking in advance of the Duke of Edinburghs death at the age of 99, the Princess Royal told of his immeasurable influence, both on those immediately around him and on Britain at large. Without him life will be completely different, she told ITV News, adding: From societys perspective he was able to keep pace with the kind of technological changes that have such an impact but above all that its not about the technology its about the people. In an interview recorded for broadcast after the Duke of Edinburgh's death, Princess Anne spoke movingly of what her fathers legacy might be, citing his steadfast support of the Queen in her role as Monarch as the chief example of his devotion to both his family and the kingdom over which she ruled. She said of his position as Prince consort: It must have evolved quite dramatically from the early stages. I dont think the structure in terms of support t o the monarchy was designed to deal with a consort. Nobody had thought about what he was going to do. And it took a while to find people who understood he had extraordinary experience and skills that they could make use of. But he also found ways he could make an impact. The Princess Royal added that her fathers decision to give up his career in the Royal Navy in 1951 was a mark of his loyalty to his new bride and her then future role as Monarch. It shows a real understanding of the pressure the Queen was going through and that the best way he could support her was on giving up on his career, she said. Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace in London, in November 1972 - PA Princess Anne also told ITV that her fathers long lasting legacy would be embodied in the Duke of Edinburgh Award he founded in 1956 to give young people a structured outlet. He believed there were things outside [of school] which were necessary to help you develop as an individual, which played to your strengths and if that werent academic there were other things that would be your strength, she said. Story continues The Princess described her childhood in moving terms, saying: He had a nomadic lifestyle which must have been really quite difficult because he was that much younger than his sistersThe father figure was very intermittent then went and his mother struggled at that stage, so he had friends elsewhere who took him in during the holidays. He was virtually a refugee at this stage, because he had nowhere else to go, literally. And that probably is why Gordonstoun had such an impact. Prince Philip's life - Read more Speaking as part of the same series of interviews Prince Edward, Earl of Essex, described the importance of his fathers advice and support to the Queen. My parents have been such a fantastic support to each other during all those years and all those events and all those tours and events overseas, he said. To have someone that you confide in and smile about things that you perhaps could not in public. To be able to share that is immensely important. Prince Edward also addressed his fathers sometimes problematic public image, describing it as unfair and undeserved. The public image that certain parts of the media would portray was always an unfair depiction. He used to give them as good as he got and always in a very entertaining way. He was always able to manage interviews and say things that the rest of us always dreamed we could say. He was brilliant. Always absolutely brilliant. The Earl added: He had a wonderful sense of humour but of course you can always misinterpret something or turn it against them, so it sounds like it's not right. But anyone who had the privilege to hear him speak said it was his humour which always came through and the twinkle in his eye. Like his sister, Prince Edward said he would remember both his fathers public work and the steadfast support he gave the Queen. For what he has done in his public life, for all the organisations he has supported and influenced and obviously as my father and husband to my mother and all the work that he has done there and as a family we will remember that more than anything else, he said. BRUSSELS, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey conducted by Mars Petcare of 2,000 parents across the UK and US shows family pets help children better manage feelings of stress and loneliness, which have been greatly exacerbated by virtual schooling as a result of the pandemic[1]. Around the world, 332 million children have lived under stay-at-home policies for at least nine months[2] and nearly 1.6 billion learners have been affected by disruption of in-person schooling[3]. There are early indicators that the pandemic has had a negative impact on children's social skills, productivity and well-being. Save the Children report that more than half of children who were separated from friends during the pandemic reported feeling less happy and more worried[4] and this shift to virtual schooling means students may have more distractions and less oversight, which can reduce their motivation[5]. For many families navigating the stress and challenges of home-schooling, pets have offered children crucial support. More than eight in 10 (83%) parents found that their family pet helped their child feel less lonely during lockdown, with more than three-quarters feeling that day-to-day interactions with their cat or dog reduced their child's stress and anxiety. Parents agreed their pet supported their child during the unprecedented break from in-person schooling by improving their mood, providing companionship and giving much-needed emotional support. Pets may make the best study buddy The survey also found that pets positively impacted a child's experience of virtual learning and academic performance across all ages with nine in 10 parents seeing improvements in their child's emotional, social and core skill development including having more energy and improved concentration, providing a fun topic of conversation to engage with their classmates and teacher, and giving them a much-needed break away from the screen. More than half (56%) report having a pet helped improve their child's academic performance and 72% say their child is more motivated with a pet around[1]. "There are proven benefits to having pets in the classroom when it comes to improving children's confidence, focus and reducing their stress, but this survey shows that pets also played an important part in helping children emotionally as they come to terms with this unprecedented time away from their peers," said Mary Margaret Callahan, Chief Mission Officer of the leading therapy animal organisation Pet Partners. "We've been absolutely overwhelmed with the response from teachers, parents and students to our teams' virtual therapy animal visits during the pandemic. There is now an important role for animals in helping children adjust as they return to school." More time together benefits wellbeing of children and pets Equally, the survey revealed this increased bond between children and their pets has many benefits for the pet too. The results found 40% of children spent more than two hours of time with their pet each day during the pandemic (compared to just 21% before the pandemic) and the majority of parents (77%) believe their pet is also calmer now that they spend more time with their child. "Talking or reading to a pet has been shown to help children to build confidence and connect with both peers and teachers. Exploring the important role human-animal interaction can play in a range of settings from the classroom and office to the hospital or simply at home is something we, at Mars Petcare, have been committed to for many years," said Kay O'Donnell, Vice President, Waltham Petcare Science Institute, the fundamental science centre for Mars Petcare. "It is wonderful to see these survey results reinforce how pets may help address the growing burden of loneliness and social isolation, which we know can be as detrimental to health as obesity, as well as indications pets have benefited from this additional time together." "The pandemic was an abrupt change for my students and for education in general, and all educators were challenged to find new and creative ways to engage our classes," said Chris Koenig, Health and Physical Education Teacher in Oregon's Gresham-Barlow School District. "Adding Bella to my lesson plans for Pet Fridays has gone a long way in giving my students and our dog something positive to look forward to." Majority of parents want pet interaction in traditional classrooms as a result The survey also revealed that the majority (80%) of parents believe pet interaction should be used in schools as students begin to transition back to traditional classrooms and restrictions ease. Seventy-five percent of parents believed schools should invest more to bring controlled pet interaction into the traditional classroom setting. Parents and teachers like Chris around the world have shared touching anecdotes relaying their personal experiences of having pets in the home classroom during the pandemic and how pets make it better. You can follow the conversation about the research behind the many proven benefits of pets using #PetsMakeItBetter and by following Mars Petcare on social media. Visit our website for expert advice about how to responsibly raise a happy and healthy cat or dog and how to help your pet through lockdown and beyond. References Market Research Survey Impact of pets in the home classroom, n=2,000. Conducted by Edelman Data and Intelligence (DxI) February 2021 . https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-1-7-children-and-young-people-has-lived-under-stay-home-policies-most-last. Pokhrel S, Chhetri R. A Literature Review on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Teaching and Learning. Higher Education for the Future. 2021;8(1):133-141. doi:10.1177/2347631120983481. https://www.savethechildren.net/blog/hidden-impacts-covid-19-children%E2%80%99s-mental-health#. https://www.edweek.org/technology/opinion-how-effective-is-online-learning-what-the-research-does-and-doesnt-tell-us/2020/03. About the survey This research was conducted by Edelman Data & Intelligence, a global, multidisciplinary research, analytics and data consultancy, between 19 February and 1 March 2021 with 2,000 respondents across the UK and USA. All respondents owned at least one cat or dog and had at least one child aged five to 17 years old in full time education and taking part in virtual schooling because of the pandemic. About Mars Petcare Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 75 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world's pets including brands PEDIGREE, WHISKAS, ROYAL CANIN, NUTRO, GREENIES, SHEBA, CESAR, IAMS and EUKANUBA as well as The WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through a network of over 2,000 pet hospitals including BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, PET PARTNERS, VCA, Linnaeus and AniCura. We're also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in and we choose to fight for: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1484960/Mars_Petcare_Logo.jpg Media contact (U.S.): Alyssa Paldo [email protected] +1 (312) 973-2892 Media contact (UK): Will Jobes [email protected] +44 (0)7449 819797 SOURCE Mars Petcare Related Links https://www.mars.com Burma Chinese-Made Drones Reportedly Monitor Anti-Regime Protests in Myanmar Anti-regime protesters take cover during a crackdown by security forces in Mandalay in early March. / The Irrawaddy Russia has provided hardware, digital surveillance systems and new-model jet fighters to the Myanmar military. But what about China? According to Janes International Defence Review, Myanmars Air Force appears to be using Chinese-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor anti-regime protesters on the streets. The sighting of the air vehicle, which is developed by Chinese state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), is especially noteworthy given the secrecy in how the Tatmadaw [Myanmars armed forces] has operated it, said the report by the British open-source defense intelligence publisher. The report cited images on social media captured in March showing low-flying drones over Mandalay, where protests erupted after the military seized power from the elected National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government in a coup on Feb. 1. The images showed two types of drones flying at altitudes low enough to be seen and heard by residents of Mandalay, Myanmars second-largest city. Besides intelligence gathering, the drones could also be an emerging psychological warfare tactic designed to intimidate the population, the report said. For the Tatmadaw, such deleterious psychological effects could eventually provide a critical advantage as it attempts to pacify a population that is clearly growing increasingly resistant by the day to its self-declared rule, Janes said. Janes said experts believe that between 10 and 12 CH-3A UAVs were delivered to Myanmar between roughly 2013 and 2015 and are operated by the Myanmar Air Force out of Meiktila Air Base in central Myanmar. Anti-China protests China has long been the Myanmar militarys closest ally. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing while visiting Naypyitaw just 20 days before the Myanmar military staged the power seizure and detained democratically elected leaders Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. During their meeting, the senior general shared with Wang the Tatmadaws findings on its claims of electoral fraud. Shortly after it occurred, China described the Myanmar militarys takeoverinternationally condemned as a coupas a major cabinet reshuffle, and along with Russia blocked an effort by the UN Security Council (UNSC) to condemn it. Beijing and Moscow continued their defense of the military regime at a recent special session of the UN Human Rights Council, insisting that the seizure of power from the democratically elected government was an internal affair. This stance has prompted anti-China protests in Yangon, leading China to ask the junta to protect Chinese gas pipelines, business interests and citizens in Myanmar. In March, Chinese-owned garment factories were set on fire. Chinese government mouthpiece the Global Times said 32 factories built with Chinese investment had been vandalized, sustaining around US$37 million (52 billion kyats) in damage. This month, pro-democracy supporters in Myanmar called for the Chinese Embassy in Yangon to be closed, after China again blocked an attempt by the UNSC to stop the bloodshed in Myanmar by imposing sanctions on the military regime in an attempt. Thousands of pro-democracy supporters, including prominent activists and celebrities, posted messages on their social media on Thursday and Friday saying, China Get Out of Myanmar!, Get Out Chinese Embassy! and We dont need Chinese Embassy! Get out of Myanmar Right Now!! China reaches out to CRPH Last week, The Irrawaddy broke the news that the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar had for the first time spoken with members of a committee representing elected lawmakers from the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government, amid Beijings repeated calls for all parties in its southern neighbor to seek a political resolution to the current crisis through dialog. A counselor from the embassy in Yangon spoke by phone with members of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). Founded by NLD lawmakers following the February coup as a challenge to the legitimacy of the military regime, the CRPH enjoys popular support both domestically and overseas. The phone call was the first contact between Chinese officials and lawmakers from the ousted NLD government since the Feb. 1 military takeover. The CRPH previously demanded to meet with officials from Beijing. Following the report, the embassy on Friday told Reuters it had been in touch with all parties in military-ruled Myanmar. The purpose is to play the role of promoting peace and discussion, promoting the cooling of the situation and maintaining stability in Myanmar, resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, and continuing to drive the process of democratic transformation, it told the news agency. The comment echoed a statement from Wang last month that China is willing to engage with all parties to ease the crisis in Myanmar and is not taking sides. China is willing to contact and communicate with all parties on the basis of respecting Myanmars sovereignty and the will of the people, so as to play a constructive role in easing tensions, Wang told a news conference on the sidelines of Chinas annual gathering of parliamentarians. Many believe China is among the few countries that has influence both with the military junta and armed ethnic groups along Myanmars northern border. Top NLD leaders who are now in safe locations say that China has the leverage needed to stop the violence in Myanmar, if it sought such a role. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Junta Bans Satellite Dishes in Effort to Restrict Anti-Regime News In Myanmar, Pair of Protest Activists Share Common Goal: Root Out Dictatorship Myanmar Regimes Troops Kill More Than 20 in Friday Assault Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - Last night at about 9:23 p.m., Yuma Police officers responded to a report of a vehicle collision with injuries in the 8800 block of Avenue 8 E. The initial investigation revealed a 2002 GMC Sierra, driven by a 16 year old female, collided with a wooden road barrier. The passenger, a 44 year old male, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center as a precaution. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor. This case is still under investigation. The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. Roberta Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico and one of the State Departments most experienced Latin America hands, said Thursday that she is quitting in what appeared to be fallout of the Trump administrations roiling relations with Mexico. Jacobson, who spent 31 years as a diplomat, becomes the latest veteran foreign service officer to step down in an unusual exodus of senior talent under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, amid low morale and drastic budget cuts at the State Department. Joseph Yun, special representative on North Korea, resigned this week, and John Feeley, the U.S. ambassador to Panama, in January announced his decision to leave. Feeley said he could no longer advocate for U.S. policy in the Trump administration. The State Department unit that handles Latin America, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, has been especially hard hit even as Washington and Mexico seek to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, battle over immigration issues, cooperate on interdiction of drug trafficking and organized crime, and face other joint concerns. Advertisement In addition to Jacobson and Feeley, a 28-year veteran, Thomas Shannon, undersecretary for political affairs, announced his retirement last month after 34 years at the State Department. Shannon, a former ambassador, was seen as a foremost expert on Latin America. President Trump has yet to nominate an assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs, and Tillerson has faced criticism from members of Congress and foreign policy experts who say he is steadily dismantling the State Department. He has rejected the criticism, saying he is trying to improve efficiency and streamline operations. Jacobsons departure comes at a particularly difficult time in traditionally close U.S.-Mexican relations. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto called off an official visit to the White House for the second time after a testy phone call with President Trump on Feb. 20. Trump reportedly insisted on the call that Mexico pay to build a border wall, as he had vowed during the 2016 campaign. Mexico has repeatedly rejected that demand, and the dispute has blocked an official visit since Trump took office last year. Jacobson, 57, did not mention the bilateral tension in her resignation memo, which was distributed to employees of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. She said her resignation would take effect May 5, the Cinco de Mayo holiday. I have come to the difficult decision that it is the right time to move on to new challenges and adventures, Jacobson wrote. This decision is all the more difficult because of my profound belief in the importance of the U.S.-Mexico relationship and knowledge that it is at a crucial moment. Jacobson saw her authority undercut at times as Luis Videgaray, Mexicos finance secretary and later foreign secretary, built a back-channel relationship to the White House through Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior advisor. Trump had given Kushner the Mexico portfolio, among other responsibilities, and Videgaray has visited the White House without telling the State Department. Advertisement The Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that Tillerson telephoned Videgaray last week to notify him of Jacobsons decision to step down. The ministry praised Jacobsons responsibility and commitment not just in Mexico but for the benefit of the entire region. It thanked her for working to build a frank and open relationship between the two governments. But experts say representing the Trump administration to the Pena Nieto government had become increasingly difficult. The last year has been particularly tricky for [Jacobson] because of her commitment to the bilateral relationship and President Trumps propensity to send mixed, sometimes harshly critical messages to Mexicos people and their president, said Eric Olson, deputy director of the Latin America program at the nonpartisan Wilson Center think tank in Washington. Advertisement Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States who now works as a consultant on both sides of the border, said Jacobson would be sorely missed at a truly trying moment in the relationship. Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the U.S. had been fortunate to have Jacobsons steady hand amid the Trump administrations all-out offensive on the U.S.-Mexico relationship. Her resignation is another example of the Trump administration pushing our most accomplished diplomats to the exits, Engel said. This White Houses continued assault on Americas diplomatic corps is causing damage to our national security that will take many years to repair. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert pushed back, however, contending that the recent departure of so many senior diplomats, including Jacobson, would not harm U.S. diplomatic efforts. Advertisement The high number of unfilled vacancies and resignations doesnt mean there arent other experts at State who can handle the issues, Nauert told reporters at a briefing Thursday. Jacobson previously served as assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs, built up security cooperation between Washington and Mexico City, and played a key role in renewing U.S. diplomatic ties with Cuba under former President Obama. Cecilia Sanchez in The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report. tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com Advertisement For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter I am honored to continue the 50-year record of stellar engineering performance and leadership of the Binkley & Barfield Family of Companies, said Harold "JR" Reddish, PE, NFSPE, FSAME, LEED Green Associate Binkley & Barfield is pleased to announce the appointment of Harold JR Reddish, PE, FNSPE, FSAME, LEED Green Associate, as President effective April 8, 2021. JR joined Binkley & Barfield in 2018 as Chief Engineer. He succeeds Larry Barfield, PE, FNSPE, FTEF, who has now transitioned to Chairman of the Board. With over 40 years of engineering experience, JR became a Society of American Military Engineers Fellow in 2010 and a National Society of Professional Engineers Fellow in 2016, received the Texas Engineering Foundations Distinguished Engineer of Foundation Award in 2013, and was celebrated as the State of Texas Engineer of the Year in 2017. I am honored to continue the 50-year record of stellar engineering performance and leadership of the Binkley & Barfield Family of Companies, said JR Reddish. The future is so exciting given the increased emphasis on infrastructure modernization and improvement across the United States. I look forward to working with the superb team of Binkley & Barfield professionals as we continue to serve our community, state, and nation. This transition of leadership started the day JR joined our company, said Larry Barfield. JR is a consummate professional and is highly experienced, results-oriented, committed, and poised to execute the strategic plan for the company as related to continued growth and prosperity in the years ahead. I am thankful for the opportunities that have come my way and for the time that I have spent as President of Binkley & Barfield. The time is right for this transition, and I look forward to working with JR and our executive management team to help us get to our next stage as a company under JRs leadership. JR is one of the most skilled integrators and teachers I have ever worked with, said Brett Binkley, Chief Executive Officer of Binkley & Barfield. His experience and knowledge transcend the leadership spectrum to bring a new level of structure and discipline into our organizational relationships. As a long-term owner, we know how important it is to plan for and manage leadership transitions so that we maintain momentum and stay focused on exceeding our customers expectations. I truly appreciate Larrys and JRs efforts to ensure a very smooth transition, and we look forward to continuing the important work that Binkley & Barfield delivers each and every day. http://www.binkleybarfield.com Plumes of ash rise from the La Soufriere volcano as it erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, as seen from Chateaubelair, Friday, April 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Orvil Samuel) Cots, tents, and respirator masks poured into the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as officials expected to start distributing them on Saturday, a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands of people who evacuated their homes under government orders. Nations ranging from Antigua to Guyana offered help by either shipping emergency supplies to their neighbor or agreeing to temporarily open their borders to the roughly 16,000 evacuees fleeing ash-covered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks. The volcano, which last erupted in 1979, kept rumbling as experts warned that explosive eruptions could continue for days or possibly weeks. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. "The first bang is not necessarily the biggest bang this volcano will give," Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies' Seismic Research Center, said during a press conference. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves asked people to remain calm, have patience and keep protecting themselves from the coronavirus as he celebrated that no deaths or injuries were reported after the eruption in the northern tip of St. Vincent, part of an island chain that includes the Grenadines and is home to more than 100,000 people. A cruise ship sits docked waiting for passengers to be evacuated in Kingstown, on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Friday, April 9, 2021 due to the eruption of La Soufriere volcano. (AP Photo/Orvil Samuel) "Agriculture will be badly affected, and we may have some loss of animals, and we will have to do repairs to houses, but if we have life, and we have strength, we will build it back better, stronger, together," he said in an interview with NBC Radio, a local station. Gonsalves has said that depending on the damage caused by the explosion, it could take up to four months for life to return to normal. As of Friday, 2,000 people were staying in 62 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take other evacuees to nearby islands. Those staying in shelters were tested for COVID-19, and anyone testing positive would be taken to an isolation center. The first explosion occurred Friday morning, a day after the government ordered mandatory evacuations based on warnings from scientists who noted a type of seismic activity before dawn on Thursday that meant magma was on the move close to the surface. The explosion shot an ash column more than 33,000 feet (seven kilometers) into the sky, with lightning crackling through the towering cloud of smoke late Friday. Plumes of ash rise from the La Soufriere volcano as it erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, as seen from Chateaubelair, Friday, April 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Orvil Samuel) Ash rises into the air as La Soufriere volcano erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, seen from Chateaubelair, Friday, April 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Orvil Samuel) Ash rises into the air as La Soufriere volcano erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, seen from Chateaubelair, Friday, April 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Orvil Samuel) Plumes of ash rise from the La Soufriere volcano as it erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, as seen from Chateaubelair, Friday, April 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Orvil Samuel) This image provided by Maxar Technologies shows La Soufriere volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Thursday, April 8, 2021, the day before it erupted. (Satellite image 2021 Maxar Technologies via AP) The volcanic activity forced the cancellation of several flights while falling ash limited evacuations in some areas due to poor visibility. Officials warned that Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada could see light ashfall as the 4,003-foot (1,220-meter) volcano continued to rumble. The majority of ash was expected to head northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. La Soufriere previously had an effusive eruption in December, prompting experts from around the region to fly in and analyze the formation of a new volcanic dome and changes to its crater lake, among other things. The eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, including two underwater near the island of Grenada. One of those, Kick 'Em Jenny, has been active in recent years. But the most active volcano of all is Soufriere Hills in Montserrat. It has erupted continuously since 1995, razing the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997. 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Kaythari Maw, 21, a 2017 alumna of Curtis High School and 2021 graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University, is doing great things. Currently a senior at Barnard College majoring in economics, Maw is the president of the Myanmar Association at Columbia University and a Columbia University Cheerleader. The former Rosebank and current Manhattan resident has been accepted to Cornell University Graduate School for a Masters in Regional Science and is a recipient of the South East Asia Program Fellowship. The fellowship will fully fund her Masters program to study the Burmese language. Kay, as she is known to many, is the daughter of Khin Maw and the late Ye Min Htut, who succumbed to cancer when she was 16 yers old. Her parents came to American in 1993 from Myanmar (Burma). SILive caught up with Kay to speak of her educational journey. Read the interview below, which has been edited for length and clarity. 1. Please describe your high school experience at Curtis High School. I loved my high school experience at Curtis. I was a cheerleader and made so many good friends. All of the teachers are so caring and want the best for their students. I was in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, and I really think that IB not only helped prepare me for college-level academic rigor, but also encouraged me to give back to my community by having the required CAS project. My CAS project was done with a fellow student, Neil Hartnett, and it was a science activities fair with the Science Department at Curtis High School, called Science Night, where the Curtis community could enjoy fun science games and earn prizes while learning something new about science. What I love best about Curtis is the close-knit community it creates. I am still close friends with my high school friends. What influenced your choice to attend Barnard College? What advice do you have for incoming college freshmen? When I attended an overnight prospective student program at Barnard College, I was completely in awe of how smart and passionate the students and faculty were, and how confident they were about making an impact on the world. I could envision myself being like one of these students, and that is why I decided to attend Barnard. My advice to incoming college freshmen would be to explore: explore new classes that you find interesting, explore your campus, explore new clubs and events. In exploring new things, you make best memories. It is okay to not know exactly what you want to major in or what profession you want to have. College is supposed to be a time where you are supposed to explore new things and get a better sense of what your interests are. What are your professional aspirations? I hope to go into academia and study socio-economic issues from a regional science perspective. Another professional goal of mine is to do research related to Myanmar, to raise awareness about its history, and uplift the Burmese community in America. Currently, Myanmar is under a wrongful and illegitimate coup by the military government. They have arrested the elected leader of the government, and brutally killed hundreds of unarmed civilians. I have an obligation as a Burmese American to fight for their basic human rights and stop their oppression. Please describe your fellowship and plans for graduate school. I was immediately drawn to Cornell because I would have the ability to learn two things that I am passionate about, regional science, and Burmese language and culture, and intertwine the two. I will be attending Cornell University Graduate Schools College of Architecture, Art, and Planning for a Master of Science in Regional Science. In addition to taking courses in regional science, I will also be taking courses in Southeast Asian area studies and Burmese language. I received the Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship, which funds students at Cornell to learn about the culture of Southeast Asian countries and develop skills in a language critical to the needs of the United States. The fellowship is provided by Einaudi Center for International Studies, Southeast Asia Program, which is a U.S. Department of Education National Resource Center. What are your feelings on the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes of late? I feel deeply impacted by the current rise in Asian hate crimes. Ignorance, stereotyping, and racism has been wrongfully tolerated for too long. I believe that everyone should learn more about each others culture and background and challenge our own implicit biases towards certain groups of people. Hopefully, through my fellowship and graduate school studies, I can help spread awareness about Myanmar and awareness about the Burmese American community. Kaythari Maw, an alumna of Curtis High School and Columbia University, will be pursuing her Master's at Cornell University in the fall. She is pictured with her family in Myanmar (Burma). (Family photo) Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 13:21:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Fifty years ago, with an unexpected yet fortunate encounter, Chinese and American ping-pong players broke through deeply entrenched ideological barriers and started a world-reshaping process that eventually re-coupled their countries after 20 years of mutual hostility and isolation. Half a century later, with a visible force in Washington attempting to decouple the two already closely intertwined major world players to the detriment of the global good, it bears particular significance to revisit the wonderful legacy and tap once again into the power of ping-pong diplomacy. What can be learned from the legendary story is that differences of cultural inheritance and political systems are not real obstacles to people-to-people exchanges, and, more importantly, that the two countries have the courage and wisdom to steer their relationship in the right direction. When U.S. ping-pong player Glenn Cowan accidentally boarded the bus carrying the Chinese team on that spring day in 1971, in the middle of the Cold War, he received from the Chinese players gestures of goodwill and respect, instead of acts of hostility. Their amicable interactions helped the two long-estranged nations know more and better about each other. Political leaders in both countries seized the positive momentum and pushed forward their endeavor to normalize bilateral relations, which led to the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties eight years later. The small ball moved the big world. Over the decades, mutual knowledge between the Chinese and Americans has snowballed, and their interactions have made great strides, delivering tremendous benefits to the two countries and the rest of the world. The two countries now have 50 pairs of sister provinces and states and 231 pairs of sister cities. Also, China has been one of the largest sources of international students in the United States for years. On the economic front, their bilateral trade has seen an incredible soar from almost negligible 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in the late 1970s to roughly 600 billion last year. What China and the United States have achieved in the past decades shows that nations and peoples with different systems and values can respect one another and live together in peace, as long as they have the will to manage differences and look farther than their living time for greater and long-term benefits. Sadly, over the past four years, some China hawks in Washington tried to decouple the world's top two economies. They waged trade wars, obstructed normal bilateral scientific cooperation, imposed restrictions on Chinese students and travelers, and peddled preposterous lies about China over the pandemic. Those actions have severely harmed what many deem as the world's most important bilateral relationship. It is indeed another vital moment of choosing for the world's two major countries. Five decades ago, the then leaders of China and the United States had chosen to seize the chance created by their athletes, and ended the estrangement between the two countries. The world community marveled at their political courage and acumen. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on the eve of the Spring Festival in February, it is the common desire of both peoples and the wider international community to see a sound and stable development of China-U.S. relations. Although the days of ping-pong diplomacy are quite different from those of today, cooperation and communication remain the only way forward for the two sides. In fact, China and the United States are facing even greater opportunities as well as demands to work with each other in a world of rising global challenges and expanding interdependence. Thus, decision-makers in Washington should join Beijing in growing the people-to-people relationship between the two countries. That may start with Washington rolling back all the toxic measures slapped by the previous U.S. administration so as to normalize the exchanges between the two nations. Decoupling is not, and should never be, an option. For the interests of both countries and those of the wider world community, policymakers in Washington should exercise the kind of courage and wisdom their predecessors demonstrated half a century ago, and make the bold and right choice. Enditem For many liberals, the state of the nations courts system has reached a crisis point. For President Donald Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, reshaping the judiciary branch was a top priority throughout Trumps term and they largely succeeded. The coup de grace came last September, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and Trump replaced her, just days before the general election, with the staunchly conservative Amy Coney Barrett. It was the third appointment of Trumps four-year term, and it cemented a conservative majority, now 6 to 3, on the court. But today, President Biden issued an executive order establishing a commission to study the status of the Supreme Court, with an eye toward making serious changes, including perhaps expanding the number of justices. The idea of increasing the Supreme Courts membership and then packing it with more ideologically favorable justices became a major theme on the campaign trail last year, for the first time in recent memory. A number of candidates, including Kamala Harris, now the vice president, and Pete Buttigieg, now the secretary of transportation, said at the time that they would be open to increasing the number of justices. Biden did not express support for the idea, though he was careful not to rule it out. Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi conducted a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of INC-ruled states to review the COVID-19 situation in the country. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also present for this meeting. Opposition parties attacked the Modi government over its handling of the pandemic and the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive. During the virtual meeting, Gandhi stated that the priority should be to "test, track and vaccinate". "There must be transparency - Governments must reveal the actual numbers of infections and deaths across states, whether Congress-ruled or otherwise," she added. She further stated that "We must focus on India's vaccination drive first and foremost, then only export vaccines and gift them to other countries. We must stress on responsible behaviour - adhering to all laws and Covid regulations without exception." Gandhi said this a day after her son Rahul Gandhi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on domestic COVID-19 vaccine needs. Sonia Gandhi slammed the Centre for its poor handling of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Gandhi said, "The Modi government has mismanaged the situation - exported vaccine and allowed a shortage to be created in India." Gandhi also discussed the ongoing assembly elections in multiple states. She said, "Mass gatherings for elections and religious events have accelerated Covid for which all of us are responsible to some extent. We need to accept this responsibility and keep the interest of the nation above our own." Multiple states have already started to experience a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines. These include - Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted about what was discussed in this meeting. He wrote, "Sonia Gandhi reviewed the efforts taken in Congress-ruled states to fight COVID-19, including the availability of vaccines, access to medicines and ventilators". "The priority is to test, track and vaccinate," he wrote on Twitter, quoting Gandhi. Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi addresses a meeting of Congress ruled States & Congress Ministers from our alliance States to review the efforts to fight #COVID19 including availability of vaccines, access to medicines & ventilators. Priority is test, track & vaccinate. - Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 10, 2021 COVID-19 cases have been surging in the country for the past few weeks. India has been reported over 1 lakh fresh cases of the coronavirus daily for the past few days. On Friday, India reported 1,45,384 infections. Also Read: 'Reduce fuel prices by partially rolling back excise duty': Sonia Gandhi to PM Modi Apr. 10A former Santa Barbara County sheriff's lieutenant has pleaded guilty to DUI-related charges involving a three-vehicle collision on Highway 154 that seriously injured six people. Javier Antunez, 46, of Goleta admitted to driving under the influence causing injury and also an enhancement of causing great bodily injury during a hearing held via Zoom on March 29, according to court records. Judge John McGregor oversaw the proceedings from Superior Court in Santa Maria. Antunez originally pleaded not guilty to the charges on Nov. 13, 2019. An additional count of having a blood alcohol content of greater than 0.08% is expected to be dismissed as part of the plea agreement, according to Jonathan Kline of the California Attorney General's Office, who prosecuted the case. Antunez, who worked at the Main Jail, now faces a state prison term of six years, including an upper term of three years for the DUI charge and another three years for the enhancement related to resulting injuries. His penalty also could include a violent felony strike, requiring him to serve at least 85% of his sentence. In addition, Antunez faces a to-be-determined restitution amount. His employment with the Sheriff's Office started in 1999 and ended in February 2020, according to Lt. Erik Raney. Antunez appeared with Josh Lynn, his attorney, during the remote hearing, which also included Judith Hall, a District Attorney's Office investigator and one of the victims seriously injured in the September 2019 crash. Kline prosecuted the case instead of the District Attorney's Office to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest. Lynn did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking comment. "The agreement was reached after, quite honestly, back and forth for many, many months and a lot of investigation on our side," Lynn said at the March 29 hearing. "I can tell you, this is a [hard-reached] plea, I think, on both sides. I know that this has been just an incredibly difficult day to get to." Story continues Antunez is charged in connection to the Sept. 14, 2019, collision involving his 2008 BMW and a 2009 Toyota Tacoma shortly after 7 p.m. on Highway 154 just east of the Cachuma Lake Recreational Area. The collision injured the BMW's occupants, including Antunez and Esther Trejo-Takembaiyee, a supervisor with the Probation Office; and the Toyota's occupants, including Hall, Dolores Gutierrez, Enrique Calderon-Mendez and Evelia Dominguez. A third vehicle, a 2017 Jeep, struck the Toyota from behind, although its driver wasn't hospitalized, according to the California Highway Patrol. It wasn't clear what Antunez's injuries were, but he used crutches during a Nov. 13, 2019, court hearing. Antunez's sentencing hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. May 24 at Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria. Teen Missions International founder Robert Bland dies at 92 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Robert Bland, who was affectionately known as Bob and led Teen Missions International for 50 years after he founded it in 1970, died peacefully at the age of 92 on Good Friday. The funeral service will be held Saturday at a church in Ohio. Bob was a great man of God. He was my Youth Pastor at Mt Tabor 75 years ago and I just reconnected with him within the past year, wrote one Mike Davidson on the Facebook page of Mount Tabor Community Christian Church in Chillicothe, Ohio, where the funeral service will be held Saturday morning. Bland led the youth ministry for 50 years with great vision and clarity along with his loving wife, Bernice Mae Bland, who preceded him in death, reads his obituary on the website of the Boyer Funeral Home. Before founding Teen Missions International, Bland served as a Youth For Christ director for many years in Chillicothe, and as a recruitment director for the Christian Service Corps. The years he spent there gave him the idea of Teen Missions, the ministry says on its website. There were many young people who wanted to serve the Lord in missions, but lacked training, experience and the required skills, it shares. A young girl once said that everyone had explained to her, Come back when you have finished college and then you can get involved in the Lords work. She stated, I want to do something for the Lord now, not five years from now, the site adds. Bland also learned that in many mission conferences, there were no teenagers present at all, so they evidently felt that missions were for older people. Bland felt there was an obvious need to get teenagers involved since they are the next generation of missionaries and leaders. The ministry says it exists to launch youth into lifetime missions involvement by training, discipling and mobilizing them to impact eternity around the world NOW. It also says that a large number of our alumni are in full-time Christian ministry serving the Lord worldwide as pastors, teachers, support technicians, and missionaries. As Blands ministry vision grew, he developed a heart to reach widows and orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa, and he created another branch of ministry: Aids Orphans and Street Children, according to his obituary. This ministry built medical rescue units in the African bush, brought tens of thousands of shoes to orphans, and also built matron units for vulnerable young women, so they could have a safe place to stay while traveling. Another vision of Bobs was the Motorcycle Sunday Schools, fashioned after the famous circuit riders, the obituary adds. Sydney academic Jake Olivier is worried sick that his mother in New Orleans will lose her battle with cancer before he and his son Declan get to say goodbye in person because overseas travel has now been pushed back due to vaccine delays. The temporary suspension of AstraZeneca vaccinations in NSW on Friday hit close to home for the Olivier family after his wifes doctor refused to write a letter approving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Dr Oliviers wife, Dr Melissa Norberg, is the deputy director of Macquarie Universitys centre for emotional health and works in mental health. She is under 50 and her doctor did not feel the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks given there are so few COVID-19 cases in Australia. Jake Olivier and Melissa Norberg with son Declan. Credit:Brook Mitchell Dr Oliviers mother, Mary Lou Olivier, 70, was diagnosed with breast and kidney cancer more than seven years ago in the United States. New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have placed orders for 2 million barrels of crude from the US and the first shipment of US crude oil arrived at Paradip Port in Odisha on Monday which is one of the first shipments to India since the US stopped oil exports in 1975. Going by the market reports, the US crude oil is $2 per barrel cheaper to India compared to the most imported crude from Dubai. Since the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump on June 26 in Washington, the two leaders agreed to expand and elevate bilateral energy trade and cooperation through a tactical partnership which is arranged to develop further as India looks to enhance the use of natural gas and expand its infrastructure for Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) used for cooking. Since the meeting, and the subsequent trade agreements the US crude oil shipments to India have become much more crucial than the imports from the old trade partners in the Middle East. Add to it the price difference per barrel, raising questions about the previous as well as future contracts to be placed for Indian markets by the oil companies. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Shop online for a brand-new Toyota car, truck or crossover at Earnhardt Toyota with No Bull Express online sales services. Online shopping has become more and more prevalent amid the COVID-19 pandemic and to accommodate Mesa-area car shoppers, Earnhardt Toyota has provided car shoppers with its No Bull Express online solution.No Bull Express is an online automotive sales solution that provides drivers with the ability to shop for a brand-new Toyota car, truck or crossover from the comfort and safety of home. No Bull Express starts in the Earnhardt Toyota online inventory. Consumers can filter search results by price, year, make, model, trim level, engine, color and more to find the perfect fit. After drivers have found their dream car at a dream price, finances can be negotiated by phone, email or text with a member of the Earnhardt Toyota sales team. Toyota-brand lease and finance incentives are available to qualified buyers to make favorite Toyota models more affordable. But what about a test drive? The test drive is an important part of the purchase process that will help car shoppers find the car, truck or SUV of their dreams. No Bull Express makes the test drive process simple and safe when a member of the Earnhardt Toyota team will bring the chosen vehicle to the potential owners home for an at-home test drive. In-home and online trade appraisals are available when needed. After the test drive, trade-in appraisal and finance negotiations, the Earnhardt Toyota team will deliver the vehicle to its new home. Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler area car shoppers who are interested in learning more about No Bull Express online car shopping available at Earnhardt Toyota can visit the dealership online at http://www.earnhardttoyota.com. Those individuals who prefer a more personal interaction can contact a member of the dealership sales team directly by calling 480-807-9700. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 9, 2021) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (FSE: 3PG) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will conduct a non-brokered private placement of up to 3,000,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.10 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant") with each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share (each, a "Warrant Share") of the Company at a price of $0.15 per Warrant Share for a period of five (5) years from their date of issue, subject to accelerated expiry in certain circumstances. Proceeds of this private placement will be used to advance the Company's projects and for general working capital. All securities issued in connection with the private placement will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws. About Provenance Gold Corp. Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious metals exploration company with a focus on gold and silver resources within North America. The Company currently holds interests in two properties in Nevada, USA. For further information please visit the Company's website at https://provenancegold.com or contact rclark@provenancegold.com. On behalf of the Board, Provenance Gold Corp. Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the anticipated completion of the private placement and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80032 LONDON Britains Prince Charles offered a heartfelt tribute to his dear Papa on Saturday as Buckingham Palace offered the broad outlines of a royal funeral that will be attended by the family and broadcast to the world. As Queen Elizabeth II and other relatives mourned, Charles offered a personal video message saying the royal family was deeply grateful' for the outpouring of support theyve received following the death Friday of his 99-year-old father, Prince Philip. The heir to the throne said he was touched by the number of people around the world who have shared his familys loss and sorrow. My dear Papa was a very special person who I think, above all else, would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him, Charles said, speaking from his southwestern England home of Highgrove. And from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that. It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.' Philips royal ceremonial funeral will take place April 17 at Windsor Castle a slimmed-down service amid the COVID-19 pandemic that will be entirely closed to the public. The palace insisted the royals would strictly adhere to national virus guidelines, measures that in theory would entail mask wearing in an enclosed space and social distancing. The palace declined to comment on specifics. Philip, the queens husband of 73 years who was also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in planning his own funeral and its focus on family was in accordance with his wishes. The duke also took part in designing the modified Land Rover that will carry his coffin. Although the ceremonial arrangements are reduced, the occasion will still celebrate and recognize the dukes life and his more than 70 years of service to the Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth, a palace spokesman said Saturday while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy. Prince Harry, Philips grandson who stepped away from royal duties last year and now lives in California, will attend the service at Windsor along with other members of the royal family. His wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is pregnant and has been advised by her doctor not to make the long journey to the U.K. Another no-show will be Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose office said he would not attend because current coronavirus restrictions limit funerals to 30 people, so by staying away that would allow for as many family members as possible.' The palace appealed to the public not to gather in Windsor or at Buckingham Palace in London to pay their respects to Philip advice that was roundly disregarded by many. Earlier Saturday, military teams across the U.K. and on ships at sea fired 41-gun salutes to mark Philips death, honoring the former naval officer whom they considered one of their own. Batteries in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast the capitals of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom as well as other cities around the U.K. and the Mediterranean outpost of Gibraltar fired the volleys at one-minute intervals beginning at midday. Ships including the HMS Montrose, a frigate patrolling the Persian Gulf, offered their own salutes. The Duke of Edinburgh served among us during the Second World War, and he remained devoted to the Royal Navy and the Armed Forces as a whole, Gen. Nick Carter, chief of the defense staff, said in a statement. A life well-lived. His Royal Highness leaves us with a legacy of indomitable spirit, steadfastness and an unshakeable sense of duty. Members of the Commonwealth, a group of 54 countries headed by the queen, were also invited to honor Philip. The Australian Defense Force began its salute at 5 p.m. outside Parliament House in Canberra, and New Zealand planned to offer its own tribute on Sunday. Philip joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1939 and once had a promising military career. In 1941, he was honored for his service during the battle of Cape Matapan off the coast of Greece, when his control of searchlights aboard the HMS Valiant allowed the battleship to pinpoint enemy vessels in the dark. Philip rose to the rank of commander before he retired from active duty. Two years after the war ended, Philip married Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey when she was 21 and he was 26. Philips naval career came to an abrupt end when King George VI died in 1952 and his wife became queen. At the queens coronation in 1953, Philip swore to be his wifes liege man of life and limb and settled into a life supporting the monarch. The couple had four children Charles, the heir to the throne, Anne, Andrew and Edward. Before he retired from official duties in 2017, the prince carried out more than 22,000 solo public engagements and supported over 780 organizations, including the Duke of Edinburghs Award for young people. Members of the public continued to honor Philips life of service, leaving flowers Saturday outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. I think everyone would like to pay their respects, Maureen Field, 67, said outside Windsor Castle. Because of the virus, a lot of people have to stay away. He didnt want a big funeral. He wanted a very private time with his family to say their goodbyes. So, weve all got to respect that. Mike Williams, 50, traveled from his home in Surrey, southwest of London, to Buckingham Palace to honor the prince. Hes a massive loss to the country and to the world, I think, so we wanted to come and pay respects, Williams said. I dont know what it achieves, but it just felt like the right thing to do. The Associated Press A judge has struck down a Kansas law that banned a common abortion procedure known as a dilation and evacuation abortion or a dismemberment abortion. Shawnee County District Court Judge Teresa Watson issued the ruling on Wednesday, granting a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law, which was passed in 2015. According to Watson, the dismemberment abortion ban was problematic due in part to the lack of alternative abortion procedures that are considered safer for the woman. Banning dismemberment abortion is not narrowly tailored solution to the compelling state interest Defendants seek to address because, according to the evidence before the Court, it would leave no alternative for second trimester abortions other than more complicated, less reliable, less tested, and higher risk procedures, wrote Watson. Source:The Christian Post Mexicos Top Diplomat Expects Constant and Growing Wave of Migrants Mexicos top diplomat on Thursday said he expects a constant and growing stream of migrants in the coming year to flow across his country toward the United States from the so-called northern triangle countries: Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard estimated that the United States would need to donate $2 billion a year to help stabilize the three impoverished nations in an attempt to eliminate the circumstances causing people to flee. Ebrard said Mexico is also planning to invest in the region. If you look at the region from different points of view, but especially demographics and economics, it is clear the flows are going to be constant and growing in coming years, Ebrard said. The United States will have to allocate $2 billion per year for development in these countries, in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 172,000 illegal aliens last month, the highest since March 2001. An additional 1,000 per day are evading capture. In February, border agents apprehended 101,000 people. The surge coincided with the Biden administrations revocation of more than a dozen executive actions and diplomatic arrangements put in place under President Donald Trump. I would argue that its the biggest surge that weve ever seen in the history of the Border Patrol, Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said during a roundtable with Republican members of Congress, Texas landowners, and law enforcement on April 7. On March 24, President Joe Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to head up the border crisis response. She has yet to visit the border and has said that her focus is instead on providing more assistance to Central American countries. Amid the surge, Bidens top border coordinator will leave the administration at the end of April. The White House confirmed on Friday that Special Assistant to the President and Coordinator Roberta Jacobson, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, will step down. Biden knew there was no person better to usher in a more safe, secure, and just approach to our Southern Border. Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the Administrations first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as Coordinator at the end of this month, the White House said in a statement. Over 300 workers of the Aviation Handling Service Ghana, have been sent home in a redundancy exercise due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A letter titled: Notice of Redundancy, dated March 4, 2021, and signed by Thierry Maillot, the Managing Director to the affected staff, made available to the Ghana News Agency at Tema, gave the staff only one months notification. The letter stated: your employment contract shall be terminated through Redundancy. We are hereby serving you with one month notice effective 5th March, 2021. The letter explained that the action was due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on its operations and the Aviation Industry as a whole. The letter stressed that, the Management of Aviation Handling Service Ghana had to embark on the redundancy exercise effective April 6, 2021, to cut down on its workforce for its continuous existence. It said: The negotiated redundancy package is two-month basic salary for each year of service, it noted, adding that the said amount would be paid in two equal instalments on the effective date of the redundancy exercise. During the last week of the notice period, you will be expected to hand over all company properties in your care to the Human Resources office. We thank you for your valuable services to Aviation Handling Service-Ghana over the years and we wish you well in your future endeavours. 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 44 assembly constituencies of five districts in West Bengal will go for the fourth phase of the polls on Saturday. Considering the incidents of violence during the third phase of polling, the Election Commission has made an extensive arrangement to avoid any kind of untoward incidents. 373 candidates will contest in the fourth phase of the election. Out of 44 Assembly constituencies slated for the polls, 11 are in South 24 parganas district, nine in Cooch Behar, five in Alipurduar district, nine in Howrah district and 10 in Hooghly district. Polling is scheduled in six constituencies of Kolkata including Behala East and West, Kasba, Metiabruz, Jadavpur and Tollygunje. Though these constituencies are part of South 24 Parganas but they fall under Kolkata's administrative jurisdiction. Out of total 11,594,950 total voters including service voters, 5,882,514 are male while 5,698,218 are female. The total number of polling booths are 15,940 that includes 12,361 main and 3,579 auxiliary booths. The number of 80 plus voters are 2,03,927 while 50,523 are PWD (Persons with Disabilities) voters. The total number of service electors are 13,928, third gender voters are 290 while overseas voters are 34. Altogether 50 women candidates including some celebrities will contest in the fourth phase. Interestingly women voters will become the deciding factor in the West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district in this phase. Cumulatively the number of female voters in the district's 11 constituencies are more than their male counterparts. In six of them, Sonarpur Dakshin, Sonarpur Uttar, Jadavpur, Tollygunj, Behala Uttar, Behala Dakshin, women have an edge over their male counterparts. The total number of female voters in these 11 constituencies are 15,70,392, while the number of the male voters is 15,66,161. The Jadavpur constituency has the highest gender ratio, with 1,54,239 female voters against 1,44,420 males. To avoid any kind of violence, the Election Commission has made an extensive security arrangement. The ECI has decided to deploy 789 companies of Central forces -- the highest force concentration in this election so far. "Presently, there are around 800 companies of Central forces in the state, but the Commission has assured to send another 200 companies from Assam where elections have recently concluded. This will take the number of Central forces to 1,000 companies, which is the highest deployment in the state in any election so far. This additional 200 companies will be used for the elections in North Bengal as this it will be logistically easier," said a senior commission official in the state. According to officials, there will be a deployment of 187 companies of Central forces for the nine constituencies of Cooch Behar followed by South 24 parganas where the deployment will be 184 companies. In addition to that another 174 companies of central forces will be deployed in the 10 constituencies in Hooghly district, 140 companies for the nine constituencies in Howrah district and another 98 companies for Alipurduar district. The Commission has also deployed six companies for Jalipaiguri as it shares border with Alipurduar. The ECI has deployed 35 general observers, 10 expenditure observers and nine police observers for the fourth phase of polls. There will be webcasting facilities in 50 per cent of the booths. The Commission has appointed IPS officer Ajeet Singh Yadav, SP CIF of the state police to assist the Commissioner of Howrah Police C. Sudhakar during Saturday's election considering the sensitivity of the elections in the district. --IANS saibal/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.) Amid mounting pressure from university students and faculty, the provincial government said it would amend a proposed law to ensure it won't affect student union fees and services. Amid mounting pressure from university students and faculty, the provincial government said it would amend a proposed law to ensure it won't affect student union fees and services. Over the last month, critics have called on the province to withdraw Bill 33, the Advanced Education Administration Amendment Act, which would allow the government to issue guidelines on tuition and fees set by a university board. The Canadian Federation of Students, Manitoba Alliance of Post-Secondary Students and Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations argue that, if enacted as is, the bill could give the province power to dictate what dues student unions collect. These fees, which are decided upon in campus elections, fund everything from university food banks to student union executive salaries, advocacy campaigns to university newspapers. The government will amend the bill to explicitly exclude those fees when it enters the committee stage next week, Advanced Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said Friday. The change is being made, "in order to bring even more clarity to the bill to basically spell it out that this bill does not impact student union or association fees set through their own democratic process," he said. Brenden Gali, chairperson of the Manitoba chapter of the federation of students, welcomed the amendment Friday. At the same time, Gali said questions remain about what student associations will be protected only the University of Manitoba Students Union is defined as a student union under provincial legislation and what fees are at stake. Course-related fees, library fees and registration fees are among those that will be subject to the departments guidelines under Bill 33, Ewasko told the Free Press. The intent behind the legislation is to provide a "shoulder-check" to prevent institutions from increasing fees so post-secondary remains affordable, the minister added. Scott Forbes, president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations, said what the province says and does are "in total opposite directions." If the province wants to increase the number of post-secondary graduates and keep university affordable, it should not slash operating budgets, Forbes said, noting grants will decrease by $8.7 million this year, per the 2021 budget. As for the amendment announcement, he said it does not address his associations concerns about "deep interference" into university operations, since the bill gives the minister power to set different tuition classes that apply to different subjects. "Were going to make sure that our post-secondary education here in Manitoba remains very affordable for students, but at the same time we have to make sure our programming is strong," Ewasko told the Free Press Friday. The NDP critic on the advanced education file said the provinces plan for post-secondary are "eerily similar" to its plans for K-12 education. "Were seeing funding cuts and a parallel between the centralization of power (in Bill 33 and Bill 64)," said Jamie Moses. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Connecticut health officials said Friday a Fairfield County child has a confirmed case of the measles. In a statement, the state Department of Public Health said the child had not yet been vaccinated against the disease and picked up the infection while traveling internationally. The age of the child was not released. DPH is collaborating with local partners to identify contacts and implement appropriate control measures, the statement said. DPH noted that while the infection can spread quickly between unvaccinated people, most people are not at risk because they have either been vaccinated or have had measles in the past, before vaccination became routine. Acting Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford urged those who have not received a measles shot to do so. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been happening, some children have fallen behind on their immunizations, Gifford said in a statement. This measles case is an important reminder that these vaccine-preventable diseases still pose a threat, and that we must protect children through on-time vaccination. The disease, caused by a highly contagious virus, leaves a rash on the skin about five days after the onset of symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rash typically starts at the hairline and works its way down the infected persons body. Symptoms usually begin to show around one to two weeks after infection and include a high fever with spikes over 104 degrees, cough, runny nose and red watery eyes. Small white spots may also appear inside an infected persons mouth two to three days after the onset of symptoms, according to the CDC. While most residents have been vaccinated, and having two doses of Measles, Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine is required to attend school in Connecticut, not everyone has had the shot. Some students with medical or religious exemptions may not be vaccinated against the disease, DPH noted. Exposed individuals who are not vaccinated against measles must stay out of school, or other high-risk settings, for a full 21 days after their last known exposure, the agencys press release said. Children should get the shot beginning at 12 to 15 months of age and a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6. Adult college students, health care workers, people at high risk and those traveling abroad should have two doses, while all adults should have at least one dose, DPH noted. Adults born in the U.S. before 1957 are considered immune to measles from past exposures, but in situations where exposure to measles is likely, these adults may benefit from a dose of MMR vaccine to be safer, DPH said. Last year, only 13 cases of measles were found in the United States, according to DPH. Anyone with a fever and rash who believes they may have measles should contact their health care provider before going to the doctors office to help prevent the disease from being spread, the agency said. Veteran fund manager Hugh Sergeant has rarely been more positive about the UK equity market in a City career spanning more than a quarter of a century than he is now. Sergeant, head of value and recovery at asset manager River and Mercantile, believes the UK stock market could deliver returns of up to 30 per cent this year. His view is that corporate profitability will bounce back sharply as the economy reopens and goes into strong recovery mode. Bounce: Over the last year, in the aftermath of a strong market correction in February and March 2020, the fund has recorded a total return of 61% Although he doesn't dismiss the possibility of a third wave of coronavirus, he argues that its economic impact if it happens would be less destructive because of the Government's successful vaccination programme. 'The animal spirits are fairly good,' he says, using a phrase coined by economist John Maynard Keynes 85 years ago to describe consumer confidence in the economy and stock market. 'There's a lot of cash out there waiting to be spent by consumers and it will be. That will be good for UK plc.' He adds: 'The UK stock market is in a sweet spot. Share valuations are still low relative to other equity markets because of the lingering hangover from the Brexit referendum. So they have greater potential to rise. 'Corporate profits are set to recover strongly as the economy reopens, while the market is underpinned by certainties it hasn't had for a while greater political certainty and more confidence that we can break the grip of coronavirus through the vaccination programme.' Sergeant's River and Mercantile UK Recovery Fund is set up to maximise returns from this market bounce. More than 80% of the fund's assets are invested in the UK More than 80 per cent of the fund's assets are invested in the UK, with holdings ranging in size from FTSE 100 giants BP, Shell and Unilever through to minnows such as AIM-listed Somero Enterprises, a company that manufactures equipment used in the laying of concrete. Judging by the fund's performance, the 'bounce' is already in full swing. Over the last year, in the aftermath of a strong market correction in February and March 2020, the fund has recorded a total return of 61 per cent. But Sergeant is optimistic there is more to come. He believes there are pockets of excellent value in sectors such as energy and banking which should benefit from an economy in growth mode. BP, Shell and banks Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays are all top 10 holdings. 'Energy companies will do well on the back of economic recovery,' says Sergeant. 'As for the banks, the economic environment is the most favourable it has been for ten years and their shares remain attractively valued.' Unlike most other fund managers, Sergeant does not run a concentrated portfolio. Far from it. The UK Recovery fund is invested in more than 300 companies. He describes this as a 'Hugh Sergeant idiosyncrasy' and says it has stood the fund's investors in good stead over the years. 'I am constantly looking at new ideas for the fund,' he says. 'It often means I adopt a gradualist approach where I invest a small amount into a share to begin with and build the position as positive news comes out about the company.' He admits some companies 'blow up' are stock market flops although he says his success rate is greater than 90 per cent. Key overseas holdings include German car-maker Volkswagen Sergeant believes its investment in electric cars is unrecognised by the rest of the market and Chinese internet search engine Baidu. The fund's stock market identification code is B614105 and annual charges total 1.14 per cent. With an income of less than one per cent a year, it is not suitable for income investors. Hallmark Channel is taking viewers on a trip to Ireland. The networks newest movie, As Luck Would Have It, follows a woman (Sweet Magnolias star JoAnna Garcia Swisher) who travels to the Emerald Isle for work, only to find herself falling for a handsome local (Downton Abbey alum Allen Leech). The gorgeous landscapes and sweeping coastal views are sure to inspire more than a few vacations abroad. But was the movie really filmed in Ireland? What is As Luck Would Have It about? RELATED: Every New Hallmark Movie You Can Watch in April 2021 Hallmark headed abroad to film its latest movie. As Luck Would Have It was shot on location in Ireland earlier in 2021. Swisher plays a woman named Lindsey Johnson, who travels to a town on the Irish coast with the goal of acquiring a valuable piece of land to turn into a resort. But a 14th century castle sits on the property, and its owned by the town council. The council wont sell to anyone who will tear down the building or who doesnt understand the local culture. Councilman (and whiskey distiller) Brennan OBrien (Leech) is among the most committed of the councilpersons who are against selling. Lindsey realizes that if she wants to buy the land, shell have to win over Brennan. So, she enters the town matchmaking festival as a way to prove her interest in the town. But after a round of activities, including baking soda bread, knitting an Aran sweater, and a visit to the Cliffs of Moher, she finds herself falling for both the town and Brennan. Allen Leechs favorite As Luck Would Have filming location Allen Leech in As Luck Would Have It | 2021 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steffan Hill Leech, who is from Ireland, was thrilled to have a chance to work in his home country and show off its beautiful landscapes. I think Ireland is the perfect location for this story, he said in a video shared by Hallmark. Im always very proud anytime I see Ireland depicted on screen. I dont think this will be any different. For Leech, the highlight of making As Luck Would Have It was filming at the famed Cliffs of Moher on the countrys Western coast. Theyre so dramatic, he said. Other scenes were filmed at Howth Castle, not far from Dublin. In a weird twist, the part of the movies story involving the castle ended up mirroring some aspects of real life. Bizarrely, the story of whats happening with the castle right now is exactly whats happening in the film. It has been bought by an American company and will be turned into a hotel, Leech said. JoAnna Garcia Swisher calls Ireland a perfect setting for a love story JoAnna Garcia Swisher in As Luck Would Have It | 2021 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steffan Hill For Swisher, filming in Ireland was a special experience, especially as she got to work with her friend Leech. Its really nice to get to come over and share his country with him. Hes been a great tour guide, she told Hallmark. Like her co-star, Swisher felt the Irish setting was ideal for a romance. I think Ireland is the perfect setting for any love story, she said. It is so beautiful the backdrop is miraculous. Everything is steeped in tradition and history, Swisher added. Its really unique and beautiful. As Luck Would Have It airs Saturday, April 10 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Sitting in the criminal defendants dock is nothing new for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which has been prosecuted for causing wildfires and a lethal explosion. But there is something different, and perhaps unprecedented, about most of the 33 criminal charges filed against the states largest utility this week for starting the Kincade Fire, which burned 78,000 acres, destroyed 374 buildings and injured six firefighters in the wooded hills of Sonoma County in 2019. Some of the charges, typical in fire cases, accuse the utility of reckless conduct that burned property and woodlands and harmed the firefighters. But a majority of the counts two of the five felonies and 23 of the 28 misdemeanors are for emitting an air contaminant, smoke and ash, that endangered people and property. The two felony charges filed by county District Attorney Jill Ravitch, each punishable by fines of up to $1 million, were for airborne emissions that caused unspecified great bodily injury to two unidentified minors. The misdemeanor counts, which each carry fines of up to $75,000, were for seriously polluting the air and for blackening the sky, as measured by a scale developed by a 19th-century French researcher. Ravitchs office is not aware of similar charges in other fire cases, said Joan Croft, an analyst in the office. Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and a former federal prosecutor, said the case may signal a new willingness by prosecutors to look more broadly at the dangers to the general population from the growing threat of wildfires. This is more than just property damage. This really put peoples lives and health at risk, Levenson said. She said the air contamination charges were a tool that the prosecutors have to hold PG&E responsible ... for the extreme health risk that these fires create. Whats changing, I think, is that were shifting from viewing wildfire-created air pollution as rotten luck to seeing it as something thats human-caused and very harmful, said Dave Owen, a law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco. PG&E said Tuesday it would accept state fire investigators previous conclusion that the blaze was started by a faulty PG&E transmission line north of Geyserville. However, we do not believe there was any crime here, the company said. None of the utilitys executives or employees has been charged with a crime. The states largest utility pleaded guilty last year to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for starting the 2018 Camp Fire that leveled most of the town of Paradise in Butte County. And PG&E is still on probation for felony convictions in the 2010 gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in San Bruno. Overwhelmed by wildfire debts, PG&E filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and returned to solvency last summer with an agreement to create a $13.5 billion fund for victims of earlier fires, though not the Kincade Fire. Additional criminal convictions would also violate PG&Es terms of probation in the San Bruno pipeline case, and could be grounds for U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco, who is overseeing the probation, to impose additional fire-safety requirements. The California air contamination law, first enacted in 1975, makes it a crime to emit substances that cause injury, detriment, nuisance or annoyance to any considerable number of persons or to the public, or that endanger the comfort, repose, health, or safety of any of those persons or the public, or that cause, or have a natural tendency to cause, injury or damage to business or property. The law does not apply to odors from growing crops, raising fowl or livestock, or composting. It has been used against industrial operations that spew pollutants, but Levenson and Owen said they were unaware of previous prosecutions for smoke and ash caused by fires that were set carelessly or deliberately. One feature of the law is its reliance on the Ringelmann smoke chart. Developed in 1888 by Maximilien Ringelmann, a French agricultural engineer and scientist, and adopted in 1967 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the chart measures the density of airborne smoke by its effect on the color of the sky. Under the California law, it is a misdemeanor to emit air contaminants that darken the sky to the second of four levels on the Ringelmann chart, labeled equivalent to 40% black, for at least three minutes in any hour. PG&E is charged with 13 such offenses, for every day from Oct. 25 through Nov. 6, 2019, and is also accused of emissions on some of those days that caused a risk of serious injuries or death. The charges have a personal meaning to Levenson, the Loyola law professor, who was attending a wedding reception in the East Bay when the Kincade Fire started wafting smoke across the bay. Months before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, those in attendance got acquainted with surgical masks. We were very far away, Levenson said, and the air was unbreathable. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko A Brandon man has been separated from his wife for months as the couple waits on the federal government to approve a visa application that appears stalled. Advertisement Advertise With Us A Brandon man has been separated from his wife for months as the couple waits on the federal government to approve a visa application that appears stalled. David Amos, who farms near Alexander, said his wife, Daniela Perafan, is currently in Panama. She wants to come to Canada to visit Amos family and see the province, but delays in the federal governments processing of Temporary Residence Visas mean the couple has been stuck in limbo for months. "Its been a real eye-opener of how awful the immigration process is even for simple items," Amos said. Perafan, who lives in Panama but is Venezuelan, needs the visa to come to Canada. Amos said the couple has been in contact with the Canadian embassy in Mexico City, but so far things arent moving. Amos said he believes the visa was "red-flagged" because of Perafans Venezuelan citizenship and the possibility of a refugee claim. He said, though, she only wants it to be able to travel back and forth and to see him. The couple met through a mutual friend and got married in November 2020, he said. Perafan sent in the initial visa application in September 2019 but it was rejected. After discussing with a lawyer, Amos said she resubmitted it in March 2020, but has heard nothing after more than 400 days. "We just get standard form letters. Were not considered a priority, but because were family now we do qualify under the Family Reunification Act," he said. Amos said he and Perafan arent the only ones facing long waits for the visa, as he believes its a problem across the board. "Were not the only ones in this boat," he said. According to a notice on the federal departments website, the department cant process applications normally or give accurate processing times due to COVID-19. Despite this, the website estimates Temporary Residence Visas from either Panama or Venezuela take 182 days to complete. The Sun reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for comment on the cause of the delay and more information but did not receive a response back by Fridays deadline. Amos has seen Perafan since the visa application stalled, he said, but not since the federal government mandated two-week quarantines for anyone returning to Canada from international travel. Amos has tried reaching out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada about the status of the application but so far it has been radio silence. "Were extremely frustrated, and Daniela especially. Shes a resident of Panama, shes got a place in Panama but shes separated from everybody," he said. "We just want to live our lives." Amos said Perafan wants to eventually apply for a permanent residency, but that cant happen until the initial visa gets approved. dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ Windsor residents rallied on a street corner Friday evening to call for the removal of embattled Mayor Dominic Foppoli following allegations of sexual assault brought to light by a Chronicle investigation. About 50 people holding signs that read Fire Foppoli and We Demand Accountability chanted their disapproval of the mayors refusal to step down as passing drivers honked in solidarity. This is something I never imagined happening in my hometown, said rally organizer Angelica Nunez, 40, waving a homemade poster. I cant just sit back. Now Playing: Video: Nora Mishanec, Caron Creighton Nunez, a third-generation Windsor resident, said she was motivated to organize the protest by her 15-year-old daughter, who inked many of the signs on display. The Chronicle investigation, published Thursday, documented accusations by four women that Foppoli sexually assaulted them, acts ranging from groping to rape, between 2003 and 2019. Foppoli has denied the allegations. Like Nunez, Windsor resident Cliff Baum thought of his daughter when he read about the allegations.One word summed up his emotions: Disgusted. The rally comes amid mounting pressure for Foppoli to resign, though few protesters predicted he would. More than a dozen elected leaders including every other city mayor in Sonoma County called on Foppoli to step down within 24 hours of The Chronicle publishing its investigation. The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office launched a criminal investigation into the allegations of sexual assault on Thursday. By 5 p.m., one hour into the rally, protesters had gathered on multiple corners of the central Windsor intersection, selected by organizers for its proximity to the Highway 101 on-ramp, where they hoped their message would reach the widest possible audience. Some drivers passed with barely a glance, but many honked and cheered out their windows. Like others at the rally, Amy Lydon, 37, condemned the longstanding culture of silence around Foppolis alleged behavior. The lifelong Windsor resident called on Town Councilmember Debora Fudge to resign for inaction over a 2017 email complaining about then-Vice Mayor Foppolis alleged misconduct. Fudge, a friend and mentor of Foppoli, withdrew her support for the mayor in a blistering statement Friday afternoon. Its too bad it took so long for the story to get out, Lydon said. We couldve saved more people from assaults. Nearby, Holli Clausen, 32, shook her tambourine as chants rang out across the intersection. Hes got to resign, Clausen said. We wont stop until hes out. Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nora.mishanec@hearst.com Twitter: @NMishanec Several foreign media have reported on the recent dispute over the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in Slovakia. Foreign media are talking about Slovakia again. This time, the headlines focus on the recent debate triggered by the Russian Direct Investment Fund's request that Slovakia returns the batch of the Sputnik V vaccines and the subsequent involvement of ex-prime minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO), who now holds the finance minister post. Several media outlets also pointed out that the recent debate on Sputnik V follows a coalition crisis, which resulted in the reshuffles of the cabinet. A blow to vaccine diplomacy Russias vaccine diplomacy suffered a setback on Thursday when Slovakia, one of the few countries in Europe to order its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, said that the doses it purchased differed from a version reviewed favourably by a respected British medical journal, the New York Times reported. The daily reports on the assessment of the vaccine issued by the State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL) said that the batch delivered to Slovakia was different from the one described in the Lancet magazine. Former minister requested tests, Slovak Academy of Sciences responds Read more Slovakia's statement could damage Russias efforts to establish Sputnik V as a reliable brand, the daily reported. Several other media, including Bloomberg and The Times, reported on how Slovakias assessment of the delivered batch might mar the efforts of Russia to administer its vaccine in Europe. Bloomberg wrote that Slovakia was one of the few countries of the bloc pushing to use the Russia-developed vaccine to help speed the roll-out of inoculations and that the political tensions over the push to use what one critic called a tool in hybrid war caused a crisis that cost Prime Minister Igor Matovic his job. The details of the conflict have also been described by the Moscow Times, which reported on the accusations of sabotage voiced by the vaccines producer. The Associated Press mentioned Matovics Facebook post, which refers to the opponents of the vaccine as idiots. Testing in Hungary UPDATED: The Russian vaccine delivered to Slovakia to be tested in Hungary Read more Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that apart from Slovakia and Hungary, which have already received the batches, several other EU countries are actively considering the vaccine, even though it has not been approved by the European Medicines Agency. Hungarian labs will test the vaccine for Slovakia, as several foreign media outlets reported. The news was broken by Hungarys Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who met with Matovic on the afternoon of April 9. The move is the latest twist in a row involving Slovakias ex-prime minister, its drugs regulator and Russia over the quality of batches of the vaccine delivered to Slovakia in March, the Politico magazine reported. 10. Apr 2021 at 12:24 | Radka Minarechova Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to Queen Elizabeth II to express his "deep condolences" on the death of her husband, Prince Philip. "Many important events in the modern history of your country are associated with the name of His Royal Highness. He rightfully enjoyed respect among the British and international authority," Putin said in the message sent on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian leader wished Queen Elizabeth II courage and mental fortitude, and also extended sincere sympathy to all members of the royal family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace announced earlier. Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images Following the sad death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, yesterday aged 99, it's been confirmed that grandson Prince Harry will travel to the UK to attend. His wife Meghan Markle, on the other hand, is unable to travel being heavily pregnant, and therefore will not be in attendance. It's now been confirmed that Prince Philip's funeral will take place at 3pm on Saturday, 17 April, with a small group of 30 family and long-serving workers. Prince Harry, who lives in California with Meghan and their one-year-old son Archie, will fly home to the UK on his own. Royal correspondent Omid Scobie reports the Duke of Sussex will follow all US and UK COVID-19 protocols in the process of attending the funeral. Scobie reports that a source says Meghan made "every effort" to travel, but was not given medical clearance to fly from her physician. The 39-year-old is expecting her second child, a daughter, in the coming months, and is likely now in her third trimester. Photo credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images Prince Philip passed away peacefully yesterday morning (9 April) at Windsor Castle, not long after returning home from a month-long stay in hospital. In response to the news, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle paid tribute to their grandfather and grandfather-in-law via their Archewell website. The couple removed all functions from the site and put some words in his honour up instead. "In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh," the words read, along with the dates of his life, 1921-2021. In a personal note underneath, Harry and Meghan wrote: "Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed." Photo credit: Archewell Weeks before Prince Philip's sad death, Prince Harry shared a funny anecdote involving his much-loved grandfather during an interview with James Corden, saying that despite having moved to Los Angeles with his young family, he and Meghan remained in regular contact with the Queen and Philip over Zoom. When asked by James if the Queen knows how to video call, Harry responded with a laugh and said, "Yes, both my grandparents do... Weve Zoomed them a few times, theyve seen Archie running around. But my grandfather, instead of pressing 'leave meeting', he just goes doof' [mimics shutting the laptop]. Im like, okay, bye?" Story continues Photo credit: Phil Walter - Getty Images Our thoughts are with the entire royal family during this very sad time. You Might Also Like Coronavirus Coverage Because of health and safety concerns, the Herald-Republic is allowing unlimited access to our COVID-19 stories and resources. If you are able to support local news by subscribing, support our journalism. Click here to begin your subscription and access all of our local coverage. The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) Local 5017 has succeeded in imposing a sellout contract on the 156 health care workers at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon whose strike was called off after just 11 days by the union on March 15. The contract addresses none of the concerns of the medical technicians and imposes a market-based pay structure completely in line with the hospital administrations demands. This has not stopped the OFNHP from calling the deal a massive victory and a historic new contract. However, the unions version of the deal is not corroborated by hospital management. If there was anything historic in this contract, it is just how sharply the hospital and OFNHP disagree on what it contains. The sellout deal was worked out between St. Charles and the OFNHP over the weekend of March 27-28. Significantly, the Bend Bulletin reported on March 29 that the federal mediator requested that neither side discuss the details of the agreement until after the members had voted on the contract, which would happen on March 31. This was a transparent attempt to keep workers in the dark over terms of the sellout. Medical techs during their strike against St Charles Medical Center (Source: OFNHP L. 5017 Facebook) The OFNHP was keenly aware of the role played by the WSWS in providing information and analysis of the strike, and terrified of the eruption of mass opposition that they might not be able to contain. Significantly, while a reported 94 percent of the workers voted to authorize the strike that began on March 4, the number of workers who voted for the contract has not been made public by the union. While the union claims that the workers got an average pay increase of 25 percent, the hospital says that the average increase is 11 percent. In a written statement, published by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), the hospital states: The contract provides general wage increases and market adjustments for the first year that will bring the technical caregivers to the same wage level as St. Charles techs at other campuses. The OFNHP has not refuted this claim but maintained that somehow this was a concession given to workers by St. Charles through the efforts of the union. As reported on Channel 21, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Goodman challenged the unions version of the wage increase: We would like to understand how the union is coming to the 25 percent increase, too, because that is not what is in the contract. Individual caregivers are receiving wage increases that range from 0 to 25 percent. Only one person is getting a 25 percent increase. The average increase for the group is 11 percent, which is consistent with increases received from 2019 through the first quarter of 2021 for non-contracted technical caregivers. The wage package brings the technical caregivers up to the level of wages they would have already received if they had not voted to unionize in September 2019. Most OFNHP members did not receive wage increases during the bargaining process. In an official statement released on April 1, Hillary Forest, director of human resources for St. Charles and a member of the management bargaining team, stated, The wage proposal that was ratified by yesterdays vote is the same proposal St. Charles put on the bargaining table before the technical caregivers went out on strike. She further underlined the unions failure to provide any concession to the workers while in the same breath approving the unions actions in calling off the strike on March 15, giving them time to work out the sellout. As we have said multiple times, no one wins in a strike situation. We are pleased that OFNHP was willing to return to work so we could negotiate the last items in the contract to ensure no future disruptions to patient care. Under the terms of the agreement, the hospital remains an open shop, with union membership not mandatory. St. Charles did not provide back pay for the unionized workers who lost out on the wage increases the hospital provided for workers in other non-unionized units. Forest said in the hospitals official statement, Our bargaining philosophy has been to ensure that all St. Charles caregivers are treated fairlyregardless of if they are unionized We did not provide retroactive pay for the technical caregivers, and we achieved our goal of ensuring this group of caregivers is compensated with the same processes and general increases as caregivers who are not part of a union. The article the OFNHP posted on its web page fails to mention that the hospital is an open shop. It only quotes one technician, who claims that the contract raises our wages an average of 25 percent. However, all evidence suggests the union is lying on its Facebook page and covering up in its official organ. From beginning to end, the hospital took the lead in all aspects of the negotiations, with the union acting as its lapdog, providing crucial support in demoralizing workers, preventing them from learning the details of the sellout, and now claiming victory when in actuality, it was a defeat. Lessons must be drawn. As the WSWS warned in its analysis of the struggle of the Bend health care workers, victory requires that workers establish an independent rank-and-file committee to take the control of the contract fight out of the hands of the union. With the virus again spreading rapidly in Oregon, the fight of health care workers for safe conditions takes on even greater significance. The state has seen an increase from a seven-day case average of 274 on March 20 to 466 on April 6. OPB reported in early March that Brian ORoak, co-director of the SARS COV-2 Genome Sequencing Center at Oregon Health & Science University, discovered a new variant in Oregon that combines the B.1.1.7 variant with an additional mutation known as E484K. To carry this struggle forward, health care workers in Bend and across the Pacific Northwest should form rank-and-file safety committees, democratically controlled by workers themselves and independent of the Democrats, Republicans and unions. Educators, who are the natural allies of health care workers, have already formed rank-and-file committees in Oregon and many other states. Unlike the unions, which keep workers divided, the purpose of rank-and-file committees is to forge the unity of all workers across health care, education, transportation, manufacturing, logistics, retail and other sectors, to prepare collective action to defend their basic interests. Trinity International University of Ambassadors (TIUA) has denied awarding a Degree to renowned UK-based musician, Sonnie Badu in a four-month period. no student cannot obtain any major degrees including a PhD in four months, said TIUA on Friday. This comes on the back of the backlash Sonnie Badu received after he claimed that he has been awarded three degrees in a space of four months. Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghanas Political Science Department, Prof. Ransford Gyampo described as an absurdity Sonnie Badus claim of acquiring three separate degrees in four months. PhD enterprise has no room for miracles; God does miracles but not PhD miracles, Prof. Gyampo said on Starr Chat on Wednesday. The celebrated musician had said that apart from his two honorary doctorate degrees, he also has a PhD, a masters degree, and a bachelors degree. But TIUA in its Press Statement issued by the Legal Department stated: Our institution prides itself in the quality of education tailored for each of our students i.e. including their extensive body of work in ministry. The University further noted: TIUA makes no claims, implied or otherwise, that our educational programs, courses, or curricula are the same as offered by secular state colleges and universities. TIUA is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. Credits and Degrees earned at TIUA are for those in Christian service. It added:Therefore, any degree that has been earned by our students (Including Dr. Sonnie Badu), are in alignment with the State of Georgia religious exemption authority to receive degrees from associates to doctoral degrees. About TIUA Trinity International University of Ambassadors (TIUA) is a private corporation in the State of Georgia and legally authorized by the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC) as a postsecondary educational institution with a religious exemption authority to offer degree programs that are designed solely for religious education. Trinity I.U.A is an accredited member of the World-Wide Accreditation Commission of Christian Education Institutions, and National Association of Private Theological Institutions (NAPTI). TIUA are members of the National Bible College Association (NBCA), The Adult Higher Education Alliance (AHEA), and Academic Council for Educational Accountability (ACEA). Source: kasapafmonline.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 India on Saturday reported a net increase of 67,023 in active cases to take its count to 1,046,631, the most at time since the outbreak early last year. That is over 103 per cent of the previous high of 1,017,754 on September 18. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 4.45 per cent (one in 23). The country is 4th among the most affected countries by active cases. On Saturday, it added 145,384 cases, the most in a day so far, to take its total caseload to 13,205,926. And, with 794 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 168,436, or 1.28 per cent of total confirmed infections. With 3,415,055 more people getting Covid-19 vaccine shots on Friday, Indias total count of those inoculated reached 98,075,160. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 11,990,859 or 90.80 per cent of total caseload with 77,576 new cured cases being reported on Saturday. News Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich is leading a coalition of 16 states defending an Arkansas law that prevents state subsidization of boycotts of Israel. The law generally requires state-funded contractors to certify that they are not engaged in such boycotts. Arizona passed a similar law in 2016 to prevent national origin discrimination. The law does not impact free speech, said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. It affirms that companies, who choose to compete for taxpayer-funded public contracts, should not be engaged in widespread discrimination of others based solely on nationality. The coalition is urging the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the case en banc after a misguided 2-1 ruling earlier this year. In 2017, the Arkansas Legislature passed the Arkansas 710 Act (Act) to prevent public entities from awarding contracts to companies who engage in boycotts against Israel. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), on behalf of the Arkansas Times, filed a lawsuit alleging the Act violated the First Amendment. The coalition argues the Act does not violate the First Amendment. The Act regulates only economic conduct, not speech, and only affects what companies can receive taxpayer funds. In addition, the Act is plainly an anti-discrimination measure, which has been widely upheld against First Amendment challenges even where (unlike here) they burden expression/association. The Act does not prohibit people from saying what they want about Israel -- it only regulates the commercial actions of companies that choose to contract with the government and therefore receive taxpayer money. Additionally, the coalition argues the Act prohibits invidious discrimination based solely on nationality or national origin. By definition, targeting a particular group for the intentional infliction of economic harm is discrimination. The decision threatens similar laws in many other states. Nearly two-thirds of all states31 in allhave laws like Arkansas. Notably, the same counsel has brought equivalent suits in Arizona, Kansas, and Texas. There is no reason to doubt thatuncorrectedthe panel majoritys decision will be used to bring lawsuits against Arkansas 30 similarly-situated sister states. The brief is led by Arizona Attorney General Brnovich. Joining him are Attorneys General from Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for an end to what he described as "worrying" developments in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on April 10. The meeting, which lasted more than three hours in Istanbul, was part of a previously scheduled visit but coincided with increased tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over the long-running conflict in eastern Ukraine. Erdogan expressed his concern about the current fraught situation at a news conference alongside Zelenskiy, adding that he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully through dialogue and in line with Ukraine's territorial integrity. "We believe that the current crisis can be solved with peaceful and diplomatic means on the basis of the integrity of Ukraine and international law," Erdogan said. Turkey and Ukraine, both of which border on the Black Sea, maintain close relations, and Turkey has previously condemned the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. "As Turkey, we have strongly defended the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We have once more confirmed our decision not to recognize the occupation of Crimea," Erdogan said at the press conference. During their meeting the presidents also discussed expanding defense cooperation between their countries. Zelenskiy said the stepped-up cooperation would apply especially to weaponry and the construction of fighter jets. Zelenskiy said Kyiv and Ankara share the same view on threats in the Black Sea region and the response to those threats. Zelenskiy, who visited troops in the Donbas region two days ago, said he had briefed Erdogan on the situation in detail. Major movements of Russian armed forces toward or near Ukraine's borders and into Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula have been captured in photographs, video, and other data, fueling concerns that Moscow may be preparing to send forces into eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops, denying they are a threat while adding that military movements within Russia are an internal sovereign issue. Washington has called Moscow's military buildup "destabilizing," and the White House has expressed concern about the recent troop movements. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken consulted the German and French foreign ministers on April 9 about the need for Russia to cease its military buildup in the occupied Crimean Peninsula and near Ukraines eastern borders. Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries. Since then, overwhelming evidence suggests Russia has continued to lend diplomatic and military aid to armed separatists fighting in the Donbas region. The conflict has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than 1 million since April 2014. With reporting by Reuters and AP Gurugram, April 10 : The Samyukt Kisan Morcha's (SKM) call on Saturday to block the six-lane Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway in protest against the Centre's three farm laws did not evoke much response at Nuh, Manesar and Farukhnagar. All these places are located on the expressway. The SKM had announced that the Expressway will be blocked for 24 hours from 8 a.m. on Saturday. The blockade was scheduled to continue till 8 a.m. on Sunday. However, the Gurugram police had diverted traffic near Panchgaon and Farukhnagar and advised commuters to avoid travelling on the super expressway. In view of the KMP blockade, the Gurugram police have beefed up security around the KMP. The police personnel stationed on the Expressway were searching vehicles as a precautionary measure. The commuters travelling on the Expressway said they had no idea about the traffic diversion and blockade of the Expressway. "I was travelling from Meerut to Haridwar. Nobody stopped us from Palwal to Manesar but here at Farukhnagar in Gurugram on the expressway the police are not allowing us to move forward. Now I have to take another route to reach Haridwar," Harish Narang, a commuter told IANS. Meanwhile, The Gurugram police at the Delhi-Gurugram border on the KMP beefed up security since Friday and started checking vehicles, which slowed down the traffic movement on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway (NH-48) and on the KMP's entry and exit points. "We have deployed 120 personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RPF) and anti-riot squad along with additional force to maintain peace and traffic movement on the super Expressway. However, since morning none of the protesting farmers reached the Expressway," Arvind Kumar Sharma, Inspector RAF told IANS. Furthermore, the Gurugram police have deployed huge police force including, RAF, CISF and anti-riot squad at Panchgaon Chowk, Bilaspur Chowk, near NSG campus, Delhi-Gurugram border, Farukhnagar, entry-exit points on KMP and Gurugram-Jhajjar border. The expressway was largely unaffected by the farmers protests till the filing of the report. The KMP expressway was built to decongest the ever-busy roads of Delhi, especially by reducing the number of trucks entering the national capital, thus helping to curb pollution. It provides a high-speed link between northern and southern Haryana districts and gives an uninterrupted high-speed link for traffic, especially commercial traffic, from Haryana to the neighbouring states. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text US rapper and actor DMX has died at the age of 50, five days after suffering a heart attack. The performer, whose real name was Earl Simmons, had been placed on life support and died with his family by his side. In a statement, his family said he was "a warrior who fought till the very end". "Earl's music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever," they said. DMX, aka Dark Man X, was a leading hip-hop performer who collaborated with such artists as JAY-Z, Ja Rule and LL Cool J. He took his moniker from the name of a drum machine used in rap tracks. The chart-topping artist's songs included Party Up (Up in Here) and X Gon' Give It To Ya. He also acted on screen, appearing in such films as Cradle 2 the Grave, Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds. Born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1970, DMX publicly battled substance abuse for years and spent several periods in rehab. A father of 15, he served jail sentences on charges including animal cruelty, reckless driving, drug possession and weapons possession. According to his family, DMX died on Friday at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. "He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him," their statement continued. "We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time. "Please respect our privacy as we grieve the loss of our brother, father, uncle and the man the world knew as DMX." His manager Steve Rifkind also paid his respects, writing on Instagram: "The team is going to finish what we started and your legacy will never go away. "That's my word. Rest Easy X". Tributes were paid throughout Friday, with a host of stars expressing their admiration for the musician and offering sympathies to his family. "His gift meant so much to so many," tweeted actress Halle Berry. Rappers Ice Cube, Soulja Boy and Chance the Rapper also tweeted their condolences. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video TL;DR: Nvidia has launched a treasure hunt and the top prizes are new GeForce GPUs. To win, youll need to comb through Nvidias GTC 2021 trailers for clues or be the first to crack codes embedded in the GTC livestream. Good luck! On April 12, Nvidias head chef Jensen Huang will livestream the Graphics Technology Conference (GTC) from his kitchen. Last year, he pulled an A100 out of the oven. Who knows what hell microwave this year. It probably wont be new gaming hardware -- but that doesnt mean that the livestream wont have a little something for gamers, too. Nvidias GTC Twitter account posted a 30-second clip of a gently rotating chandelier paired with the byline, "Discover what comes next." The apparent simplicity of the video prompted further investigation, leading some to discover that the light bulbs flickering contained a message in Morse code. Decoded, the message reads "hidden treasure hidden treasure." Not long afterward, a secret page was discovered. The body of the page reads: On Monday, April 12 (8:30 a.m. Pacific), the NVIDIA GTC keynote will go live and we thought wed have a little bit of fun by adding a few 'Easter eggs.' These are clues & hidden treasures for those with eagle eyes to discover. Watch closely, and if you see anything out of the ordinary let us know! There may be rewards waiting... To participate: Tweet the hidden treasures you find (and the timestamp where you found them in the keynote) to @NVIDIAGTC and use the hashtag #GTCTreasure. Well be watching for your answers and will award a few coveted items (like a GeForce RTX 3090!) to a selection of winners who find at least one of our top hidden treasures. Look again at the visual that brought some of you here in the first place. You may find more hidden treasure... Good luck, and most importantly, have fun. The prizes are revealed in the rules section. The first prize, chosen by a "random drawing of eligible entries that are the first to post accurate descriptions of each unique hidden treasure," is an RTX A6000 if the winner is from the US, or an RTX 3090 is the winner is from the UK or the European Union. Other regions can't participate. The remaining twenty-three winners will be chosen randomly from the set of timely tweets containing at least one correct description of a hidden treasure. The second, third, and fourth prizes are an RTX 3090, irrespective of the winners location. Then there are twenty consolation prizes of an Nvidia Shield TV, and an Nvidia scientific ruler. If you want to get a head start on the treasure hunt, head over to Twitter and trawl through Nvidia's clips for clues. Only one has been discovered so far, and theres allegedly multiple. And of course, set a reminder for the GTC keynote for April 12 at 8.30am PT (11.30am ET, 3.30pm GMT). Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. US, 10 April 2021 In this day and age, erectile dysfunction is a quite common problem of many men around the world, and it has become a subject of worry for many males as they are unable to satisfy their loved ones in bed while having sex. There are many men who have small manhood sizes and lower stamina, and they cant perform best in bed. Every woman prefers a better sexual life and wants to get satisfied, but the small manhood size becomes the biggest reason behind obsolete. 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(Screenshot/Crossroads, The Epoch Times) How a Political Prisoner of 17 Years Resisted Communist Cubas Persecution After 17 years of political persecution and imprisonment at the hands of the Cuban communist regime, and having ultimately found refuge in the United States, Jorge Luis Antonis reflected on what he learned and what helped him resist oppression during a very difficult period in his life. It was March 15, 1990. Luis was 25 years old. He and a number of others were enthusiastic about reforms and events at the time in Eastern Europe that signaled the fall of communism, such as the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the impending total collapse of the Soviet Union. That day, Luis recalled being in a public venue where a broadcast was underway showing a speech Cuban dictator Raul Castro was delivering about the upcoming Fourth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party. I took the opportunity to openly declare myself as political opposition, Luis told The Epoch Times Crossroads program, in Spanish. Since Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, citizens were systematically denied fundamental freedoms such as speech, association and assembly, movement, due process, and privacy. By 1990, nothing had changedcivil and political rights were still a figment of the imagination. Back then, it was a real defiance of the regime because there was basically no opposition activists, there were no human rights groups, or independent journalists, Luis explained. And there, I started shouting slogans in favor of change, in favor of democracy, in favor of respect for human rights. I was beaten brutally and I was sentenced to prison, charged with verbal enemy propaganda.' Verbal enemy propaganda was a criminal charge and a legal technicality used to sentence people who, in a written or verbal way, expressed opposition to Castros regime, he said. Jailed for Criticism The 17 years that followed for Luis were marked by immense suffering. He was sentenced many times and served in more than 10 prisons throughout Cuba. During those years, I suffered torture, beatings, and a great deal of mistreatment, Luis recalled. I still have on my body the scars and the marks of this torture where dogs bit me. Cuban prisons are laboratories of torture and death. Political prisoners have to endure the most sophisticated mechanisms of torture and harassment. There are beatings, youre denied medical attention, and there are hunger and diseases. He recounted: We were subjected to perverse cruelty by the dictatorship. I was victim and witness of the most horrific acts. I saw guards smashing the heads of prisoners, literally. Ive never been without food before going into prison. Ive never been beaten before I went to prison. I never did a hunger strike before. I had never been thrown down the stairs. Neither did I thought I would be tied to a bed for days or that they would deprive me from drinking water. Or that they would jump over my head wearing boots. There was also the emotional suffering. It was very painful to see the days passing by17 years, 17 end of years, 17 Mothers Days, 17 Christmases. And losing loved ones whom I couldnt see again, he said. Dignity, Determination Despite the difficulties, Luis described his experiences as most prosperous, most fruitful. If I were to be born again, I would not hesitate to take the same path that led me to 17 years of prison, he said, adding, It was a very important period of my life and I dont regret any of it. At times, Luis didnt know how he would make it. On many occasions I thought I would die in prison. But I thought there were principles and goals that were far more important than myself. And I think it was worth it. He felt his and other prisoners resistance played a role in opening up the path to freedom, in part by exposing the cruel conditions perpetrated by the Cuban communist regime. When I first became a prisoner, the world was virtually not listening, many mainstream media were silent, many foreign affairs departments ignored the situation in Cuba, Luis recounted. A satisfaction I have now is that thanks to the efforts we made, that those before me made, and others are making now, the world now knows about this hard situation, how there are political prisoners in Cuba, and the viciousness and tortures these brave men and women are subjected to. We kept faith, conviction, and [the] steadiness of the ideals that we were fighting for and believed that they were worth so much sacrifice, and that people would be grateful for its freedom, he said. Luis described the prison as both a civic battleground and a school. A school where I learned to understand human nature, where I learned the value of friendship and loyalty, he reflected. He had met and learned from political prisoners who were motivated and would not give up on their principles. Of his own experiences, he said he learned to overcome fear. I learned that the pain of torture is not the end of all things, he said. I wouldnt have words right now to explain why I withstood. But I attribute it to, I believe, two words: dignity and righteousness, Luis reflected. I think the best way to defeat your enemy, the wickedness, the hateits precisely with belief and determination. The enemy hates you, despises you, he continued. I always thought that despite his zealotry, he must know that you are right and you have dignity. Even though I havent met the goal I fought for yet, at least I have the satisfaction that they were not able to break me down. Like others who have experienced living under communist Cuba, he warned Americans who may be attracted to socialist and communist ideals to learn about what communist countries like Cuba and Venezuela have gone through. Communism has a clear definition. As writer Eudocio Ravines defined it, communism is a scam,' Luis said, quoting the Peruvian journalist and politician. But more than a scam, its a lie, a deception, a mob. Its manipulation, its monopolyabsolute control over peoples lives. He urged Americans to defend freedom while they still have a chance. To the American people, to the American youth, I say: please, defend democracy, safeguard freedom. Because once they are at stake, it will take years to recover them. Area Baseball: Hamlin, Clark win EDL amateur slugfests BRYANT Hamlin knocked off the Milbank Firechiefs 13-8 in an Eastern Dakota League amateur baseball slugfest on Friday. The former prime minister David Cameron is coming under increased pressure over his lobbying for the failed finance firm Greensill, after it emerged that he pushed the companys case with Downing Street and the health secretary, Matt Hancock. On Saturday, Labour demanded a ministerial statement to parliament on the extent of Mr Camerons efforts to exert influence within government on behalf of the company, as well as a National Audit Office (NAO) inquiry into why Greensill was given access to a Treasury coronavirus support scheme offering government-backed loans of up to 50m. And the former head of Westministers spending watchdog called for a full independent inquiry into the whole affair. We need an independent inquiry immediately, said Dame Margaret Hodge, the ex-chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. The whole scandal stinks. The supply-chain finance company was rejected for the Bank of Englands Covid Corporate Financing Facility despite Mr Cameron repeatedly sending private texts to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, pleading for the scheme to be amended so Greensill could qualify. Records released by the Treasury this week showed that on one occasion Mr Sunak responded to say he had pushed officials to explore possible options. Now it has emerged that the former premier emailed a senior special adviser to Boris Johnson within hours of the rejection to argue that it was nuts for Greensill to be excluded and urging the government to reconsider. The Sunday Times reported that the Treasury reconsidered its decision after Mr Cameron wrote: What we need is for Rishi to have a good look at this and ask officials to find a way of making it work. A source close to the prime minister insisted that Mr Johnson had not become involved, as his adviser simply forwarded the email to the Treasury. And a No 10 spokesperson said: Throughout the pandemic, an immense number of businesses contacted Downing Street with representations; these were passed on to relevant departments. It was also revealed that Mr Cameron brought the companys founder, Lex Greensill, and its director, Bill Crothers, to private drinks with Mr Hancock in 2019, when they lobbied the health secretary to adopt a payment scheme for doctors and nurses that was later rolled out within the NHS. An ally of the health secretary insisted that Mr Hancock had dealt with the lobbying in an appropriate way, telling The Independent: Matt acted in entirely the correct way. He updated officials on the business that was discussed, as is appropriate. Mr Hancock is the fourth minister confirmed to have been lobbied by Mr Cameron, after Mr Sunak and fellow Treasury ministers Jesse Norman and John Glen. But the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) insisted that it was an issue for local NHS employers whether to use the Greensill system, which allows staff payments to be accelerated. A DHSC spokesperson said: The wellbeing of NHS staff is the top priority of the department and health secretary. Our approach was and is that local NHS employers are best placed to decide how different pay flexibilities fit with their overall pay and reward offer for their staff. The shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, said: Every day brings fresh revelations about the culture of cronyism at the heart of this Conservative government. Through David Cameron, Greensill looks to have had the run of government from Number 10 down, including access to millions of pounds of public money. And yet weve heard nothing from Rishi Sunak about the role he played in pushing his officials to change the rules of government schemes to suit Cameron and Greensill. He needs to come out of hiding and make a statement to parliament at the earliest opportunity and answer questions on this growing scandal. And we need a full and thorough investigation into what happened. Mr Cameron has so far remained silent on his involvement with Greensill, which he joined as a paid employee in 2018, two years after leaving Downing Street. But responding to the revelation of his lobbying of Mr Hancock, a source close to the former prime minister said: David Cameron was an enthusiastic champion of Greensills pay product, Earnd, and met with various people to discuss its rollout across the NHS. Friends have said that he now regrets lobbying Mr Sunak by private text messages, and accepts that it could be argued that a formal letter would have been more appropriate. The friends rejected as massively exaggerated the reports that the ex-PM hoped to gain 60m from stock options in the company. It was today reported that he in fact stood to benefit from a share of a 21.8m employee trust. The Observer reported Greensill records showing 13,931 shares held by Jersey-based offshore wealth manager Sanne Fiduciary Services and reserved for stock options issued to employees. None are understood to have been distributed before the company went into administration. Labour has already demanded an investigation into Mr Camerons alleged use of text messages to gain privileged access for Greensill to the highest levels of government, in a way that was not available to other companies. Now the shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, has called on the NAO to launch an inquiry into whether the companys access to the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) put public money at risk. In a letter to the auditor general, Gareth Davies, Ms Dodds said that Greensill was the only financial technology firm approved to administer the scheme last June, enabling it to issue government-backed loans of up to 50m at a time. It was not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Bank of England, wrote Ms Dodds. The Treasury has admitted that it was aware Greensill was not subject to the capital adequacy and stress tests that applied to other lenders on the scheme to protect public money. I am aware that you have previously commissioned an investigation into government procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is my view that a similar investigation is urgently needed into the reasons why Greensill Capital was accredited to the CLBILS scheme, who was responsible for that decision and to what degree it put public money at risk. Ted Cruz has hit out at John Boehner's 'drunken, bloviated scorn' and mockingly told him 'don't cry' after the former House Speaker branded him a 'jerk' who just 'makes a lot of noise'. Texas Senator Cruz took to social media Friday to lambast his longtime foe in the latest spat between the two Republicans. 'The Swamp is unhappy. I wear with pride his drunken, bloviated scorn,' Cruz tweeted. 'Please don't cry,' he added, taking a jibe at Boehner's reputation for becoming emotional during his tenure in DC. Ted Cruz (left) has hit out at John Boehner's (right) 'drunken, bloviated scorn' and mockingly told him 'don't cry' after the former House Speaker branded him a 'jerk' who just 'makes a lot of noise' Texas Senator Cruz took to social media Friday to lambast his longtime foe in the latest spat between the two Republicans Cruz's comments came in response to the release of a clip from a CBS News interview, airing Sunday, which the Texas lawmaker shared alongside his scathing tweet. In it, Boehner is seen telling CBS's John Dickerson he doesn't like to 'beat anyone up' but makes an exception for 'that jerk' Cruz. 'I don't beat anybody up, it's not really my style, except for that jerk,' says Boehner. 'Perfect symbol, you know, of getting elected, making a lot of noise, draw a lot of attention to yourself, raise a lot of money, which means you're gonna go make more noise, raise more money.' Boehner, who served as the Representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015 and House Speaker from 2011 to 2015, also takes aim at Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan saying he 'never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart'. 'Jim Jordan especially, my colleague from Ohio. I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart - never building anything, never puttin' anything together,' he said. Boehner accuses the two Republican lawmakers, who are both staunch Donald Trump allies, of being 'political terrorists' who shoulder some of the blame for the January 6 Capitol riot that left five - including a Capitol cop - dead. He made the blistering comments during an interview ahead of the release of his memoir 'On The House: A Washington Memoir'. This week's spat marks just the latest war of words between Boehner and Cruz who have long locked horns within the Republican party. In a clip from a CBS News interview, airing Sunday, (above) Boehner says he doesn't like to 'beat anyone up' but makes an exception for 'that jerk' Cruz "I don't beat anybody up, it's not really my style, except that jerk." Former House Speaker John Boehner, author of On the House, talks with John Dickerson about two Congressional Republicans he deems to be political terrorists." Tune in this Sunday https://t.co/GIWL5ZV6cU pic.twitter.com/mtdwtLXhyR CBS Sunday Morning (@CBSSunday) April 9, 2021 Back in February, two sources told Axios that Boehner had gone off script while recording the audio version of his book, at one point reportedly saying: 'Oh, and Ted Cruz, go f**k yourself.' Cruz fired back at Boehner the following day at Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, saying: 'John Boehner made some news. He suggested that I do something that was anatomically impossible. 'To which my response was, 'Who's John Boehner?'' Cruz told the crowd at the right-wing political event. The two men's rivalry goes back further, with Boehner calling Cruz 'Lucifer in the flesh' and saying he had 'never worked with a more miserable son of a b**ch in my life' back in 2016. Cruz responded by claiming he doesn't 'know the man' but that Boehner had shown his 'inner-Trump' in his comments. Boehner made the blistering comments ahead of the release of his memoir 'On The House: A Washington Memoir', out Tuesday 'I've never worked with John Boehner. The truth of the matter is I don't know the man,' he said. But it hasn't always been frosty between the two men as they once worked closely together with the then-congressman Boehner hiring the then-attorney Cruz to represent him in a legal battle more than two decades ago. In 1998, Boehner filed a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott accusing him of violating wiretapping laws when he allegedly obtained a secretly recorded phone call between Boehner and then-Speaker Newt Gingrich. The legal battle rumbled on for years with a judge eventually siding with Boehner in 2004 and awarding him more than $1 million in legal fees four years later. But their relationship later soured after Cruz entered Congress and Boehner became speaker of the House. Boehner also takes aim at Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (above) and calls both men 'political terrorists' Boehner has said on multiple times that Cruz made his job difficult, especially as one of the driving forces behind the government shutdown in October 2013 in an effort to disrupt Obamacare. Cruz later said he reached out to Boehner to work together during that time but the speaker rebuked his offer. When Boehner announced he was stepping down from his role as speaker in 2015, Cruz welcomed the news as it was revealed to a crowd of conservatives at the Values Voter Summit in September 2015. 'You want to know how much each of you terrify Washington?' he said. 'Y'all come to town, and somehow that changes.' Boehner's book, out on Tuesday, promises to reveal 'colorful tales from the halls of power, the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power and his fabled tour bus.' Fox News' host Sean Hannity is also a target of the book, with Boehner revealing how their relationship broke down. 'We used to have a good relationship,' Boehner wrote in an essay adapted from his memoir for Politico. 'But then he decided he felt like busting my ass every night on his show. So one day, in January of 2015, I finally called him and asked: 'What the hell?' 'I wanted to know why he kept bashing House Republicans when we were actually trying to stand up to Obama.' Hannity hit back calling Boehner 'weak' and 'timid' and 'one of the worst Republican Speakers in history' on Twitter. ADVERTISEMENT The traditional ruler of Lere in Kaduna State, Abubakar Mohammed, is dead. The Sarkin Lere was 76. Mr Mohammed, a retired general, died on Saturday morning in Kaduna. Many family members of the deceased traditional ruler told PREMIUM TIMES that he died after a brief illness. He is my uncle. We missed him this Saturday morning. It is indeed a loss for us and the whole family, a relative, Hassan Mohammed, said. The emir will be buried in Lere town on Saturday at 5 p.m. Mr Abubakar ascended the throne of Lere after the demise of Umaru Sani in 2011. He is survived by four children and many grandchildren. Born on April 15, 1944, he attended Lere and Soba primary schools between 1951 and 1958 before proceeding to Barewa College Zaria from 1959 to 1963. He was at the Ahmadu Bello Universitysity between 1965 and 1966 before proceeding to the California Polytechnic in the United States after which he joined the Nigerian army. He rose to the rank of a brigadier general and was a military administrator of Sokoto State from August 1985 to September 1986. Burma At Least 60 Killed During Myanmar Regimes Massacre at Anti-Regime Strongholds Roadblocks in the main Magatit road of Bago after the junta forces crackdown on April 9. / CJ At least 60 people were gunned down in Bago Friday in a brutal assault on anti-regime strongholds by troops loyal to the military regime. An accurate death toll was impossible, but the actual number of those killed was believed to be much higher. Troops sprayed live rounds of ammunition and fired powerful explosives toward the strongholds defensive lines all day. The troops launched their raids in three wardsShinsawpu, Hmawkan and Nantawyarof Bago, which is north of Yangon. The attack targeted areas which had been fortified with roadblocks and sandbags to deter advancing troops. The assault began early in the morning. The Friday offensive by the regimes troops in Bago was the third deadly attack on protesters this week. Security forces killed at least a dozen protesters in the town of Kalay and another dozen in the town of Taze. Both are upcountry towns in Sagaing Region which have been anti-regime strongholds. During the attacks, police and soldiers reportedly used powerful explosives, firing grenades to blast fortifed barricades. A young protester who asked not to be named said they had been under attack with volleys of gunfire as well as explosives beginning at 5 a.m. and continuing throughout the day. A resident in the area said they didnt even dare to look out of their windows. They shoot everything that moves, the resident said. The young protester added: We were surrounded on all sides. We could not even collect the bodies of our fellow protesters who were shot. Other witnesses confirmed his statement and said they saw soldiers dragging away those who had been gunned down and throwing them into a dump truck. Many suspected that some of the wounded were dumped alongside the dead in the truck. A monastery compound was reportedly used as a makeshift morgue to pile the corpses. Based on witnesses accounts of the number being taken away, the toll was at least 59. Family members were asked to retrieve three bodies at a hospital on Saturday morning. The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), which is also documenting the lists of fatalities and detention, said 62 people are confirmed dead. That would push the total protest-related death toll to 680 as of Friday. However, local people said the number killed in Bago is likely to be much higher, perhaps more than 80. Some of those wounded were taken away, and an accurate death toll was impossible because rescue workers were threatened with being shot if they ventured out. On Saturday, residents claimed that they saw piles of bodies at the towns Sin Phyu Kwin cemetery. Local rescue workers and volunteers have been threatened since late March, and the public hospital has been taken over by soldiers and police, residents said. The young protester said, We have been unable to use the local rescue vehicles since 15 days ago. Since late March, when the protesters were shot dead, the families of the victims have been told to collect the bodies for funeral after the military took them. Due to the troops relentless shooting into residential neighborhoods, people fled to the nearby countryside Friday afternoon, afraid of being hit by stray bullets. On Saturday, residents said, troops patrolled the streets of the town and were removing some of the remaining road barricades. Despite the bloodshed, the regime continues to insist that its troops are not allowed to use live ammunition and that troops are following codes of conduct and protocols for crowd control. During a press conference on Friday, regime spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun downplayed the actions of security forces when asked about the deaths of hundreds of civilians. If the protesters were shot with automatic assault rifles, the 500 people you mentioned could have been killed in a few hours, he said. You may also like these stories: UN Special Envoy on Myanmar in Bangkok to Discuss Crisis With Thai Officials Myanmar Regime Shores Up Ties With Two Powerful Northern Ethnic Armies Chinese-Made Drones Reportedly Monitor Anti-Regime Protests in Myanmar OTTAWA, ON, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 while strengthening the economy, creating good jobs and supporting our proud energy workers. The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, today announced the Hydrogen Strategy Implementation Strategic Steering Committee, which will advance and measure the progress outlined in the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada launched in December 2020. The committee, co-chaired by Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, is composed of senior leaders from across industry, provincial and territorial partners, non-government organizations and Indigenous partners. It will establish priorities, guide actions, share knowledge and track results to deliver on recommendations outlined in the Hydrogen Strategy laying the foundation for success in the short term and identifying activities in the medium and long term to unlock hydrogen's full potential in 2050. The creation of the Strategic Steering Committee and its inaugural meeting today is a key next step to taking action. Implementing the Hydrogen Strategy will spur public and private sector investments, ensure supply and demand grow at the same pace, and establish Canada as a global supplier of hydrogen. As one of the top 10 producers of hydrogen in the world, and a leading producer of fuel cells which use hydrogen, Canada will benefit from the growing global demand for hydrogen a market that is expected to reach almost $12 trillion by 2050. The Hydrogen Strategy supports the government's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, which included a federal investment of $1.5 billion in a Low-carbon and Zero-Emissions Fuels Fund to increase the production and use of low-carbon fuels, including hydrogen. It complements the Clean Fuel Standard, which will further drive investment and growth in Canada's fuels sector by incentivizing the development and adoption of clean fuels such as hydrogen. The importance of Canada's resource sectors including hydrogen to our national economy and our everyday lives has been magnified during the pandemic. The government remains committed to building a low-emissions energy future that will support our natural resource sectors, grow the economy and create good jobs. Quotes "Hydrogen's moment has come. The economic and environmental opportunities for our proud energy workers and communities are real. There is global momentum, and Canada is harnessing it. This is how we get to net zero." Seamus O'Regan Jr. Minister of Natural Resources "Clean hydrogen is a safe, convenient and cost-effective way to eliminate GHG emissions in many heating, transportation and processing areas. I look forward to working with Committee members to ensure Canadians can take advantage of this home-grown technology and the huge economic opportunity it represents." Mark Kirby President and CEO, Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association Associated Links Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada For further information: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Ian Cameron, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-447-3488, [email protected] Related Links www.nrcan.gc.ca Fresh concerns have emerged about the single-shot Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which is expected to play a major part in the Irish vaccine roll-out. The European Medicines Agency yesterday announced a review assessing reports of rare blood clotting in people who received the vaccines. Four cases of unusual thromboembolic events with low blood platelets have now been reported; one during a clinical trial and three during the American roll-out. One person has died. The EMA said in a statement: These reports point to a safety signal, but it is currently not clear whether there is a causal association between vaccination with Covid-19 Vaccine Janssen and these conditions. The EMA will shortly confirm whether further action is needed, but indicated this usually consists of an update to the product information. This vaccine is currently only used in America but was authorised for the EU on March 11. Ireland was expected to receive its first doses of the J&J vaccine before the end of April, with some 605,000 doses due to arrive here by the end of June. Any change to this would have a significant impact on the Irish roll-out as the other vaccines all require two doses each, some spread out by 12 weeks. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is based on an adenovirus vector, as is the AstraZeneca vaccine. The news of the review comes just days after the EMA confirmed a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and very rare blood clots but stressed the benefts of the vaccine far outweigh the risk. Separately, France has advised people under-55 who received a first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine to be switched to either BioNTech/Pfizer or Moderna for the second. These use mRNA technology. French health authorities previously allocated AstraZeneca to healthcare workers and mRNA vaccines to older people. Three weeks ago they limited AstraZeneca to over-55s following reports of rare blood clotting. Yesterday, they followed Germany in announcing a mixed-dose strategy. The World Health Organisation cautioned there is no clinical trial evidence to support mixing vaccines. Earlier this week the EMA head of data analytics and methods task force Dr Peter Arlett said there are no European guidelines on this as no data was submitted for approval. He said: There is a theoretical reason to think that mixing vaccines could work and could be a safe and effective approach." Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 20:51:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIEV, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian military has said that it is not preparing an attack in Donbass amid escalating conflict in east Ukraine. Media reports of a planned attack "are not true and are a disinformation campaign," said Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Col. Gen. Ruslan Khomchak on Friday. Ukraine opposes the use of force to reclaim its territories because such a move would inevitably lead to a large number of military and civilian fatalities, noted the commander-in-chief. He said the Ukrainian Armed Forces reserves the right to respond if the situation in the combat zone gets worse. However, Khomchak stressed the situation is under control, despite a sharp escalation of hostilities in the region. Since the beginning of this year, armed confrontation between Donbass insurgents and Ukrainian government forces has escalated, claiming the lives of at least 20 Ukrainian servicemen and injured about 57 others, according to data released by Kiev. Enditem Prashant Kishor audio leak row: TMC has caught itself in another row with the leak of Prashant Kishor's latest Clubhouse interaction, wherein he has admitted that BJP has a high chance of winning the ongoing assembly polls in West Bengal. Prashant Kishor audio leak row: The ongoing assembly polls in West Bengal have become murkier with the leak of Prashant Kishor, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjees election strategist, Clubhouse chat excerpts. In the Clubhouse chat, which reportedly happened last weak, Prashant Kishor admitted that PM Modi is hugely popular in West Bengal. He further claimed that the three factors that have worked in the favour of BJP in this election are polarisation, anti-incumbency against TMC and SC Votes. People of Bengal have not seen the rule of BJP so far, they have not tasted it and they are wanting to do it. People are coming to rallies, there is popularity of Modi and mobilisation. There is anger against Trinamool Congress. Polisarisation is a factor. The anti-incumbency against Trinamool has opened doors for BJP, their ability to polarise and SC votes, he said. In another tweet, Amit Malviya stated that as Bengal votes for 4th phase on 44 seats today, TMC cadres and leaders have woken up to find out that Mamata Banerjees election strategist has conceded the election. He went ahead to say that every vote in Bengal has these videos and is watching them as they queue up to vote. On a day Bengal is voting for 4th phase on as many as 44 seats, TMC cadre and leaders woke up to find out that Mamata Banerjees election strategiest has conceded the election. Every voter in Bengal has these videos on their mobile and is watching them as s(he) queues up to vote. Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 10, 2021 Is it open? That moment when Mamata Banerjees strategiest realised that the Club House room was open and his admissions were being heard by the public at large and not just a handful of Lutyens journalist. Deafening silence followed TMCs election was just thrown away! pic.twitter.com/2XJ4RWbv3K Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 10, 2021 Modi is hugely popular in Bengal and there is no doubt about it. There is a cult around him across the country. There is anti-incumbency against TMC, polarisation is a reality, SC votes is a factor plus BJPs election machinery, says Mamata Banerjees strategist in an open chat. pic.twitter.com/Vrl8vl231b Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 10, 2021 In a response to BJP election strategist Amit Malviyas tweet bringing the audio chat to public eye, Prashant Kishor tweeted that he is glad BJP is taking his chat more seriously than words of their own leaders. However, they should show courage and share the full chat instead of getting excited with selective use of parts. He added that BJP would not cross 100 in West Bengal. Lena Waithe is facing a backlash on social media over her new series 'Them', with some saying they 'thought a white person wrote it' because of its portrayal of racial violence. Several people took to Twitter Saturday accusing the show of appealing to 'hate crime fantasies' due to a scene in the fifth episode where a baby is brutally murdered while its mother is raped. The new horror series tells the fictional story of a black family who move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Compton, Los Angeles, during the Great Migration of the 1950s. Despite hoping the move will be an escape from the Jim Crow South, the Emory family quickly find themselves facing the peril of both supernatural forces and racism from their new white neighbors who, among other things, scorch the n-word into their front lawn. Lena Waithe is facing a backlash on social media over her new series 'Them' (pictured promo poster), with some saying they 'thought a white person wrote it' because of its portrayal of racial violence The series, created by black producer and writer Little Marvin and produced by Emmy-winning black producer, actress and screenwriter Waithe, was released on Amazon Prime Video Friday. But the furor over the series largely erupted after the Los Angeles Times published a piece questioning if the series had gone 'too far'. The review pointed out a flashback moment in episode five showing the infant's murder before the family moved away from North Carolina. In the scene, the mother Lucky hides her son Chester in a closet as a white mob break into her home. The mob find them and the men sexually assault Lucky while the woman stuffs the baby into a pillowcase and throws him around while chanting 'cat in the bag' before dropping the infant to the floor, killing him. The episode in question was written by Little Marvin and Dominic Orlando and directed by Janicza Bravo. Social media users slammed the violent depiction and hit out at Waithe, questioning its depiction of violence against black people with some calling it 'propaganda for white terrorists.' 'I've been a horror super fan for over 30 years. Lena Waithe's 'Them' is the cheapest kind of horror,' one person wrote. 'It's propaganda for white terrorists and torture porn fetishists. There is a huge difference between fear and disgust. The show is disgusting.' The series, created by black producer and writer Little Marvin (left) and produced by Emmy-winning black producer, actress and screenwriter Waithe (right), was released on Amazon Prime Video Friday Another person chimed in: 'Lena Waithe like a lot of bourgeoise black artists uses black trauma to give their work depth that they are too lazy or incapable of providing. 'Too often people treat a piece of work as profound because black people are being victimized and Waithe doubles down to seem profound.' Others cast doubt over how any people of color approved the series. 'I think lena waithe should review 'them' and try to decipher who her target audience was,' one person wrote. 'who exactly was she making this series for? honestly, when i saw the trailers for it and read about the series, i thought a white person wrote it. do NOT watch 'them'.' Another agreed: 'Lena Waithe getting as far as she does might be a sign that there's still little to no diversity in these rooms because there's no way Lena presented this story to an actual living breathing black person and got the green light.' 'Lena Waithe will pay for her crimes against the black community,' one person wrote alongside a meme of an angry Barney the dinosaur. Several people took to Twitter Saturday to slam what they claim appeals to 'hate crime fantasies' over a brutal scene in the fifth episode where a baby is brutally murdered while its mother is raped Both Waithe and Little Marvin are black. Little Marvin defended the show of violence saying it was necessary for 'authenticity' about the experience of black people during that period in America. 'Yes, there is a concern, but at the end of the day, I as an artist have to sit with myself and grapple with the authenticity of the show,' he told the LA Times. 'If I can sleep at night knowing this entire enterprise has an authenticity and integrity to it, then I'm good.' He said the aim was not to be 'provocative or hot button' but to ask two things: 'what terrified us the most and what felt most true. Typically, those two things were the same.' The executive producer also pointed out the key timing of its release as he said it is 'a scary place to be in 2021.' 'We're incredibly fractured and split down the middle,' he said. 'There are people who want to take the country back to a time they consider great, and there are folks who are fighting for progress. That's a scary place to be in 2021.' The nation is facing a racial reckoning following the death of George Floyd and multiple police killings of black people. The new horror series tells the fictional story of a black family who move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Compton, Los Angeles, during the Great Migration of the 1950s. The trial of white cop Derek Chauvin for Floyd's murder is currently in progress in Minneapolis court. Floyd's death sparked renewed calls for racial justice and an end to systemic racism but it comes as concerns are also growing over the re-emergence of white supremacy and extremism. Little Marvin said seeing shocking videos of violence against black people in recent times inspired him to tell the story of 'Them.' 'My inspiration was waking up every day and seeing cellphone videos of black people being terrorized in some ways, either by threats from police, surveillance or something else,' he said. 'That history goes all the way back to the founding of our country. I was also thinking about the American Dream. There's nothing more emblematic of that than owning one's home. 'There's great pride in that, particularly for black people. But as you know, it's been anything but a dream. It's been a nightmare for Black folks.' Little Marvin defended the violence saying it showed 'authenticity' of the experience of racism and several social media users agreed arguing those criticizing it are just 'uncomfortable' facing up to the reality of racism Several social media users agreed with the creators, arguing those criticizing the depiction of violence are just 'uncomfortable' facing up to the reality of racism. '#THEM on Amazon is insane. This new-ish genre of horror that examines Black trauma through racism isn't going away any time soon,' one person wrote. 'And judging by the reviews, it's making our melanin-free friends uncomfortable. So you know it's good.' Another person agreed, replying: 'Glad you are enjoying(?!) it! I couldn't agree more - I heard one reviewer saying it was just too much and she wished it had been dialed back. 'Missing the entire point there. Really tough show to work on all things considered but I'm glad it's getting the recognition.' The criticism was largely directed against Waithe who is more well-known than Little Marvin, after she became the first black woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the Netflix comedy drama series Master of None. CRESWELL, Ore. A Creswell woman sentenced in a massive horse neglect case more than a year ago will soon be back in court over claims she violated her probation. Gwenyth Davies, 50, was required to follow specific conditions and pay restitution of nearly $50,000 in monthly increments in order to avoid jail time. She pleaded guilty to 11 counts of second-degree animal neglect in early 2020. READ ON: CRESWELL WOMAN GETS PROBATION IN MASS HORSE NEGLECT CASE A total of 61 horses were removed from her property in October 2019 as part of the investigation. Authorities said a veterinarian found that the horses were not receiving the minimum care standards under Oregon law. Now, court documents show Davies has failed to pay restitution and to provide monthly pictures of the four horses shes allowed to have so authorities can ensure their body condition is healthy. Lane County Circuit Court Judge Charles Zennache has ordered Davies to appear in court and show why her probation should not be revoked and a jail sentence imposed. The court hearing is scheduled for April 26 at 8:30 a.m. RELATED: NEW CHARGES FILED AGAINST CRESWELL WOMAN ACCUSED OF ANIMAL NEGLECT The $49,557.36 in restitution was set to be directed to the following groups at the time of Davies' sentencing: $18,540.07 to the Oregon Humane Society $10,637.90 to Lane County $20,379.39 to Sound Equine Options According to the payment plan that has been agreed upon, Davies was supposed to pay $300 a month toward restitution. Under probation, Davies is also not allowed to board other horses. Special prosecutor Jacob Kamins said at the time of the sentencing that Davies accepted responsibility. "This would not be a case I would enter into negotiations with unless there was some showing of early acceptance of responsibility on Mrs. Davies' part," Kamins said. The Lane County Sheriff's Office said the plea agreement allowed the state to place restrictions on Davies' horse ownership that may not have been possible if the case had gone to trial. One of main goals in this case was to ensure this type of neglect doesnt occur again, and this agreement allows for a level of oversight that can aid in achieving that goal, said Sheriff Cliff Harrold. The sheriff's office said that during the investigation, four dead horses were found at the property. During the seizure, horses were evaluated by a veterinarian and taken to another location for care. Three horses did not survive, the sheriff's office said. Davies' attorney Laura Fine told the judge that Davies worked with the sheriff's office to help reunite owners with their animals. "She reviewed photos of all seized horses, provided owner information and specific details about the horses' conditions and needs," Fine said. Most of the remaining horses were returned to their owners. At the time of the sentencing, four were still being held pending criminal charges against their owners, Erica and Raina Ott, who lived on the same property as Davies. They have been charged and convicted with second-degree animal neglect in connection with the Davies case. MORE: NEGLECTED HORSES REMOVED FROM CRESWELL PROPERTY Davies has had previous contacts with Lane County Animal Services in 2018 regarding horses in poor condition, authorities said. She lives at the property with her husband Michael DeLeonardo. In 2018, Davies complied with Lane County Animal Services requests and the horses were brought to minimum standards. The current investigation began on Oct. 16, 2019, and evidence suggested that the abuses may be criminal. "Certainly looking at the emaciated horses it's clear to even people who aren't around horses a lot that's not what a horse should look like. It's important that we let the investigation continue and let the Oregon Humane Society gather evidence," said Lane County spokesperson Devon Ashbridge. It started when Lane County Animal Services received photographs of horses that appeared to be severely neglected. The photographs were provided by Emerald Valley Equine Rescue after it received multiple complaints from people who once boarded their horses with Davies. Neighbors KEZI 9 News spoke to recount seeing a back field on the property filled with horses, some showing ribs and hips. They also recounted hearing gunshots on the property regularly. READ MORE: OWNERS WANT HORSES BACK AFTER MASS SEIZURE IN CRESWELL High-schooler Breonah Jones trains her own horses on an adjacent property. She describes rarely seeing the horses fed. "They should have had food back there, 100%; they had so many horses in that back field that there wasn't even any grass. Just sheer dirt," she said. "They should be put into jail for a very long time for each and every horse that they did that to." However, Carol Mingst, the owner of three horses taken from Davies' property, said the Lane County Sheriff's office went too far and her horses were not neglected. "He is lightweight because he has a broken bone in his leg," Mingst said, referring to one of her horses. "He can't have a lot of weight on it. He's also slimmed down because he lost a lot of weight when he was sick." Due to the large number of involved horses, Lane County reached out to the Oregon Humane Society and rescue organizations to begin identifying people who could help with the evaluation, removal, treatment and housing of so many large animals which far exceeds local capacity. The Lane County District Attorneys Office is working with Oregon Animal Cruelty Deputy District Attorney Jake Kamins, who specializes in the prosecution of animal cruelty cases. Ms. Davies is known to Animal Services, said Bernard Perkins, Lane County senior animal welfare officer. While we typically focus on voluntary compliance and education, the level of alleged neglect and Ms. Davies history of violations goes far beyond what is acceptable in our community. We are grateful for the support of the sheriffs office and district attorney in the pursuit of criminal charges. Sound Equine Options, Emerald Valley Horse Rescue, Oregon Humane Society, and Lane County Land Management Division all assisted with the rescue operation and property compliance issues. Today Mainly clear skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Mainly clear skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 94F. NNW winds shifting to WSW at 10 to 15 mph. New York's mayor angered residents of his struggling city by having 'too much fun' this week, as they fought to rebuild their lives devastated by the COVID pandemic and rattled by rising crime. Bill de Blasio's spokesman, Bill Neidhardt, tweeted a series of photos on Friday showing the mayor's excursions. On Tuesday he was at the relaunch of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where ice skaters were dancing for the first spectacular of the newly-opened facility. On Wednesday, he was at the Lincoln Center for their reopening, and on Thursday he visited the set of TV series Nora From Queens, taking selfies with Awkwafina. Friday saw the mayor, who after two terms cannot run for re-election in November, enjoying the rides at the newly-opened Coney Island theme park. Bill de Blasio was at Coney Island on Friday at the end of a week of 'too much fun'. He's seen in the first position in the coaster - right at the front '@NYCMayor is having too much fun this week,' tweeted Neiderhardt. Criticism of his 'fun week' was swift to arrive. 'So glad he is,' said one Twitter user. 'While crime is off the charts !! Tourist being shot walking to their motel in Times Square ! Gangs beating up people in the streets !!! So I'am Glad he's having FUN !!! While the rest of the CITY LIVES IN FEAR !!!' Another added: 'What about getting our kids in school 5 days a week???' The chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party, Andrea Catsimatidis, slammed de Blasio for riding the coaster and having fun while the city experiences a crime wave. And an activist who is the head of the Guardian Angels volunteer crime-prevention group who also is running for mayor in New York, Curtis Sliwa, said it was the de Blasio administration that was the roller coaster ride. Responding to the photo of de Blasio on the rollercoaster at Coney Island, one Twitter user replied: 'Nice photo op... now can you do something about the rising crime in the city??? I'm afraid to go to Coney Island, not because of Covid but because of all those loose criminals on the street...' Emergency Medical Technicians help an elderly homeless man off the street on Monday NYPD are seen in February on the hunt for a subway stabber, who killed two homeless people New York's crime statistics, released by the NYPD, show crime on the rise. Shootings skyrocketed year-over-year, increasing 77 per cent, and gun arrests jumped 67 per cent from last March. The rise in violent crime in the city was driven by a 36 per cent increase in murders and a 35 per cent increase in auto thefts. Crime appears to be increasing in New York City as more and more people exit various stages of lockdown from the coronavirus pandemic. Overall crime rose 2.4 per cent in March 2021 compared to the same month last year. Richard Aborn, head of the Citizens Crime Commission, described the crime surge as 'deeply, deeply concerning.' The pandemic, meanwhile, has hit businesses and residents hard. The Partnership for New York City has estimated that a third of small businesses forced to close their doors during the pandemic may never reopen. Unemployment increased in New York City between December and January, growing from 12 per cent to 12.6 per cent - a significantly worse situation than in the rest of the country, where unemployment is at 6 per cent. The chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party, Andrea Catsimatidis, slammed de Blasio for riding the coaster and having fun while the city experiences a crime wave An activist who is the head of the Guardian Angels who is running for mayor in New York, Curtis Sliwa, said it was the de Blasio administration that was the roller coaster ride A WSJ reporter tweeted a memorabilia picture she said she bought that was snapped while de Blasio was on the coaster Homelessness in New York City, meanwhile, is at levels not seen since the Great Depression, according to the Coalition for the Homeless. Meanwhile, an apparent New York City resident wasn't amused - and thought the mayor should instead be focused on getting kids back to school The mayor's spokesman gently hit back to critics, saying the mayor was simply cheering the city back on Neidhardt laughed off the criticism, tweeting: 'Absolutely loving the replies mad as hell that the Mayor is cheering on NYCs comeback. 'Fox Business doing a segment on it. 'I sincerely apologize, totally forgot that everyone has to be as miserable as you.' On Friday de Blasio and Senator Chuck Schumer declared New York City open, as Coney Island's Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park welcomed back guests for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The Senate Majority Leader and de Blasio were on hand for the traditional 'Blessing of the Rides' ceremony in front of the Wonder Wheel. 'Coney Island is one of the national symbols of New York and, when it opens, the world knows New York is coming back,' Schumer said, raising a fist in the air. 'The opening of Coney Island Island is a metaphor of New York City. We are getting back in business. 'And just like we had a rollercoaster of a year, now all New Yorkers are eager to get back to business...and have some safe, socially distanced fun. The senator all promised that all New Yorkers will be able to line up' to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the next three weeks - although it is unclear how a statewide walk-up process would work. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Senator Chuck Schumer spoke during the opening ceremony on Friday of Coney Island's amusement parks (above) and declared that New York City is now 'back in business' Schumer (pictured) also announced that within two to three weeks, there will be enough COVID-19 vaccines for all New Yorkers to line up' to get the shot Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at the end of the ceremony (pictured) and echoed Schumer's comments about how the opening of the amusement park was s sign of the city rebounding De Blasio was pictured riding alone in the front seat of the famous rollercoaster, Cyclone, on opening day In New York, seven million people have received at least one dose, 3.1 million of which are in New York City (above) Currently, in New York, seven million people, or 35.1 percent of the population has received at least one dose and 4.4 million, 22.3 percent, are fully vaccinated. Of those, 3.1 million of the partially immunized and 1.9 million of the fully immunized reside in New York City. About 11 million doses have been delivered to the state with another few hundred thousand doses set to arrive each week. Schumer said this will be enough to vaccinate every New Yorker without scheduling an appointment. 'With the vaccine, we can open up quicker, sooner, safe and better,' he said. 'Within about two weeks, three weeks, there'll be enough vaccine so everyone can just line, everyone over 16 can line up, get that vaccine and then be safe.' There are currently walk-up appointments available in New York City, but only at certain sites and only for those aged 75 and older. De Blasio spoke at the end of the ceremony and echoed Schumer's comments about how the opening of the amusement park was s sign of the city rebounding. 'This is one of the best days of the year. Coney island comes back, the rides come back, and now New York City comes back,' he said. 'You can feel it.' Frontline workers got the first rides on the Wonder Wheel, which turned 100 last year. Pictured: Coney Island workers speak in front of the Wonder Wheel Frontline workers got the first rides on the Wonder Wheel, which turned 100 years old last year. It was closed for the centennial, but Dennis Vourderis, a member of the family that owns Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, was only looking forward. 'It's a great honor for us to be able to bring some joy into the life of many New Yorkers...to be able to come in, have fun, smile again, which they haven't done in a while,' Vourderis said at the opening ceremony. The workers and de Blasio were also captured riding roller coasters. 'it's a very emotional day. We wanted to spread positivity,' Alessandro Zamperla, the president of the company that owns Luna Park, said. 'It's been very tough, but now is really a day of celebration, a day where we get together and we want to inspire people to come here, to really be able to have fun.' Healthcare workers and their children ride on Coney Island amusement park rides on Friday during opening day Luna Park closed in October 2019, at the end of the summer season, has been waiting ever since to welcome back guests. Anyone who wants to visit will have to make a reservation online, and will have to wear a wristband with their reservation date. This season, the park will have a reduced capacity of 33 percent on weekends until Memorial Day and then 50 percent capacity seven days a week all summer long. All guests over age two will be required to wear a mask at all times staff will physically distance people on rides and in eating areas. New Delhi, April 10 : The government on Saturday said that adequate steps have been taken to ensure availability of fertilisers across the country during Kharif 2021-22 season as it was during the rabi season. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said that companies have been advised to continue with the movement of fertilisers so as to achieve the desired level of pre-positioning before the peak phase of Kharif season. The manufacturers and the importers have given an assurance with regard to achieving the target of indigenous production and imports of fertilisers. On the issue of price revision of complex fertilisers by IFFCO, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda had a discussion with senior officials of the department of fertilisers and IFFCO representative on Thursday and the company was suitably advised to ensure that the existing stock of DAP and complex fertilisers are sold on the old prices to the farmers, the Ministry said in a statement. The same was confirmed by IFFCO that they will be selling nearly 11.26 LMT available stock of DAP/Complex fertilizers on the older rates, it added. Further, a meeting was again convened under the chairpersonship of Secretary (Fertilisers) on Friday wherein the availability scenario was reviewed specifically with regard to P&K fertilisers. The Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) presented an analysis wherein it was highlighted that with the given level of inventory already placed in the states is sufficient to meet the requirement of next three months for various fertilisers and the government is closely monitoring availability and price of fertilisers in the interest of farmers, the Ministry added. Earlier, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) assessed the requirement of various fertilisers in consultation with states and UTs for the Kharif season and conveyed it to Department of Fertilisers (DoF). The DoF, in consultation with the manufacturers of various fertilisers has finalised the target indigenous production and the same is being monitored closely. To bridge the gap between assessed requirement and indigenous production in case of urea, the imports are being planned timely and adequately, said the Ministry. In case of P&K fertilisers, the imports come under OGL (Open and General Licences), wherein the fertiliser companies are free to import the quantities or raw material based on their commercial considerations. (Natural News) A Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mass vaccination site in Colorado was shut down as multiple people experienced adverse reactions after receiving the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. The incident occurred in Commerce City, a suburb of Denver, at a mass vaccination site set up by private health corporation Centura Health. (Related: KNOCK KNOCK: Detroit will send government workers door-to-door to pressure residents to get vaccinated what could go wrong?) Following the administration of the J&J vaccine and during onsite observation, we saw a limited number of adverse reactions to the vaccine We followed our protocols and, in an abundance of caution, made the decision in partnership with the state to pause operations for the remainder of the day, wrote Centura Health in its statement regarding the incident. At least 11 people experienced adverse reactions during Centura Healths Vaccines for All event. The people who experienced complications complained of vomiting, nausea and dizziness. Nine of the patients were sent home after being given juice or water. The remaining two individuals were rushed to the hospital for further observation. They were determined to have low blood pressure and released the same day. According to Centura Health, they were able to provide vaccinations for over 1,700 people on the day of the incident. Another 640 people who had signed up to get their shots there that day were turned away and told to return on Sunday, April 11. Our goal is to continue to vaccinate Coloradans as quickly as possible while keeping our patients safety at the forefront, continued Centura Healths statement. Despite the incident, Centura Health said it would not stop vaccinating people with the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The company said that less than one percent of vaccine recipients experienced adverse effects from the jabs. Colorado health officials told people that getting the vaccine is far safer than getting severely sick with COVID-19. Batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines sequestered for investigation The batch of vaccines responsible for causing the adverse reactions were sequestered by the state for investigation. Both Centura Health and Colorado authorities conducted a review of the doses. On Thursday evening, April 8, state health officials said they were confident that there was nothing wrong with the vaccines. After reviewing each patients symptoms, analyzing other vaccinations from the same lot of the vaccine and speaking with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm our findings, we are confident in saying that there is no reason for concern, said Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The Food and Drug Administration conducted its own investigation. It checked the records of the two batches of vaccines used by Centura Health and found no pattern of similar adverse reactions anywhere else in the nation. Johnson & Johnson also said it was evaluating the reports of adverse reactions very closely. We are collecting the necessary information, including from the local vaccination center, the company said in a statement. There is no greater priority than the safety and wellbeing of the people we serve, and we carefully review reports of adverse events in individuals receiving our medicines and vaccines. Many other people at vaccination sites across the nation experienced adverse reactions. In Wake County, North Carolina, 14 people experienced minor reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to county health authorities. The county said another four individuals were taken to nearby hospitals for further treatment and observation. Similar to the Colorado event, the organizers shut down vaccinations. People who were supposed to get vaccinated that day were offered the Pfizer vaccine or the option to reschedule once they pass a medical evaluation. Learn more about the adverse events caused by the coronavirus vaccines like Johnson & Johnson by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com WCAX.com CPR.org KDVR.com 1 GlobalNews.ca KDVR.com 2 Isagenix International has promoted Mac Larsen to senior vice president of global sales. During his 10 years at Isagenix, Mac has shown an impressive ability to connect with, support, and energize our independent distributors. He embodies the mission and vision of Isagenix, and Im thrilled to have him on our executive leadership team. Isagenix CEO Sharron Walsh In recognition of how his leadership and expertise have helped the company best serve and inspire its independent distributor sales force, Isagenix International has promoted Mac Larsen to senior vice president of global sales. He is also now serving as a member of the global wellbeing companys executive leadership team. Larsen was previously vice president of sales, North America. He has also served as vice president and regional general manager of Australia and New Zealand. As vice president of sales, his accomplishments include establishing the strongest regional sales team in company history and simplifying the systems independent distributors use to grow their businesses. During his 10 years at Isagenix, Mac has shown an impressive ability to connect with, support, and energize our independent distributors, said Isagenix Chief Executive Officer Sharron Walsh. He embodies the mission and vision of Isagenix, and Im thrilled to have him on our executive leadership team. In his new role as senior vice president of global sales, Larsen is responsible for coordinating global sales efforts, supporting and growing the customer base globally, and creating programs and promotions to boost growth. Im excited to take this next step in my career at Isagenix, as it allows me to partner with hundreds of thousands of independent distributors around the world, Larsen said. Together, we can make an incredible impact on peoples lives. Larsen, who has nearly 17 years of experience in the direct selling industry, joined Isagenix in 2010 as director of North American sales. He was promoted to vice president of sales programs in 2013 and has continued to rise in the ranks of the company. He spent three years in Australia overseeing the Australia and New Zealand markets before returning to the U.S. corporate headquarters in 2019. Prior to Isagenix, Larsen was director of sales for another direct selling company, helping the business grow to nearly a billion dollars in annual sales. To learn more about Isagenix, visit the Newsroom, like the company on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter and Instagram. About Isagenix International Established in 2002, Isagenix International believes that everyone deserves to experience a healthy, joyful, and abundant life. The global wellbeing company artfully crafts more than 175 effective products and offers a supportive community for its more than 550,000 customers worldwide. Isagenix shares its products through a network of independent distributors in 26 markets: the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South Korea, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland. The private family-owned company has its world headquarters in Gilbert, Arizona. For more information, visit Isagenix.com. MIAMI, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- During a one-day Mastermind workshop for business owners and entrepreneurs, Brandon Dawson, CEO and co-founder of Cardone Ventures, raised $50,000 for the Grant Cardone Foundation and matched it with a $200,000 donation. During a one-day Mastermind workshop for business owners and entrepreneurs, Brandon Dawson, CEO and co-founder of Cardone Ventures, donated $200,000 to the Grant Cardone Foundation. Business owners and entrepreneurs gathered for the special Mastermind on March 15, 2021, at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort and Spa, hosted by Dawson and Grant Cardone, business partner and real estate mogul. Dawson and Cardone massively impacted the 10X community by guiding attendees on combating the current economic-political climate, aligning and inspiring their teams, and conquering the scaling abyss. From the stage, Brandon announced that any donation to The Grant Cardone Foundation would enable any attendee to directly ask a question. To show his support to the Grant Cardone Foundation, Dawson matched their 50k donations with an additional 200k for a total of 250k. The Mastermind closed with Dawson handing a check for $200,000 to Cardone. These funds will provide mentoring and financial literacy education to adolescents in underserved and at-risk populations, especially those without a father figure. About Cardone Ventures: Cardone Ventures helps individuals and business owners attain their personal, professional, and financial goals. Cardone Ventures is a business consulting company founded by Grant Cardone and Brandon Dawson. Together, they help business owners experience their company from a 360-degree perspective, including operations, marketing, finance, and people. Cardone Ventures' focus is to help entrepreneurs grow from $2 million to $50 million+ and 10X all aspects of their business. About The Grant Cardone Foundation: The Grant Cardone Foundation is a national non-profit organization invested in helping youth in our communities reach their fullest potential. Entrepreneur and best-selling author, Grant Cardone, created the foundation as a result of experiencing the traumatic loss of his father when he was only 10-years-old. Growing up without a father figure in his life affected him emotionally, socially, and academically and so he has made it his mission to help young adults, who may need life and career guidance just as he once did. The foundation partners with community organizations, municipal agencies, corporations, and other non-profit entities to help deliver energy and educational resources to kids in need. Cardone Ventures (503) 536-0997 [email protected] Related Images brandon-dawson-with-grant-cardone.png Brandon Dawson with Grant Cardone During a one-day Mastermind workshop for business owners and entrepreneurs, Brandon Dawson, CEO and co-founder of Cardone Ventures, donated $200,000 to the Grant Cardone Foundation. SOURCE The Grant Cardone Foundation Over the past day, April 9, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire in the Joint Forces Operation area in eastern Ukraine seven times, including six attacks on the positions of Ukrainian defenders and one remote mining with POM-2 mines. In particular, in the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group "East", the enemy opened fire from 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various systems, and small arms near Pisky (11km north-west of Donetsk) and Vodiane in the Sea of Azov area. The invaders also fired automatic easel grenade launchers outside Starohnativka (51km south of Donetsk)," the press center of the JFO Headquarters reports. In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group North, Russian occupiers opened fire from automatic easel grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk). One serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received a shrapnel wound and was promptly taken to a medical facility. The enemy used hand-held antitank grenade launchers to deliver POM-2 mines towards the village of Zaitseve (62km north-east of Donetsk). The Ukrainian side of the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC) informed the OSCE SMM about the violations committed by the armed formations of the Russian Federation. As of 07:00 on April 10, one ceasefire violation was recorded. In particular, the Russian occupation forces opened fire from small arms, hand-held antitank and under-barrel grenade launchers in the area of Mayorske (45km north of Donetsk). No losses have been reported. Ukrainian military continue to control the situation in the JFO area and adhere to the ceasefire. ish Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the West wall of the the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington Jose Luis Magana/AP Rachel Powell, known as "bullhorn lady" for her participation in the January 6 Capitol riot, seemed to appear in a video at a bookstore wearing a mesh mask. As a condition of her release, a judge in February said Powell must wear a face mask when leaving her home. It's unclear if the mesh mask, which doesn't protect from COVID-19, is a violation of the judge's order. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Rachel Powell, the Pennsylvania woman known as "bullhorn lady" for using a megaphone during her admitted participation at the January 6 siege at the US Capitol, appeared to be wearing a mesh mask in a video posted by a Pennsylvania bookstore, Law&Crime first reported Friday. While the March 31 video was posted to Facebook and later deleted by the bookstore, a copy has been re-uploaded to Twitter by HuffPost reporter Ryan J. Reilly. In the video, a woman who appears to be Powell looks into the camera, talking about a book raffle. "Good morning, everybody, and welcome to Mr. Bookman's page," the woman, purportedly Powell, said in the clip. She appears to be wearing a mask with large holes that clearly reveal her nose and mouth. Read more: The Great GOP Migration: How South Florida became a shadow capital for Trump conservatives About eight seconds into the video, the camera is flipped to a woman identified in the video as "Christy." She is wearing a bright-red "Make America Great Again" hat but is not wearing any type of face mask. The bookstore is located in Franklin, Pennsylvania, where face masks are required to be worn in public places under a state order enacted in November last year. Insider is unable to confirm that the woman in the video is Powell. A request for comment to Mr. Bookman to confirm Powell was an employee was not immediately returned Saturday. Michael Engle, Powell's Philadelphia-based lawyer, likewise did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Story continues As Insider previously reported, in granting her release, Judge Beryl Howell ordered Powell, who before the riot had espoused anti-mask views, to wear a face mask in public "whenever she leaves her residence." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Mesh masks are not effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 but have been sold and worn by individuals attempting to skirt requirements in businesses and in public places where masks are required. It's unclear whether the apparently ineffective mask would violate the judge's order. As The New Yorker reported, Powell in December said in a Facebook post she was "unashamedly a 'super spreader.'"In another post, she said she would refuse to take a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the report. As Law&Crime noted, Powell has previously been connected to the bookstore. The Sharon Herald reported in May 2020 that Powell attended a protest against Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's orders to curb the spread of COVID-19. Also at the protest outside the Mercer County Courthouse was the bookstore owner, according to the report. The May report identified Powell as having been furloughed from her job at Cherish Creamery due to the pandemic. According to The New Yorker, Powell had been barred by the creamery from working certain events because she had refused to follow pandemic restrictions. At the time of the February article from The New Yorker, Powell said she worked part-time at a "local bookstore." After the January 6 siege on the Capitol, in which five people died, The Sharon Herald published a photo of Powell from April 2020 at an anti-restriction protest in Mercer County where she spoke from a bullhorn and held a sign that read "the mask is a symbol of our enslavement." As Insider previously reported, Powell, a mother of eight, was recorded at the Capitol, seemingly to shout instructions into a bullhorn and directing other rioters. Prosecutors say she was one of the rioters who used a pipe to break windows on Capitol grounds. She was charged with depredation of government property, entering restricted buildings or grounds with a dangerous weapon, entering restricted buildings or grounds, and violent entry or disorderly conduct. In her interview with The New Yorker, Powell acknowledged that photos and videos of the "bullhorn" lady showed her but declined to comment on specific questions about her conduct, like whether she smashed windows or yelled orders to other rioters. Read the original article on Insider China Southern Airlines celebrates 10 years of New Zealand service Xinhua) 14:17, April 10, 2021 AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines celebrated its one decade of flight services between China and New Zealand here on Friday. A celebration event was held on Friday in partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charity at the Auckland City Hospital. Guests and participants worked together to make dinners for the families with hospitalized children at the Ronald McDonald House. China Southern Airlines' Auckland Office General Manager Lily Wang said the company will continue its commitment to being the "air bridge between China and New Zealand." She expressed hope for the company's future development in New Zealand after the difficult times as COVID-19 significantly hit the aviation industry. "We will come out the other side better and stronger," said Wang. An aircraft of China Southern Airlines first landed at Auckland Airport on April 9, 2011 in the first regular passenger flight route between the Chinese mainland and New Zealand. Over the past 10 years, the airline has transported a total of 2.26 million passengers and 63,000 tons of cargo between China and New Zealand. In 2020, the company continued its flight services between China and New Zealand to ensure essential travels and cargo transportation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 326 flights have been operated carrying more than 68,000 passengers and 6,000 tons of cargo without any COVID-19 infection. The company has also sponsored a number of charity events in the local community. Chinese Vice Consul General in Auckland Xiao Yewen and other guests attended Friday's celebrations. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Highlights The leaked images of the alleged Google Pixel watch provides a glimpse into the most stunning smartwatch yet. A noted tipster has shared a series of renders that are reported to be the Google Pixel Watch. Pixel watch ould be launched alongside the Pixel 6. The leaked images of the alleged Google Pixel watch provides a glimpse into the most stunning smartwatch yet. Google was long rumored to be working on its own smartwatch that would be powered by its WearOS. Looks like, the rumors are turning into a reality soon. A noted tipster has shared a series of renders that are reported to be the Google Pixel Watch, which had been codenamed "Rohan" by the company. The renders show that Google Pixel watch is the smartwatch we have been for all these years! Don't believe us? Take a look yourself. Noted tipster and tech analyst, Jon Prosser has posted the first renders of the purported Google Pixel Watch on Twitter. The smartwatch comes with a giant circular display with a bezel-less design. However, one of the noticeable things in the smartwatch is its physical crown, which is similar to the ones we get in Analog watches. Google seemed to have taken cues from Samsung and Apple for its smartwatch. If you notice carefully, the curve that wraps around the watch case is similar to what we have seen in Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. Whereas if you look at the Silicone or soft rubber straps carefully, you would be reminded of the Apple Watch 6. However, the design is indicative of the fact that the Google Pixel watch is going to be pretty lightweight. From the pictures, one can figure out that the watch case will be slimmer than most smartwatches in the market. Prosser has not revealed anything about the specifications yet, but it is speculated to arrive with support for WearOS, Google's very own chipset that powers some popular smartwatches including the Fossil watches, Oppo watch and more. Notably, the renders shared by Prosser are not the official renders, they are digital recreations of the original images. It does give a fair idea to the viewers, but it is not the final design. So every piece of information should be taken with a grain of salt unless Google plans to announce something officially. As far as the release date of the smartwatch is concerned, it was speculated that the watch would be launched sometime in October. But the other set of rumours also suggest that it could be launched alongside the most anticipated release of Google, the Pixel 6. However, Google has neither announced the Pixel 6 yet nor the Pixel smartwatch. So it is better to wait for the official confirmation. Check out news you should not miss today: Society Vietnam on Tuesday afternoon reported 14 new imported cases of COVID-19, increasing the countrys tally to 2,683 with 2,429 recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health. Police in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on Friday confirmed they had arrested four suspects related to the murder of a woman in Cai Lay District, including a director at the districts general hospital. The general hospital in the northern province of Hoa Binh is giving treatment to a family of four who were hospitalized with poisoning symptoms after using a mosquito repellent machine labeled as environmentally friendly and unharmful to children'. The Ho Chi Minh City Management Centre of Public Transport on Friday said they would give a suspension of five days as well as a fine of VND500,000 (US$21.71) to a bus attendant who had refused to serve people with disabilities a day before. More than 3.4 tons of farmed fishes on the Ma River in the northern province of Thanh Hoa died en mass since March 15, with nearly one ton dying only on April 8 alone, according to local authorities. Business The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sets a target of earning US$50 to 51 billion in export value of agro-forestry and fishery products by 2025 and $60 to 62 billion by 2030, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday. The 30th Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo 2021) is set for April 14-17 in Hanoi and will feature 300 stalls and a series of workshops on e-commerce, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday. Lifestyle More than 600 ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) by 15 local designers on Friday night were showcased at Hanoi's Temple of Literature for an event titled Our Ao Dai as part of a campaign to honor Vietnams heritage ao dai as well as the beauty of Vietnamese women. World La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted on Friday after decades of inactivity, sending dark plumes of ash and smoke billowing into the sky and forcing thousands from surrounding villages to evacuate, Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! There are countless such machines presently out there, with various capabilities, various hardware, and various roles. There are even hand-launched systems, some that even if they look rudimentary, can perform missions with the same degree of success as their more advanced counterparts.AeroVironment is one of the companies used to making such hand-launched devices. Its fleet includes the Raven , but also the Puma 3 were here to talk about now.The Puma 3 is described as a tool designed for surveillance and intelligence gathering. Its small enough to be launched from the arms of a soldier 9.2 feet (2.8 meters) wingspan, and a weight of 15 pounds (7 kg) but can spy on enemy forces for up to 2.5 hours at a time. The Puma can travel for 37 miles (60 km), and packs sensors and cameras that according to its maker gives it a level of imaging capability never before available in the tactical UAS class.AeroVironment announced at the end of last week it has received a serious order for Puma drones totaling $11 million. The orders come as part of a contract signed last year with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). The drones will be deployed by the forces of several NATO countries, and deliveries are expected to begin in the summer of this year.AeroVironment is responsible for the largest UAS fleet deployed by the American military, with close to 20,000 such devices in service right now. The company also serves some of the drone needs of around 50 of America's allied countries. The popularity of the voice-chat app, Clubhouse is evident through its competitors which continuously venture into developing a similar application. Besides the social media platforms that entered the competition, we could see Reddit sooner joining the audio-chat bandwagon. At any time, we could hear news about a new voice-chat project coming from the front page of the internet. What could it possibly feature when it comes out? Reddit is Just Quiet in Developing a Clubhouse-Like App There is news circulating that the widely-known social news aggregation site, Reddit is silently working on its application which could resemble Clubhouse. An anonymous person who is knowledgeable in the plan of the company has revealed that the voice-chat app is now in its early stages of development. At the moment, any information about it is confidential to the public. Mashable reported that they have contacted Reddit many times to confirm if it is already testing the capability of the feature. However, the company did not give any comment about the question. In August 2020, a Reddit admin named u/plgrmonedge said that the company is now "testing a new concept" with select partners from the subreddit. This could tell that the company could be adding Voice chats in its power-ups program. The said program will tackle introducing the additional features of the app. This also suggests that only those Reddit members who buy "a minimum threshold of power-up subscriptions" will be able to participate in the powerups experiment. "The new [power-up] experiment helps create a framework that allows us to add 'nice to have features for subreddits," the admin said in August, Gizmodo reported. Read Also: YouTube Rejects Employees' Request to Remove 'Meet the Flockers'--Staff Disappointed in Company's Decision Power-Up Features That Reddit Said About its Clubhouse-Like App To have a glimpse of the possible features in this power-up tease, users could now be able to stream up to HD quality videos. Apart from that, they could also upload clips and "inline" GIFS when commenting in a forum. Moreover, a user could subscribe for $4.99 per month to fully enjoy the power-up perks as stated in the subreddit created by r/suspiciouslyspecific. Furthermore, Reddit could adopt the same feature through Discord. The video-streaming platform has also server boosts, where users pay to gather their "collective perks" in the form of new emojis, larger limitations when uploading media, and higher quality of audio. Reddit is only one of many companies that share a similar interest to create a clone of Clubhouse. This made the app a prime example of how far could it go due to its impressive features and solid user population. Twitter introduced Spaces in early March, while Facebook's New Product Experiment division announced this week that it is also developing a Clubhouse clone app to compete with the original creator. To know more about Twitter Spaces, how to use it, and other frequently asked questions about it, click here. Meanwhile, if you want to visit Facebook's upcoming app, visit hotline. co. The accessibility of the website depends on your country's location. Related Article: Reddit Value Spikes up to $6 Billion After Raising $250 Million for New Funding This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joen Coronel 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Paxton, IL (60957) Today Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High 87F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 65F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Spring is when the days get longer and people start to dream about kicking the job and going off on long vacation: Paris, the Greek islands, New York in June. Big-time travel is not in the cards this year. Europe is locked down. The Canadian border is shut. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say travelers should avoid going to Mexico. Even flying around the U.S. is a bit chancy. So that leaves small-time travel. Just the other day, the Sailor Girl, my companion in small adventures, took a trip with me up to the Sonoma County coast and poked around a bit at Fort Ross. Every schoolkid who took a course in California history knows a little about Fort Ross: how Russians in the days of the czars came from Siberia to Alaska and then down the coast of Alta California and built a wooden fort north of San Francisco in the hopes of starting a Russian colony. It didnt work out and they sailed away and never returned. Its kind of a footnote to the California story. But Fort Ross is more than that. Its a beautiful place, built on a flat piece of land facing the Pacific Ocean. To the east is forested hill country, thinly populated even now. The fort itself is a collection of wooden buildings surrounded by a redwood wall with blockhouses at the corners. The centerpiece is a chapel built of redwood with two domes in the Russian Orthodox style. To the Russians, this was the Wild East, the very edge of their world. The United States, just 33 years old when Fort Ross was founded in 1809, was thousands of miles away. Fort Ross comes with a backstory an Old World scandal involving a princess and a poet, and a whiff of modern international intrigue. There is also a Native American story that goes back thousands of years. And you dont even have to tip a foreign tour guide. Fort Ross is a California state park. Getting there is half the fun as the travel agents used to say. Fort Ross is 90 miles from San Francisco, about a 2-hour drive. The easiest way is to go north on Highway 101 to Petaluma, then west to Bodega Bay, a town the Russians called Port Rumyantsev, named for the czars foreign minister. Highway 1 leads north along the wildly beautiful Sonoma coast, and crosses the Russian River, the Slavyanka, the Russians called it. The last dozen miles to Fort Ross are pretty amazing: hairpin curves and sheer cliffs, a tribute to highway engineers. Its pretty country, especially in springtime when the meadows are green and the wildflowers are out. No wonder the Russians liked it. They had hoped a colony at Fort Ross would serve as a base for fur seal and otter hunting and supply produce for their settlements in Alaska. To that end they set up satellite farms in the area, some miles away. They even built a windmill, the first in California. Markers and plaques throughout the park describe the basics of the operation: how the fort was run by the government-sponsored Russian American Co., how the Russians used Aleut and other native Alaskan people to hunt sea otters, even in San Francisco Bay. The farming operation was much less successful, and eventually the Russian American Co. gave up on Fort Ross. It was sold in 1842 to John Sutter, who had a mini empire of his own in Sacramento. Fort Ross was a frontier post, never very big. In 1836, there were 260 residents. A diverse lot: 120 Russians, 51 mixed- race people, 50 Aleuts from Kodiak and 39 Christian Indians. But it had style, too. Sarah Sweedler, executive director of the Fort Ross Conservancy, likes to tell the story of Alexander Rotchev, a poet and man of letters and his wife, Princess Elena Pavlovna Gagarina. Rotchev was the last manager of Fort Ross, but maintained a household in European style on the frontier. Once when a visiting French count had made his way to Fort Ross and was a guest for dinner, the princess, who spoke fluent French, charmed him with her elegant manners, and played Mozart on the piano. Rotchev served French wine and made interesting conversation. But Rotchev was a bit of a rake: He had an affair with a servant who bore his child. One can imagine the scandal. The couple divorced when they returned to Russia. She married the wrong man, Sweedler says. The international intrigue developed just over 10 years ago, when the great recession left California so financially strapped it considered closing state parks. Fort Ross was high on the hit list. The situation drew the attention of what was described as the highest levels of the Russian government. That prompted Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire, a friend of Vladimir Putin and president of the Renova Corp., to promise substantial financial help to the remnant of Russias California outpost. Vekselberg signed an agreement with then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in San Francisco, in 2010, and raised a toast to it with a glass of California-style Champagne. The Renova Fort Ross Foundation spent well more than $1 million on deferred maintenance on the park. But the diplomatic situation changed: Vekselberg and Renova were linked to a whole series of Russian intrigues, and Renova was placed under U.S. sanction in 2018. So the Russian help for Fort Ross is gone with the wind. But the story of the place is not just about Russians. There is a very long Native American presence. The Russians got on reasonably well with the native Kashia Pomo people, signed a treaty with them and employed them in their operations. Though the Russians are gone, the Kashia are still there. Their small reservation is not far away. And now the state park is telling their story with new exhibits and a new trail being built north of the fort. Sweedler has worked at Fort Ross for 20 years. Shes fascinated with it. Ive stayed, she said, For love of the land and the native people. Carl Noltes columns run on Sunday. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Carlnoltesf A Middlesex County man was charged Thursday with using the address of his Monmouth County business to vote in that countys general elections over the course of five years, authorities said. Steven Solop, 67, of Woodbridge was charged with fraudulent voting, interference with election and false registration, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office announced Friday. Between October 2015 and November 2019, Solop voted at the Highlands Borough polling stations in New Jersey State General Elections, the office alleged. Solop registered to vote in Monmouth County citing his business address on Bay Avenue in Highlands Borough as his primary residence, but was not entitled to vote in Monmouth County elections as his primary residence is in Middlesex County, officials said. He should have lawfully registered to vote in his residential Woodbridge voting district, where records show he was registered in 1996 and voted from 1999 through 2014, the office said. Solop surrendered to investigators at the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office on Thursday, where he was charged, processed, and released on a summons pending a future court date, authorities said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Losing personal items is a part of life. Now, there is one more thing you have to worry about misplacing your vaccination card. The informational card provides your COVID-19 immunization chart and space to record potential future booster shots. Health officials recommend taking a photo of the front and back of the vaccination card but not to post it on social media. Officials say to then store it in a safe place such as where you keep important documents. While Texas doesn't require individuals to show proof of vaccination, some places out of the state may require it like cruises and businesses in California If you end up losing it, however, it's not the end of the world. Texans can request a new record by calling 800-252-9152 or by submitting a form on the Texas Department of State Health Services website, which keeps a registry designed to consolidate immunization records. You can also return to your original provider, who can print out a copy from the registry or fill out a new one, according to Douglas Loveday, a spokesman for DHS. San Antonians who received their vaccine through the Metropolitan Health District can call 311 for guidance. If your shot was administered at a pharmacy like H-E-B, CVS or Costco, customers will be given a new one with a photo ID. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention runs two programs v-safe and VaxText that are designed to track the side effects from the vaccinations. Texans can also contact either of the CDC programs to access their vaccination information. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net (Natural News) New research from South Dakota State University revealed how exposure to neonicotinoids toxic pesticides associated with bee deaths could be causing serious birth defects in white-tailed deer. Published in Scientific Reports, it showed that adult white-tailed deer with elevated levels of neonicotinoids in their spleens developed certain defects, such as smaller reproductive organs and pronounced overbites, as well as reduced thyroid function. Meanwhile, white-tailed deer fawns with high levels of the pesticides in their spleens were smaller and far less healthy than fawns with lower levels of neonicotinoids in their organs. This study is the first to examine the harmful effects of neonicotinoid consumption on the reproductive health of large mammals. [The] fact that [white-tailed] deer are not that far off from our livestock or even humans suggests that maybe we need to be examining these insecticides, said Jonathan Lundgren, an ecologist and independent scientist from Estelline, South Dakota, who co-authored the paper. Neonicotinoids: a danger to deer White-tailed deer is one of two deer species found in Montana, where the use of neonicotinoids is widespread. Lead researcher Jonathan Jenks said he first became concerned about neonicotinoid use after reading reports of abnormalities among Montanas wild deer population. But reports like these are not new. In 2002, for instance, researchers found that almost three-quarters of 133 male deer studied suffered from genital abnormalities. On the other hand, 519 white-tailed deer studied from 20012010 were found to have facial deformities. To determine whether or not exposure to neonicotinoids was causing abnormalities in white-tailed deer, the researchers studied 21 captive adult female deer. The deer were artificially inseminated during both years of the study and the fawns born to the adults, 24 in 2015 and 39 in 2016, were included. The team added imidacloprid, a kind of neonicotinoid, to the animals drinking water at three concentrations: 1,500 nanograms per liter (ng/L), 3,000 ng/L and 15,000 ng/L. The first two concentrations reflected levels of the pesticide found in groundwater in the US and Canada. Their experiment led to numerous startling results. First, animals in the control group drank more water than those in the treatment group, indicating a dislike for contaminated water. When the researchers examined the spleens of the treated animals, they found that the animals had elevated levels of imidacloprid. Furthermore, the researchers found that imidacloprid accumulated in several other organs, including the liver and thyroid. Elevated imidacloprid levels were also found in the adults reproductive system, indicating that fawns could have been exposed to the pesticide while still in the womb. In addition, the treated deer had smaller organs and smaller bodies. The length of their jawbones also differed from those in the control group. Overall, the treated deer were more likely to die early. We were not expecting to show the level of the effects that we did, because our concentrations have been found in wetlands, said Jenks. Moreover, the fact that imidacloprid was found accumulating in the spleen is of particular importance. In the past, scientists would look for neonicotinoids in animals livers. But with these new findings, researchers now have a better idea of which organs to monitor for neonicotinoid exposure. The spleen also plays an important role in the immune system. When spleen function is impaired from things like pesticide exposure, immune function could become impaired as well. Deer with impaired spleen function could become more susceptible to disease as a result. Unfortunately, Jenks and his colleagues found that traces of imidacloprid were present in some of the organs of deer in the control group, indicating that the pesticide was present in the wild. (Related: Deadly pesticides STILL in use: Neonics are killing bees and birds, warn researchers.) Overall, the findings suggest that imidacloprid is affecting the survival of fawns. If imidacloprid contamination is not mitigated, exposure to the pesticide could reduce the number of fawns available or that get recruited into deer populations, warned Jenks. Read more articles about the harmful effects of neonicotinoids and other toxic pesticides at Pesticides.news. Sources include: SDNewsWatch.org ChemistryWorld.com Farm Credit Illinois has named 29 high seniors as agriculture scholarship recipients and awarded 50 community improvement grants to FFA chapters and 4-H clubs in central and southern Illinois. Agriculture scholars from center Illinois each received a $2,000 scholarship. They include: Meghan Hadden of Jacksonville, who will graduate from Jacksonville High School and attend Lincoln Land Community College to study agricultural education. Meghans parents are Gary and Lisa Hadden. Luke Hubbert of Winchester, who will graduate from Winchester High School and attend John Wood Community College to study agronomy management. Lukes parents are Matt and Jen Hubbert. Scholarships were awarded based on academic achievement, participation and leadership in school and community organizations, and the applicants commitment to an agricultural career. Farm Credit Illinois scholars represent tomorrows agricultural leaders, said Rod Stoll, vice president of marketplace engagement for FCI. Investing in their education today on behalf of our cooperative members will help positively shape the future of the industry and Rural America. Community improvement grants, each worth $500, were awarded to: Carrollton FFA chapter in Greene County, for its Color-up Carrollton effort to grow and plant flowers around Carrollton town square. Northwestern FFA chapter in Macoupin County, for its plan to build a community food shack for Palmyra residents. East Side Jr.s 4-H Club in Morgan County, for its plan to build a Jacksonville welcome sign and add landscaping to the Morgan County Fairgrounds patio. The grants are intended to implement valuable improvement projects. FFA and 4-H members inspire Farm Credit each year by eagerly serving their communities, Stoll said. We are grateful to team-up with youth organizations investing in the future of their hometowns. Farm Credit Illinois is a farmer-owned and directed agricultural cooperative serving 16,000 farmer, rural landowner and agribusiness voting stockholder members in the southern 60 counties of Illinois. 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. For the latest information go to the Emergency WA website, call 13 DFES (13 3337), follow DFS on Twitter and Facebook, listen to ABC local radio or news bulletins. Homes in West Australian regions not built to withstand cyclonic winds are in danger of being swept away as a tropical cyclone accelerates abnormally far south. Authorities have warned this extremely unusual weather could bring widespread devastation. The sea swallows the historic prawning jetty at Carnarvon. Credit:Belinda Halden. This could destroy homes. The homes in the Mid West and the Gascoyne arent designed to withstand cyclonic conditions unlike the north-west of the state, Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Waters said on Saturday. THE ISSUE of trespassing, especially lamping at night, under the cover of darkness with dogs, has been an ongoing problem around the Kilmallock area, said local councillor PJ Carey. He says fencing and livestock has been disturbed, which is a problem, but some of the land owners believe that lamping is largely an excuse for more opportunistic criminal activity to ascertain the location of machinery etc. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that shots have been fired in the air recently, by local landowners in a bid to curb this activity. This is a worrying development and could have obvious dangerous consequences, said Cllr Carey. The Independent councillor says farmers need better protection from trespassers. Some farmers are fearful for themselves and their family. They are also fearful for their homes and possessions. A recent incident in Kilmallock saw a man getting beaten badly by a trespasser. These farmers need laws that safeguard against litigation in the event of a trespasser suffering injury on the landowners land. A no trespassing sign only limits their liability, it would not offer a full defence in a court. People who trespass on lands have a certain amount of rights. Through the Occupiers Liability Act, the landowner owes them a duty of care i.e farmers must take measures to allow for their safety, said Cllr Carey, who believes these laws need a wholesale review, more clarity and more robust legislation is needed. The stand-in Justice Minister Heather Humphreys, and Helen McEntee when she returns from maternity leave, need to review, amend and strengthen trespass laws. I would call on our local TDs to stop playing lip service to these farmers and urgently bring this matter to the minister. The current law is not having any effect in diminishing trespassing or lamping. These trespassers are behaving with impunity, said Cllr Carey, who called on the government to finally come to terms with the need to protect these landowners and establish effective deterrents to trespassing and related criminal activity. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected 23 officials to run the affairs of the party in the North-central zone for the next four years. Announcing the outcome of the election on Saturday in Makurdi, the Electoral Committee Chairman, Cletus Tyokaa, said that all the outgone zonal officials were returned unopposed. He said that a total of 906 delegates were expected at the congress but only 820 were accredited and voted. He said that those who returned unopposed were: Zonal Chairman, Theophilus Shan; Zonal Secretary, Maurice Tsav; Zonal Treasurer, Emmanuel Ibrahim; Publicity Secretary, Mohamed Suleiman and 21 others. Benue Governor Samuel Ortom tasked the new officials on fairness, justice and equity in the discharge of their mandate. Mr Ortom also disclosed that the party in the zone had resolved to end `godfatherism, imposition of candidates and avoid the mistakes of 2015 and 2019 that gave APC victory. He commended the stakeholders of the party within the zone for exhibiting high-level of maturity throughout the processes that led to the election. Also in a speech, former President of the Senate, David Mark, said that Nigerians and indeed the people of North-central had learnt their lessons by voting the APC. Mr Mark said that at a time all the six state governors and senators in the zone were elected under the platform of the PDP and urged the people to do more to reclaim their lost positions. Also speaking, immediate past Senate President and Chairman, PDP Reconciliatory Committee, Bukola Saraki, said that it was time for the North-Central to recover its mandate in the remaining five states. Mr Saraki also said that it was time for the zone to provide the needed leadership that Nigerians yearned for by winning back all six states in the zone. He appealed to the APC to stop disturbing their governors and allow them to concentrate on the good works that they were doing across their respective states. Its time for us to go back and reclaim our mandate from the remaining five states of the North-central because North-central belongs to PDP and that journey has started with the return of Jerry Gana. The future of Nigeria rests with the PDP. We must also continue to retain FCT. We must go back and send a message that PDP has woken up and is now on the map to take the country, Saraki said. Former governor of Niger State, Babajida Aliyu, said that the party must create a peaceful atmosphere to endear it to Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections. We must do whatever is necessary to reunite and create a peaceful atmosphere that will endear us to Nigerians. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT New Delhi, April 10 : With borders opening sporadically in step with vaccination drives in various regions, the last quarter has witnessed intermittent activity for the international travel community. VFS Global, one of the world's leading visa services organisations updates you on the re-openings of visa application centres in India. Efforts are currently underway according to the regulations set by governments across countries. At present, the visa application process (in various categories) for over 40 governments has resumed at select visa application centres across India. Restart of other visa application processes. 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'Visa At Your Doorstep' service As an optional service to customers wanting to complete their entire visa application submission process from the comfort of their home or office, the "Visa At Your Doorstep" service is available whereby a customer can submit the application, enroll biometrics, and get the passport couriered back to his/her location of choice. Courier service As a precautionary measure, customers may also opt for courier services to get their passports delivered to their preferred address, after adjudication by the concerned diplomatic mission. This service may also be made mandatory by certain countries. Information about visa operations is fluid and being updated regularly, please visit the country-specific website on www.vfsglobal.com for the most updated information. Visa Application Centres across India remain open as of April 7, 2021, though timings and days of working may vary, according to pandemic-related regulations. Please check www.vfsglobal.com for details. Real time updates are also posted on our social media channels and the Covid-19 Customer Advisories page. Please note: Air travel on all routes is subject to government advisories and permissions for air travel may be independent of the visa process. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Prince Philip's last dying days can be described as a scene from a movie; peaceful, quiet, and with the love of his life, Queen Elizabeth II, at his side. Prince Philip, on his dying days The Duke of Edinburgh, married to Queen Elizabeth II, had 99 years of living his life to the fullest. He was born in 1921 to a royal Greek and Danish family. This Friday, he had his last breath at Windsor Castle. According to New York Post, Prince Philip spent most of his dying days in slumber. In his best waking hours, he would bask up the sun with a blanket on his lap and his "Lilibet" as he fondly called his wife, by his side. Richard Kay from Daily Mail reported much about the last days of the royal consort. He narrated that despite their poor health, the Queen and Philip were able to spend time together as they had always done. When he lost his reading glasses, they were picked up by a footman who jumped forward. The duke raised his arm and said, 'Never mind.' 'I'll take care of it.' As a result, he knelt on the cement. He was to be made as comfortable as possible, and even if that meant adjusting meal schedules, so be it. He still read and exchanged letters on his best days, as recently as this week. He'd ask for a chair to be carried outside, dressed in a shirt, pressed pants, and polished shoes. According to a royal source, his final wish was granted; to die at home rather than in a hospital. In the past few days when he was getting terminally ill, the Queen refused to bring him to the hospital following the wish of her husband. CNN reported that with the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional expression of grief would not be made possible. The people had been asked to stay away from the palace and offer donations instead. Prince Philip's last dying days were one saving grace for the Queen: she and Prince Philip were reunited at the end. This could be the tiniest of consolations after more than seven decades of their lives circled in both love and royal obligations. Prince Philip Gets Wish Of 'No-Fuss' Funeral, Brings William and Harry Face To Face Since Rift Prince Philip, the Queen's Husband, Has Died at the Age of 99 Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Worried About Prince Philip's Health, Couple Eager to Return to UK With Archie @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Putin's threat to the West has been laid bare in new footage showing a build-up of troops and military convoys on Ukraine's border as Kiev warns it could be provoked by Russian 'aggression'. The clip, with the caption 'ready for conflict', appeared to show Vladimir Putin's armoured vehicles ploughing through the mud to manoeuvre into position. The latest images to leak of the vast military build-up are evidently shot by Russian troops involved in the controversial deployment which has sparked deep worry in the West. Some show a train convoy of military vehicles moving through Baltaysk in Russia's Rostov region within striking distance of the international border. Others are said to be in Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh regions - all areas where a massing of Russian military might including tanks and missiles such as the notorious BUK has been seen in recent days. Ukraine estimates there are now a staggering 85,000 Russian troops between six and 25 miles from its frontier and in Crimea. It comes after Ukraine warned that it could be provoked by Russian 'aggression' in light of Putin's colossal build-up of military hardware. Andrii Taran, Ukraine's defence minister, issued a statement on Saturday amid mounting tensions in the country's eastern Donbass region. He said Russian accusations about the rights of Russian-speakers being violated could be the reason for the resumption of armed aggression against Ukraine. 'At the same time, it should be noted that the intensification of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is possible only if an appropriate political decision is made at the highest level in the Kremlin,' he said. New footage has emerged that claims to show the inside of Russia's massive deployment on the Ukrainian border amid mounting tensions The clip, with the caption 'ready for conflict', appeared to show Vladimir Putin's armoured vehicles ploughing through the mud to manoeuvre into position Russian figures have warned that Ukraine could be destroyed as a state in a new war but the West remains unsure about Putin's exact motives in shifting military hardware and troops several thousand miles from Siberia into the conflict zone. More than 13,000 have died since Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and sent in troops to back rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Some experts believe the vast military movements are simply a warning by Putin to new US president Joe Biden and the West, rather than a sign of an imminent war. 'Russia is testing everyone's nerves and declaring its position: It should remain an important player for other countries, both the United States and Ukraine,' Ruslan Leviev, an analyst with the Conflict Intelligence Team, told The Washington Post. 'They are trying to show that Russia will not tolerate any sanctions or other actions put in place to pressure them to return Crimea to Ukraine or to change the course of things in Donbas (eastern Ukraine).' The latest images to leak of the vast military build-up are evidently shot by Russian troops involved in the controversial deployment which has sparked deep worry in the West Others are said to be in Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh regions - all areas where a massing of Russian military might including tanks and missiles such as the notorious BUK has been seen in recent days Some show a train convoy of military vehicles moving through Baltaysk in Russia's Rostov region within striking distance of the international border Others fear Moscow is on the point of a full-scale invasion, and see the Ukrainian authorities led by President Volodymyr Zelensky preparing for this possibility. 'What is quite clear for me is that Zelensky and the people around him are seriously concerned about a possible invasion,' said Alyona Getmanchuk, director of the New Europe Centre think tank in Kyiv. Putin's deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak wanted this week that Ukraine faced 'disintergration' if it pushed Russia into war. 'I support the opinions that also exist inside Ukraine that the start of military action would mean the beginning of Ukraine's end,' he said. Kyiv raised the alarm over the buildup of Russian forces and a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass. The Russian military movements have fuelled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied that its troops are a threat but said they will remain as long as it sees fit. Instructor speaking to reservists of the 130th battalion of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces during military exercises on outskirts of Kyiv earlier today Andrii Taran, Ukraine's defence minister, issued a statement on Saturday amid mounting tensions in the country's eastern Donbass region. Pictured: Reservists of the 130th battalion of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces attend military exercises on outskirts of Kyiv Meanwhile, the United States is to dispatch two warships to the Black Sea next week in response to Putin's colossal build-up of military hardware close to the front. Washington is also continuing to fly reconnaissance planes over the sea to monitor Russian activity and flew two B-1 bombers over the Aegean Sea earlier this week. But it comes as Russia claims to have intercepted a US spy plane with footage that is said to show a MiG-31 fighter jet intercepting a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft the Pacific coast. Senior Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak last week said Russia would be forced to defend its citizens in eastern Ukraine depending on the scale of the military conflict there. But a number of cheerleaders for Putin have called on him to take military action inside Ukraine. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state TV channel RT is on record as demanding: 'The people of Donbas want to live at home and be a part of our great, generous motherland. And we must give them that opportunity.' Brittany Stewart, US defence attache in Kyiv, on Friday travelled to the eastern Ukrainian war zone to assess the situation on the ground. But Russia hit out at Stewart's for 'wearing Ukrainian military insignia' during a visit to the Donbas frontline. Ukraine has warned that it could be provoked by Russian 'aggression' as Vladimir Putin surrounds its borders with troops, tanks and missiles launchers Kyiv has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces, including troops, tanks and missiles launchers, near the border between Ukraine and Russia - some of them are believed to be staying at this field camp in the Voronezh region Andrii Taran (pictured), Ukraine's defence minister, issued a statement on Saturday amid mounting tensions in the conflict area of the country's eastern Donbass region Stewart was seen wearing on her shoulder sleeve a 'Ukraine or death' skull insignia, the patch of the 72nd Mechanised Infantry Brigade, complained state-funded Sputnik news agency. 'It is totally inappropriate and I am surprised it is being tolerated. The 'uniform' means uniform and I have never heard of a soldier taking liberties with what they wear with it,' said former US Army Military Intelligence officer Phillip Giraldi, according to the agency. 'It is definitely a political statement in this case, showing solidarity with the Ukrainian defence against the 'Russian threat.' US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French and German counterparts have called on Russia to halt a troop buildup and reaffirmed their support for Kyiv in its confrontation with Moscow. Previous footage showed tanks, missile trucks and howitzers being freighted to the Crimea and the border of the disputed Donbass region in eastern Ukraine which has been occupied by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Satellite and social media images have revealed new Russian encampments and artillery batteries in the provinces of Voronezh and Krasnodar which lie to the east of Donbass. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said yesterday the situation in eastern Ukraine was 'very unstable' and warned it risked leading to 'full-scale combat operations.' Putin insists that his actions are purely defensive, but Washington has said it is 'increasingly concerned' by the largest Russian military presence at the border since the conflict began. Amid soaring tensions, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy donned body armour and a helmet to tour trenches along the frontier on Thursday. But footage has emerged of tanks, missile trucks and howitzers being freighted to the Crimea and the border of the disputed Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. Pictured: Nuclear-capable 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled mortar system moved in Krasnodar region The notorious Buk missile system (left) was spotted being transported in the Voronzeh region close to the Ukrainian border as other footage showed military trucks (right) being freighted to the region Amid soaring tensions, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy (pictured) donned body armour and a helmet to tour trenches along the frontier on Thursday One of Putin's top aides yesterday warned that any assault by Kiev on Russian 'citizens' in the region would be 'the beginning of the end of Ukraine.' Deputy head of Russia's presidential administration, Dmitry Kozak, said that Moscow would not act first, but if Kiev did move against it, the response would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face.' It was announced on Friday that the United States will dispatch two warships through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea in an attempt to head off Russian aggression. Joe Biden sought permission from Turkey to transport vessels through the Bosphorus after his press secretary said the US is 'increasingly concerned' by Russian movements at the border. The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the American ships will pass through the narrow strait on April 14 and April 15. The official said the US notified Turkey 15 days prior to the ships' passage in line with a convention which gives Ankara control of the straits. Such visits by the US and other Nato ships have vexed Moscow, which has long bristled at Ukraine's efforts to build up defence ties with the West and its aspirations to eventually join Nato. Washington is also continuing to fly reconnaissance planes over the sea to monitor Russian activity and flew two B-1 bombers over the Aegean Sea earlier this week. But it comes as Russia claims to have intercepted a US spy plane with footage that is said to show a MiG-31 fighter jet intercepting a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft the Pacific coast. Vladimir Putin (pictured yesterday) insists that his actions are purely defensive, but Washington has said it is 'increasingly concerned' by the largest Russian military presence at the border since the conflict began Russia claims to have intercepted a US spy plane with footage that is said to show a MiG-31 fighter jet intercepting a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft the Pacific coast The American plane is seen from the cockpit of the Russian warplane off the coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, reports claim. 'To identify the air target and prevent violation of the Russian state border, a MiG-31 fighter from the air defence forces of the Eastern Military District was scrambled,' said the Russian National Defence Control Centre. 'The crew of the Russian fighter identified the air target as a strategic reconnaissance aircraft RC-135 of the US Air Force and escorted it over the Pacific Ocean.' The statement said the Russians acted 'in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace. 'Violations of the state border were averted.' Russia claims NATO has in recent months intensified aerial reconnaissance near the Russian border with such flight posing the 'risk of an accidental escalation'. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to visit Brussels next week to discuss Russia's military build-up near the Ukrainian border. Portlaoise is the county town of Laois and, with a current population of 22,000, one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. Centrally located in the Irish midlands and within commuting distance of Dublin, Waterford and Limerick, Portlaoise has in recent years become increasingly cosmopolitan, with a young population and growth in many local industries. Portlaoise began as a stone fortification built by English settlers in the mid-16th century. This was part of a wider Tudor plantation policy whereby English settlers were moved onto land confiscated by the Crown from the native Irish. The original fort was built as a military base to protect the English settlers from local Irish clans. It was called Fort Protector in honour of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, uncle of King Edward VI and known as Protector of the Realm and part of the wall remains standing. The town that grew up around the fort came to be named Maryborough in honour of Queen Mary and the surrounding county (now Laois) came to be known as Queens County. The names Maryborough and Queens County were only replaced by Portlaoise and County Laois in the first part of the 20th century. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Medical history in a mile The key buildings associated with the medical history of Portlaoise can be found along a one mile stretch. In fact, beginning at the west side of the town and following the Dublin Road east towards the town centre takes one on a journey through three centuries of medical history. Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise The medical-historical journey begins at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, which was built as a Detached multi-bay single, 2 and 3 storey International Style hospital, on a H plan and completed in 1936. (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage: www.buildingsofIreland.ie). Described as an iconic International Style building, it was built to the design of architects Michael Scott and Norman Goode. Its strict functionalism was praised in contemporary journals, linking this style to both white washed cottages and the eighteenth-century house, thus giving this new style historical precedence. In terms of clinical services, the hospital has a busy Accident and Emergency Department, Medical and Surgical Wards, a Maternity Unit and Paediatric Unit along with a Department of Psychiatry. The Department of Psychiatry was opened in 2002 and is the most recent addition to the hospital, thus moving psychiatric inpatient services from St. Fintans Hospital. The hospital has teaching and academic links with University of Limerick School of Medicine and with University College Dublin. MORE BELOW PICTURE. St Fintans Hospital Moving further west along the Dublin Road for half a mile brings us to St. Fintans Hospital. St. Fintans Hospital is described as a Multiple-bay, two storey over basement, hospital, dated 1832 opened 14th May 1833, on a complex neo-classical plan with later extensions to the main block c. 1865 and 1898 (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage: www.buildingsofIreland.ie). The hospital was built by the Board of Works at the instigation of the Commissioners for the Erection of Lunatic Asylums established under an Act of 1817. The architects were Francis Johnston and his cousin William Murray. The first 5 asylums in Ireland in Armagh, Belfast, Derry, Limerick and Richmond (Dublin) were built in 1831 and St. Fintans Hospital in Portlaoise came in the next wave. Initially called Maryborough Lunatic Asylum the name was subsequently changed to St. Fintans Hospital, St. Fintan being a local medieval Irish saint. The hospital followed the typical design of a second-class asylum for 100 patients and it was constructed by William Murray after the death of Francis Johnston. The hospital consists of a symmetrical central building around the entrance font. Numerous additional wings and buildings in the extensive walled grounds were added over subsequent decades, including two churches. As of 2021, there remains one functioning clinical ward with 13 elderly residents. County Infirmary Within a few hundred metres of St. Fintans Hospital is the modern Grattan Business Park. In the centre of Grattan Business Park is a large and impressive Georgian building that was built in 1808 as a: Detached three-bay two-storey over basement, building with five-bay side elevations. This building served as the County Infirmary for Laois until the opening of Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise as the new County Hospital in 1935-1936. The County Infirmary was built to replace an earlier infirmary in the town. The building was instigated by Dr. John Jacob, one of four generations of that family who were involved in the infirmary. Annefield House Within 200 metres of the old County Infirmary we travel back another century in time when our eastward journey takes us to Annefield House. This is described architecturally as a Detached three-bay two-storey over concealed basement and it was built in 1705. Described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as A fine well-proportioned early Georgian house set back from the road which retains its dignified presence. The house was built by the Reverend Canon Thomas Moss, Rector of Maryborough, between 1691 and 1731. From a medical viewpoint, his son Bartholomew Moss was born in the house in 1712. Bartholomew went on to graduate as a doctor and subsequently specialised in Obstetrics. His key legacy was the establishment of the first maternity hospital in Ireland, the Rotunda Hospital, in 1745. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Portleix House Finally, after another few hundred metres towards the town centre, we come to Portleix House, described as a Detached four-bay three-storey over-basement double-pile built in 1810. This house was built by Dr. John Jacob of the aforementioned Jacob family and founder of the County Infirmary. The house was subsequently repurposed as the Parochial House for Portlaoise in 1912. Along with the contributions of the Jacob family to clinical services in Portlaoise over four generations, Dr. Arthur Jacob (a son of Dr. John Jacob) became a prominent Ophthalmic Pathologist. Dr. Arthur Jacob established a medical school in the United Kingdom and discovered the membrane of the retina of the eye that contains the rods and cones, named in his honour as Jacobs Membrane. And so ends our brief journey through three centuries of the medical history of Portlaoise. However, a short journey south from Portlaoise in the direction of Abbeyleix takes us back another two or three centuries to the heyday of Gaelic medicine and the former site of a medical school at Aghmacart near Cullohill. The medical school here flourished from 1500-1611 under the patronage of the local Mac Giolla Phadraig (Fitzpatrick) clan of Upper Ossory (the western part of County Laois). Six different members of the O Conchubhair (OConnor) family ran the school over four generations, the most accomplished being Donnchadh Og O Conchubhair who was described as the best of doctors in his own time and that without leaving Ireland to study References National Inventory of Architectural Heritage: www.buildingsofIreland.ie Grace P. Medicine in Gaelic Ireland and Scotland, c. 1350 c. 1750. Irish Historical Studies (2020), 44 (166), 201-223. Input from the article was also provided by Professor Pierce Grace, Dr. Krystal Poobalan, Dr. Adedoyin Adedosumu and UL medical students Musthafa Raswoli and Justin Graffi. MediPharm Labs high THC medical cannabis has been successfully exported to Peru for distribution by specialized compounding pharmacies Peru marks MediPharm Labs first Latin American export following successful exports to Australia and Germany BARRIE, Ontario, April 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX: LABS) (OTCQX: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) (MediPharm Labs or the Company), a global leader in specialized, research-driven pharmaceutical-quality cannabis extraction, distillation and derivative products, today announced its wholly owned subsidiary, MediPharm Labs Inc., completed its first shipment of premium, formulated cannabis oil to its customer Cann Farm Peru S.A.C., a Lima-based producer and distributor serving Peruvian and other markets in Latin America. This first import into Peru demonstrates the versatility of our GMP certified platform that qualifies MediPharm Labs to export high THC and CBD formulated oils into international medical markets where cannabis is regulated like other pharmaceutical products, said Keith Strachan, President and Interim Chief Executive Officer, MediPharm Labs. We look forward to expanding our presence in Peru and other Latin American markets like Brazil where we have agreements in place and are awaiting final permits to import our pharmaceutical quality products to patients and physicians looking for products they can trust. MediPharm Labs pre-formulated cannabis concentrate will be distributed to patients through compounding pharmacies in Peru that will complete final formulation and fill to exact prescription specification. Since Perus initial cannabis legalization, patients have predominantly had accessed to CBD in the absence of a steady supply of legal THC. This initial shipment will provide Perus growing patient base with access to formulated THC medicines that have a high degree of quality and control. Bringing high-quality THC into the country will also open many doors in the healthcare sector, says Andres Vazquez, President of Cann Farm. Providing a consistent supply of high-quality THC will allow physicians to prescribe cannabis oils to address a wider range of therapeutic needs, versus mainly CBD dominant oils, including pain management. Expanding into International Medical and Pharmaceutical Markets MediPharm Labs is creating footholds in pharmaceutical, medical and wellness markets around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, U.K., Peru and Brazil. Peru, Latin Americas fifth largest country, offers high growth potential. Peru was an early mover among Latin American countries creating a legal framework for producing, importing and selling cannabis for medical use. As a result, Perus market is advancing rapidly and offers the potential to register varied formats of cannabis-based products. About Perus Market Peru adopted Law 30681 in October 2017 with the objective of allowing access to medical cannabis. Perus medical cannabis market thus far is 100% dependent on imports. The law explicitly allows domestic production, importation and commercialization of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes and mandates the creation of a series of registries within its Ministry of Health. Only certified pharmaceutical laboratories can apply for a production license domestically and retail sales occur only in licensed pharmacies. Physician prescriptions are required and multiple medical conditions can be prescribed cannabis. About Cann Farm Peru S.A.C. Cann Farm is dedicated to cultivating and processing medicinal plants under the highest quality standards and developing from them a broad portfolio of innovative products for the health and well-being of the international community. As of March 2021, Cann Farm received its production and cultivation licence in Peru. In addition to the importation and marketing of products derived from cannabis and other plants for medicinal use and cultivation and processing of medicinal plants, both for the Peruvian market and for export, Cann Farm invests in scientific research projects in topics related to the application of medicinal plants for health, as well as in agronomic issues aimed at optimizing their production. About MediPharm Labs Founded in 2015, MediPharm Labs specializes in the production of purified, pharmaceutical-quality cannabis oil and concentrates and advanced derivative products utilizing a Good Manufacturing Practices certified facility with ISO standard-built clean rooms. MediPharm Labs has invested in an expert, research driven team, state-of-the-art technology, downstream purification methodologies and purpose-built facilities with five primary extraction lines for delivery of pure, trusted and precision-dosed cannabis products for its customers. Through its wholesale and white label platforms, MediPharm Labs formulates, develops (including through sensory testing), processes, packages and distributes cannabis extracts and advanced cannabinoid-based products to domestic and international markets. As a global leader, MediPharm Labs has completed commercial exports to Australia and has fully commercialized its Australian extraction facility. MediPharm Labs Australia was established in 2017. For further information, please contact: Laura Lepore, VP, Investor Relations and Communications Telephone: 416-913-7425 ext. 1525 Email: investors@medipharmlabs.com Website: www.medipharmlabs.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, expanding the Companys presence in Peru and other Latin American markets like Brazil; performance of agreements in place; receipt of final permits to import the Companys pharmaceutical quality products; distribution of cannabis concentrate to patients through compounding pharmacies in Peru; footholds in pharmaceutical, medical and wellness markets around the world; and forecasts regarding the growth of the Peruvian market. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the inability of MediPharm Labs to obtain adequate financing; the delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; and other factors discussed in MediPharm Labs filings, available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, MediPharm Labs assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. All information contained in this press release with respect to Cann Farm was supplied by Cann Farm for inclusion herein. As my mother transitions from independent living to full-time hospice care, I cant help but think what a discouraging and depressing year it has been for senior citizens. I have been sharing the care of my mother with my sister, who bears the burden of that responsibility primarily because she lives nearby and has a medical background. My entire family has struggled since my mother fell in the dark and broke her arm about six weeks ago. Having lost the ability for several years to be as mobile as she would have liked because of a bad hip, back and knee, a broken arm was the last straw for my mother. If the image of a near 90-year-old woman tripping in the dark during the recent deep freeze and crawling into the hallway hoping someone would find her isnt horrifying enough, think what the last year has been like for her under COVID-19 lockdown. My mother, Lois Dawn Garms, was born in 1931 and remembers the Great Depression. She also vividly remembers the polio epidemic and 1947 smallpox outbreak in New York. She had friends die of both. Mom lived in poverty, had two alcoholic parents and was abused not only by her father but also by predatory adults in foster homes. All of that certainly gave her better perspective on this latest pandemic, but the isolation of COVID at her age made this far worse than perhaps anything she had endured in her past. With my stepfather having passed away five years ago and my mother having no companion for conversation or to combat the intense loneliness, we witnessed her painfully lose hope not just for recovery from the virus but for the recovery of her will to live. We participated in drive-by birthday shout-outs and waved posters at her on Mothers Day outside the front of her facility, but we all knew she missed a warm hug or the opportunity to hold our hand. Even in the age of technology, Facetime visits were few and far between, as it was a struggle for her to remember how to set it up. And just when it seemed there was light at the end of the tunnel, Winter Storm Uri turned off the power to illuminate the way. My mom and hundreds of other seniors were rendered practically helpless alone and in the dark to fend for themselves to keep warm, get to the bathroom, stay fed and find water. Weve heard what happened at San Antonio Housing Authority facilities, as senior residents, many of whom are physically disabled, publicly testified no one checked on them. Thank goodness for the efforts of my Commissioners Court colleagues and key community volunteers who came to their rescue. We talk a lot about underlying conditions such as diabetes, morbid obesity and asthma in otherwise healthy people. There is a tendency to forget being elderly is not just an underlying condition, it is the most critical condition. Seniors are not otherwise healthy, and many suffer from cognitive diseases such as dementia. So, what is the lesson here? Regardless of whether the elderly have received the vaccine, the double dose of COVID-19 and the cold may have rendered the antibodies largely ineffective. Their minds have been left battered and bruised. It is hard to know how many lives have been cut short as a result. The county is expected to receive almost $400 million from the American Rescue Plan. While I have philosophical concerns about the financial impact to future generations, these dollars should be spent on foundational change. Bexar County and the city of San Antonio must prioritize the most vulnerable, which includes a large elderly population whose numbers will only grow, thanks to aging baby boomers. Elder health care and housing are outrageously expensive; when we talk about affordable housing, it should not just be for the working poor and families, but for seniors as well. We should be looking at bigger and better investment in programs such as Meals on Wheels, which is expanding to a new campus off Nacogdoches Road after operating out of cramped headquarters on Babcock Road for several years. Additionally, we should be offering free legal aid to seniors who are being taken advantage of every day by Social Security scams or, worse yet, being abused. The senior citizens of Bexar County deserve better, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do better by them. As I sit next to my mom, who sleeps more often than she is awake these days, I cant help but wonder if she, too, dreams of a better way to grow old with more dignity, respect and caring leadership that will not only protect seniors from a future public health crisis but has the resources to help them survive it. Trish DeBerry is county commissioner for Precinct 3. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 11:34:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. official said Friday that the Vienna talks over the Iran nuclear deal were productive, and hoped that Tehran would show a more constructive attitude in talks scheduled next week. The indirect talks between the United States and Iran over respective steps to revive the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), were just preliminary steps but "productive and businesslike," a senior state department official told reporters in a phone briefing. "At the same time, a question still remains about whether the seriousness of purpose and the intent of coming back into compliance that the U.S. showed will be reciprocated by Iran," the official said. "We saw some signs of but certainly not enough." The official reiterated that Washington is prepared to lift those sanctions that are inconsistent with the nuclear deal. "Without getting into specifics, I would say that that's our position, all sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA and are inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expects from the JCPOA, we are prepared to lift," the official said, but adding "that doesn't mean all of them because there are some that are legitimate sanctions." Also on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that all sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump were "anti-JCPOA" and must be removed. "Iran proposes a logical path to full JCPOA compliance: the United States, which caused this crisis, should return to full compliance first," he said. The senior U.S. official told reporters that "if Iran sticks to the position that every sanction that has been imposed since 2017 has to be lifted or there will be no deal, then we're heading towards an impasse." The official also expressed his frustration about the indirect talks over sanctions issues as Europeans shuttled between U.S. and Iranian delegations. "It would be infinitely easier if we had direct conversations with Iran ... It's impossible for the EU to have a discussion about our sanctions," the official said. The official noted that the parties of the Iran nuclear deal would reconvene next week in Vienna, to clarify steps that Washington and Tehran need to take to revive the deal. "Our hope is that we'll see from Iran greater indication of what they're prepared to do and greater indication that they will take a constructive attitude in getting there," he said. The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) together with the EU. Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran under the Trump administration. In response, Iran suspended the implementation of parts of its obligations under the deal. Enditem Shooting for season 16 of America's Got talent kicked off on March 31 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Now, some 10 days into filming the upcoming season, judges Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel made their grand arrival for another crucial day of taping. And the trio's fashion choices appeared to be a prefect representation of their respective personalities as they strolled into the entrance ahead of the workday. Making an arrival: Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara showed off their feminine side when they arrived for another day of shooting for the upcoming season of America's Got Talent Funnyman: Howie Mandel, 65, put his comdic side on display by wearing a blazer and tie t-shirt Klum, 47, showed off some of her catwalk skills when she made her way from her vehicle to the entrance in a stylish black jumpsuit. The former supermodel also donned a pair of open-toe heels and had her blonde tresses styled long past her shoulder with major bangs and a part in the middle. With the sun glaring down and the temperatures hovering in the upper 70s Fahrenheit, Klum also wore a pair of high-fashion sunglasses, but opted to not wear a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Springtime fashion: The former Modern Family star was a vision in a white-patterned dress Prep time: While preparing for the day's shoot, the two ladies both shared a boomerang of themselves powering each other's noses on the set of AGT Not to be outdone, Vergara opted for a more spring-like look in a white floral-patterned dress that fell to about mid-calf as she carried a large back with essentials for the day ahead. The former Modern Family star, 48, also got a lift from her white platform heels. She rounded out the ensemble with her lightened locks flowing with some added volume, soft waves and a part on the slight left. Alway wanting to get a laugh out of people, Mandel made his walk from his car to the entrance of the auditorium wearing a Naval blazer and tie t-shirt with black sweatpants that were rolled up just under his knees. He also kept up with the theme by wearing a white sailor cap, along with black sneakers. The comedian also made sure to wear a protective mask over his mouth and nose amid the still dangerous COVID-19 pandemic. BTS: Vergara confessed to be doing some 'serious judging tonight' in an Instagram post BTS: Klum also shared a selfie video of herself wlaking through the AGT studio BTS: The former supermodel added the song 7th Heaven by Angelina Jordan While preparing for the day's shoot, the two ladies both shared a boomerang of themselves powdering each other's noses. 'Back at our @agt desk Let's pout and powder @sofiavergara,' Klum wrote in the caption Vergara used the same picture to announce: 'Back to work! Back to powdering!' Keeping in promo mode, Klum also took to Instagram to post a selfie video showing her making her way around the AGT studio with a big beaming smile and Angelina Jordan's song 7th Heaven jamming out. Vegara followed suit and confessed: 'Doing some serious judging tonigh! @agt,' in another post on Instagram. Longtime talent show judge Simon Cowell rounds out the judges panel for AGT. Season 16 premieres on June 1, 2021, with host Terry Crews. Promo mode: Before going inside the AGT studio, Mandel promoted his daughter's Book Of The Week while dressed in his Naval blazer t-shirt Primped and ready: Vergara also shared a selfie snap of herself, Klum and Mandel Intensifying their protest against the three farm laws, farmers blocked the KundliManesarPalwal expressway at some places in Haryana on Saturday. The blockade started at 8 am and would last 24 hours. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of protesting farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the agriculture-related legislations, on Friday gave a call for a 24-hour blockade of the KMP expressway. The 136-km-long expressway is also known as the Western Peripheral Expressway. Protesting farmers, however, said emergency vehicles will be allowed to ply. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal said the blockade would be for 24 hours. Haryana Police in the meanwhile issued a traffic advisory, asking travellers to avoid the KMP expressway. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Navdeep Singh Virk on Friday said elaborate arrangements were in place to maintain peace and order, prevent any kind of violence and facilitate traffic movement and public transport on the expressway. Traffic diversions have been planned by affected districts especially Sonipat, Jhajjar, Panipat, Rohtak, Palwal, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Nuh, Virk said. Passengers coming from Ambala/Chandigarh side on Highway-44 may go towards UP's Ghaziabad and Noida via Karnal to Shamli and from Panipat to Sanauli. Vehicles going towards Gurgaon and Jaipur can take Highway-71A from Panipat and travel via Gohana, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Rewari. Hundreds of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three border points of Delhi -- Singhu, Tikri (along Haryana), and Ghazipur -- demanding a repeal of the three farm laws enacted by the Centre in September last year. The Centre says the new farm laws will free farmers from middlemen, giving them more options to sell their crops. The protesting farmers, however, say the laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system and leave them at the mercy of big corporates. (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.) Advertisement The Queen has shared a touching tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh - a day after her husband of 73 years died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. A portrait, which shows Her Majesty, 94, sitting next to Prince Philip, was posted on the Royal Familys social media along with a moving quote from the monarch about her husband from a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997. She said: He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know. The Queen was speaking in November 1997 during a lunch at Banqueting House in London, in which she looked back on a remarkable fifty years. Her Majesty announced her husband's death at midday on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace. The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, which he planned himself, will be televised around the world on Saturday. Scroll down for video The Queen has shared a touching photo tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh (pictured in 2016 in a portrait by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz to mark the monarch's 90th birthday) - a day after her husband of 73 years died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 The image, which shows Her Majesty, 94, sitting next to Prince Philip, was posted on the Royal Familys social media along with a moving quote (above) from the monarch about her husband from a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997 The touching portrait and quote were shared to Instagram today, alongside the caption: 'At The Queens Coronation in 1953, The Duke of Edinburgh swore to be Her Majestys "liege man of life and limb." 'The Duke was a devoted consort (companion to the Sovereign) for almost 70 years, from Her Majestys Accession in 1952 until his death.' The image of the royal couple was first released as part of a series of photo portraits in 2016 to mark the Queen's 90th birthday, and was released the day before Philip's 95th birthday. Taken at Windsor Castle after Easter that year, the photograph saw the pair wearing matching tones, with the Queen in a pale pink cardigan with gold buttons over a pink-and-white striped blouse, and the duke in a pink shirt under a light brown jacket, with a matching pink pocket square. It was the sixth and final picture in a series of portraits taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz to mark the Queen's birthday. The Queen was speaking in November 1997 during a lunch at Banqueting House in London, in which she looked back on a remarkable fifty years (pictured) The Queen's warm words for her husband in 1997 came after he had praised her for her abundance of tolerance. On their golden wedding anniversary, Philip had said: I think the main lesson that we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage. He added: It may not be quite so important when things are going well, but it is absolutely vital when the going gets difficult. You can take it from me that the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance. Meanwhile, Princes Andrew and Edward are supporting their mother the Queen at Windsor Castle today as she grieves the death of Prince Philip and begins life without her 'strength and stay' throughout their 73-year marriage and her 68-year reign. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship at their Berkshire home before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel later today, where he will rest during seven days of national mourning ahead of his hugely scaled-back funeral next Saturday. Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in an official wedding photograph in 1947 The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle in a photograph released last summer Their youngest child Prince Edward was the first to arrive to support his mother again today, having made the short trip from his Surrey home. Prince Andrew, who lives in Windsor Castle's grounds, was also seen arriving after 10am. Prince Charles stayed with the Queen until late last night. Meanwhile Britons have defied public health advice to stay at home and continued to lay flowers for Prince Philip during socially distanced vigils at royal palaces today as the country marks his death at the age of 99. The bouquets, flowers, cards, Union Flags and balloons are being moved away by staff almost as soon as they are left - but royal aides insist they will all be saved and looked at by the Royal Family inside the grounds of Windsor and Buckingham Palace. Palace security have even put up signs urging people not to congregate, but waves of mourners are still arriving to pay their respects to Her Majesty's devoted husband, who dedicated his life to public service and supporting her through their marriage. Well-wishers, all respecting social distancing and wearing masks, laid their tributes and briefly stood to pay their respects, with some wiping away tears or quietly singing hymns before returning home. Details about Prince Philip's 'peaceful' death have emerged, with his wife of 73-years understood to have been at his bedside when he slipped away yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill late on Thursday, according to the Daily Telegraph. Pictured, the couple in 2020 Philip is expected to be laid to rest in the Royal Vault during his family funeral at St George's Chapel next Saturday, stripped back due to Britain's ongoing lockdown, with only 30 relatives able to attend. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus. His grandson Prince Harry is expected to return to the UK and be among the small number of mourners at the funeral, but it is unlikely his pregnant wife Meghan will accompany him, weeks after the couple accused the Royal Family of racism in their bombshell Oprah interview while Philip lay in hospital. Details about Prince Philip's 'peaceful' death have emerged, with his wife of 73-years understood to have been at his bedside when he slipped away yesterday morning after becoming gravely ill late on Thursday, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Queen announced her husband's death at midday on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace. The Royal Family said in a statement: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss'. Our View: No child left behind should mean 'no child' Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A detailed analysis report of the Global Hexamine Market has been covered in the report coupled with a thorough description of each company profile with information on the H.Q, future capabilities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial outline, partnerships and new product launches and developments. The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. 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DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains. Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed. For more details: DecisionDatabases.com E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.com Phone: +91 9028057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ Source:-https://www.industrynewsengine.com/2020/11/30/hexamine-market-2020-global-industry-research-report-till-2027/ More than a year after Jade Lewis and her unborn son were killed in what authorities called a road rage crash in Kenner, prosecutors filed charges Friday against the other driver. The Jefferson Parish district attorney's office charged Shannon Alvarez, 46, of Kenner with negligent homicide, third-degree feticide, reckless driving and self-mutilation, according to 24th Judicial District Court records. "It's a relief," said Lewis' mother, Dorothy Lewis, 52. Jade Lewis, 22, was 38 weeks pregnant with a boy she had already named Mydas when police say she and Alvarez tangled while driving eastbound on West Esplanade Avenue on the afternoon of Jan. 30, 2020. Alvarez, driving a Toyota 4Runner, and Lewis, in a Chevrolet Malibu, engaged in a back-and-forth tiff that began near Williams Boulevard. Each was speeding to keep in front of the other, police said. Authorities allege Alvarez was driving about 75 miles per hour when she changed lanes and clipped the front of Lewis' car. Lewis slammed into a utility pole in the 2900 block of West Esplanade. She and Mydas were pronounced dead at the scene. Alvarez's SUV crashed into another pole about a half block away. She survived her injuries. 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 Police arrested Alvarez on Feb. 21, 2020, and booked her with vehicular homicide and third-degree feticide after toxicology tests showed she had drugs, including the sleep medication Soma, in her system at the time of the crash, authorities said. Vehicular homicide, a death that occurs while a vehicle operator is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, carries sentence of five to 30 years in prison. Negligent homicide, a death that occurs due to criminal negligence, carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. +3 Pregnant New Orleans woman, unborn baby killed in Kenner crash; road rage a possible factor A New Orleans woman who was 38 weeks pregnant was killed Thursday afternoon when her car slammed into a utility pole in Kenner in a two-vehicl No information was immediately available about why the district attorney's office opted for the lesser charge. The office usually does not comment about open cases. The self-mutilation charges stems from an allegation that Alvarez tried to injure herself while she was jailed after her arrest, according to court records. In the wake of Lewis' death, her family created the Jade and Mydas Foundation, an organization devoted to stopping road rage. They've already put up billboards in Kenner and created an anti-road rage pledge to deter future tragedies. and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, shared a message in the wake of Prince Philip's death, saying the Duke of Edinburgh "will be greatly missed." The husband to II and patriarch of Britain's royal family died Friday at 99, Buckingham Palace said. Set on a full-screen dark background, the message reads: "In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021. Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed." According to CNN, saluting batteries will fire 41 rounds at one round per minute across the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and on British navy ships at sea on noon on Saturday, to mark the death of Britain's Prince Philip, the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Friday. "In London, The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will ride out from their base at Napier Lines, Woolwich Barracks, onto the Parade Ground with 71 horses, 36 of them pulling six 13-pounder field guns dating from the First World War," the statement said. "Their guns will fire at the same time as those fired by the Honourable Artillery Company's Light Guns at the Tower of London and by units from all corners of the United Kingdom including Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, and British Overseas Territory Gibraltar. At sea, guns will be fired from Royal Navy saluting warships." "The same guns used in Woolwich Barracks today were also fired for Prince Philip's wedding to Her Majesty in 1947 and at Her Majesty's coronation six years later in 1953," the statement added. Addressing the Duke of Edinburgh's passing, the British Secretary of Defense, Ben Wallace, remembered as a "constant supporter and ambassador of the Armed Forces." "We celebrate his life of service and offer our condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family," Wallace added, according to the statement. According to The Hill, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday honoured Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, following his passing, saying he "earned the affection of generations." Johnson honoured Philip outside 10 Downing Street. The Duke of Edinburgh "earned the affection of generations here in Britain, across the Commonwealth and around the world," Johnson said. The prime minister added, "Like the expert carriage driver that he was, he helped to steer the royal family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life." Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that Philip, the longtime husband of II, died "peacefully" at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. Philip became the queen's consort, or official companion, after her father, King George VI, suddenly passed in 1952. He was the longest-serving British consort over his 73-year marriage to the queen. (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.) Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Tuesday that he has notified the Arizona Supreme Court of the States intent to seek warrants of execution for Arizona death row inmates Frank Atwood and Clarence Dixon, and asked the Court to set a briefing schedule to govern the process. Both men have exhausted all of their appeals. Capital punishment is the law in Arizona and the appropriate response to those who commit the most shocking and vile murders, said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. This is about the administration of justice and ensuring the last word still belongs to the innocent victims who can no longer speak for themselves." Atwood and Dixon may select either lethal injection or gas under ARS 13-757 because they murdered their victims before November 23, 1992. The Attorney Generals Office (AGO) is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to establish a firm briefing schedule before filing the execution warrants to ensure the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR ) can comply with its testing and disclosure obligations regarding the drug to be used in the executions. This will guarantee strict compliance with the current lethal-injection protocol and a related settlement. Currently, there are 115 inmates on Arizonas death row and approximately 20 have exhausted all appeals. Many of their crimes go back to the 1970s and early 80s. Arizona has not carried out an execution since 2014. Next Steps If the Arizona Supreme Court agrees to the AGOs proposed schedule, the AGO will file execution warrants for Atwood and Dixon 16 days before the Courts conference date. Atwood and Dixon will get 1 day to respond and the AGO will have the opportunity to respond, if necessary, within 6 days. If the Arizona Supreme Court grants the motions, the State has 35 days to carry out the executions. Frank Atwood Frank Atwood murdered 8-year-old Vicki Lynne Hoskinson in September 1984. Atwood had been convicted in California of lewd and lascivious acts and kidnapping, committed at separate times against two different children. In May 1984, he was paroled from the kidnapping sentence. Atwood came to Tucson in September 1984 in violation of his California parole. On September 17, 1984, Vicki Lynne was riding her bicycle home after mailing a birthday card to her aunt when Atwood kidnapped and killed her. Atwood left her body in the desert and fled to Texas, where he was later arrested. A hiker found Vickis body in the Tucson desert in April 1985. Copy of the motion for Frank Atwood and exhibits. Below is a booking photograph for Atwood. Clarence Dixon On January 7, 1978, 21-year-old Deana Bowdoin, an ASU student, was raped, strangled, and stabbed to death in her Tempe apartment. Police couldnt find her killer and her case became cold. About 20 years later, a Tempe Police Detective re-opened the case and, with the technological advancement of DNA profiling, was able to identify a suspect. Clarence Dixon was already serving a life sentence in an Arizona prison for a 1986 sexual assault conviction. Dixon was indicted for Bowdoins murder in 2002. A jury found Dixon guilty and sentenced him to death. Copy of the motion for Clarence Dixon and exhibits. Below is a booking photograph for Dixon. Additional Background In July 2019, General Brnovich urged Governor Ducey to resume executions. In June 2020, the AGO reached a settlement regarding ADCRR's lethal injection procedures. As part of the settlement, ADCRR modified its execution protocol and will leave microphones turned on in the execution chamber during executions. Additionally, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the identity of lethal injection drug suppliers will remain confidential and protected from harassment or retaliation from anti-death penalty activists. In August 2020, General Brnovich sent a letter to the Governor to inform him the AGO found a lawful supplier of pentobarbital. In October 2020, General Brnovich informed the Governor his office had also located a compounding pharmacist needed to prepare the pentobarbital for injection. Light mag. 4.7 earthquake - 35 km north of Valdivia, Los Rios Region, Chile, on 10 Apr 12:33 pm (GMT -4) - Light magnitude 4.7 earthquake at 51 km depth 10 Apr 16:52 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 18 minutes. 10 Apr 16:49: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 51.0 to 30.0 km (from 32 to 18.6 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 8.2 km (5.1 mi) towards NNE. 10 Apr 16:52: Now using data updates from GUG (U. Chile) [ show map ] Show interactive Map [ smaller ] [ bigger ] please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it! Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it ! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you! If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter),Other users would love to hear about it!Alsoalthough you were in the area, please! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you! Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision. Magnitude Depth Location Source unspecified n/a Near Valdivia, Los Rios Region, Chile VolcanoDiscovery 4.7 51 km 35 Km Al N De Valdivia, Chile GUG (U. Chile) 4.7 42 km 44 Km N of Las Animas, Chile USGS 4.7 30 km LOS LAGOS, CHILE EMSC 4.8 45 km Near Coast of Central Chile GFZ User reports for this quake (9) User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! 89.9 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s Temuco (100.4 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s Valdivia (37.1 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s Noise and sharp but short shaking. Estimate between 4 and 5. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 116.4 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short It was very short, but strong feeling. Pucon-Chile (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short 39.5 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : it was increasing but then it stopped, it lasted like a few seconds La Union / Light shaking (MMI IV) Osorno / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / very short villarrica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Paillaco / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 s Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900 Map of earlier quakes Burma Myanmar Regime Shores Up Ties With Two Powerful Northern Ethnic Armies The UWSA holds an event in 2019 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its founding. / The Irrawaddy Senior officials of the Myanmar military regime recently met with two powerful ethnic Wa and Shan armed groups to cement relations with them. The regimes peace committee went to Matmanseng and Wan Hai in northern Shan State on April 7 and 8 to meet officials from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), the political wing of the Shan State Army (SSA). The junta committee was led by Lieutenant General Yar Pyae and Lieutenant General Aung Zaw Aye, the commander of the No. 2 Bureau of Special Operations. Though the trip was officially for the purpose of holding peace discussions, The Irrawaddy has learned that committee members encouraged officials from the armed groups to maintain uninterrupted relations with the military and explained to them the reasons behind its Feb. 1 coup. Of the 18 ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, the UWSA is the most powerful. It signed a ceasefire with the government in 1989. It has remained silent on the coup, while other ethnic armed groups, including the 10 armies that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government, have denounced the militarys coup and its killing of civilian protesters. The regimes trip comes as other powerful ethnic armed groups like the Kachin Independence Army and Karen National Union have recently launched attacks on regime troops to show their opposition to the juntas murdering of protesters. U Nyi Rang, a spokesperson for the UWSA, said he did not participate in the meeting and could not provide details about it. As far as I am concerned, they explained why the coup happened, he said. Asked if the UWSA recognizes the regime as Myanmars government, the Wa spokesperson said simply: We have longstanding good relations [with the military]. For all its longstanding good relations with the military, however, Wa leader Bao Yu Xiang sent a congratulatory message to the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy late last year upon its electoral victory. On April 8, while on its way to the SSPPs headquarters in Wan Hai by helicopter, the regimes peace committee was attacked by members of the Shan armed group, leaving an official on board injured. The armed groups spokesperson confirmed the trip and the attack on the helicopter. Some troops on the ground mistakenly fired on it, sending them back to Lashio, said Major Sai Phone Han. However, the regime claimed during a press conference on Friday that the peace discussions between the military and the SSPP went ahead. They admitted to the shooting. But we were able to hold the peace discussion. I have to say it was a success, said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun, the regime spokesperson. The UWSA and the SSPP have long enjoyed good relations. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regimes Troops Kill More Than 20 in Friday Assault In Myanmar, Pair of Protest Activists Share Common Goal: Root Out Dictatorship Myanmar Junta Bans Satellite Dishes in Effort to Restrict Anti-Regime News A prominent liberal has become an outspoken critic of restrictions on religious faith implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in response, has launched a campaign committed to preserving the freedom to worship and other freedoms that governments imposed limits on. Appearing on Fox News Primetime Monday, Naomi Wolf, a former adviser to Democratic politicians and outspoken feminist, reacted to the anti-religion nanny states war on Easter. Host Mark Steyn prefaced the interview with Wolf by highlighting examples of law enforcement officials in western democracies, including Canada and the United Kingdom, interrupting church services that took place on the days leading up to Easter because of concerns that the gatherings violated COVID-19 restrictions. There is a war on humanity. There is a war on religion. There is a war on human assembly, she said. Big tech wants to drive everyone indoors and dissolve the bonds between people. Source:The Christian Post Kolkata: The Election Commission on Saturday (April 10, 2021) bars Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from visiting violence-hit Cooch Behar district for the next 72 hours. The notification further, mentions no political leaders should be allowed to visit the tensed area over the next three days. Earlier, in the day four persons were killed as central forces opened fire on locals who allegedly "attempted to snatch their rifles" near a polling booth in Sitalkuchi constituency when voting was underway. The preliminary report submitted by EC's special poll observer Vivek Dubey stated that a mob of over 350 people gheraoed the central forces, following which they fired in "self-defence", as per PTI quoting official sources. During an address at an election meeting in Siliguri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences to the bereaved families, besides urging the Election Commission to take action against those responsible for the incident. As many as five persons were killed in two seperate incidents of firing in Sitalkuchi assembly constituency during the fourth phase of poll on Saturday, state chief electoral officer Ariz Aftab told PTI. He said at least eight persons have been arrested so far in connection with two incidents which took place in separate polling stations at Sitalkuchi during the day, he said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the EC's version of the incident and stated that her government will initiate a CID probe into the incident. Further, Banerjee demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the firing incident, and wondered whose "direct interference into the functioning of the Election Commission and central forces" led to the excesses. A traumatised sexual abuse survivor of Australia's worst ever paedophile priest has won a $1.5million from the Catholic Church payout hours before a trial. The man, who does not wish to be named, was a student at the notorious St Alipius Christian Brothers Primary School in Ballarat, Victoria, between 1971 to 1973. He alleges he was sexually abused by his Year 3 teacher Brother Leo Fitzgerald and by his Year 5 teacher Brother Stephen Farrell. The man was also a target of notorious child sex predator Father Gerald Ridsdale, who was a priest of the Diocese of Ballarat, served as the school's Chaplain, and lived at the the presbytery opposite the school. Ridsdale's long list of victims stands at about 70 names and he is now serving a 36-year jail term handed down in 1994. Pictured: Australia's worst paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale served as the school's Chaplain The plaintiff, who does not wish to be named, was a student at the notorious St Alipius Christian Brothers Primary School in Ballarat, Victoria, (pictured) between 1971 to 1973 A number Christian Brothers who taught there in the early 1970s have now been convicted of sex crimes against children and are locked up. These include the principal of St Alipius, Robert Charles Best and Christian Brother teachers Edward Dowlan and Farrell. Brother Leo Fitzgerald was the subject of hundreds of complaints but died before he could be prosecuted 10 years ago. Many of the revelations only came out during the 2013 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 'Many notorious paedophiles found sanctuary there at the expense of small defenceless schoolboys,' the plaintiff's lawyer Dr Vivian Waller said. 'The Christian Brothers were aware of allegations of sexual impropriety against Brother Fitzgerald since the early 1950s.' Decades on from the sickening sexual abuse the plaintiff told the royal commission he considered himself 'one of the lucky ones' because he enjoyed a successful career and he wanted to speak out on behalf of those who 'were not strong enough.' 'At the time I didn't think I was badly affected,' he said. 'However, giving evidence in the royal commission took its toll and my life began to completely unravel. I had to stop work and I have never been able to go back.' The 86-year-old is now likely to die behind bars, having been given more jail time after admitting more than a dozen rapes and sexual assaults While many survivors of sexual abuse turn to 'drugs or alcohol to numb the pain', the plaintiff said he became a workaholic. 'It was decades before I understood and accepted the impact the abuse had on my life and the moment I did, everything came crashing down. I would like people to understand that the effect of child abuse can be completely insidious,' he said. 'I was a high-achieving person whose life unravelled and it ended my career.' The $1.5million payout plus legal costs takes into account his loss of earnings and the psychological injuries incurred during his time at the school. 'While the memories will never leave me and as painful as it was, it was a journey I had to take to try and heal,' the plaintiff said. 'I can't tell you how relieved I feel now this part of the journey is over. I feel totally vindicated.' Pentagon, the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, has defended its Navy's assertion of navigational rights within India's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without seeking permission from New Delhi, describing the decision as "consistent with international law." Pentagon defends US Navy's FONOP in India's EEZ without consent The US Navy declared on Wednesday, April 7, that it conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in Indian waters without prior permission to challenge India's "excessive maritime claims," eliciting a response from New Delhi, which said on Friday, April 9, that it had communicated its concerns to Washington via diplomatic channels. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also disputed a statement by the US Navy's 7th Fleet on April 7 that the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones' freedom of navigation activity (FONOP) "upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses" of the sea recognised in international law by opposing India's "excessive maritime claims." Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on Friday said, "I can tell you is that the USS John Paul Jones, a Navy destroyer, asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Republic of the Maldives by conducting innocent passage through its territorial sea in normal operations within its exclusive economic zone without requesting prior permission." The MEA communicates concerns to the US via diplomatic channels In a statement issued by the Commander of the US seventh fleet on April 7, it stated, "USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India's exclusive economic zone, without requesting India's prior consent, consistent with international law." Kirby told the US reporters, "That's consistent with international law. Again, we continue to maintain the right, indeed the responsibility, to fly, sail, and operate in accordance with international law." However, The Ministry of External Affairs conveyed the concerns to the USA government. The official statement released by the MEA read, "India's stated position on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is that the Convention does not authorise other states to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state." It added, "The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of the USA through diplomatic channels." (with inputs from PTI) Picture Credit: US Navy/Twitter The new housing at Telegraph Avenue and 51st Street in Oakland is a stylish demonstration of the design potential of a much-ballyhooed building method. Its also a cautionary tale. That complex is the Logan, which fills a prime corner of the lively Temescal district with 204 apartments that were assembled on-site from 572 prefabricated modules. Theyre stacked atop a tall podium that will include a Whole Foods Market, and clad in sleek metal panels of silver and black. The cautionary aspect? Modular construction has been touted for years as a way to trim development costs and get more housing built in the Bay Area. But by time the Logan opened late in 2020, the development firm had closed its factory and put all future projects on hold. We went into this thinking, How hard can it be? Its just Lego, said Randy Miller, founder of Oaklands RAD Urban, describing the lessons learned as one of the Bay Areas modular pioneers. Turns out, its pretty hard. While the potential of modular housing has attracted considerable attention in the past decade, the first large batch of residential buildings using the method is only now being completed. Sometimes the savings meet expectations; often, they dont. Whats promising is that one danger of the approach that it could spawn a landscape of overbearing boxes at multistory scale hasnt been the case so far. The stocky newcomers arent great architecture. But theyre good urbanism, and that counts too. On the edge of Oaklands Uptown district, for instance, the Marriott-owned Moxy boutique hotel opened this month with 172 small rooms atop a glassy concrete base at the corner of Telegraph and West Grand avenues. While the form is as simple as can be two seven-story rectangles with one pulled back from Telegraph to allow space for a snug outdoor lounge atop the podium brick-like gray tiles add an old-fashioned texture to the contemporary look. Photos by Paul Kuroda / Special to The Chronicle On Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, meanwhile, 22 student apartments are nestled between a self-storage facility and a vacant parking lot. The view across the asphalt reveals a flat blank wall that could be a deep billboard. But the front facade is amiable and warm, with engineered wooden panels framing nine square windows. This is infill pure and simple, and it will hold its own in years to come. Both projects were designed by Lowney Architecture, an Oakland firm that has designed six modular projects in the Bay Area that now are completed. It can be less expensive, but its not a slam dunk, Lowney said of modular construction. You have to know in advance what youre doing, and design that in from the start. At 2711 Shattuck, Lowney and developer Patrick Kennedy set out to keep things clean and simple, as easy to construct as possible, Lowney said. The ease factor is the core of modular constructions appeal. Not only is each shell assembled on a factory line, but the interiors also are fitted out with such basics as bathrooms, kitchens and floorings. The module are then trucked to the site and lowered into place a process that took only four days at the Shattuck project. Though most modules are rectangles, a six-story apartment complex now under construction at the El Cerrito del Norte BART Station pushes the envelope. Literally. On the still-scaffolded side facing San Pablo Avenue, modules taper slightly so that when stacked en masse, they form a gentle basket-like weave from floor to floor. Lowney is the architect for developer Rick Holliday, who manufactured the modules in Vallejo at Factory OS, which he opened in 2018. The more efficient you are with the guts of the building, the more you can do outside, Holliday said. Another Holliday project nearing completion is the Union, which will open this spring near the West Oakland BART Station. It stacks 110 apartments into a pair of six-story rectangles, one long and one squat. The design is by David Baker, whose 53-person studio last year was selected the states top firm by the California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. His approach to modular projects is to keep things simple but add a few bold accents. In this case, the two wings are set at an angle to each other, with a glassed-in corridor between them. The north and west facades add another twist: Theyre clad in folds of oxidized steel, a tight screen that serves to shade windows and keep out rain while costing little more than a standard skin. We like to make lemonade out of lemons, said Baker. In Temescal, RAD Urbans Logan is anything but simple. The form is jagged on two sides, while heights descend from six to four stories on the east. Along Telegraph, the structure parts in the middle to create a deep entry courtyard that meets a tall retail arcade that cuts through the building from 51st Street to a landscaped passage also part of the project that leads to family-friendly Little Frog Park. The metallic sheen and sheer size might put some people off, but these elements help to make the Logan a genuinely inviting addition to Telegraphs melange of shops and restaurants. So does the entry court with its vegetated walls designed by Habitat Horticulture. As street trees mature, and the storefronts fill, the brash newcomer will settle in. The complex in-house design added to the costs, no question. But Miller said that the main impact on the budget came from unexpected costs in preparing the site, which hid long-forgotten building foundations and an incorrectly mapped underground creek. Without a doubt, based on lessons learned, we could do the same project today for much, much less, Miller said this month. As the Logan neared completion, RAD Urban shut its Lathrop factory and sold off a downtown Oakland site that included the entitlements to build a 29-story residential tower. Were regrouping and re-evaluating, is how Miller described his companys current status. Im not done with modular ... (but) it has been an incredibly challenging journey. From experience, Lowney knows the feeling. If you havent lost a lot of money in modular, then you dont have experience in modular, he said. John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron 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 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the worlds biggest contract producer of processor chips, said Friday its revenue rose 16.7% in the latest quarter over a year ago as the global economy rebounded from the coronavirus pandemic. Revenue rose to 362.4 billion New Taiwan dollars ($12.7 billion) in the three months ending in March, the Taipei-based company announced. Revenue in March rose 13.7% over a year earlier to 129.1 billion New Taiwan dollars ($4.5 billion). TSMC makes chips for major brands including Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. Most semiconductors used in smartphones, medical equipment, computers and other products are made in Taiwan, South Korea and China. The pandemic boosted demand for electronic equipment as more people worked from home. The revival of the global economy has helped to rebuild demand for autos and other consumer goods that depend on processor chips. TSMC said this week it plans to invest $100 billion in the next three years to expand manufacturing and in research and development. The company previously announced plans to invest $3.5 billion in a manufacturing site, in North Phoenix, Arizona, as concern grows over American reliance on Asian sources of high-tech components. TSMC also operates a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility in Camas, Washington, and design centers in San Jose, California, and Austin, Texas. The leaders of Ukraine, Turkey stress territorial integrity View Photo ISTANBUL (AP) The presidents of Ukraine and Turkey stressed the importance of Ukraines territorial integrity, the de-escalation of tensions in eastern Ukraine and security in the Black Sea following a meeting Saturday in Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys visit to Turkey came amid renewed tensions in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014. Russia has reinforced its troops along the border and warned Ukraine against trying to retake separatist-controlled territory. Kyiv rejects the claim that it is preparing for an offensive. The Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border has raised concerns in the United States and Europe. I informed the Turkish parties in detail about the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine Donbass and Crimea in particular about the violation of human rights on the peninsula and its ongoing militarization, Zelenskyy said in a joint press conference. In a visit to troops, Zelenskyy said breaches of a July truce were increasing. Separatist authorities have also accused Ukrainian forces of violating the cease-fire. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the continuation of a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and for both sides to find a solution to the conflict through dialogue. We hope that the worrying escalation that we have observed in the field recently will end as soon as possible, he said. Erdogan said Turkey strongly defended Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty and reiterated Turkeys decision to not recognize Russias 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Crimean Tatars have ethnic links to Turkey. Zelenskyy said Turkeys support was important for the restoration of Ukraines territories. The two leaders also discussed the security of the Black Sea, which both nations border. Our fundamental goal is for the Black Sea to continue being a sea of peace and cooperation, Erdogan said. We do not wish the escalation of tensions in our shared geography under any circumstance. Erdogan added that Turkeys cooperation with Ukraine did not mean it was taking a stance against any other countries. Turkey is a NATO member but Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have forged a close personal relationship, sealing energy, defense and trade deals. They have also landed on opposing sides in other conflicts, including Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. The Turkish and Russian presidents spoke on the phone Friday, discussing Ukraine and other issues. The Kremlin said Putin expressed concerns that Ukraine recently resumed dangerous provocations on the contact line in eastern Ukraine. ___ Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv contributed. By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press Thiruvananthapuram, April 10 : A day after the Kerala Lokayukta on Friday said that the state's Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel has no moral right to continue in office as he has "misused" his powers and indulged in "nepotism", asking Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take action against him, Jaleel on Saturday decided to approach the Kerala High Court. Soon after the verdict came, Jaleel, said once he gets the details of the verdict he will take appropriate legal advice. He had written on his Facebook page that this very same case when it came before the High Court he was given a clean chit and when a petition was given to the then Kerala Governor P. Sathasaivam- a retired Chief Justice of India, he too had exonerated him. But, now with the fresh directive from the Lokayukta, he has decided to file a petition before the High Court on Monday and the vacation bench of the court will look into the matter on Tuesday. The case pertains to an appointment made by Jaleel in 2018 when he had appointed his close relative K.T. Adeeb as General Manager of the Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation. Since then the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League, the second biggest ally of the Congress-led UDF, has been up in arms. The Kerala Lokayukta is headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Cyriac Joseph. The appointment made by Jaleel triggered huge protests inside and outside the Assembly even though he defended it saying that the appointment was in order. He also got the support of the CPI-M, but later Adeeb had quit and returned to his bank job. It was P.K. Mohammed Shafi, a resident of Jaleel's home district Malappuram, who approached the Lokayukta. His counsel George Poonthotem said the verdict is very clear and the Lokayukta has said Jaleel has no moral right to continue as a minister. Jaleel, in the 2006 debut Assembly elections, trounced the second topmost politician in the Congress led UDF -- P.K. Kunhalikutty, a former Minister and since then the former, though not a CPI-M card holder has become the blue eyed boy of Pinarayi Vijayan, who in 2016 appointed him as a Cabinet Minister. Jaleel contested the April 6 Assembly polls from the Thavanur assembly constituency in Malappuram district. Troy Griffin, a critically acclaimed Christian psychic medium and psychic detective, this week announced he is doing a thorough investigation into the disappearance and death of Don Lewis. Following the Tiger King documentary that shed light on the inconsistencies surrounding the death of Don Lewis, as well as his disappearance, Griffin believes there was foul play that has yet to be confirmed by local authorities. Anyone who watched that documentary knows the disappearance of Don Lewis made no sense and hinted to murder with millions of dollars having something to do with his death, said Griffin. I believe that Don Lewis never left Tampa, as reports suggest. I also feel that there is a female and two to three other men involved in his disappearance. Griffin has been known for going above and beyond, tapping into the spiritual realm to unearth details and secrets that have been concealed in the physical world. He has confirmed that he will leave no stone unturned until all answers and possible convictions are completed. The truth deserves to come to light, especially for Lewis family, said Griffin. These individuals deserve to know what happened to him, and I feel it is my calling right now to go investigate and find out. Griffin has been featured on ABC News Nightline, ABC News7 NY, ABC News Atlanta, Fox News21, The CW San Diego Living, Eye Opener TV, Christians Today, and Psychic Access Talk Radio, among others. His work is heralded throughout the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia. For more information regarding Troy Griffin, visit: https://www.psychicmediumtroy.com/. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the violence outside a polling booth in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district that led to the killing of 5 people. PM Modi extended his condolences to the bereaved families. He also attacked Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress and said since Didi, as Mamata Banerjee is popularly addressed, "can see her chair slipping away", she has gone down to this level. Prime Minister said, "What happened in Cooch Behar is very saddening. My sympathies are with the families of those who died, I condole their demise. Didi and her goons are perturbed, seeing the people's support for BJP. She has stooped to this level as she can see her chair slipping away." The Prime Minister launched a stinging attack at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying, "The ways of Didi, TMC and their goons will not be allowed to work in Bengal" while addressing a rally at Siliguri. He further urged the Election Commission authorities to take stringent action against all those accused in the incident. The TMC alleged in its statement that the CRPF personnel deployed were "influencing voters to vote in favour of BJP." The party further stated, "When TMC workers went to enquire why people were not being allowed to vote, BJP miscreants launched an attack creating an atmosphere of chaos, following which CRPF open fired leading to five TMC workers losing their lives." TMC's Abhishek Banerjee attacked the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and tweeted, "Heart wrenching reports of 5 innocent people shot dead by Central Forces coming in from Coochbehar. Amit Shah is this your vision for Bengal when you call for turning Bengal into 'SonarBangla'?" Heart wrenching reports of 5 innocent people shot dead by Central Forces coming in from Coochbehar. @AmitShah is this your vision for Bengal when u call for turning Bengal into SonarBangla ? Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) April 10, 2021 While dismissing TMC's allegations as canards, the BJP candidate from Sitalkuchi Baren Chandra Barman has claimed that one of the deceased people was a BJP polling agent and alleged TMC's involvement. Barman said, "He was our polling agent and was going to the booth when TMC goons shot him dead. Rabindra Nath Ghosh's claim is a total lie. We have informed the SP and the ECI about the incident, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits." He further claimed that none of the central forces officials or police officials were present near the booth when the incident took place. What exactly happened in Cooch Behar? A clash took place outside a polling booth in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Saturday, resulting in the death of 5 people. This matter is being investigated by the Mathabanga police under Cooch Behar district. This incident took place in the Sitalkuchi area at 10 am after unidentified people attacked a Quick Response Team (QRT). According to sources, the clash took place while the team and the local police officials were clearing way for voters to reach polling booths. In the middle of all this, a voter fell down and unidentified people started damaging the QRT vehicle. The security personnel then fired five rounds. Edited by Mehak Agarwal Also read: West Bengal assembly elections: Five dead in clash at polling booth in Cooch Behar Also read: West Bengal Election Phase 4 voting underway: 15.85% voter turnout in 44 constituencies till 9 am RBC Pound Outlook: Better to Travel than Arrive, Sterling Remains Vulnerable to Sustained Medium-Term Losses RBC Capital Markets, a part of a leading provider of financial services, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), notes that a combination of factors boosted the Pound Sterling during the first quarter, including a very strong start to the UK vaccination programme. The bank has revised its forecasts slightly, but still expects notable losses over the medium term. It now forecasts that the Euro to Pound (EUR/GBP) exchange rate will strengthen to 0.88 at the end of June 2021 from 0.90 previously with the March 2022 forecast at 0.93 from 0.95 previously. RBC also expects the Pound to Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate to weaken to 1.32 and 1.22 respectively for the same periods. Euro Outlook: Euro-Zone Poised to Narrow Vaccination Gap According to RBC calculations, the UK pandemic-related fiscal easing is now the largest of all G10 economies which will provide underlying support for the UK economy and currency. Nevertheless, it considers that the fundamental outlook will be much less supportive over the next few months. Going into Q2, however, the hurdle for GBP gains is much higher than it was three months ago. With vaccination rates in Europe starting to accelerate and the UK focus shifting to administering second doses, late-March probably marked the point of maximum divergence in vaccination rates. It adds that Europe is now converging up toward the UK and this process will continue during the second quarter. Pound Sterling Forecast: Long-Term UK Fundamentals Remain Bleak RBC also notes further two other fundamental vulnerabilities for the UK currency. The bank expects that Brexit will come back into focus with the release of latest trade data. Markets considered that January data was heavily distorted which lessened the potential impact, but a run of data which shows a sharp decline in trade volumes would be more difficult to ignore. In January export (-43% m/m) and import (-28%) volumes both collapsed and we expect only a partial rebound in February and March. Several investment banks have pointed to increased currency risks surrounding the Scottish Parliamentary elections in early May and RBC also points out the risk with less than four weeks to polling day. RBC has been consistently negative on the longer-term Sterling outlook and, although it has revised its forecasts slightly this month, it still forecasts sharp losses over the medium term. The bank also notes that the UK also runs substantial budget and current account deficits which will maintain underlying currency vulnerability. Below is a table of the bank's latest pound sterling forecasts for 2021 into 2022. The life of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is one of such astonishing length and intensity, stretching so far back into the unreachable past and containing so much incident, adversity and adventure that it takes Shakespeare to sum it up: We that are young shall never see so much, nor live so long. In fact the whole passage from the closing scene of King Lear is remarkably fitting at this moment of public mourning and reflection on the 99 years that Prince Philip spent on Earth: The weight of this sad time we must obey. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne most. In trying to encompass this important moment in our national life, The Mail on Sunday first of all offers its most sincere condolences to the Queen on a loss that is both deeply private and unavoidably public. We have lost a significant national figure, a good and brave man, the Queens most loyal subject, a great fund of experience and wisdom, and an anchor The whole idea of a Royal Family, so central to our constitution, means that members must share their closest relatives with the entire nation. We sometimes forget, in such public bereavements, the personal grief involved, and we should not. But with mourning, the weight of this sad time, comes remembrance and the desire to learn as much as we can from the lives of those who went before us. And this was a tremendous life, much of it hardly known to the British people until it was (often misleadingly) dramatised in The Crown. He lived personally through the bitter, angry history of pre-war Europe. He was born into royalty, but swiftly swept up in chaos rescued as a baby from a military coup, more or less abandoned by his parents, one tragically ill, the other a wastrel, passed like a parcel from relative to relative with no true home. One just gets on with it, he once remarked of this period of his life, typically summing up a multitude of slights, humiliations and disappointments in a few syllables, without a hint of self-pity or complaint. The Prince was no fool. He was far more complex than the lazy caricatures of him suggested. He did not speak lightly because he was ignorant. On the contrary, everything he did and said was founded on knowledge and experience He saw the turmoil of the times at close quarters, and knew better than most the nature of the danger that civilisation faced. Some of his family actually became Nazis. He became the opposite. He was rescued once again by the genius Kurt Hahn, founder of Gordonstoun school, and at length given a home and substitute family by the Royal Navy. And it was in the Navy that he was able to do what any young man in that age longed to do, fight and damage the evil enemy, and play a solid part in eventual victory over tyranny. All this hard experience was gained in the first 30 years of his life, after which he was engulfed, though not overwhelmed, by the institution of Monarchy. Astonishingly, that life came full circle when the Duke died on Friday at Windsor Castle. For it was also there that his aristocratic mother, Princess Alice, was born, in 1885. We would normally assume that such a background would guarantee a life of comfort, prosperity and security. Yet between the two events he and his family suffered exile, personal misery and estrangements that would leave him, as a young man, almost wholly alone, penniless, virtually stateless, jeered at ignorantly for being German (or Greek) when he was in fact Danish, living nervously on the fringes of grandeur with only one pair of worn-out shoes to his name. Only a genuine love affair (which nobody can doubt) could conceivably have led to his marriage to the young Princess Elizabeth, heir to the Throne. No other force would have overcome the muttered warnings and doubts of courtiers and advisers, who are so good at preventing Royal matches they do not like the look of. And what a tremendous stroke of providence that was, for everyone involved. How many men would have been virile, brave and self-disciplined enough to accept the permanent subordination of life as a Prince Consort to a reigning Queen? When plenty of silly people will dismiss you as servile or crushed, it takes exactly the opposite qualities to keep on doing it, for the good of the person you love the most and for the good of the country over which she reigns. The greatest virtues are the ones that go unnoticed and unrewarded. And then there are the jests, often slightly risky and bluff, for which the Prince became famous. It is impossible to measure how much good these moments did to the Monarchy and to the country. Royalty can all too easily become stuffy, pompous and remote. He prevented that. The Dukes remarks were almost always appreciated by those he made them to, and were a perfect illustration of the good rule that a sense of humour is a sense of proportion. There are plenty of things we must all take seriously death, danger, illness, loss, war but we will do so better without taking ourselves too seriously, which is why humour flourishes in adversity and danger. The Prince was no fool. He was far more complex than the lazy caricatures of him suggested. He did not speak lightly because he was ignorant. On the contrary, everything he did and said was founded on knowledge and experience. He read widely, spoke other languages fluently, studied hard, learned from his unrivalled travels and made himself as expert as he could in the subjects he intervened in. And so to several British generations he came to embody a whole list of endangered virtues freedom to express what we really feel, not what we think we ought to say; a basic, unsweetened patriotism, love of country without bombast or boasting; duty; sacrifice; common sense; modesty. So far ahead of us in years, so full of experience that we cannot now have, so immune from the silly censoriousness of social media, he became a last enduring reminder of what we used to be like before the world changed and so much could no longer be expressed without the risk of being cancelled. Only a genuine love affair (which nobody can doubt) could conceivably have led to his marriage to the young Princess Elizabeth, heir to the Throne. No other force would have overcome the muttered warnings and doubts of courtiers and advisers, who are so good at preventing Royal matches they do not like the look of. The couple are pictured in 1947 Nobody could ever have cancelled the Duke of Edinburgh. But now that he has gone from us, who is left in our national public life of whom the same could be said? We have lost a significant national figure, a good and brave man, the Queens most loyal subject, a great fund of experience and wisdom, and an anchor. Having such people among us helps to keep us from folly, to remind us of what we were once capable of, and might one day need to be capable of again. Almost the last straggler of the greatest conflict in modern history, he was one of the few among the leaders of our society who had heard the sound of gunfire. It will do us no end of good to reflect in these coming days on the aims and ambitions he set for himself and for us, and on the virtues he represented. We are all lonelier than we were while he was still here. The best tribute we can pay is to maintain and restore the high standards he set. The Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC) at NYU released results of a strike authorization vote on April 8 revealing that 96 percent of graduate workers were prepared to strike. About two-thirds of the 2,000 workers participated in the poll. Graduate students at NYU have been negotiating with the university for over nine months over better wages, health care and child care benefits. Graduate students also demand that NYU cut ties with the New York Police Department (NYPD). The strike authorization vote comes at a critical juncture in the Columbia graduate student strike. Last week, the bargaining committee of the Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC) proclaimed a pause of the strike of 3,000 workers, despite overwhelming opposition from the rank and file. Despite this sabotage by the GWC, which is affiliated with the notoriously corrupt United Auto Workers (UAW), there is still immense militancy among Columbia graduate workers. Some are continuing the strike despite the pause, especially graduate workers in the Department of Religion. Graduate students at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies have expressed opposition to the pause and their support for graduate students who have chosen to continue the strike. New York University, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) Representatives of the GWC bargaining committee (BC) met with Columbia negotiators on April 8, and have four more sessions scheduled over the next week, starting Sunday. All three partiesColumbia, the GWC BC and Andrea Cancer of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a former union bureaucrat, representing the federal governmentclearly want to wrap up the strike as quickly as possible, with the April 15 and 16 sessions each scheduled to last from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. One major factor behind their actions is their fear that the strike at Columbia could resume as finals begin and potentially link up with an incipient strike at NYU. The so-called pause still allows workers to strike, although they will be left without even the measly $275 in weekly strike pay provided by the UAW for the first three weeks of the strike. Like the GWC, GSOC is affiliated with the UAW. They are part of the same amalgamated local, UAW Local 2110, which has long negotiated concessionary contracts in New York City. The UAW is determined to prevent these struggles from intersecting in any meaningful way. UAW Local 2110 President Maida Rosenstein has explicitly stated her opposition to linking up the strikes at Columbia and NYU, saying she did not want outside factors influencing GSOC members votes and at one point saying that the Columbia strike was only slated to last two weeks. The fact that their Columbia colleagues were on strike for three weeks before a UAW-engineered pause, along with the possibility of a joint struggle, no doubt energized NYU graduate students, contributing to the substantial margin to authorize a strike. The GSOC bargaining committee clearly does not want a strike. If they cannot avoid it, they will work to delay it until after the end of finals at Columbia. A GSOC email announcing the strike vote results told members that a deadline has not even been set yet but rather that [t]he Bargaining Committee is in active discussion to find the best strategy for when to set the strike deadline. According to GSOC, NYU does not want to meet again for bargaining until April 22. The union has not said that it would call a strike before then if the university continues stonewalling negotiations. If GSOC and NYU allow negotiations to stall for another two weeks, that would effectively preclude simultaneous strikes at NYU and Columbia this semester, as final exams at the latter conclude April 23. The developments at NYU and Columbia sharply raise the question of political leadership. There is still immense support for a continuation of the strike among graduate students at Columbia. Some of this determination to fight was expressed at a rally held April 9, organized by the GWC. Despite the relative lack of promotion, about 50 students attended. One graduate student from the Department of History denounced Columbia, whose Board of Trustees is packed with billionaires and millionaires, for functioning like a giant hedge fund rather than as an academic institution. The rally also featured a striker from the Department of Religion who expressed anger about the unions efforts to shut down the strike and insisted that the strike had to continue. He stressed, The strike had been working, general strikes work. Columbia really doesnt want us to strike right now. We know that a strike works even if its not supported by the union leadership and does not have the buy-in from every member of the unit. Thats why Im standing here right now to tell you, to urge you to join our strike tonight. We can only be successful if this strike grows. However, this struggle is being actively sabotaged not just by the UAW directly, but also by the so-called reform caucus, which currently dominates the ongoing efforts by the graduate students who are still on strike. The reform caucus opposes a break with the UAW and promotes the illusion that this anti-working-class organization can be pressured to the left. In reality, the UAW, like unions around the world, has been integrated into the capitalist state and corporate management for decades. In its efforts to isolate these struggles, the union works on behalf of a ruling class that is terrified that the socially explosive conditions in the US and internationally will give rise to a mass movement by the working class. The World Socialist Web Site and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) have fought throughout the Columbia strike for workers to broaden the struggle, break out of the straitjacket imposed by the UAW and orient to the working class in New York City and beyond. This intervention has had a significant impact on a layer of graduate students. One of them told reporters on Friday that the WSWS coverage had tapped into many peoples unhappiness about the bargaining committee. Most students felt, he said, that the UAW probably tries to get this [strike] over with. He said that the bargaining committee should be repudiated and expressed interest in the demand for an independent strike committee. What is needed now is for graduate students to take the next step. If kept within the confines of the union and these individual universities, the struggles at both NYU and Columbia are bound to be defeated. A new political leadership must be built that fights for the strikers to consciously broaden the strike into the working class. Graduate students who are prepared to take up this fight should reach out to the IYSSE today. Marie Martine and Briyanne Jeanniton fled their native Haiti, traveled for years on parallel journeys across two continents before landing at the Texas border. Their paths never crossed but, in March, they each made what they hoped would be their last leg: They surrendered to Border Patrol agents, one in El Paso, the other in Del Rio. They met remarkably different fates. Agents in Del Rio gave Jeanniton, 23, a credible fear screening that put her on a legal path to seek asylum she acknowledged she was afraid to return to Haiti and they released her to travel freely to a friend's apartment in West Palm Beach, Florida. Agents in El Paso loaded Martine, 49, and husband Fanfan Jean into a van, dropped them at a downtown bridge to Juarez and told them to return to Mexico. I feel free, Jeanniton said in a video call, using Spanish she acquired during time spent in Chile and traversing South and Central America, to Mexico. "I dont know if you can understand me. Ten or 12 countries behind me! And when you arrive, you feel free. Like when a person was a slave and becomes free, because the journey is over. Briyanne Jeanniton, a Haitian migrant lived in Tapachula, Chiapas before traveling to Monterrey, Mexico, and eventually crossing into the U.S. and making her way to Florida in March of 2021. In the photo, Jeanniton is photographed in Chiapas in February of 2020. Back in Juarez, in a hastily rented room, Martine said her experience at the border was "mal, mal, mal" very bad. The Border Patrol "didn't ask me about Haiti," she said. "Haiti is very dangerous. If I go to Haiti, I could be killed. But they didn't ask me about Haiti. They only told me, 'You are going back to Mexico.'" The U.S. asylum system whose dismantling by the Trump administration began with an Obama policy blocking Haitian asylum seekers in 2016 remains in disarray. As a result, asylum seekers are making strategic decisions about where to present their claims, and unequal encounters are playing out in Texas border cities from El Paso to Brownsville. More on the border: Migrant encounters up 71% in March as Biden administration grapples with border Border where chances are hit or miss Story continues The White House has repeatedly said that the border is closed and that pandemic protocols that allow Border Patrol to quickly return migrants to Mexico known as Title 42 remain in effect. A group of Haitians crosses into the Rio Grande to enter El Paso, Texas on April 2. 2021. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs spokesperson said border agents evaluate a migrant's circumstances on a case-by-case basis, taking into account U.S. legal requirements, COVID-19 protocols, changes in Mexican law, U.S. holding capacity and and the health of the individual. 'All I want is a tranquil life': Asylum claims skyrocket in Mexico as Haitians flee to U.S. border The border is not open, and the vast majority of people are being returned under Title 42," the spokesman said in an emailed response to questions. Separately, Border Patrol's El Paso Sector confirmed in an email that Haitian citizens have been returned to Mexico under Title 42. Like Jeanniton and Martine, Haitians who have been waiting years in Mexico for an opportunity to seek asylum in the U.S. are now testing the Biden administration and a border where their chances are evidently hit or miss. Marie Martine and her husband Fanfan Jean discuss their next options after a failed attempt to be allowed to remain in the U.S. The couple have lived in Mexico for the last five years in Tijuana. "They're being left with a risky decision on the off chance they will go the right (border) sector at the right time, and we have no explanation for who gets in and why," said Linda Rivas, executive director of the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso. "It is extremely arbitrary. It highlights that we dont have a functional asylum system." Mark Morgan, who served as acting CBP commissioner under Trump, called the Biden administration's uneven application of Title 42 along the border "absurd." "Any time there is a policy or authority shift, its exploited," he said. "Either the smugglers are going to exploit that or the migrants are going to exploit that. Title 42 is not being applied evenly across the border. It shouldnt depend on where you enter the Southwest border illegally what happens to you." Jeanniton's calculation paid off. She left Border Patrol custody with a negative COVID-19 test and paperwork in hand requiring she meet with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If not a guarantee that she could stay, she may have a chance to make her case. Sent back to Mexico empty-handed, Martine was disappointed but undeterred. Marie Martine and her husband Fanfan Jean, walk around downtown Ciudad Juarez in search of a belt and shoe laces. U.S. Customs and Border Protection had taken the shoelaces from the migrants when they attempted to enter the U.S. without documentation. "I am thinking about checking another border," she said, employing a mix of Spanish and Portuguese acquired during long stints in Venezuela and Brazil and Mexico. "I'm going to wait a while to see how things go. I've been waiting here so long. I want to cross." A Guatemalan father brought his 10-year-old daughter to the U.S.-Mexico border.: He learned to regret it. Well-worn route north For decades Haitians have left their half-island nation, the poorest in the western hemisphere, in search of stability. They fled the back-to-back dictatorships of Francois Duvalier and son Jean-Claude Duvalier in the 1970s, then the fallout of the 1991 coup d'etat that ousted democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Then came the 7.0 earthquake in 2010 that flattened much of capital city Port-au-Prince, which was followed by a destructive Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The country is now on the verge of collapse, as President Jovenel Moise has consolidated power and dissolved core governing institutions; anti-government protests have become widespread and violent. From left, Herve Alverna, Marie Martine and Fanfan Jean lace up their shoes after a street vendor in downtown Cuidad Juarez gives them free shoelaces. The migrants' shoelaces and belts were taken from them by U.S. Border Patrol, a typical security measure, when they entered the U.S. without proper documentation. Martine left Haiti in 2008 for Venezuela, then in 2014 to Brazil. Jeanniton left in 2017 for Chile. At the time, Brazil and Chile had fast-growing economies and welcomed Haitian labor; the governments provided work permits and visas. Both women made a life for themselves in growing Haitian communities in each country. But the Chilean and Brazilian economies soon contracted, and as civil unrest and anti-immigrant fervor took hold, Haitian workers were among the first to lose their jobs. Martine left for Mexico in 2016. Jeanniton left for Mexico two years later. They each followed a route well-worn by their compatriots, Cubans and others with limited means: They walked the jungle of the isthmus that connects Colombia with Panama, took buses or rides across Central America to the Guatemala-Mexico border. Haitian migrants arrived in the cities of Mexicali and Tijuana, Baja California in 2016. Many of the migrants remained in Tijuana and Mexicali for years, working in the informal economy and in the factories of the border cities. In this photo, Haitian migrants are photographed in a migrant shelter in Mexicali in September of 2016. From zero tolerance to now: How Americas migrant policies have changed in the Trump and Biden years They were among the more than 13,000 Haitian nationals who filed applications for asylum, or what's known in Mexico as refugee status, from 2016 through the first two months of 2021, according to COMAR, Mexico's refugee commission. Mexico's denial rate for those applications by Haitians hovers around 90%, according to the U.S.-based Haitian Bridge Alliance. But the country gave many Haitians temporary permission to live and work in the country, Martine and Jeanniton included. With legal status to travel and work in Mexico, thousands made their way to Mexico's northern border where jobs are plentiful if poorly paid and the U.S. appears within reach. Haitians at forefront of restrictive policies Martine and her husband landed in Tijuana in 2016 where they found factory jobs assembling TVs for American consumers. Jean worked a 12-hour night shift for $85 a week. Martine rubbed her fingers together to emphasize how little money they earned. "Working here you can't get ahead," she said, sitting in a restaurant in downtown Juarez. "You work a lot. You earn a little." Haitians settled in to cities south of the California border Tijuana and Mexicali in large part because the United States was closed to them. By the time Martine arrived in Tijuana, the Obama administration had blocked the ports of entry to asylum seekers with a practice immigrant advocates call "metering." Briyanne Jeanniton, a Haitian migrant lived in Tapachula, Chiapas in 2020 before making her way to Monterrey, Mexico and eventually making her way into Florida in March of 2021. Haitians unfortunately have often been at the forefront of asylum restriction policies over the last five or six years, said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the nonprofit American Immigration Counsel. The whole concept of metering of restricting access to asylum at ports of entry began in San Diego in response to the arrival of Haitians." The practice spread to every port of entry at the U.S. border and remains in effect. "It leaves people with one option: to cross in a way that is deadly, through a river that is unforgiving, over a wall that is higher than it has ever been," Rivas said. "You have to contemplate death before you make the decision." Martine and Jean didn't try to cross the border without permission, not yet. They waited, hoping for a change in U.S. policy. Slim chances for asylum seekers Around the time Joe Biden was elected president in November, Jeanniton headed north toward the U.S. border to Chihuahua City about four hours south of Juarez. She had spent more than a year in southern Mexico, in migratory limbo in the humid border city of Tapachula in Mexico's southern Chiapas state. The U.S. was her longed-for destination, she told the El Paso Times in Tapachula in early 2020. Biden sticks to infrastructure pitch: Pressure builds on immigration, gun control Marie Martine walks in downtown Cuidad Juarez past Central American migrants near the Paso Norte Bridge. More than 680,000 Haitian immigrants live in the U.S., according to the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute. More than 55,000 benefited from humanitarian protection afforded them through Temporary Protected Status; others have sought asylum or other legal status. Haitians are the sixth-largest group of asylum seekers in the U.S. behind those from China, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. Their chances of winning asylum are comparatively low. U.S. immigration judges denied 82%, or 26,401 of 32,129 asylum petitions by Haitian nationals between 2001 and 2021, according to data published by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Herve Alverna, the cousin of Marie Martine, contemplates whether to return to Tijuana or continue to another area of the Mexican northern border to make an attempt at entering the U.S. The denial rate in Haitian cases is on par with what Central Americans face and is much higher than for applicants from China (33%), Colombia (64%) or India (45%), according to the TRAC data. 'You're going to cross alone' Martine, who has family in Georgia, has gotten most of her information about the border by word of mouth, from other Haitians in the U.S. and in Mexico. She said she's afraid to be sent back to Haiti, but asked whether she wanted protection under the U.S. asylum system, she answered that she reads the Bible. "Only God can offer protection," she said. Despite her failed attempt to reach the U.S., returning to Tijuana isn't an option, she said. She and Jean sold the few things they had. They would look ahead. Marie Martine grows worried about what do to next after a failed attempt to be allowed to remain in the U.S. "Conditions in Mexico are not good," said Nicole Phillips, legal director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for Haitian immigrants. "With COVID-19, a lot of people lost their jobs or whatever businesses they staffed fell apart. They fell on hard times economically. The ports of entry are completely closed (to asylum seekers) because of Title 42. There has been no explanation in Haitian Creole about what is happening." Jeanniton learned what she could from other Haitians on the move. U.S.-Mexico border: Some migrant families are taken in, others 'kicked out' In March, she traveled to Ciudad Acuna, across the border from the rural community of Del Rio, Texas, where the Rio Grande runs wide and deep and dangerous. Three months earlier, Border Patrol in Del Rio sector recovered the body of a pregnant Haitian woman, believed to have drowned. Jeanniton found a "guide," she said, who showed her the way. "He told me, 'you're going to cross alone,'" she said. She waded into the river. She carried her cell phone and a change of clothes. "There are days that people lose their life," she said. "You know that I am tall, and when I crossed, the water came up to my waist. You have to be so careful not to fall." Rising migration, ongoing deportations Biden promised a more "humanitarian approach" to immigration enforcement. To many would-be immigrants in the Americas, the message sounded something like opportunity. A Haitian child who recently arrived from Tijuana watches cartoons. The child and his parents attempted to enter the U.S. that night but were returned and decided to return to Tijuana, Baja California. The administration is now struggling to contain increased unauthorized immigration at the Southwest border. Border Patrol apprehensions and encounters swelled to more 100,000 in February, up from roughly 37,000 in February year ago, according to CBP data. The number of Border Patrol apprehensions and encounters which include numerous repeat crossings has risen each of the past 10 months. Haitian migration presents special challenges. The country carries the U.S. State Department's most extreme travel warning due to "crime, civil unrest, kidnapping and COVID-19." "Because of the political turmoil and crises that is happening in the country, nobody should be deported to Haiti right now," Phillips said. "Its as unsafe to travel to Haiti as it is to travel to Afghanistan or Somalia, according to the Department of State." After briefly halting deportation flights to Haiti, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resumed Title 42 returns and deportations to Haiti. "There have been a couple a week, with at least 1,400 people deported, since Feb. 1," Phillips, the Haitian Bridge Alliance legal director, said. "On those planes are some Haitians who were convicted of a crime, but the vast majority 95 or 99% are Title 42 people. Morgan, the former acting CBP chief, said he worries that the hit-or-miss application of Title 42 is going to exacerbate unauthorized migration in areas where Mexico's capacity to take back expelled migrants is limited and Border Patrol facilities are overcrowded. "Youre going to see those areas that are already the epicenter, its just going to get worse," he said. "Regardless of where you stand on the politics, there was a better way to undo Trump policies." 'You see the lights of the country' Jeanniton quickly settled into a friend's apartment in West Palm Beach. Resting on a pale pink blanket, sunshine streaming through a window, she said she felt a combination of exhaustion and relief. She spoke giddily, remembering. "On the first bus, traveling at night," she said of the trip across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to Florida, "you see the lights of the country, like it was a movie." "There are beautiful cities in every country," she said. "But the United States is the United States!" In the weeks ahead she planned to find a job and check in with ICE. "You have to go to the appointments," she said. In Juarez, in late March, Martine sat on a concrete bench across from where she and her husband briefly stayed when they arrived from Tijuana, the Hotel Bombin, whose $25-a-night rooms are three blocks from the U.S. border next to a night-spot called El Faro Ladies Bar." Her husband and a cousin walked up with to-go boxes of Church's fried chicken and biscuits for breakfast. They couldn't afford another night in the hotel. Martine worried out loud about where they would go and when or where their journey would end. Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@elpasotimes.com. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Haitian migrants put Joe Biden's immigration policies to test in Texas Florida State forward and potential lottery selection Scottie Barnes will sign with an agent and enter this years draft, Jon Rothstein of CBS tweets. Barnes is currently ranked No. 10 overall and No. 3 among small forwards on ESPNs Best Available list. The one-and-done Barnes averaged 10.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.5 SPG in his lone college campaign, which spanned 24 games (seven starts). He scored a season-high 21 points against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament final. Barnes is essentially a point forward who projects as a versatile defender capable of guarding any position. He has a 72 wingspan and a solid frame, though his perimeter shooting is a work in progress (27.5% on 3-point attempts). SVMC: Medical Matters Features Hand Surgeon BENNINGTON, Vt. Southwestern Vermont Health Care's "Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobson" features Dr. David Veltre on April 7. Veltre is a hand and upper extremity specialist at SVMC Orthopedics and Northern Berkshire Orthopedics. He discusses the most common conditions he sees in his practice and their treatments. The weekly interactive medical-themed talk show hosted by Dr. Trey Dobson provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on health care, including topics like behavioral health, food insecurity, equitable care, and the opioid crisis. The show is produced in partnership with Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV) and is broadcast on CAT-TV, Greater Northshire Access Television, Facebook Live, YouTube, and podcast platforms. American aerospace major announced that it has recommended 16 carriers to address a potential electrical issue in a specific group of 737 MAX planes, which were globally grounded after two fatal crashes that took place within months, before further operations. The recommendation is made to allow for verification that a sufficient ground path exists for a component of the electrical power system, the announcement said on Friday. is working closely with the US Federal Administration (FAA) on this production issue, reports Xinhua news agency. "We are also informing our customers of specific tail numbers affected and we will provide direction on appropriate corrective actions," the company said. The FAA said had notified the agency late Thursday of its recommendation to temporarily remove some planes from service to address a manufacturing issue that could affect the operation of a backup power control unit. US airlines have temporarily grounded more than 60 MAX jets as of Friday, CNBC reported. Boeing's 737 MAX jets were grounded across the globe in March 2019, following more evidence indicated that its key flight control software played a part in two deadly air crashes in less than one year. The FAA rescinded the order that halted commercial operations of MAX on November 18, 2020. On December 2, the jet completed its first public flight after being grounded for 20 months. --IANS ksk/ (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.) (AFP via Getty Images) Bernie Sanders, among several lawmakers who visited union organisers and Amazon workers in Alabama during a closely watched union vote, said he supports efforts to challenge the results after a majority of ballots opposed organising the warehouse in Bessemer. It takes an enormous amount of courage to stand up and fight back, and they should be applauded, the Vermont senator said in a statement on social media following the results of the election on Friday. And lets be clear, they were up against a company that was willing to spend vast sums of money, and use every kind of tactic there is to defeat them. Officials with the National Labor Relations Board tallied 1,798 votes against unionising the warehouse with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and 738 votes in support. Seventy-six ballots were voided, and 505 ballots were challenged. The number of those remaining ballots not included in the count were not sufficient to affect the outcome, the board said. The 3,117 ballots among the 5,876 voting-eligible workers marked a 53 per cent turnout for the election. Following the ballot count, the union announced plans to file objections to the labour board as well as complaints under the Unfair Labor Practice alleging that Amazon interfered with employers rights to vote, creating an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees freedom of choice. Read more: Mr Sanders said he supports the union appeal. The union has up to five days to challenge the results. The history of every struggle in this country tells us that we do not always win the first time out, he said. But I believe, as a result of their courage, workers in Alabama will inspire significant growth in organising efforts around the country. Story continues The retail giants anti-union campaign included text messages, one-on-one meetings and mandatory meetings on the warehouse floor and a social media PR blitz, among other tactics reported by workers and organisers. Amazon also staged a ballot dropbox in front of the warehouse under a tent provided by the company, which union organisers allege was used to intimidate workers. The company has not denied coordinating with the US Postal Service to install the dropbox. In a statement to The Independent, a company spokesperson said the dropbox was installed to establish a simple, secure and completely optional way to make it easy for employees to vote, no more and no less. We demand a comprehensive investigation over Amazons behavior in corrupting this election, union president Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement on Friday. Senator Sanders has repeatedly targeted Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the worlds wealthiest man, over his companys objections to union organising, as well as his tax obligations on a growing multi-billion dollar fortune as his company sees record profits during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2018, the company raised its minimum wage to $15 following pressure from Mr Sanders. Mr Sanders also invited Mr Bezos to a recent Senate Budget Committee hearing on wage inequality but he declined. An Amazon worker from the Alabama sorting facility testified during that hearing. Read More Claudia Andujar: Photographing the Yanomami struggle George Clooney advising George Floyds family lawyer in murder trial Did the QAnon founder start life as a shy kid from Washington? Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee hopes H.R. 40 can get a vote on the House floor this summer The campaign for reparations for Black Americans is gaining momentum as a congressional committee prepares to consider sending a proposal on the topic to the House floor for a vote. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up and on Wednesday vote on the bill, House Resolution 40. The measure would launch a commission to study the impact of slavery on the country and Black Americans, examining the question of reparations for descendants of people enslaved in America. The late John Conyers, the Detroit Democrat who was a representative from Michigan for more than five decades, introduced H.R. 40 in each legislative session from 1989 until his death in 2017. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee since picked up the mantle as the lead sponsor and is hopeful to advance the bill out of committee. This is what we call the next step, Jackson Lee told CBS News. America has never acknowledged the original sin, and that if you look at African-Americans today, the disparities that were entrenched in slavery still exist. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) H.R. 40, named for the broken government promise to bequeath emancipated people 40 acres of land and a mule near the end of the Civil War, seeks to discover a path for reparations to make amends for lingering damage from American slavery and other methods to help mend the trauma, according to Human Rights Watch. READ MORE: Illinois city 1st in US to offer Black residents reparations Jackson Lee said in the CBS News interview the timing is great to reintroduce H.R. 40 to Congress, with hopes that a reparations bill can be voted on as early as the summer. We are now, unfortunately, seemingly going back massive voter oppression and suppression with legislation across America, the tragedies against black men as it relates to the encounters in law enforcement certainly needs to be repaired and the disparities in wealth is very stark, even today, she said. The time for H.R. 40 is now. Story continues A study of reparations has support from President Joe Biden, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in February. Activists stage a protest to mark the National Reparations Day outside the residence of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) July 1, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Biden certainly would support a study of reparations, she said in response to a question about H.R. 40. We understand that we dont need a study to take action right now on systemic racism. So he wants to take actions within his own government in the meantime. READ MORE: Bidens top aide says White House will start acting now on reparations for African Americans Vice President Kamala Harris has also issued her support of reparations. In a 2019 interview with NPR, Harris, then a senator running for president, talked about how deep-rooted effects of slavery have gone largely unchecked in society and how reparations could be used as a form of mental health treatment for Black Americans. Unless theres intervention done, [PTSD of slavery] will appear to be, perhaps, generational. But its generational only because the environment has not experienced a significant enough change to reverse the symptoms, Harris said. You need to put resources and direct resources extra resources into those communities that have experienced that trauma. 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 H.R. 40, bill to study reparations, to get committee vote next week appeared first on TheGrio. Of the 26 Russian tourists who were involved in todays accident in Turkey, 19 people did not receive serious injuries, the condition of six people is being clarified, the Rostourism informed in a statement. "According to preliminary data received from the embassy and the tour operator, there were 32 tourists in the bus. As a result of the accident, 26 Russians were injured, one tourist was killed. All the injured were taken to the nearest hospitals in the settlements of Konya and Selcuk. According to information received, 19 tourists were not seriously injured, Rosturizm informed, RIA Novosti informs. After all the necessary medical assistance is provided, all tourists will be taken to the hotel, the ministry added. The Government should cover the 1,850 cost of mandatory hotel quarantine for Erasmus students returning to Ireland, Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher has said. Erasmus students went abroad last September, supported by their educational institutions, and in many situations, funded by the Irish State, in good faith, The Fianna Fail MEP said. Some 850 Irish students are currently abroad on Erasmus. However, not all of them would be required to quarantine in a hotel, Mr Kelleher said, "so the cost to the State would be negligible. The standard rate for one adult staying in one room for 12 nights of mandatory hotel quarantine is 1,875. Billy Kelleher, MEP, believes the Government should cover the cost of mandatory hotel quarantine for Erasmus students. Kelleher was commenting after receiving representations from his partys youth organisation, Ogra Fianna Fail, requesting support for students on official Erasmus programmes. Ogra has suggested that the students sending institution i.e. their IT or university should pay the hotel bill up front, and then receive a refund from the Department of Higher Education. There is, I believe, significant merit in their proposal and it warrants discussion at government level. Yesterday, a number of EU countries including France, Belgium and Italy, were added to the mandatory hotel quarantine list following a Cabinet meeting. Any arrival who fails to adhere to mandatory quarantine rules could be fined as much as 4,000 and face up to a month in prison. The Bangladesh model shows how mutually reinforcing economic and social policies foster inclusive growth. Bangladesh, which separated from Pakistan in 1971 after a quarter century of coexistence, is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The country, once labelled as a basket case, has slowly manoeuvred itself into what economists term as the take-off stage. This is a surprising achievement for a nation with a tumultuous history for decades. Right from the beginning, various groups have resisted Bangladeshs secular constitution and forced the adoption of Islam as the state religion in 1988, which continues, even though the Supreme Court restored the secular label. And the country has witnessed much political turmoil during the first four decades with occasional coups and assassination of two Presidents. Adding to the woes was the huge population, the eighth largest in the world, and the limited land and other natural resources. With 1,240 persons per square kilometre, which is almost three times that of India, Bangladesh was dependent on food imports for a fairly long stretch till 2012 when it achieved self-sufficiency in rice. Another major hazard for Bangladesh is its location in a cyclone-prone zone, which devastated large regions in 1970, 1991, 2007 and 2009. The space tourism era has dawned as wealthy travelers prepare for voyages aboard crafts made by rival billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, with the first civilians expected to take flight as soon as September. Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training to embark on spectacular voyages where they will experience a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space. The mainly wealthy first-time space travelers are getting ready to take part in one of several private missions which are preparing to launch in the near future. Branson's Virgin Galactic and Bezos' Blue Origin are both building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes. Meanwhile, Musk's SpaceX is planning to send the first civilian travelers on orbital flights as soon as September. The major development for space travel comes 60 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space. A photo of Earth taken by astronaut Nick Hague from the International Space Station in 2019. Soon civilians will be able to experience a few minutes, or perhaps days, in space NASA's training for shuttle crew members lasted two years but the duration has been drastically reduced by the commercial space industry. Glenn King, the director of spaceflight training at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center, Pennsylvania, said the private company has already trained nearly 400 future Virgin Galactic passengers for trips. The training program lasts two days with a morning of classroom instruction and tests in a centrifuge, with a medical team on hand at all times. This involves putting the trainee in a single-seat cockpit at the end of a 25-foot-long (eight-meter-long) arm and spinning them around to simulate gravitational force, or G force. King said the training must be fast-tracked because of the 'numbers of people that want to get up in space.' 'We can't take two years to train these people,' he said. 'We've got to get this down to a matter of days to get these people up. 'These people aren't crews, just strictly passengers,' he noted. 'For a passenger, there isn't a lot of work for you to do other than just relax, endure the G forces of launch or reentry. 'And then once you're orbital, enjoy the view out the window.' King said the pass rate for the training course has been '99.9 percent' with the oldest person so far trained being 88 years old. Virgin Galactic shows pre-flight operations in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in November. Several hundred people have already booked tickets and begun training to embark on space voyages Bezos' Blue Origin (above) is building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes While age doesn't appear to be an issue, the single biggest barrier to 'spaceflight for all' continues to be the price tag. The cost ranges from several thousand dollars per flight to as much as $10,000 if special care or medical monitoring is needed. Some 600 people have booked flights on Virgin Galactic, the company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, and thousands more are on a waiting list for the flights costing between $200,000 to $250,000. Money aside, pretty much anybody could go on a spaceflight. 'You don't have to be in perfect physical health now to be able to go to space,' King said. 'I've trained people with prosthetic devices. I've trained people with pacemakers. All kinds of people.' US billionaire Jared Isaacman (pictured) is set to blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, in what will be the first all-civilian mission into Earth's orbit The US Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees the aviation industry, recommended in 2006 that future 'commercial passengers' on suborbital flights fill out a 'simple medical history questionnaire.' Orbital flights which go further and last longer would require a more detailed form and blood tests, X-rays and urine specimens. Such flights, which cost millions of dollars each, are envisioned by SpaceX, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, which has at least four planned over the coming years. But it remains to be seen when space tourism will become more commonplace, according to Robert Goehlich, an adjunct assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide. 'Suborbital and orbital tourist flights are currently near to happen,' Goehlich said. 'The exact forecast is a challenge for each scenario. 'A new investor might accelerate any schedule while an accident might decelerate any planning,' he said. Richard Branson's (left) Virgin Galactic will offer suborbital flights costing between $200,000 to $250,000. Elon Musk's (right) SpaceX has at least four orbital flights planned costing millions It's become a source of intense rivalry among the world's richest men, with Bezos (above), Musk and Branson all racing to get their space tourism projects off the ground first Three major factors will need to come together for space travel to become more accessible: the flights will have to be safe, profitable and environmentally friendly. 'In the long run, thinking about a mass space tourism market, surely sustainability aspects will play a more dominant role,' Goehlich said. It's become a source of intense rivalry among the world's richest men, with Bezos, Musk and Branson all racing to get their space tourism projects off the ground first. Last month, Virgin Galactic unveiled its third generation spaceplane called VSS Imagine which, with its mirrored surface, is designed to 'reflect the environment around it' as it moves through clouds and out to space. Glide flights within Earth's atmosphere of VSS Imagine are due to begin this summer in the skies over New Mexico, followed by sub-orbital flights in the following years if the early tests are successful. The unveiling came as Branson said he will fly to the edge of space by the end of this summer in VSS Unity, the current second generation spaceplane and the craft that will operate commercially early in 2022. Virgin Galactic unveiled a new spaceplane called VSS Imagine last month (above) that is designed to 'reflect the environment around it' as it moves through clouds and out to space The life-sized flight dummy sat in one of the six crew capsule seats to measure the vehicle's overall performance during test flights. Pictured is a shot from a 2017 launch Virgin Galactic will operate two test flights starting from May, the first with just pilots, and the second carrying a full crew to the edge of space before Branson takes flight. The company then hopes to take its first private astronaut on a suborbital flight in early 2022, with eventual plans for 400 trips a year. Blue Origin, owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, has not yet published prices or a calendar. In January, the company marked progress when it launched its New Shepard rocket for the 14th time with a life-sized dummy strapped inside the updated space capsule. The mission sent the capsule to the boundary of space, as one of the last tests needed before it conducts its first crewed mission in a few months. Musk is likely to win the race if his timeline goes to plan as he has signed up civilians for a trip to the International Space Station for $55 million each in September. The American billionaire Jared Isaacman has fully paid for a trip powered by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will take him and three passengers on a three-day flight in low Earth orbit. The flight, baptized 'Inspiration4,' will be the first launch of only civilians. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has also reserved a flight on SpaceX's 'Starship' in 2023 and is inviting eight other people to come along for the ride. In January 2022, the company Axiom Space plans to send a former astronaut and three newcomers to the International Space Station. It eventually plans to make trips to the ISS every six months. Seven 'space tourists' visited the space station between 2001 and 2009. Advertisement Kill the Bill demonstrators clashed with police in Bristol while marching through the city yesterday, ahead of a second National Day of Action against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Protesters defied the coronavirus lockdown as they gathered at College Green at 6pm before marching through the south-western city, which has recently experienced its worst rioting in years. One male was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance during the seventh Kill the Bill demo to have take place, a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police told Bristol Live. Yesterday's demo against the Government's proposed policing law, which would give officers sweeping powers to crack down on non-violent protests, followed a raucous rally in Parliament Square, London last Saturday. Four women and two men were charged after the protest, which attracted an estimated 10,000 people including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, turned violent. Ten Met Police officers were injured in the chaos. Two defendants are accused of obstructing a constable, while four others have been charged with assaulting an emergency worker. All six are due to appear at Westminster magistrates' court later this month. It comes as the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police announced he will quit this summer amid backlash over the force's handling of Black Lives Matter protests and Kill the Bill riots. Kill the Bill demonstrators clashed with police in Bristol yesterday after marching through the city after thousands railed against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London last Saturday Protesters defied coronavirus restrictions as they gathered at College Green at around 6pm before marching through the south-western city, which recently experienced its worst rioting in years A female protester is seen marching through Bristol at a Kill the Bill demo against the Government's proposed policing bill Avon and Somerset Police in Bristol with dogs as protesters marched through the south-western city yesterday Andy Marsh, who has spent 34 years on the force, will not seek to extend his contract when it expires at the beginning of July, saying it was a 'difficult decision to make'. The force has come under fire for being too heavy-handed in its response to Kill the Bill rioters. Senior officers were also criticised for failing to intervene to stop Black Lives Matter protesters dumping a statue of slave trader Edward Colston into Bristol Harbour last summer. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr Marsh said it had been the 'honour of a lifetime' to lead the force he first joined in 1987 and that it would be a 'wrench' to leave the job. He said: 'To leave a force I first joined in 1987 has been a difficult decision to make, but I feel it is the right time for me to embark on a new challenge and for another person to take the helm and continue on the journey to make Avon and Somerset Police the outstanding force it deserves to be.' Mr Marsh, a rowing silver medal winner in the Barcelona 2003 World Police who is married with two daughters, joined Avon and Somerset Police as a new recruit in 1987, working his way up to the rank of chief superintendent. He took the job of Chief Constable at Avon and Somerset in February 2016, after serving as Assistant Chief Constable at Wiltshire Police and Chief Constable at Hampshire Constabulary, which under his lead became the first police force in England to be personally equipped with body-worn video. Protesters defied lockdown as they gathered at College Green at around 6pm before marching through Bristol Protesters clashed with police in Bristol yesterday. One was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance Mr Marsh was appointed as the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) policing lead for body-worn video in 2014 and was awarded the Queen's Police Medal, presented for gallantry or distinguished service, in 2018. The force's police and crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens called Mr Marsh 'an outstanding chief' and said he had led his team 'with courage through some particularly challenging times for policing'. A riot broke out on March 21 when 500 people marched on Bridewell police station, set fire to police vehicles and attacked the station, and protests on March 23 and 26 also ended with clashes between activists and officers. Following the demonstrations, Bristol West Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire said she was speaking to people who claimed officers were too forceful. She said: 'This is absolutely unacceptable. 'The scenes of violence and direct attack on the police in Bristol city centre will distress most people including anyone who believes in defending the right to peaceful democratic protest.' Mr Marsh defended breaking up crowds during the 'Kill the Bill' protests, saying it was 'what our communities expected us to do' under lockdown regulations. Andy Marsh (pictured on March 22, following a Kill the Bill protest) will not seek to extend his contract when it expires at the beginning of July, saying it was a 'difficult decision to make' Unrest following rallies against the government's proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in Bristol over recent weeks led to claims that policing had been too aggressive. Pictured: A demonstrator skateboards in front of a burning police vehicle on March 21 John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: 'This is not about protecting the right to protest, it's violent criminality from a hardcore minority who will hijack any situation for their own aims. 'My colleagues, some of whom are now in hospital, face the brunt of that hatred. 'Thoughts remain with my colleagues.' A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police further stated: 'Officers have had projectiles thrown at them, including a firework, and have been verbally abused. 'This is unacceptable behaviour and those responsible for offences will be identified and brought to justice.' The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would give officers 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 Bristol protesters were carrying signs reading 'say no to UK police state' and 'freedom to protest is fundamental'. Police had advised people not to attend the protest due to coronavirus legislation, which bans mass gatherings. Force bosses were also criticised for failing to intervene to stop Black Lives Matter protesters throwing a statue of slave trader Edward Colston into Bristol Harbour (above) last summer Police with shields and helmets hold back people outside Bridewell Police Station in Bristol on Sunday, March 21 Mr Marsh also spoke out on the force's tactics when officers failed to intervene to stop the Colston statue being damaged. He said that trying to arrest the activists would have resulted in 'a very violent confrontation'. The approach was later backed by police watchdog Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. Last Saturday a small group of around 50 to 100 protesters began to block roads around Parliament Square, by Westminster Palace, and chanted anti-police slogans including 'All Cops Are B******s'. Jeremy Corbyn addressed the massive crowd while he stood next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi as he called the bill a 'very dangerous, slippery slope' and defended the right to protest. A separate group in Parliament Square was seen demonstrating with anti-sexism slogans, including 'educate your sons' and 'misogyny is the virus', chanting 'women scared everywhere, police and Government do not care'. Three Kill the Bill protestors unfurled a banner which read 'Kill Cops' and held aloft the incendiary message outside the Houses of Parliament - just 50 metres away from where PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death in 2017. The national weekend of action spread beyond the capital to cities including Newcastle, Liverpool, Brighton, Bristol and Manchester - where police said a number of 'peaceful' protests took police. Dhaka, April 10 : In the face of recent massacre by Hefazat-e-Islam, the police have beefed up security in different districts, including Dhaka and Brahmmanbaria. Policemen armed with light machine gun (LMG) have been deployed there and security posts were set up with sandbags at police stations and outposts at six police stations and six outposts of Sylhet Metropolitan Police and nine police station of Brahmmanbaria to avoid any untoward incident by the militants. Sylhet district police has also taken steps to build such security posts in 12 police stations of the district. Besides, instructions were given to the police stations under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to step up vigilance and strengthen security measures, officials added. Haider Ali Khan, deputy inspector general at Police Headquarters, said police personnel have been put on alert and take actions against those involved in anti-state activities, violence and destruction of the government property. Asked about the beefed-up security, the police official mentioned, analysing security threats was police's routine work and they were doing their job and taking actions. "The number of police members at the police stations and outposts of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) has also been increased. Up to 50 additional police personnel joined each of the police stations," confirmed a high official of SMP told IANS on Friday night. Considering the risk, security posts have also been seen set up on the roofs and in the open space in front of some police stations, said the official seeking anonymity. SMP Commissioner Nisarul Arif confirmed that they beefed up security measures so that any attack like the recent ones carried out on police stations did not recur in Sylhet. Meanwhile, Shahadat Hossain Shovon, general secretary of Brahmanbaria district Chhatra League, said, "No one of Hefazat-e-Islam was involved in the violence. We consider this statement to be a mere lie and an example of ill politics." Brahmanbaria Chhatra League President Rabiul Hossain Rubel demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. Earlier on Thursday, a group of militants have shattered pictures of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They also vandalised the office of the ruling party Awami League's Dhar Mandal union unit in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar upazila. The Brahmanbaria district unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League on Friday warned that sedition cases will be filed against Hefazat-e-Islam leaders unless they apologise for lying about the violence. Besides, the BCL president demanded that those involved in the heinous massacre be arrested and brought to justice as soon as possible. At least 14 people were killed and hundreds injured and government and private properties were damaged as the Islamist group locked into sporadic clashes with law enforcement agencies from 26 to 28 March in Brahmanbaria and other regions of the country during their protests and hartal over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bangladesh visit. Advertisement The Commonwealth has mourned Prince Philip with a 41-gun salute in Australia, flags at half mast in Canada and a national memorial is being planned in New Zealand. The Duke of Edinburgh's death at Windsor Castle was announced by Her Majesty 'with great sorrow' on Friday, and as Britons embarked on eight days of mourning, subjects of the Crown across the world honoured the prince. Philip was fondly remembered in countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which he visited many times with the Queen over his seven decades of service to Britain and the Commonwealth. He famously raised eyebrows on occasion, including on a 2002 trip to Australia when he asked an Aboriginal man, 'Do you still throw spears at each other?' The Australian Federation Guard fired 41 rounds from six M2A2 45mm Howitzer ceremonial guns at 10 second intervals at Parliament House in Canberra on Saturday afternoon. The salute, which was watched by dozens of mourners, followed the British tradition of 21 rounds for a Royal salute and an additional 20 shots when firing from a Royal park. In Canada, flags flew at half mast across provincial legislatures, such as in Victoria, British Columbia, where a lone piper played military dirges for the 99-year-old royal consort. Flags were also flying at half mast in Wellington where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised to honour the duke with a memorial service after his funeral next weekend. 'We will be entirely guided by the wishes of Her Majesty,' Ardern said. 'It goes without saying that at this sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people, we share our condolences with the Royal family.' AUSTRALIA: A 41-gun salute is fired to commemorate the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Parliament House in Canberra on Saturday afternoon. CANADA: The Canadian flag flies at half mast outside the British Columbia legislature in Victoria as piper Ken Wilson plays dirges. Wilson had the pleasure of hearing Prince Philip speak at the men's student union during a lunchtime address at Edinburgh University around 1966 where the Prince gave a talk. He remembers how easily the Prince was able to connect with students and even describes him as quite humorous NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand national flag flies at half-mast on top of Beehive, the parliament building of New Zealand, to show condolences over death of Britain's Prince Philip in Wellington AUSTRALIA: The ceremonial howitzers manned by members of the army, navy and air force, fire their rounds in honour of the prince AUSTRALIA: People gather to watch a 41-gun salute to commemorate the death of Prince Philip AUSTRALIA: Flags fly at half mast over Sydney Harbour Bridge today, high over the Opera House, as Australia paid tribute to the duke AUSTRALIA: Flags fly at half-mast on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney on Saturday after Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in the country to honour the passing of Britain's Prince Philip AUSTRALIA: The Australian flag flies at half mast to commemorate the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Parliament House in Canberra AUSTRALIA: A 41-gun salute is fired to commemorate the death of Prince Philip. The salute followed the British tradition of 21 rounds for a Royal salute and an additional 20 shots when firing from a Royal park. AUSTRALIA: A tri-service ceremonial salute battery carried out a 41-gun salute with howitzers in Canberra to honour Prince Philip today AUSTRALIA: Members of the Australian army, navy and air force take part in the 41-gun salute for Prince Philip in Canberra on Saturday afternoon AUSTRALIA: Flowers are laid outside Government House as flags fly at half mast in Melbourne on Saturday Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Governor-General David Hurley will attend a church service in Sydney tomorrow to pay their respects to Philip. Earlier on Saturday, Morrison paid homage to the duke's life of 'duty and of service' and also sent his sympathies to the Queen. 'On behalf of the Australian people and the Australian government, I extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Her Majesty and the royal family to the passing of the Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh,' Morrison said. 'The duke's life was one of the duty and of service, of loyalty and honour. Memories of him will, of course, tell stories of his candour, and a unique and forceful and authentic personality. But above all, he was a man who was steadfast, who could be relied upon, always standing by his Queen.' Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau described Philip as a 'man of great purpose and conviction' in a tribute posted on Twitter yesterday. 'A man of great purpose and conviction, who was motivated by a sense of duty to others, Prince Philip contributed so much to the social fabric of our country and the world,' he wrote. 'Prince Philip will be remembered as a decorated naval officer, a dedicated philanthropist, and a constant in the life of Queen Elizabeth II.' Indian prime minister Narendra Modi recalled Philip for his 'distinguished career in the military' and work 'at the forefront of many community service initiatives'. 'May his soul rest in peace,' he added. The Duke of Edinburgh talks to Aboriginal performers after watching a culture show at Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, in 2002. He raised eyebrows during the trip by asking one of the men, 'Do you still throw spears at each other?' Prince Philip accepts flowers from the crowd at the Great Aussie Barbecue in Perth, 2011 The Queen and Prince Philip during a visit to Australia in 1992 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to crowds gathered upon their arrival at Adelaide Airport on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1992 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh wave to the assembled crowd as they arrive at Melbourne Airport in 2006 Other world leaders also offered their respects, with Irish President Michael D Higgins expressing his condolences to the Queen. 'On behalf of the people of Ireland, I wish to convey my condolences to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her children, her extended family and the people of the United Kingdom,' he said in a statement. He added: 'For over 60 years, and as husband to Britain's longest serving monarch, Prince Philip served the British people with an unfailing commitment and devotion to duty.' 'In the course of his long service he frequently brought an air of informality to otherwise formal occasions. 'His distinctive presence and unique sense of humour put participants at ease and always engaged those who encountered him.' Justin Trudeau praised Philip as 'a man of great purpose and conviction' who 'always sought out the best in people and challenged them to strive for greater heights' Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (above, signing a condolence book) has led world leaders in paying tribute to Prince Philip who died today at the age of 99 The condolence book signed by Australian Governor-General David Hurley and Australian PM Scott Morrison at Admiralty House Jacinda Ardern paid tribute to Philip's legacy in the form of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which tens of thousand of New Zealand children participate in each year President Higgins added the Irish saying 'Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis', meaning may his holy soul be on the right side of God. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the duke would be 'missed in Israel and across the world'. He wrote on Twitter: 'I express my deepest condolences to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom on the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh. 'Prince Philip was the consummate public servant and will be much missed in Israel and across the world.' .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal They were World War II prisoners of war, forced on a cruel relocation walk, held in inhumane POW camp conditions and used as slave labor all the while fighting starvation and disease. Among the 76,000 American and Filipino allied soldiers captured by the Japanese in the Philippines and marched 80 miles across the Bataan Peninsula, were 1,800 from New Mexicos 200th and 515th Coast Artillery regiments. Only half of that contingent returned home at the wars end. Two of those survivors, Evans Ramirez Garcia and John J. Mirabal, now deceased, will be honored posthumously on Sunday when relatives accept the Congressional Gold Medal in their honor during a virtual, live-streamed ceremony. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The Congressional Gold Medal was created in 1776 as a way for Congress to express its appreciation to people and institutions for their achievements and contributions. In 2015, Congress approved a specific Congressional Gold Medal to honor those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East at any time between July 26, 1941, and December 31, 1946. Accepting the medal for Garcia will be his daughter, Margaret Garcia, of Albuquerque. Its a great honor to receive this medal on behalf of my father and all the other Bataan survivors, she said. These men had great courage and fighting spirit, and in spite of illness from tropical diseases, and running out of food and ammunition, they held off the Japanese for four months. Originally from the town of Dona Ana in southern New Mexico, Evans Garcia went to high school in Truth or Consequences when it was called Hot Springs, and then attended New Mexico State University. He was employed as a social worker in the Los Lunas-Belen area when he enlisted in the military in April 1941. A year later, on April 9, 1942, he was among those taken prisoner by Japanese forces in the Philippines and subsequently transported to a POW camp in Fukuoka, Japan, where he was forced to work in a coal mine. He remained a prisoner until September 1945. After being discharged from the military in May 1946 he worked for the U.S. Selective Service System until he retired in October 1972. Garcia died in January 2011 at age 96. He is buried at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. The medal for John Mirabal will be accepted by his son, Tom Mirabal, of Albuquerque, who served in Vietnam. Im very humbled and very proud to accept this medal on behalf of my father and all the American fighting men who served in the Philippines, he said. As former military myself, I appreciate what my father had to do and what he had to endure. His father, he said, was employed by the federal Works Progress Administration before entering the regular Army out of Texas. He was attached to the 60th Coast Artillery and was in the Philippines for a year, where he was absorbed into and fought alongside members of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery. Like Garcia, Mirabal survived the Bataan Death March and was taken by ship to Fukuoka, and forced to work in the coal mine. Born in the Lubbock area, Mirabal lived most of his life in California, near Sacramento. After he left the Army he joined the Air Force and served in Korea. Later, as a civilian, he worked in aircraft support equipment maintenance at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento. He retired and relocated to Alamogordo. Mirabal died in 2001 at age 80 and is buried at Fort Bliss in El Paso. A new 20-year-forecast for the world: increasingly fragmented and turbulent. The big picture: A major report put out this week by the National Intelligence Council reflects a present rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. How the next two decades will unfold depends largely on whether new technologies will ultimately unite us or continue to divide us. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free Driving the news: Many, if not most, of those trends identified in the new report from the U.S. government are trending negative. "Shared global challenges including climate change, disease, financial crises, and technology disruptions are likely to manifest more frequently and intensely in almost every region and country," the report's authors write. They predict that those intensifying challenges will collide with a geopolitical structure that will become increasingly fragmented and fragile, as the U.S. competes with China for global leadership while citizens of both democracies and autocracies grow more dissatisfied with their leaders. How it works: The Global Trends Report, which is compiled every four years, is an example of strategic foresight, the science and art of using past and present trends to produce different scenarios about the medium- and longer-term future. Rather than attempting to outright predict where we'll be in 20 years which is all but impossible without an extremely accurate crystal ball such efforts are meant to present policymakers with possibilities about where the world might be headed and information about the major trends that will shape the future. Details: The clearest trend lines are in demographics: Over the next 20 years, richer countries will grow older and in some cases even begin to shrink, while whatever slowing population growth exists will be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. That will produce "extensive strains on infrastructure, education, and healthcare" in megacities that aren't prepared for it, the report's authors write. Another fairly certain trend line is intensifying climate change, which my Axios colleague Andrew Freedman reports "will lead to a less secure, more crisis-prone world that will strain global institutions." The social responses to these trends are less certain, but they'll play an even more important role in what the world will look like in 2040. Story continues The scarcest resource in the decades ahead won't be oil or rare earth metals, but social trust. According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, the majority of respondents in more than half of the countries polled are pessimistic that they and their families will be better off in five years an increase of 5% from the previous year. Even more worrying are the growing social divisions within trust, which has been exacerbated by the deeply unequal experience of the pandemic. While trust in institutions has risen over the past 20 years among the more educated and wealthy portions of the population, more than half of the rest of the public during the past decade has said the "system" is failing them. By the numbers: There is real fear that decades of global progress against extreme poverty and disease may be petering out and even reversing. About 150 million people fell out of the global middle class last year, the first time that demographic shrank since the 1990s. Raised expectations suddenly dashed by the reversal of growth is a recipe for pessimism, anger and social fragmentation all of which could be further stoked by the spread of the internet. What's next: The report lays out five scenarios for the future, ranging from a democratic renaissance led by a stronger and more united America to a chaotic world where no country is powerful enough to counter the challenges we face. Which future we get will depend in large part on technology AI and automation, clean energy, gene editing and more. If technological progress can jump-start economic growth for all while forestalling the worst effects of climate change, the world in 2040 will be a much easier place to navigate. If it can't, we may look back on 2020 as the good old days. What to watch: Unexpected X-factors. Should we experience something truly world-changing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a pandemic much more severe than COVID-19, a leap forward to true artificial general intelligence all bets for the future are off. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing of the GI Genius, the first device that uses artificial intelligence (AI) based on machine learning to assist clinicians in detecting lesions (such as polyps or suspected tumors) in the colon in real time during a colonoscopy. Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform health care to better assist health care providers and improve patient care. When AI is combined with traditional screenings or surveillance methods, it could help find problems early on, when they may be easier to treat. Studies show that during colorectal cancer screenings, missed lesions can be a problem even for well-trained clinicians. With the FDA's authorization of this device today, clinicians now have a tool that could help improve their ability to detect gastrointestinal lesions they may have missed otherwise." Courtney H. Lias, Ph.D. Acting Director of the GastroRenal, ObGyn, General Hospital and Urology Devices Office in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health According to the National Institutes of Health, colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. Colorectal cancer usually starts from polyps or other precancerous growths in the rectum or the colon (large intestine). As part of a colorectal cancer screening and surveillance plan, clinicians perform colonoscopies to detect changes or abnormalities in the lining of the colon and rectum. A colonoscopy involves threading an endoscope (thin, flexible tube with a camera at the end), through the rectum and throughout the entire length of the colon, allowing a clinician to see signs of cancer or precancerous lesions. The GI Genius is composed of hardware and software designed to highlight portions of the colon where the device detects a potential lesion. The software uses artificial intelligence algorithm techniques to identify regions of interest. During a colonoscopy, the GI Genius system generates markers, which look like green squares and are accompanied by a short, low-volume sound, and superimposes them on the video from the endoscope camera when it identifies a potential lesion. These signs signal to the clinician that further assessment may be needed, such as a closer visual inspection, tissue sampling, testing or removal, or ablation of (burning) the lesion. The GI Genius is designed to be compatible with many FDA-cleared standard video endoscopy systems. The FDA assessed the safety and effectiveness of the GI Genius through a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled study in Italy with 700 subjects 40-80 years old who were undergoing a colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, surveillance, positive results from a previous fecal immunochemical (fecal occult blood) test for blood in the stool or gastrointestinal symptoms of possible colorectal cancer. The primary analyses from the study were based on a sub-population of 263 patients who were being screened or surveilled every 3 years or more. Study subjects underwent either white light standard colonoscopy with the GI Genius (136 patients) or standard white light colonoscopy alone (127 patients). The primary endpoint of the study compared how often colonoscopy plus GI Genius identified a patient with at least one lab-confirmed adenoma (precancerous tumor) or carcinoma (cancerous tumor) to how often standard colonoscopy made the same identifications. In the study, colonoscopy plus GI Genius was able to identify lab-confirmed adenomas or carcinomas in 55.1% of patients compared to identifying them in 42.0% of patients with standard colonoscopy, an observed difference of 13%. While use of this device led to more biopsies being performed, there were no adverse events reported with the additional biopsies, such as perforations, infections or bleeding. However, there was a slight increase in the number of lesions biopsied that were not adenomas. The GI Genius is not intended to characterize or classify a lesion, nor to replace lab sampling as a means of diagnosis. The device does not provide any diagnostic assessments of colorectal polyp pathology, nor does it suggest to the clinician how to manage suspicious polyps. GI Genius only identifies regions of the colon within the endoscope's field of view where a colorectal polyp might be located, allowing for a more extended examination in real time during colonoscopy. It is up to the clinician to decide whether the identified region actually contains a suspected lesion, and how the lesion should be managed and processed per standard clinical practice and guidelines. The FDA reviewed the GI Genius through the De Novo premarket review pathway, a regulatory pathway for some low- to moderate-risk devices that are novel and for which there is no legally marketed predicate device to which the device can claim substantial equivalence. The FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health's Digital Health Center of Excellence is looking to the future of AI-based technology, including in its Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML)-Based Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) Action Plan. The FDA granted marketing authorization of the GI Genius to Cosmo Artificial Intelligence, Ltd. TOKYO - The number of Japan's "izakaya" dining bars that went bankrupt hit a record high in the year that ended in March, a sign some service-sector firms are being left behind even as the economy emerges from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic. A rebound in global growth and domestic consumption has helped the worlds third-largest economy recover from the doldrums, with business confidence improving to pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter. But industries that had been hardest-hit, such as restaurants, are likely to remain under pressure as Japan plans to place Tokyo under a new, month-long quasi-emergency state to combat surging COVID-19 cases. A total of 175 izakaya bars - a mainstay of Japanese working culture and late-night drinking - went under in fiscal 2020, up 17% from a year ago and the highest level since compable data became available two decades ago, think tank Tokyo Shoko Research said on Friday. People stayed away from the bars to avoid crowds. Small restaurants are also suffering from the cost of investing in equipment to prevent the spread of the virus such as partitions, Tokyo Shoko Research said. Operators of wedding halls also took a hit as people refrained from hosting big banquets, with nine of them going under in fiscal 2020, increasing for the second straight year, Tokyo Shoko Research said. The NSW coroner will consider a fresh inquest into a fatal fire at Sydney's Luna Park in 1979 after allegations the blaze was linked to an underworld figure. Seven people including six boys were killed in the blaze while riding the theme park's ghost train. Initial investigations pointed to an electrical fault and some subsequent inquiries proved non-conclusive. On June 9, 1975 a fire on the Ghost Train ride at Luna Park in Sydney (pictured) killed seven people and changed the lives of a community forever The Luna Park Ghost Train fire in June, 1979 claimed the lives of John Godson, and six children - Damien Godson, Craig Godson, Richard Carroll, Michael Johnson, Jonathan Billings and Seamus Rahilly NSW Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan on Saturday confirmed she would consider whether a fresh inquest should be held. 'The state coroner has received an application from a person with sufficient standing under ... the Coroners Act to seek a fresh inquest into the Luna Park Ghost Train fire of 1979,' her office said in a statement. The application was received on Thursday. 'The state coroner has made a formal request to NSW Police State Crime Command to conduct a review into all evidence concerning the cause and origin of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the deaths as a result of the fire,' the statement continued. Once reviewed, the coroner will make a decision on a further inquest. The consideration of a fresh inquest follows an ABC TV investigation into the fire, alleging it was deliberately lit and police helped cover up the crime. Footage from ABC's investigative documentary series EXPOSED shows police at the scene of Luna Park moments after the blaze in 1979 Following the airing of the program, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was scope for the matter to be reviewed. 'We've heard the plight of families and I can confirm that relevant parts of the NSW government are considering that,' the premier said last week. On the evening of June 9, 1979, John Godson and his two boys Damien, six, and Craig, four, plus mates Jonathan Billings, Richard Carroll, Michael Johnson, and Seamus Rahilly, aged 12 to 13, were killed in the fire. There are allegations the fire may have been linked to Sydney underworld figure Abe Saffron (pictured), in a bid to secure prime waterfront property The TV program alleged links between the fire and Sydney underworld figure Abe Saffron, in a bid to secure prime waterfront property. Mr Saffron has since died. In 2007 his niece Anne Buckingham claimed he was responsible for the fire and the NSW government at the time said it was open to the possibility of a fresh coronial investigation. Amid escalating cases of COVID-19 in Delhi, Chief Minister on Saturday said lockdown is "not an option" but some restrictions will be put in place in the national capital which is reeling under the fourth wave of the pandemic. The chief minister said this during an interaction with reporters after visiting the LNJP Hospital -- the mainstay of Delhi's fight against COVID-19 -- to review its preparedness. "Lockdown is not an option, however, we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. We will release the restrictions in the coming few days. COVID centres are being rebuilt and some have already started functioning," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the chief minister's office. Kejriwal said the administration and hospitals are working to contain the fourth wave of the pandemic in the city. "We are currently in a comfortable position with reference to beds and ventilators. We will ensure that the people of Delhi stay safe, to the best of our abilities," he added. cases in Delhi have mounted at a very rapid rate in the last few days, and the number of deaths too have risen. Delhi recorded 8,521 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest single-day surge since November 11 last year, while 39 more people died due to the infection, taking the death toll to 11,196. The highest single-day spike in Delhi till date -- 8,593 cases -- was reported on November 11 in 2020, while on November 19, the city had recorded 131 COVID-19 deaths, the highest single-day fatality count till date. "Chief Minister visited the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital on Saturday, to review its preparation in the face of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has hit Delhi. He took stock of the situation and the facilities provided to the patients in the hospital," the statement said. At present, 1,500 beds out of 2,000 are reserved for COVID-19 patients, and the number might be increased according to requirements in the future, Kejriwal said. "The last few days have seen a rise in the number of corona cases in the entire country, including Delhi. We need to simultaneously spearhead an aggressive vaccination campaign and also put in place measures that can effectively contain the spread of the virus along with making the hospital management equally effective," he said. This is the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Delhi. The last wave was in November after which the new cases had become so few in Delhi that "health system and agencies began to lax", he was quoted as saying in the statement. It is imperative that they gain their momentum again and begin to function in the same efficient manner that they did, which helped contain the spread of the virus, the chief minister said. "The Delhi government and hospitals of Delhi are working in earnest to revert to their November level of preparation that helped contain the virus," he said. The Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital has 2000 beds. During the last wave, all 2000 were declared as COVID beds. Right now, we have declared 1,500 of those as COVID beds, 500 are still non-COVID. Slowly, the outpatient department will also be shut at the hospital and if the situation demands, all 2,000 will be made available for COVID patients, the chief minister said. "Whatever is required by the hospitals from our end, will be provided. We sincerely hope and pray to God that no one falls prey to the disease but in the scenario that they do, we will ensure that the hospitals are ready for the challenge and the people of Delhi face no obstacles in recovery," he said. Asked about the vaccination campaign and preparation of the government in the face of rising cases, Kejriwal said, "I have written a letter to the prime minister (Narendra Modi), in which I have said that if adequate doses of the vaccination are made available to us; if we are given permission to increase the number of vaccination centres and if the age limit is removed then within 2-3 months we can vaccinate the entire state". "I cannot talk about the rest of the country, but according to Delhi government's level of preparation, if these three pre-conditions are met, we can assure you that all residents of Delhi will be vaccinated within 2-3 months," Kejriwal asserted. Once everyone is vaccinated, it will greatly aid in containing and ending the severity of the virus, he said. "At the moment, we have vaccination for 7-10 days and the conditions for administering them, particularly the age limit, are very rigid. According to me, there is an impending need to remove these obstacles that are coming in the way of the vaccination campaign," the statement said. During his visit to the hospital, Kejriwal also spoke to a patient admitted in the COVID-19 ward through a video call facility and enquired about his condition. With the help of the video call facility at LNJP, patients can directly talk to their family members, the statement said. If it quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, yet walks upright like a human, what do you call it? Meet Ferdinand, the Indian runner duck from Dapto, who rocked poultry history this week to win best bird at the 2021 Sydney Royal Easter Show. It is the first time a duck has won this honour in the shows 199-year history, and the tributes kept flowing as the news of the win spread. The two-year-old drake - a very upright type of waterfowl who walks and doesnt waddle - was feted with the rare honour of a spot in the shows Grand Parade. In a rare honour, the winning bird in the poultry, an Indian runner duck, was included in the Grand Parade at the Royal Sydney Easter Show. Garry Phillips, a Sydney Royal Poultry Show Special Awards judge, has presided over these awards for 58 years. But this one has created quite a stir, he said. Drop-down menus on online forms: They could be the death of us. On Thursday, journalist and programmer Dan Nguyen pointed out a darkly comic incident report connected to a flight over the summer. During a pandemic hiatus, an unnamed airline operator upgraded the system that helps ensure an accurate load sheetthe document tabulating the estimated weight of the passengers, crew, cargo, etc. The problem: The new system included titles and assumed that anyone listed as Miss must be a child. The incident report for the July 21 flight from Birmingham, England, to Mallorca, Spain, says: Advertisement The system allocated them a childs standard weight of 35 kg as opposed to the correct female standard weight of 69 kg. Consequently, with 38 females checked in incorrectly and misidentified as children, the G-TAWG takeoff mass from the load sheet was 1,244 kg below the actual mass of the aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement The report details that the crew noticed a discrepancy between the load sheet and a flight plan document that listed a higher weight total. The commander recalled thinking that the number was high but plausible, it says. So they took off. In the end, no one was injuredbut things could have gone differently. How could this happen? According to the report, The system programming was not carried out in the UK, and in the country where it was performed the title Miss was used for a child, and Ms for an adult female, hence the error. Advertisement Its a remarkable lesson in how cultural assumptions can be translated into code. Its also a lesson in how humans work: Before the Mallorca flight, the error had been noticed, and workers were checking the bookings to manually change each relevant Miss to Ms. A software fix was also implemented, but: A combination of the teams not working over the weekend and the online check-in being open early on Monday 20 July, 24 hours ahead of the flight, meant the incorrectly allocated passenger weights were not corrected. Perhaps it will be a long time before robots take all of our jobs. Here are some stories from the recent past of Future Tense. Elias Leake Quinn What if Big Data Helped Judges Decide Exactly What Words Mean? Elena DeBre What the Hell Are You Supposed to Do With Your Vaccine Card? Jennifer L. Piatt , James G. Hodge Jr. , and Leila Barraza When Can You Be Required to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine? Heesoo Jang A South Korean Chatbot Scandal Shows the Threat A.I. Presents to Privacy Joy Lisi Rankin For 50 Years, Tech Companies Have Tried to Increase Diversity by Fixing People Instead of the System Wish Wed Published This I Called Off My Wedding. The Internet Will Never Forget, by Lauren Goode, Wired Future Tense Recommends The first season of the new podcast The Opportunist is unsettling, to say the least. The first season profiles Sherry Shriner, a midwest mom and life-long churchgoer turned internet cult leader and the murder trial that ensued after one of her estranged followers was killed by his partner. The Opportunist details the ways that the internet can allow desperate people to find comfort in a community in which people reinforce one anothers bizarre beliefs. (Were talking stuff involving aliens, reptiles disguised as humans, and protective substance called orgone that Shriner and her acolytes believed would protect them from evil, with sprinklings of the Bible.) But its told with compassion, rather than the pointing and laughing that so often happens when storytellers try to explore conspiracy theories and cults. What Next: TBD On this weeks episode of Slates technology podcast, host Lizzie OLeary spoke with journalist Molly Fischer about her recent article for the Cut, The Therapy-App Fantasy, and how the pandemic has contributed to an explosion in services that promise to offer you real therapy from your own couch. Last week, Lizzie and the Washington Posts Dan Diamond discussed the vicious new battle over vaccine passports. Upcoming Events Wednesday, April 14, noon Eastern: How Will We Learn in the Future? Thursday, April 22, noon Eastern: Patrick Radden Keefe on his new book Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Advice limiting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in younger Australians would likely be overturned if there was a significant coronavirus outbreak. Expert vaccine advisers to the federal government have told The Sunday Age and Sun-Herald that Australias near elimination of coronavirus was central to its decision to preference the Pfizer vaccine for those aged under 50. But they warned this outlook could change. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation warned it was still a possibility that COVID-19 could leak into the community and cause death and disease, despite Australias strict border controls. Leading epidemiologist Jodie McVernon said the low rate of coronavirus in Australia was the reason experts had chosen a more cautious approach to the UK, which is still giving the green light to AstraZeneca vaccinations for anyone aged 30 and over. Police have warned a possible all-out gang war could erupt after the violent stabbing death of a teenager. Yannis Leulusoo, 16, was stabbed in the stomach while walking on Emma Miller Place, in Brisbane's CBD, about 8pm on Thursday. The teen then staggered 200m to nearby King George Square where he collapsed in a pool of blood. He died in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said any form of revenge style gang behaviour is not the answer. Yannis Leulusoo, 16, was stabbed in the stomach in Brisbane's CBD on Thursday - he later died in hospital Pictured: Police at the scene where Yannis Leulusoo was stabbed by an armed attacker in Brisbane's CBD on Thursday 'Retaliatory action is not going to benefit anyone; everyone loses out of that,' he said. 'The allegation is that one person has killed another person. If a person is found guilty of that, that is a life-imprisonment offence. 'I'd definitely call on people, if there is tensions simmering there, to cool it.' Superintendent Fleming also confirmed the accused killer was known to Leulusoo, who was probably unaware his life was in mortal danger at the time of the attack. 'I suspect the young man [who died] had no idea what was going to unfold,' he said. 'This is an aberration, a young man is dead. It's a homicide, it's horrific.' The pair were seen chatting about half an hour before the stabbing and it is also understood the teenagers were members of two rival gangs in Brisbane. Police are said to be closing in on the alleged killer. A close friend of Leulusoo described the footy-mad teen as 'kind and caring.' 'He always made sure his friends were right before himself, he always put them before himself,' the friend said. 'He was kind, caring...and he knew how to crack jokes.' TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain yesterday strongly condemned the Houthis terrorist attack using bobby-trapped drones against Saudi Arabia. The attack against civilians and civilian facilities in Saudi Arabias Khamis Mushait is a flagrant defiance of international norms and laws, said a Bahrain foreign ministry statement. Bahrain further affirmed full solidarity in the measures Saudi Arabia takes to protect citizens and residents. The statement praised the vigilance and the readiness of the coalition forces, which managed to intercept and destroy the plane. Arab coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Maliki said yesterday that they had destroyed a drone launched by Iran-backed Houthis towards Saudi Arabias Khamis Mushait. The coalition is taking operational measures to protect civilians following international humanitarian law, al-Maliki added. The Iran-backed group has launched dozens of aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months, targeting civilian areas and energy facilities in the Kingdom with explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles. The latest attack comes less than 24 hours after the coalition destroyed an explosive-laden drone launched by the Houthis militia towards Jazan. The attack targeting Jazan was the second on Thursday after the coalition intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone in Yemeni airspace launched by the Houthis toward the Kingdom. Regulatory News: TechnipFMC plc ("TechnipFMC") (NYSE: FTI) (Paris: FTI) (ISIN: GB00BDSFG982) announces that its U.K. Annual Report and Accounts for the period ended 31 December 2020 ("2020 Annual Report") has been published. A copy of the 2020 Annual Report has been submitted to the Autorite des marches financiers and can be found on the TechnipFMC website (investors.technipfmc.com). TechnipFMC's annual general meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m., London time, on Thursday, 20 May 2021 at Pitreavie Business Park, Queensferry Road, Dunfermline KY11 8UD, United Kingdom. About TechnipFMC TechnipFMC is a leading technology provider to the traditional and new energy industries, delivering fully integrated projects, products, and services. With our proprietary technologies and comprehensive solutions, we are transforming our clients' project economics, helping them unlock new possibilities to develop energy resources while reducing carbon intensity and supporting their energy transition ambitions. Organized in two business segments Subsea and Surface Technologies we will continue to advance the industry with our pioneering integrated ecosystems (such as iEPCI, iFEED and iComplete), technology leadership and digital innovation. Each of our approximately 20,000 employees is driven by a commitment to our clients' success, and a culture of strong execution, purposeful innovation, and challenging industry conventions. TechnipFMC utilizes its website as a channel of distribution of material company information. To learn more about how we are driving change in the industry, go to www.TechnipFMC.com and follow us on Twitter @TechnipFMC. Category: UK regulatory View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210409005482/en/ Contacts: Investor relations Matt Seinsheimer Vice President Investor Relations Tel: +1 281 260 3665 Email: Matt Seinsheimer James Davis Senior Manager Investor Relations Tel: +1 281 260 3665 Email: James Davis Media relations Nicola Cameron Vice President Corporate Communications Tel: +44 1383 742297 Email: Nicola Cameron Brooke Robertson Public Relations Director Tel: +1 281 591 4108 Email: Brooke Robertson New Delhi, April 10 : The farmers organisations will block KMP (Kundali-Manesar-Palwal) highway in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Saturday for 24 hours to press for their demand of withdrawal of the contentious farm laws passed by the Parliament last year. The farmers outfits have said common citizens will be treated well on the highway during the blockade. The farmers have been camping on Delhi borders since November 26 last year to press for their demand of withdrawal of three farm laws. The coalition of farmers organisation has said, "On behalf of all the farmers we assure you that during the KMP blockade, common citizens will be treated well and it will be completely peaceful.We urge the common citizens to extend their cooperation to the blockade." Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait has said that he will also take part in the program. Carriage vehicles, ambulances, vehicles carrying essential commodities will be exempted from the blockade. The farmers have planned a series of protests and demonstrations throughout this month. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Andrew Scott McGowan, of the Woodlawn Neighborhood, Bronx, N.Y., died on March 4, 2021, due to complications from cancer. Born on Jan. 7, 1940, he was the son of the late Andrew C. and Teresa Scott McGowan. Born and raised in Avoca, he was an honor graduate of Avoca High School, class of 1957. He proudly received his diploma from the AHS principal, who was also his father. Scott was educated at Fordham University (Ph.D., P.D. and M.S.) and the University of Scranton (B.S.), graduating magna cum laude, class of 1961. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC), he reported to Fort Ord, Calif., in December 1962. Discharged in June 1965 with the rank of captain, he was awarded the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service. He taught English at Harrison High School, N.Y., from 1965 to 1967. From 1967 to 1988, he was a school counselor and chair of the counseling department at Roosevelt HS, Yonkers, N.Y. He also worked as head counselor in an after-school program for disadvantaged youth. From 1988 until his retirement in 2014, he was a professor in the College of Education, Department of Counseling and Development, at Long Island University (LIU), C.W. Post Campus. In 2010, he was named a Long Island University senior professor, who has garnered international, national, regional and local reputation for scholarship and service to the counseling profession. During this period, he also served as LIUs coordinator of the Tactical Officers Education Program at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. His scholarly contributions include more than 240 public works in refereed journals, chapters in scholarly books and educational television, most notably American College Focus, a PBS broadcast. He also served two terms as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Counseling & Development, the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Scott received many honors and awards, including the David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching (LIUs most prestigious award for instructional excellence), the Outstanding Faculty Award from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, and the Fordham University, College of Education and Information Sciences Alumni Achievement Award. However, he was especially proud of the University of Scranton OHara Alumni Award in Education. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Marian Kearney McGowan; his son, Andrew S. McGowan Jr., his wife, Katy and their daughters, Isabella, 13, and Ariela, 10; and all of the Woodlawn Neighborhood, Bronx, N.Y. He also leaves his sister, Marianne McGowan and her husband, Richard Scaramozza, of Brookline, Mass.; as well as cousins, Carol Scott Ruane and her husband, James, Elizabeth, N.J., Ann Marie King Menta and her husband, Dominic of West Wyoming, Patrick F. Grady, Stroudsburg, Ambrose McGowan, Scranton, and James McGowan and his wife, Sally, of Ellicott City, Md. He is also survived by many loving second cousins in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah and Illinois. A funeral Mass was celebrated on March 9 at St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church, Bronx, N.Y. Interment followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Valhalla, N.Y., with full military honors. Donations may be sent to Disabled American Veterans (DAV.org) or the Woodlean Boys and Girls Club, P.O. Box 289, Bronx, NY 10470, or to a charity of choice. Former Deputy Minister for Information, Pius Enam Hadzide, has admonished the National Media Commission (NMC) to regulate Television and radio stations ensuring they don't show contents that showcase fetish activities. Ritualists and spiritualists claiming to double money have proliferated media stations in the country. The activities of these ritualists and spiritualists, some believe, majorly contribute to the quest for money rituals. For the purpose of money ritual, two teenage suspects, Felix Nyarko, 16, and Nicholas Kini, 18, allegedly murdered an 11-year old boy named Ishmael Mensah Abdallah at Kasoa last Saturday. The ghastly murder has revived concerns on the dangers associated with influx of the money doublers and ritual activities on TV and radio stations across the nation. Making submissions on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Hon. Enam Hadzide noted that the NMC is vested with power to shut down regulate any station that breaches the law by feeding the public with the wrong content. ''We must regulate and monitor the broadcasting space in this country...It cannot be true that if you sit on radio to peddle lies or sit on radio to damage the public morality or the Ghanaian identity, we should, in the name of freedom of speech, look on for you to operate; it cannot be true. The law authorizes the regulators to some extent shut down a media institution if you engage in such things'', he stated. He advised the NMC to set out ethical standards for all media stations. 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 Khloe Kardashian is feeling 'strong and happy,' after speaking out about her body image struggles. The 36-year-old reality star candidly spoke about warring with her weight and image for years, after an unedited photo of her in a bikini was leaked online without her permission last weekend. 'It was a huge release for her to be able to speak her truth finally and she is feeling strong and happy,' a source told Page Six. Living her truth: Khloe Kardashian, 36, is feeling 'strong and happy,' after speaking out about her body image struggles following leaked unedited photo drama over the weekend The insider shared with the publication: 'There's been an outpouring of support from friends, family and business partners. It's truly been amazing everyone applauding her for opening up about her struggles that they all know have been weighing on her for many years.' After a leaked photo of her in a bikini began circulating online last weekend, it was reported that she and her family were working overtime to wipe any trace of it from the internet. Khloe addressed the drama on Instagram days later, as she shared live videos of herself to prove that her body 'isn't photoshopped.' Subsequently she issued a lengthy statement where she spoke about the pressure of being in the spotlight and her body being 'micro-analyzed' as a public figure. Addressing the drama: Khloe addressed the drama on Instagram as she shared live videos to prove that her body 'isn't photoshopped' along with a lengthy statement Taking back power: 'My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice. It's not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable or not anymore,'she wrote Picture perfect: The Good American founder recently appeared unfiltered and un-airbrushed in a recent leaked snap - and not as flawless as she appears in her social media shots (seen here in a similar bikini in July 2020) The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star also revealed that being compared unfavorably to her siblings, Kim and Kourtney, in addition to 'constant ridicule and judgment' has been 'too much to bear.' An excerpt from her message read: 'As someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn't flattering in bad lighting or doesn't capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point and then shares it to the world, you should have every right to ask for it to not be shared, regardless of who you are. She continued: 'My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice. It's not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable or not anymore,' also adding that she likes a good filter, good lighting and an edit here and there. After the leak image and her subsequent statement, Page Six also reported that she has been been 'deluged with proposals' from health and fitness firms. Fitness offers: 'Khloe has been deluged with offers from health and fitness brands and companies in the wake of this,' a source told the New York Post column Now and then: In her statement she spoke about the pressure of being in the spotlight and her body being 'micro-analyzed' as a public figure 'Khloe has been deluged with offers from health and fitness brands and companies in the wake of this,' a source told the New York Post column. The insider continued: 'The unretouched photo was met with some criticism about how the Kardashians manipulate their images, but mostly the reaction to Khloe herself was positive. And opening up how she has struggled with her body image her entire life resonates with a lot of women.' Khloe - who has 136 million followers on Instagram - is also attracting the attention of campaign groups following the photo-editing controversy. A second source added that a 'lot of people' are 'interested in starting conversations, some new [to Khloe] with different ideas of how to partner (whether it be equity, campaign, social) and others she has partnered with before.' Photoshop backlash: This is not the first time Khloe or her sisters have been dragged for editing photos as she clapped back on Twitter before when people marveled at her looking disproportionate in Good American campaign photos After her statement millions commended her on her bravery and candor with regards to her struggles. Khloes famous sisters Kim, Kendall and Kylie, as well as mother Kris Jenner took to the comment section to send support, with 'momager' Kris writing: 'Khloe you are the kindest most loving, most supportive, most beautiful heart I have ever known, and I adore you and am so proud of you.... you are an inspiration to all of us and I appreciate and love you each and every single day. 'Thank you for teaching the rest of us to be kind and to not judge.... you are one of a kind.... what a blessing you are. You are a gift.' Not the first time Khloe or her sisters have been criticized for their love of facetune and often promoting unhealthy body standards, the most controversy started after the original bikini photo emerged on social media over the weekend. Proud: Khloe showed all the results of her time at the gym in the video which she shared on Wednesday Friends and family: Khloe's sisters Kim, Kendall and Kylie as well as Ariana Grande showed their support in the comments Mother's love: Kris Jenner branded Khloe a 'blessing' as she left a poignant comment The image in question shows Khloe standing by a pool wearing a skimpy leopard print string bikini and appearing unfiltered an un-airbrushed. Soon after it leaked on various forums online, members of the Kardashian PR team reported the posts as copyright infringement, due to the photo being posted without permission. In the candid image, which is still up on one subreddit, the mother-of-one appears to be mid-conversation and has her hair pulled up in a ponytail as she holds her phone and flashes a subtle smile at the photographer. The image seems to have been snapped at Kris Jenner's desert compound in La Quinta, California, where the Kardashian and Jenner clan just spent the Easter weekend. Soaring temperatures: Earlier this month, Khloe showed off her incredibly taut figure in a purple string bikini while relaxing by the pool in Palm Springs Fit: Khloe has admitted to struggling with her body image, and is attracting offers from various companies following the recent controversy, which saw an un-airbrushed picture of her appear on Instagram before it was removed While most would be proud to look so good in a bikini, it's not hard to see that Khloe looks very different to her highly glamorized Instagram images. In the alleged unedited snap, her waistline appears less defined, her curves less dramatic and her skin not as impossibly smooth as it looks in her carefully staged glossy fashion shoots. Tracy Romulus, Kim Kardashian's BFF and chief marketing officer for KKW brands, said in a statement to Page Six: 'The color edited photo was taken of Khloe during a private family gathering and posted to social media without permission by mistake by an assistant. 'Khloe looks beautiful but it is within the right of the copyright owner to not want an image not intended to be published taken down.' The mistake could well cost the assistant their job, as the Kardashian team have been unable to contain the leak. After the photo surfaced on Saturday it spread across the internet before quickly disappearing on many sites. Comparison: She spoke about being called the 'fat sister' for years and the toll its taken It wasn't long before reports emerged from Reddit users who were asked to take the photo down, with some allegedly receiving legal threats from the Kardashian team because of 'copyright infringement'. A user named 'Calithetroll' started a subreddit to discuss the Kardashian PR team's attempt to remove all of the posts online. They explained that 'after reposting the picture, the mods confirm that someone reached out to them warning them about potential legal action due to the picture.' Some people, including subreddit moderators who attempted to share the Khloe photo, were reported for posting 'personal and confidential' information. It's unclear how the photo originally leaked online. There is some speculation on Reddit that it was Kris Jenner's mom MJ that posted it on her 'finsta' which is the term used for a 'fake Instagram' created by users to share more candid snaps with only with their closest friends and family. However, screenshots of a Instagram conversation show Romulus contacting one poster and claiming the image of Khloe was 'stolen and doctored and originated from a fake IG account.' Despite the Kardashian clan scrabbling to take down the photo, much of the Reddit commentary about it was positive. 'Are you kidding? There is one pic of her looking actually natural and gorgeous with some flaws and she wants it gone from the internet?!' one person wrote. Controversy: Khloe has long been under fire for her changing face and body, with many accusing the KUWTK star of brazenly photoshopping her Instagram posts Hitting out: As a host of her 112million Instagram followers swarmed the comments section, one penned: 'Why do you look so different', before the famously-funny star hit back: 'My weekly face transplant clearly', much to her fans' delight 'I am loving this hot tea. Kinda sad though. Khloe looks so stunning in it.' another added to the discussion. 'Is this the photo they're talking about or a different one? Because this pic looks good?' another user chimed in. Khloe has come under fire in recent years for her changing face and body, with many accusing the KUWTK star of brazenly photoshopping her Instagram posts to an extent fans sometimes struggle to recognize her. Following a slew of questions from fans, cosmetic and injectables specialist Claire McGuinness weighed in on the discussion, offering her opinion on what changes Khloe may have made. She speculated that the mother-of-one had changed her appearance so dramatically thanks to a combination of 'surgery, injectables, weight loss... and filters, makeup and lighting'. Comparisons: Khloe chalks her morphing looks up to picture perfect contouring done by shading and highlighting through makeup (Left 2019, right 2008) However, sources insisted that Khloe is not concerned with the backlash over her changing looks. An insider told UsWeekly back in May: 'Khloe doesn't care about the backlash she's been getting from fans saying she doesn't look like herself in her recent photos.' 'She thinks she looks great,' the insider adds. 'And actually [she] does not care what people think as long as she's happy.' She's certainly having a sense of humor about it at least, after clapping back to fans who have questioned her new look. After being asked by a fan 'Why do you look so different in all your photos?', Khloe hit back: 'My weekly face transplant clearly.' Khloe's changing appearance has undoubtedly been controversial in recent months, but she has denied going under the knife to achieve her new look. Changes: Following a slew of questions from fans, cosmetic and injectables specialist Claire McGuinness weighed in on the discussion, offering her opinion on what changes Khloe may have made In 2016, Khloe admitted to having fillers to change her facial shape, and in the same year she was made the face of Kybella and its Live Chin Up campaign. Kybella is an increasingly popular new treatment that targets double chins. The FDA-approved injectable, available at Cosmetique Aesthetics in LA, contours and improves fatty areas. She has admitted to getting Botox and fillers in the past but said she had them dissolved after feeling like she looked 'crazy.' To this day, Khloe maintains she has never had a rhinoplasty, and says her nose looks slimmer because of contouring. In 2013, she told Cosmopolitan magazine that she had never had cosmetic surgery but did not rule it out for the future. 'I'm proud for losing weight when I wanted to and I've never resorted to surgery,' she said. 'I'm not against it - one day I probably will but it would be on my terms. I won't be bullied into it by social media or anyone else.' GOP Senators Object to Unrelated Items in Bidens $2 Trillion Infrastructure Package Republican senators say they fully support fixing infrastructure, but oppose President Joe Bidens $2 trillion infrastructure package because includes unrelated items that unnecessarily increase the national debt. Its mostly not spending money on infrastructure and so it seems that they have established no upper bound limit on how much we spend, no questions have been answered about what needs to be a state responsibility, what needs to be a federal responsibility, or how we pay for it, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Fox News on Thursday. These policies are not sustainable, the spending levels are out of control and these are all going to lead to economic catastrophe, said Lee. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters earlier this week that he has no problem with funding infrastructure projects but his definition of infrastructure differs from his Democratic colleagues. Theres broad bipartisan support for tackling the infrastructure issue, but it depends on what your definition is. This package that theyve laid out at the beginning, styled infrastructure is a Trojan horse for massive tax increases and a whole lot of more debt, said McConnell. He added that he hopes some Democrats will join Republicans for a more focused bill that takes spending into consideration. Hopefully therell be some Democrats who share our views that we had to tackle infrastructure in a more modest way targeted at the problem and credibly paid for, rather than adding it to the national debt. Meanwhile, Biden said the definition of infrastructure is constantly evolving and must include more than roads, bridges, and airports. The idea of infrastructure has always evolved to meet the aspirations in American people and their needs. And its evolving again today. We need to start seeing infrastructure through its effect on the lives of working people in America, Biden said at a press conference Wednesday. He said he is open to debate with Republicans but cautioned that he will not be open to inaction. Now since I announced this plan. Ive heard from my Republican friends, say that its many of them say its too big and say why not focus on traditional infrastructure, fix what weve already got, roads and highways exist and the bridges. Im happy to have that debate. But Id say my view. We are America. We dont just fix for today, we build for tomorrow, Biden added. The bill is largely padded with climate change and social-program spending and includes non-infrastructure items such as funding non-fossil fuel energy, electric transportation, childcare, agriculture, housing, schools, and land protection. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said that although the definition of infrastructure is malleable, like Bidens including an eldercare provision in the bill, they that dont fit under the category of infrastructure, and lawmakers should include those in separate legislation. So why dont we call, what they are, and consider them under the appropriate committee of jurisdiction go through so-called regular order in the United States Senate, that brings transparency to the process and ensures we spend every single taxpayer dollar as if it were our own, Young told Fox News on Thursday. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he would like to see the Biden administration do two separate bills, one for core infrastructure and another for their added priorities. If the proposal was to do just that [focus on core infrastructure] I dont think thered be a problem with a bipartisan group of supporters for this package. Ive reached out to the White House, a couple of times now, and said, youve got a an easy bipartisan win here, if youll keep this package narrowly focused on infrastructure, Blunt told ABC. President Joe Biden at an event announcing funding for Amtrak as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. Larry Downing/Reuters President Joe Biden's long political history included years of advocating for Amtrak funding. Biden earned the nickname "Amtrak Joe" as he commuted between Delaware and Washington for decades. The nickname hit mainstream media in 2008, starting with CNN. See more stories on Insider's business page. When President Ronald Reagan in 1981 moved to trim $884 million from a budget used by Amtrak, Senator Joe Biden was the only member of the Senate Budget Committee to vote against Reagan's plan. "You can't come back next year or the next year and change it," Biden said, according to a report from United Press International. "Those railroads will have gone." Now, four decades later, Biden's in the seat once held by Reagan. And he's announced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which would include $80 billion for Amtrak. The money would go toward expanding and fixing the country's crumbling railway infrastructure, which he's fought in favor of for his whole career in Washington. It's often said that Biden's nickname is "Amtrak Joe," although it's difficult to pinpoint when that nickname started to solidify. In the late 2000s, as Biden joined Barack Obama on the presidential ticket, the nickname started popping up regularly on CNN. The first record that Insider could find of a prominent news outlet using "Amtrak Joe" was from August 2008, when CNN's Soledad O'Brien called him by the nickname on air. "Coming up next, more on the Washington insider who is also a proud Delaware outsider. They called him the Amtrak Joe Biden. God, I have seen him on Amtrak a lot," O'Brien said as she threw to a commercial, according to a transcript. The following month, The New York times published a blog post using the nickname. We've combed newspaper archives dating back to Biden's early days as a senator, pulling some of his long-ago quotes about Amtrak. Here's a brief history of Biden's interactions with Amtrak. Story continues In October 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Rail Passenger Service Act to create Amtrak, which was then called the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, according to Amtrak's official history. Three years later, Biden entered office. Biden wearing aviators on a train. Larry Downing/Reuters During his decades in the Senate, Biden commuted home to Delaware each day via Amtrak to be home with his sons at night. CNN estimated he took about 8,000 round trips on the same route. Throughout the 1980s, Biden's name popped up in budget stories about Amtrak. He often butted heads with Reagan about railroad spending. In May 1985, for example, Reagan had proposed slashing Amtrak's budget. Biden at the time said the cuts were "a creeping regionalism," according to The Providence Journal. "I'm really beginning to wonder if we're seven regions or one country," he said. "Why should we help? I'll tell you why we should help: We're Americans. A simple reason." In 1987, when Biden launched his bid for the Democratic nomination for president, he chose a Delaware train station as his backdrop, according to UPI. This artist's 1999 rendering of the Acela. Amtrak via Reuters Amtrak announced in the late 1990s that it was developing a high-speed rail for the north-east, called the Acela. Biden said it was "the single most important transportation need in America," according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "That would be hundreds of thousands of tons of pollution," Biden said, according to the report. "Amtrak is important not only because it helps our quality of life. It literally impacts our health." A few years later, after Obama won the presidential election, the first and second families travelled together via the railway to the inauguration. The Obamas and Bidens on their way to Washington for Obama's inauguration in 2009. Jim Young/Reuters As vice president, Biden was often sent to blue-collar states to campaign for Obama's reelection, using the political skills he's honed riding the train for all those years, as The Daily Beast reported in 2012. "This is, after all, a guy famous for making friends with anyone and everyone - fellow travelers, train conductors, red caps - he crossed paths with on his old Amtrak commute from Delaware," the magazine said. Biden's 2020 presidential campaign was also interwoven with Amtrak. During 2020, he travelled by train to several states, making whistle-stop speeches as he went. Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign stop in Ohio in 2020. Mike Segar/Reuters He'd planned to take a train to Washington, as he'd done with Obama 12 years earlier but cancelled the trip amid security concerns, after rioters mobbed the Capitol. In a statement, Biden's team said: "In the week since the attack on Congress by a mob that included domestic terrorists and violent extremists, the nation has continued to learn more about the threat to our democracy and about the potential for additional violence in the coming days, both in the National Capital Region and in cities across the country. This is a challenge that the President-elect and his team take incredibly seriously." When Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held their first trans-Atlantic phone call, some of their conversation reportedly focused on a mutual love of train travel. More recently, a few days after announcing the infrastructure deal, he said. "Imagine a world where you and your family can travel coast to coast without a single tank of gas, or in a high-speed train, close to as fast as you can go across the country in a plane." Amtrak Connects US, the railway's vision for train travel in the US in 2035. Amtrak Amtrak published a map of an expanded US rail network based on Biden's funding proposal. Materials prepped for the announcement said the plan would bolster transportation options for diverse populations throughout the country. The new routes include cities that haven't before been connected to the national rail service, including western outposts like Las Vegas and Phoenix. It would also break ground on routes throughout the southern US, including ones to Nashville, Tennessee; Montgomery, Alabama; and Macon, Georgia. Materials prepped for the announcement said the plan would bolster transportation options for diverse populations throughout the country. "Millions of people, including large populations of people of color, do not have access to a reliable, fast, sustainable, and affordable passenger rail option. This is neither fair nor equitable," the railway said. Read the original article on Business Insider Former Deputy Information Minister, Pius Enam Hadzide has charged the Police to arrest drivers who use sirens while plying the roads in the country. The culture of siren blowing has become rampant. Almost every second or minute, drivers, particularly those who drive expensive cars like Land Cruiser, are spotted hooting sirens to avoid traffic and quickly speed up to their destinations. What is more dangerous is that the identity of these drivers is usually unidentifiable, therefore one doesn't see whether the siren blower is permitted by law or not. Addressing the issue in a panel discussion on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, the former Minister vented his anger on the indiscriminate siren blowers. He sided with the host of the programme, Kwami Sefa Kayi, who equally expressed worry over the attitude of such drivers that such people should be checked because the attitude is appalling. Pius Enam Hadzide directed the Police to apprehend those drivers to serve as deterrent to others. "I am encouraging even the Police to begin arresting them. If they arrest them, we will know that politicians might not be the ones to blame. Also, it poses security risks. What if the person is a thief who has stolen a Land Cruiser and passing by? So, at least, stop them and check to see their identity," he stated. 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 political controversy erupted in West Bengal during the fourth phase of the elections when BJP's IT cell released an audio tape of Trinamool' election strategist where he was heard saying a 'ClubHouse' chat that Prime Minister is hugely popular in West Bengal and this is one of the factors that will decide which party sweeps the state. BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's election strategist had accepted the BJP's victory. Malviya shared the audio of Prashant Kishor's discussion on the ClubHouse platform on social media. In this, Kishor is chatting with some journalists. In a public chat on ClubHouse, Mamata Banerjee's election strategist concedes that even in TMC's internal surveys, BJP is winning. The vote is for Modi, polarisation is a reality, the SCs (27 per cent of WB's population), Matuas are all voting for the BJP, Amit Malviya- National in-charge of BJP's Information & Technology department wrote in his tweet. In the audio, Kishor is saying that on a public chat at the clubHouse, admitted that BJP is winning in TMC's internal survey too. People are voting for Modi and polarization has taken place. SC and Matua, 27 per cent of Bengal's population all voted for the BJP. Another candid admission by Kishor is that -- all that the Left, Congress and TMC ecosystem have done in the last 20 years is Muslim appeasement. Implication? It has resulted in resentment on the ground. The speakers had not realised that the chat was public, Malviya wrote. That moment when Mamata Banerjee's strategist realised that the ClubHouse room was open and his admissions were being heard by the public at large and not just a handful of Lutyens journalist. Deafening silence followed, Malviya added. Prashant Kishor was immediate to react. "I am happy that the people of BJP are taking my clubHouse chat more seriously than the statements of their leaders. I appeal to them to release the entire conversation except for some part of the chat. In the part that has been released, the question was being answered about how BJP is getting 40 per cent votes and how it has been thinking that the BJP is winning. He also said through social media that the BJP will not be able to cross the 100 mark in Bengal elections" Kishore tweeted. --IANS saibal/skp/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probes deep into the extortion racket, fresh evidence is pouring in on the close affiliation between suspended cop Sachin Vaze and his mentor, Pradeep Sharma, also known as the 'encounter king' of the Mumbai Police. A prominent leader and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA told IANS that Sharma had reportedly approached the BJP government to reinstate his protege Sachin Vaze in 2016. The BJP MLA, requesting anonymity, said: "The meeting took place at Hotel Leela Kempinski located near the Mumbai airport. Sharma, a well known personality of the Mumbai Crime Branch known for executing innumerable police encounters, had personally come to the hotel for the said meeting. He requested a BJP leader to reinstate his protege and former subordinate Vaze in the police department. But the BJP government had outrightly rejected the request. "After Pradeep Sharma's efforts turned futile, the Shiv Sena's top leadership approached the BJP for reinstating Sachin Vaze in the police department. This request was too rejected on the grounds that he was involved in court cases of serious nature." Meanwhile NIA sleuths are gathering more evidence against Sharma who allegedly provided logistic support to Vaze in planting the explosive-laden SUV near Antilia, the multi-storey residence of top industrialist Mukesh Ambani in South Mumbai. During his questioning, Vaze has indicated that he procured gelatin sticks, used as explosives in this case, through Sharma's contact, a revelation which obviously requires documentary evidence to be proved in court. Commenting on Sharma's close relations with Vaze, BJP spokesperson Ram Kadam said: "I do not wish to comment on the criminal nexus of these police officers... But I can at least confirm that Sharma was Vaze's mentor, a fact known to everyone in the police." Sharma, who resigned from his high profile police job to contest the Assembly polls on a Shiv Sena ticket in 2019, runs an NGO, PS Foundation, which has blessings of several police officers including Vaze. He has been a frequent visitor to Vaze's Crime Branch office, housed in the sprawling Mumbai Police headquarters building. "What makes Sharma a prima facie suspect in the case, is not just his affiliation with Vaze, but his few crucial meetings with the accused, which were held after the execution of crime. These meetings indicate that Sharma was trying to help Vaze, who was caught on camera, while planting a threat letter in the explosive laden vehicle," said an officer of the Mumbai Police associated with the probe of Mansukh Hiran murder case. Sources said that Vaze's erstwhile boss in the Crime Branch, Sharma, had met his former subordinate at the Mumbai Police headquarters in the first week of March. Besides meeting Vaze, Sharma had also seen Vinayak Shinde, an accused along with Vaze in murder of Hiran, whose SUV was used in planting explosives. Shinde, a tainted constable had earlier worked with Sharma and was reportedly introduced to Vaze through the encounter specialist. Sources said that another important meeting between Vaze and Sharma was held outside the Crime Branch office, probably somewhere in western suburbs of Mumbai. After a series of such meetings, Vaze was subsequently not seen in his office for days, and was finally arrested by the NIA on the night of March 13. It is perceived that Pradeep Sharma and Sachin Vaze were close since their early days in the police department. Later the encounter duo came close to the Shiv Sena leadership. It was initially Vaze who joined Shiv Sena in 2007 and was appointed as party spokesperson. In late 2019, when the Shiv Sena came to power in Maharashtra, Vaze, who was placed under suspension for years, got reinstated in service by the state government in 2020. Close on the heels of Sachin Vaze, Pradeep Sharma too resigned from police service and joined Shiv Sena in 2019. He was given a ticket by the party to contest from the Nallasopara seat but lost the polls. However Pradeep Sharma's relations with Sachin Vaze and Shiv Sena grew more stronger. No wonder, Sharma was spotted in all important functions of Shiv Sena leaders held in Mumbai. Both Sharma and Vaze had gunned down dozens of sharpshooters of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. While Vaze claimed to have killed 63 gangsters in police encounters, Sharma reportedly eliminated over 300 criminals in his 35-year-old police career. Sharma who has a large following in police, is also known as "Encounter King" by his team members for killing the highest numbers of wanted gangsters. Scripts of several Bollywood films, including "Ab tak Chappan", "Satya", "Company" and many more were inspired by Sharma's action against the dreaded Mumbai underworld dons. NEW DELHI: Two encounters broke out between a joint team of police and security forces and terrorists at Hadipora area of Shopian and Semthena area located at Bijbehara Tehsil in Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday (April 10). According to reports, two to three terrorists are said to be trapped in the Hadipora area where heavy firing is said to be taking place between both sides. More details are awaited. On April 9, at least seven terrorists, including terror outfit Ansar Ghazwatul Hind chief Imtiaz Ahmad Shah, were gunned down by security forces in two encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian and Pulwama districts. "Five terrorists have been killed in a Shopian operation, while two others were killed in the encounter at Nowbugh in Tral area of Pulwama district," a police official said. Earlier, the Kashmir Zone Police had said that efforts were being made to get two militants hiding inside a mosque in Shopian after an overnight encounter to surrender. "Brother of holed up #terrorist & local Imamsahab sent inside mosque to persuade the #terrorists to come out & #surrender. Efforts are on to save the mosque," the police said in a tweet. The police had earlier tweeted about the Ansar Ghazwatul Hind chief trapped inside the mosque. "Chief of proscribed #terrorist outfit AGuH (JeM) trapped," the tweet said. The encounter in Shopian town had broke out on Thursday (April 8) evening. Live TV In a separate incident, terrorists shot dead an Army jawan, who had come home on leave, in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, police said. The ultras shot at and injured Havaldar Salim outside his residence at Goriwan in Bijbehara area of the district, a police official said. Salim was rushed to the hospital but he succumbed to his injuries, the official said. An Accra Juvenile Court C will, on April 29, commence trial of the final year student of the Nungua Kroma Two Junior High School, accused of assaulting a teacher who punished him for failure to do his homework. He has denied conspiring with 15 other men to assault the teacher and is currently on remand. The Court on Thursday completed its Case Management Conference after witness statements and disclosures were filed. The prosecution is expected to call five witnesses during the trial. It earlier told the Court that the accused (name withheld) refused to do his homework and after he was punished, he dashed home to call 15 other young men who allegedly stormed the school in a Sprinter bus and attacked the teacher, inflicting wounds on his face. The teacher, Mr Moses Onyameasem, was rescued by his colleagues and rushed to the LEKMA Hospital, Accra, where he was treated and discharged. After the attack, the mother of the pupil was also alleged to have gone to the school and verbally assaulted the teacher, the prosecution said, adding that the development led to the closure of the School. On Monday, February 22, at about 1215 hours, the teacher, accompanied by Mr Roger Asempa, the Head Teacher, went to the Police Station to report the assault. The teacher reported that earlier at about 1200 hours, a student in his class and 15 other young men from the Nungua town came to the School in a bus to physically assault him. Prosecution said a medical form was issued to the complainant to seek medical attention, whilst a joint stakeholder meeting was held over the incident. 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 The Corner Hotel in Melbourne's Richmond has lost a Federal Court trademark battle over another venue's use of the word 'corner'. The award-winning pub, which has hosted some of the world's biggest music names, registered trademarks for The Corner, Corner Hotel, Corner and Corner Presents. Operators Swancom took the CBD pub Jazz Corner Hotel, its associated Corner Cafe and Bird's Basement music venue to court over their trademarks that includes the word 'corner'. The three businesses are in the same building, owned by the same group and are close, but not actually on a street corner. The Corner Hotel in Melbourne's Richmond (pictured) has lost a Federal Court trademark battle over another venue's use of the word 'corner' Federal Court Justice Michael O'Bryan on Friday dismissed Swancom's claim against the venues, and the Jazz Corner Hotel's counter-claim against the Richmond pub. He said the Swancom and Jazz Corner trademarks were obviously similar in so far as their respective uses of the words hotel and corner. But in his judgment delving into the definitions of the words "corner", "pub", "hotel" and 'jazz', Justice O'Byran said the risk a member of the public might be confused about live music offered by the two venues was remote. 'I take judicial notice of the fact that, in Australia, hotels or, more colloquially, 'pubs' (a business licensed to serve alcoholic drinks on the premises) are often located on street corners,' Justice O'Bryan said. The pub took Melbourne CBD venue Jazz Corner Hotel (pictured) to court over their trademarks that includes the word 'corner' The Richmond pub claimed the CBD venues' use of terms including The Jazz Corner Hotel and The Jazz Corner Cafe, was deceptively similar to that used by Swancom. 'From the earliest days of European settlement of Australia to the present day, hotels have been named the "Corner Hotel",' the judge said. 'I consider that ordinary members of the public should be credited with a general knowledge that there are many businesses, broadly in the hospitality industry, which use the name "corner".' The Corner Hotel has hosted names including Powderfinger, Midnight Oil and Paul Kelly. In 2006 U2 recorded a film clip for its song Window in the Skies at the pub. Crowded House released a DVD of its 1996 performances at the venue. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 17:15:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- A 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted East Java, a province in west Indonesia, on Saturday, but did not potentially trigger a tsunami, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said. The agency initially released a report that the quake had a magnitude of 6.7, but updated it to 6.1 minutes later, the agency said. There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties following the quake, but risk assessment has been undertaken, the National Disaster Management Agency's spokesman Raditya Jati told Xinhua by phone. "The risk assessment of the impact of the quake is being carried out," the spokesman said. The quake occurred at 2 p.m. Jakarta time (0700 GMT) with the epicenter at 96 km south of Kepanjen town of Malang district and the depth at 80 km under the seabed. The intensity of the quake was felt at IV MMI (modified Mercalli intensity) in Karangkates village of Malang as well as other parts of the district and Blitar district, and III to IV MMI was felt in the districts of Kediri, Trenggalek and Jombang, the agency said. The tremors were also felt in nearby resort island of Bali and West Nusa Tenggara province, it said. Enditem Young minors lie inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/Pool/AP Photo) Democrats Rebuff GOP Calls for Public Hearings on Border Crisis Top Senate Democrats have rebuffed a request by Republicans to hold an ad hoc public hearing to question Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership about the U.S.Mexico border crisis, saying that the annual DHS oversight hearing, to be held in due course, would provide an opportunity to question administration officials. In a sharply worded April 9 letter, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Senate Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) wrote that when Republicans chaired the committee and subcommittee during the Trump administration, Democrats requests for hearings and oversight action on border policies faced pushback. Over the last four years, the Committee ignored the worst abuses of President Trumps Administration, including the cruel separation of thousands of children from their parents at the border, a travel ban targeting mostly Muslim-majority countries, and the attempted termination of deportation protections for more than 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who grew up in this country, the Democratic senators wrote. They said Durbin, who served as a ranking member on the Immigration Subcommittee during Trumps tenure and now serves as its chairman, repeatedly asked Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who then headed the subcommittee, to hold hearings addressing immigration issues. Then-Chairman Cornyn never responded, the senators wrote. Cornyn and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), when they chaired the committee and subcommittee, held at least 15 hearings related to oversight of DHS during the Trump administration. Durbin and Padillas letter is in response to an April 1 letter by Grassley and Cornyn, who called on Democrats to schedule a public hearing and an opportunity to question Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials about the border crisis. While we may not agree on the causes of or the solutions to this crisis, we believe it is vitally important for the Senate Judiciary Committee to exercise its oversight authority and seek testimony from Secretary Mayorkas and relevant officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the situation at the border and the Biden Administrations response to it, Grassley and Cornyn wrote. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Cornyn, the top Republican on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, said they recently toured the southern border and were compelled by what they witnessed to call for the hearings. Our recent visit to the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the southern border only served to reaffirm our view that the situation has gotten exponentially worse in the last three months, becoming a crisis, and that the Judiciary Committee should hold hearings on this topic, the GOP senators wrote. Spokespersons for Durbin and Padilla didnt respond to requests for comment by press time. Border encountersa widely used but imperfect gauge that tells how many times U.S. authorities came across people crossing the border into the United States illegallyhave soared during President Joe Bidens first months in office. Encounters totaled more than 172,000 in March, up from about 100,000 the previous month and the highest since March 2001. In another alarming statistic, nearly 19,000 children traveling alone were stopped at the U.S.Mexico border in March, smashing previous highs set during periods of heavy child migration in 2014 and 2019. Encounters dont tell the full story, however, as they dont reflect the number of people who manage to cross the border. A Customs and Border Protection official said on April 5 that well over 100,000 illegal border crossers have evaded capture by Border Patrol agents this year, adding to the alarm already raised around the growing number of monthly apprehensions. Deputy Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told Fox News Channels Americas Newsroom that the agency has resources at its disposal allowing estimates of how many people are actually getting away from us, adding that so far in 2021, this figure stands at way over 100,000 people. Separately, Ortiz earlier estimated that more than 1 million illegal immigrants would arrive at the U.S.Mexico border in 2021. Were already starting to see some higher days of 6,000-plus apprehensions, Ortiz told reporters on March 30. So I fully expect our border patrol agents to encounter over a million people this year. While the Biden administration has said the border isnt open, Biden reversed or altered a number of key Trump era provisions, which contributed to the surge, experts have told The Epoch Times. In dozens of interviews with The Associated Press over the past two weeks, migrants generally said circumstances in Central America drove them to leave their homes and set out for the United States. When asked about Biden, nearly all said his relatively pro-immigration positions influenced their thinking. Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to this report. AS Covid-19 deaths show little sign of abating, good news has come to Trinidad and Tobago of a vaccine gift from the United States. According to Shante Moore, Charge dAffaires at the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, this gift comes with no hidden conditions and imposing conditions as other countries are doing. New Delhi: Reacting to his leaked Club House room audio chat, Trinamool Congress` (TMC) poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Saturday reiterated that BJP will not cross 100 seats in the West Bengal Assembly election 2021. He also added that the BJP should show courage by sharing the full chat instead of the selective part. "I am glad BJP is taking my chat more seriously than the words of their own leaders! They should show courage and share the full chat instead of getting excited with the selective use of parts of it. I have said this before and repeating again - BJP will not CROSS 100 in West Bengal," tweeted Kishor. I am glad BJP is taking my chat more seriously than words of their own leaders! They should show courage & share the full chat instead of getting excited with selective use of parts of it. I have said this before & repeating again - BJP will not to CROSS 100 in WB. Period. Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) April 10, 2021 An audio chat of Club House room involving Prashant Kishor and a few journalists was leaked on social media. "There is no anti-incumbency against PM Modi. The PM has become a cult in the country. PM Modi is popular in Bengal. The Hindi speaking people is the core support base of BJP in Bengal. PM Modi is very popular here. PM Modi and Mamata are equally popular in Bengal," Kishore reportedly said in that conversation. "When we made a survey and asked people whose government will be formed in Bengal. The outcomes predominantly come in favour of the BJP. The majority says BJP`s government will be formed. There are sufficient workers of BJP on the ground. If we leave one or two districts, everywhere there are strong cadets of BJP," added Kishor. "Suvendu Adhikari is not a factor. Hindus, schedule caste, Dalit and Hindi speaking population are the key factors. Around 50-55 per cent of Hindus are voting for BJP. There are around one crore Hindi speaking population in West Bengal. Matuas will predominantly vote for the BJP. When we made a survey and asked people whose government will be formed in Bengal. The outcomes predominantly come in favour of the BJP. In-ground there are workers of BJP," explained Kishor. He further said the parties like Congress, Left and TMC has been practising appeasement politics in West Bengal. "For the last 20 years, there has been a blatant effort to appease the minority. The entire political ecosystem in Bengal be it Left, Congress or Didi have been to grab the Muslim votes. There is some element that BJP is exploiting. And that element is coming from the blatant misuse of minority politics," he stated. The election strategist was roped in by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021. The election strategist was roped in by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 and had indicated in the past that he will quit the space if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) performs any better in the state than his prediction. As a political strategist, Kishor worked with many parties to win the elections. He helped Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar to win the Assembly polls in 2015. Following this, Kumar appointed Kishor as the vice president of JD-U. However, Kishor was expelled from JD-U in January 2020 over his disagreement with the party on the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Recently he has been appointed as the Principal Advisor by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls in the state. Last year, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin had announced his party`s collaboration with Prashant Kishor`s poll strategy group Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) for the 2021 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Voting for 44 constituencies in West Bengal`s fourth phase Assembly elections began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security. This phase of the elections will witness an intense battle between 373 candidates in 44 constituencies of the state across five districts - Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar. A total of 1,15,81,022 voters will participate in this phase, out of which 2,63,016 are first-time voters. The fifth phase of the Assembly elections will commence on April 17. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (With Agency Inputs) Live TV Beijing, April 10 : Taking its war against Jack Ma-founded empire to a serious level, Chinese regulators on Saturday slapped a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) on e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding. The fine was imposed on Alibaba for violating anti-monopoly rules as the country seeks to rein in the power of internet conglomerates. "Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination," the Hangzhou-based company said in a statement. "To serve its responsibility to society, Alibaba will operate in accordance with the law with utmost diligence, continue to strengthen its compliance systems and build on growth through innovation," it added. According to South China Morning Post (owned by Alibaba), the fine on Ma's company by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) was more than double the previous record of 6.1 billion yuan paid by chip-maker Qualcomm. In November, China proposed sweeping antitrust regulations targeting its tech industry and in December, SAMR launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba. The regulators SAMR, determined that Alibaba had been "abusing market dominance" since 2015 by forcing its merchants to sell on one of the two main e-commerce sites in China instead of letting them choose freely. In an opinion piece on Saturday, People's Daily said the fine by no means denies the "important role of internet platforms in economic and social development", nor does the fine mean any change in the state's attitude of supporting internet platforms. The fine was "aimed to promote healthy and continuous development of the country's internet industry," it added. The Chinese government last month asked the conglomerate Alibaba to dispose of its media assets. According to a The Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter, Chinese officials are more "concerned about the technology giant's sway over public opinion in the country". Alibaba expanded its footprint in the media sector by acquiring the South China Morning Post, an English-language newspaper launched 118 years ago in Hong Kong. The company also has notable media holdings in mainland China, including technology news site 36Kr, state-owned Shanghai Media Group, stakes in the Twitter-like Weibo platform and several popular Chinese digital and print news outlets. China's top market watchdog began investigation into alleged anti-competition practices by the e-commerce giant Alibaba and also laid out "rectification plan" for Ma's fintech venture. The agenda was that Ant Group should return to its roots in payments and bring more transparency to transactions. Ma later disappeared from the public view, triggering speculation of him going "missing". He was seen only in January when a video of him appeared on Chinese social media. Alibaba's holdings in publicly listed companies had a combined market value of more than $8 billion. Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi has paid tribute to his wife's grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh on his death. Edoardo, 37, took to Instagram this morning to share two black and white portraits of Prince Philip on a sombre black background. The Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed a special bond with his grandchildren and made one of his last public appearances at Beatrice and Edoardo's lockdown wedding in July 2020. Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo, 37, took to Instagram this morning to share two black and white portraits of Prince Philip on a sombre black background The Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed a special bond with his grandchildren and made one of his last public appearances at Beatrice and Edoardo's lockdown wedding in July 2020, pictured When Beatrice wed Edo at a secret ceremony at Windsor Castle, nobody would have raised an eyebrow if the Duke had stayed away from the pared-back nuptials given the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore it was a crucial show of support for Prince Andrew's daughter that the only family photo released of the day showed the bride and groom with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. It was particularly significant due to scandal surrounding their father Prince Andrew and his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. When Princess Eugenie tied the knot at St George's Chapel in October 2018, there were rumours that her grandfather wouldn't attend due to bad blood with her mother Sarah Ferguson, but he made a point of being there. Speaking in the 2016 ITV documentary Our Queen at Ninety, Princess Eugenie said of Philip: 'I think Grandpa is incredible. He really is strong and consistent. He's been there for all these years, and I think he's the rock, you know, for all of us.' The Duke of Edinburgh, right, with members of the royal family including Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice (behind) and the Cambridges and the Sussexes (front row) Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle in October 2018 with (left to right) Back row: Thomas Brooksbank; Nicola Brooksbank; George Brooksbank; Princess Beatrice; Sarah, Duchess of York; Prince Andrew. Middle row: Prince George; Princess Charlotte; Queen Elizabeth II; Prince Philip; Maud Windsor; Louis de Givenchy; Front row: Theodora Williams; Mia Grace Tindall; Isla Phillips; and Savannah Phillips Beatrice and Eugenie have reportedly been in touch with Prince Harry as he arranges his return to the UK for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. The Duke of Edinburgh spent his final days at Windsor Castle with his wife the Queen who he lovingly called Lilibet throughout their long life together, after a 28-night stay in hospital having been admitted in mid-February for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. Her Majesty announced her husband's death at midday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace and on public buildings across the UK and Commonwealth. The Queen and Prince Philip, accompanied by Princesses Eugenie (second right) and Beatrice (far right) arrive for a church service near Balmoral in Aberdeenshire on August 30, 1998 The Royal Family said in a statement: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss'. Her Majesty, who remains at Windsor Castle, is now expected to enter an eight-day period of mourning. She will not carry out any duties, even in private, while laws will not be given the Royal Assent and affairs of state will also be paused. Earlier in the day there were rumours doing the rounds about how the Google Pixel 5a might be canceled due to the ongoing chip shortage. However, Google has cleared the air on this and has issued an on-the-record statement to say that the Pixel 5a 5G exists, it will not be canceled and it will be launched later this year. Pixel 5a 5G is not canceled. It will be available later this year in the US and Japan and announced in line with when last years a-series phone was introduced. A Google spokesperson said. Google did acknowledge the global supply chain issues alongside and said that it might lead to limited wider availability, but the next mid-range Pixel is going to be released. Besides this, there is also confirmation about the 5G support, though it is not clear if that just means Sub-6 in the US or if there is also going to be mmWave support on the Pixel 5a 5G, well have to wait and find out. Google announced the Pixel 4a in August last year and the smartphone went on sale soon after. Going by a timeline like that, its successor, the Pixel 5a 5G should also be released around the same time this year, Google has said. So this rules out all chances of any Pixel 5a-related announcement at I/O 2021 next month. Google might eventually release the Pixel 5a 5G in more countries. Like it happened with the Pixel 4a, the Barely Blue Pixel 4a was announced in November 2020, three months after the Just Black version announced in August 2020. Then, an unlocked Clearly White Pixel 4a 5G was spotted in late January this year after being released in November 2020. What we know about the Pixel 5a so far Pixel 5a renders that emerged in February this year show a design thats almost identical to the Pixel 4a 5G, though the new iteration is expected to be slightly taller, thicker but just a little more narrow. The other difference in the Pixel 5a is expected to be a ridged power button. Besides this, theres going to be the same hole-punch display on the top left corner of the screen, a dual-lens array on the back, a 6.2-inch display with a thick bezel on the bottom. It is possible that the Pixel 5a might come with the same main camera stack and run on a Qualcomm processor. The Whitechapel processor might be reserved for the flagship Google has planned for the year. While most of Pixel 5a sounds similar to the Pixel 4a, a cheaper Pixel with a larger screen and 5G support, might just work for Google. WITH his penchant for fascist uniforms and salutes, his goose-stepping demeanour, and his ranting monologues, Benito Mussolini has become something of a historical figure of fun these days. A poor mans Hitler, if you will, even though he was a monster himself, responsible for almost half a million deaths. But 100 years ago, Mussolinis star was on the rise in his native Italy. By 1925, he had styled himself Il Duce (The Leader) of all his country, borrowing a Latin monicker he hoped would thrust him into the echelon of a 20th century Caesar. His motto became Una duce, una voce one leader, one voice leaving nobody in any doubt that he was the boss, the chief, the big cheese. Nobody in a modern-day democracy like Ireland has any interest in replicating such a dictatorship least of all, you suspect, the man who is cast as our own big chief. Micheal Martin is a Taoiseach who believes in fundamental democratic principles. Even his biggest enemy can sense an innate decency about him and a distaste for grandstanding, showboating and power-plays. The Corkmans sober style of leadership appears more akin to another Latin phrase: primus inter pares a first among equals. He seems, at heart, to be a team player. However, as this year-long battle with Covid-19 reaches a hoped-for endgame, Mr Martin needs to shake off this tendency to rule by committee and leave the talking to others, and use his own oratory skills to drive the nation towards a brave new world. In doing so, he must try to silence the white noise of a hundred politicians and their armies of PR people and advisers around them, and speak with one voice: His own. Our Taoiseach needs to claim the narrative, drown out the cacophony of voices surrounding the Government, often delivering conflicting messages on Covid on an hourly basis, and adopt a little of the old dictator Mussolinis philosophy. One leader, one voice. And he must do so for the sake of his own position and legacy, for his partys future, and for the sake of a wearied, bruised and anxious nation. Its become increasingly clear in recent months that the mood of the people is changing and the style of the Taoiseach needs to change with it. But bizarrely, at a time when we are almost being overwhelmed with reams of good news about the vaccines and their efficiency, and at a time when optimism is rising that life can return to some kind of normality in the months ahead, the Taoiseach is behind the curve. At times, he still seems to be mourning the decision to slightly reopen society at Christmas, and is failing to tap into the new mood of renewal that is required. Worse, he is allowing his Tanaiste, Heath Secretary and others around him to dictate the narrative. When it isnt politicians trying to drive the narrative, its experts from NPHET and the HSE, and whatever youre having yourself. It all adds up to a confusing picture for a rattled and restless public. Micheal Martin needs to get a grip quick amidst all this gaggling and leaking, assert himself as the person holding the reins of power, produce a path (I hate that word roadmap) to lead us out of the lockdowns and towards a brighter future, and bring us all along with him. How ironic if he should spend the first nine months of his time as leader battling wave after wave of bad news, but still retaining the respect and support of large swathes of society. Only to go and undo all that hard work by dropping the ball when the good news started to arrive, allowing others to claim the credit and political capital. Its time Micheal found his inner dictator. ****** The phrase Una duce, una voce has a certain significance in Fianna Fail circles dating back to Charles Haugheys time (now theres a man who had no trouble tapping into his inner dictator). His infamous press secretary PJ Mara once uttered the phrase to a roomful of political correspondents after declaring that the questioning of Haugheys leadership of the party would have to stop. When one journalist reported the remark, it turned into a minor spat because PJ felt it was an off-the-record aside, and Haughey gave him a private roasting over its connotations. More recently, Micheal Martin used the phrase, in 2013, to attack then Taoiseach Enda Kenny (now theres a man who had no inner dictator; in fact, he seems far more at home these days pootling on his bicycle along old railway lines than ever he was in the corridors of power). Mr Martin accused Mr Kenny of adopting an Uno duce, una voce approach for refusing to debate with him on TV about his partys referendum to abolish the Seanad. (The proposal was defeated by just 43,000 votes the population of Longford which was a pity; another pointless election for it is currently taking place, in case you havent heard... but I digress). Enda, like Haughey, was suitably outraged by this inference of dictatorship those grainy images of his Fine Gael predecessor Eoin ODuffy looking like a wannabe Mussolini are as touchy to his modern-day party as, er, VAT on childrens shoes. Kenny and Haughey were very different characters and leaders polar opposites in fact but what both men understood during their years in power, was that there were times when a leader had to lead from the front. Una duce, una voce. Now is that time for Micheal Martin. 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. Firefighters on Friday rescued people who were stuck on a roller coaster at the American Dream megamall in Bergen County, according to authorities. State troopers received a report of people stuck on the ride at the Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park around 7:30 p.m., according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. First Class Lawrence Peele. Fire department personnel arrived on scene to assist with safely removing passengers from the ride, Peele said in an email. There were no injuries reported. State Police patrol the American Dream complex. More information was not yet available late Friday. Representatives for American Dream did not immediately return messages seeking more details. Fire officials could not be reached. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. He is still recovering after breaking his back in an electric bike accident last year. But Simon Cowell appeared to have his mind back on work as he was spotted arriving at the America's Got Talent studios in Los Angeles on Friday. The music mogul, 61, kept his look casual and sported a grey round-neck jumper as he headed to the studios. Back to work: Simon Cowell was spotted arriving at the America's Got Talent studios in Los Angeles on Friday The star opted for comfort in a pair of black trainers and wore white knee-length shorts. He shielded his eyes from the LA sun with a pair of round black Ray-Ban sunglasses. Last month, it was reported that Britain's Got Talent judge walks over 40 miles a week to help him recover from breaking his back in an electric bike accident last year. In August, Simon was rushed to hospital to undergo six hours of surgery after injuring himself in the accident, forcing him to cancel all his planned TV work for the rest of the year. Laid back: The music mogul, 61, kept his look casual and sported a grey round-neck jumper as he headed back to work Comfort is key! The star opted for comfort in a pair of black trainers and wore white knee-length shorts But now the record executive is determined to do everything he can to ensure he makes a full recovery, including walking for several hours a day and holding business meetings at 9AM so that he no longer lives like a 'vampire'. Of his new fitness regime, a source told MailOnline: 'Simon said how he hasn't worn trainers as much as this in 20 years. 'He feels fitter than ever before and is keeping to a normal routine rather than being on the phone until into the early hours of the morning.' Adding to this, The Sun also reported that Simon was set to start filming the reality competition show as a source said he was excited to be back. TV: Although Britain's Got Talent has been put on hold until 2022, season 16 of America's Got Talent will air on NBC in June The insider told the publication: 'Simon cant wait to get back to doing what he loves. Hes been focused on his return for months.' Last year, reports claimed Simon was considering legal action against the manufacturers of his electric bike after breaking his back. The TV mogul and his team were said to be 'weighing up' legal options and have been 'pressing' the manufacturers, Swindon Powertrain. One lawyer claimed that a successful lawsuit could see Simon get up to 10million for medical bills and loss of earnings, The Sun reported once more. Although Britain's Got Talent has been put on hold until 2022, season 16 of America's Got Talent will air on NBC in June. Happy family: Last week Simon celebrated Easter in his LA home with girlfriend Lauren Silverman and ex Terri Seymour Last week Simon celebrated Easter in his LA home with girlfriend Lauren Silverman and ex Terri Seymour. Terri posted a sweet family snap and the music mogul looked happy and healthy, with his son Eric, seven, enjoying an egg hunt in the sunshine after receiving a visit from the Easter Bunny. The couple were joined by their son Eric, Lauren's son Adam, 15, Terri and her partner Clark Mallon, and her daughter Coco, six. Terri captioned her post: 'Easter Love @francisclarkart #LaurenSilverman @simoncowell Hope everyone had a safe and hoppy Easter! #WhosTheBunny.' Advertisement The California mom suspected of killing her three children before fleeing in a stolen car had a 'Blog for Good' where she slammed Teen Mom stars for being bad mothers. Liliana Carrillo, 30, allegedly fled the apartment where she is suspected of killing her children before their grandmother stumbled across the grisly scene. Carrillo was on the run for several hours before she was taken into custody in the Ponderosa area of Tulare County, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Carrillo was finally caught after the LAPD received reports she was driving north on Interstate 5 when she got into an altercation in the Bakersfield area. She then allegedly ditched her car and stole a silver Toyota pickup, a spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed to DailyMail.com. Initial reports indicated that the children had been stabbed to death, but an LAPD spokesperson said that the cause of death for the children is still pending. An Instagram account believed to belong to Carrillo, which has since been deleted, had linked to an old blog that apparently belonged to her in which she had written positive, inspirational messages and a few confessions about herself called 'Blogging For Good.' Liliana Carrillo, 30, allegedly killed her three children in an apartment in Reseda on Saturday who were then found by their grandmother She allegedly fled in her vehicle before the kids' grandmother stumbled across the grisly scene and called 911 An Instagram account belonging to Carrillo, which has since been deleted, linked to a blog she apparently once had The blog, titled 'Blogging for Good,' focused on positive and inspirational messages to readers but posts ended in 2013 In her posts, Carrillo talked 'about common life issues and obstacles that people may have encountered.' Many of the posts are filled with messages describing 'opportunities for change' and telling readers to 'take charge of your life.' 'I am not perfect, I still have many issues but overall I am happy and proud of my past. I love my present life and look forward to my future,' she wrote in 2013. A number of her posts also address her family though her children would not have been born by the time she stopped writing in the blog. In one post from May 10, 2013, Carrillo recounted her irritation with the show Teen Mom 2 in which she claimed its stars 'physically and emotionally abuse their partners and then victimize themselves.' 'My sister watches this crap and I got stuck eating lunch in the living room with her,' she wrote. She added: 'They are involved in heavy drugs, cannot escape them, and then cry about how they can't access their child... I mean really?' 'All of these mothers that have been presented have in my opinion, and forgive me if this offends anyone but it is my opinion and I hold strongly to it, just idiot after idiot. I do not feel pity for them.' She added: 'There's no denying that there are a few mothers in the show who progress from their situations and grow from their troubles but there are others that I am shocked as to how or why they still have custody of their child.' In that same post, she said that had also been in 'unhealthy relationships' in which she would ' go out with my girls, drink, smoke, lose control.' 'I'm not perfect. I was a person in these same situations, minus the child,' she wrote. She added: 'Believe in yourself and summon strength from within to push you to do the best you can do. This world is limitless. You are your own worst enemy.' Carrillo, right, is pictured with a man in a post made to an Instagram In one post made to a blog Carrillo slammed the stars of Teen Mom 2 as bad mothers Carrillo was finally caught after the LAPD received reports that she had stolen a Toyota pickup A post made by Carrillo to her Instagram before it was deleted appears to reference her children In an Instagram post, Carrillo said she had posted about wounded children In that post, she also wished her mother a 'Happy Mother's Day.' It was not immediately clear if the grandmother of the children who were killed was Carrillo's mother or the children's paternal grandmother. 'She has put up with more than I can imagine myself doing. She has struggled so much to raise this family. Although we do not agree on many things, I will always be grateful for the opportunities she has provided for me,' Carrillo wrote. 'I may not have been dealt the cards in life everyone dreams of but I was blessed with an overbearing, over-loving mother whom also played the role of a strict father and an even more loving and caring sibling unit.' Carrillo also appeared to struggle with her identity, at some times calling herself a 'passionate lover' and at others referring to herself as 'selfish' and a 'manipulator.' 'As for you, have a f**king amazing time today! Be yourself, don't give mind to those that are hating on you. They probably need a hug and a smile,' she wrote in one post. The grandmother had found the children - all under the age of 5 - slain inside a Los Angeles apartment Saturday morning and their mother gone, police said. The grandmother was returning home from work when she went inside an apartment in the Reseda neighborhood and found the children had been stabbed to death, Los Angeles police Lt. Raul Jovel said. Liliana Carrillo, 30, was on the run for several hours before she was taken into custody in the Ponderosa area of Tulare County Los Angeles Police officers at the crime scene where three children were stabbed to death and their mother was arrested Saturday in Reseda, California The grandmother was returning home from work when she went inside an apartment in the Reseda neighborhood and found the children had been stabbed to death Police said the mother, 30-year-old Liliana Carrillo, abandoned her car after an incident in Bakersfield and carjacked another truck Los Angeles Police officers at the crime scene where three children were stabbed to death and their mother was arrested on Saturday in Reseda Police told DailyMail.com they were still determining the cause of death after initial reports said that the children had been stabbed Los Angeles Police officers at the crime scene where three children were killed in Reseda, California on Saturday morning Apartment complex residents stand outdoors as Los Angeles Police investigate the scene of a crime across their apartment complex in Reseda A shrine is seen outside the apartment complex for the three children that were stabbed death, and the mother was arrested on April 10, 2021 in Reseda, California A Los Angeles police officer lifts police tape in front of Shrine created for the three children that was stabbed to death and their mother arrested on April 10, 2021 in Reseda, California The press and members of the Los Angeles Police Department during a press conference near the crime scene where three children were stabbed to death and their mother arrested on April 10, 2021 in Reseda, California The LAPD tweeted the children appeared to be under 5 years old after a police spokesman initially said they were under the age of 3. The gruesome discovery was made around 9.30am in the 8000 block of Reseda Boulevard, Jovel said. Los Angeles City Fire Department firefighters declared all three children dead at the scene. Jovel said investigators were still working to determine a motive but were seeking the public's help locating the children's mother before she was taken into custody. 'At this point, she is a suspect in this incident but that doesn't exclude other people,' Jovel said. He added: 'We're trying to figure out what ties she has up north.' Los Angeles Police investigate the scene of a crime at the Royal Villa apartments complex in Reseda, California on Saturday Francisco, 9, stands outdoors with his father Francisco Navas, as Los Angeles Police investigate the scene of a crime across their apartment complex in Reseda Los Angeles Police investigate the scene of a crime at an apartment complex in Reseda, California on Saturday Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore exits an apartment complex as police investigate in Reseda After her arrest, Carrillo is being considered the sole suspect in the case, according to the LAPD. Police officials told the Los Angeles Times that said there had been no prior calls to police at the residence. Lupe Cuevas, a neighbor of Carrillo and her children, told the San Bernardino Sun that she interacted with the three children and their grandmother during afternoon walks around the neighborhood. One of the children, a girl, was drawn to her Chihuahua, Rosie, Cuevas told the newspaper. 'Those babies were such sweet little ones. It hurts,' she said. Cuevas said she thought the girl was the middle child of the three. 'She wasnt shy. She was sweet.' Cuevas said. 'An angel shouldnt have to go that way.' The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. MODERNA VACCINE ANTIBODIES LAST AT LEAST 6 MONTHS A follow-up study of 33 people who received Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine in early trials show the antibodies it induced are still present six months after the second dose. Antibody activity remained high in all age groups," researchers said. They confirmed the findings using three different tests, according to a report on Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier this month, Pfizer NSE 4.09 % Inc and partner BioNTech SE said their vaccine using similar messenger RNA (mRNA) technology remained highly effective for at least six months.. The researchers conducting the Moderna vaccine study will continue to follow the same volunteers to see whether the antibodies last longer than six months. They are also evaluating the potential for a booster dose to extend the duration of the antibodies and improve their potency against new more contagious variants of the coronavirus. LUNG TRANSPLANTS CAN SAVE SOME COVID-19 SURVIVORS Surgeons worldwide have been performing lung transplants in COVID-19 survivors with irreversible lung damage, and an international group of transplant experts has proposed guidelines for selection of eligible patients. To possibly qualify for a transplant, COVID-19 survivors with complete lung failure should be younger than 65, nonsmokers, and have no pre-existing medical conditions, or only manageable ones, they advise. They said transplants should be performed at least four weeks after a diagnosis of irreversible lung damage. In the United States alone, more than 50 double lung transplants have been performed on COVID-19 survivors, and all the patients are alive, said Dr. Ankit Bharat of Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, who has performed a dozen of them. A study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine that examined 12 of the first double-lung transplants performed in COVID-19 patients in the United States, Italy, Austria and India showed that all but two survived and are doing well, said co-author Bharat. "It's a really remarkable outcome, given how critically ill these patients were," he said. "Without the possibility of transplant, the medical team and the families were ready to withdraw care." PFIZER/BIONTECH VACCINE SAFE DURING CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is safe for patients being treated with cancer immunotherapies like Merck & Co's Keytruda and Opdivo sold by Bristol Myers Squibb, Israeli physicians said in a report published in The Lancet Oncology. They studied 134 vaccine recipients who were being treated with the so-called immune-checkpoint inhibitors, including some who were also receiving chemotherapy. The vaccine was "safe from both sides: we did not see immunotherapy-related side effects and did not see severe side effects from the vaccine itself," said the report's co-author Dr. Ido Wolf of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. "We believe that the vaccine should be given to these patients ... especially in areas of an active COVID-19 outbreak." However, questions still need to be answered for these patients, including whether there are any long-term issues. "We looked at our patients only a few weeks from the second dose and cannot rule out the possibility of long-term side effects," Wolf said. His team is also looking into whether other cancer drugs, such as chemotherapies, may reduce the efficacy of the vaccine. (https://bit.ly/3uiSvqk) SKIN REACTIONS TO MRNA VACCINES HAVE NOT BEEN SERIOUS A wide range of skin reactions has been documented in recipients of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, but none have been serious, according to researchers who analyzed 414 cases in a registry run by dermatology societies. The majority (83%) were associated with the Moderna shot. Most started the day after, or often several days to a week, after vaccination, said Dr. Esther Freeman of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who coauthored a report published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Fewer than half of patients who experienced a delayed skin reaction after the first dose experienced a recurrence with the second dose. Furthermore, no patients in the registry developed serious adverse events after the first or second dose. "If the patient develops a delayed-onset rash more than four hours after vaccination, while the rash may be uncomfortable, our data suggest they ... should feel comfortable proceeding with the second dose of their vaccine," Freeman said. However, she added, hives that start within four hours after vaccination "should be taken very seriously," as that may be a sign of an immediate allergic reaction. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends referral to an allergist-immunologist in those cases. Also read: IMF, World Bank urged to ensure timely delivery of safe COVID-19 vaccines across countries Joan Unrein, a former clinical dietician with Colorado Plains Medical Center in Fort Morgan, sued her employer for failing to accommodate her legal blindness pursuant to the ADA. But a three-member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit determined it was not the medical centers responsibility to resolve Unreins inability to drive herself to work. Killeen, TX (76540) Today Rain showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 67F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Plainview Area Retired School Personnel will meet via Zoom on Monday. The meeting will start at 11:30 a.m. The meeting agenda includes a vote for 2021-2022 officers and committee chairs. Steven Carrillo was arrested June 6 on suspicion of fatally shooting a Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy in Ben Lomond, Calif. (Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department) Four members of a Northern California militia were indicted Friday for allegedly obstructing justice and destroying records related to the May shooting death of a federal officer in Oakland by another member of their extremist group. The federal indictment unsealed Friday revealed that the shooting suspect, Steven Carrillo, told fellow members of the militia via a secured message app that he killed a federal officer, and he warned them that he was about to engage Santa Cruz sheriff's deputies in a gun battle during which he would kill another law enforcement officer. His compatriots immediately began covering up their association, authorities allege. Along with Carrillo, the men, Jessie Alexander Rush, 29, of Turlock; Robert Jesus Blancas, 33, a transient; Simon Sage Ybarra, 23, of Los Gatos; and Kenny Matthew Miksch, 21 of San Lorenzo; are members of an armed band that calls itself the "Grizzly Scouts." The group is associated with the "boogaloo" movement, a loose collection of extremists who wear Hawaiian shirts and espouse dismantling the government through violence, according to U.S. Justice Department officials. Attorneys for Carrillo and Blancas did not return requests for comment, and lawyers for others could not immediately be located. The complex conspiracy began to unwind in June, when federal law enforcement officials charged Carrillo, an Air Force sergeant, and suspected accomplice Robert A. Justus Jr., 30, in the May 29 shooting death of a federal security officer in Oakland and the wounding of a second officer. After the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May, Oakland was thrust into weeks of civic unrest. Authorities allege that Carrillo and Justus used the chaos as cover in their plan to attack law enforcement a fantasy of boogaloo adherents. Federal authorities say Justus drove a white van with its license plates removed while Carrillo fired at the officers out its side door, using a homemade machine gun a so-called ghost gun because of its lack of identifying markings with a silencer. Story continues The killing led to an eight-day manhunt that ended in the Santa Cruz mountain town of Ben Lomond, where Carrillo lived. There, he allegedly opened fire on deputies, killing Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, the Sheriff's Department said. Wounded during the gunfight, Carrillo fled and carjacked a vehicle, using his own blood to write "BOOG" on the hood before authorities apprehended him. Justus turned himself in to federal authorities days later, but claimed he was an unwilling participant. The indictment does not identify Justus as a member of the Grizzly Scouts. The indictment alleges that Rush, Blancas, Ybarra and Miksch used WhatsApp to communicate in the minutes before Carrillo opened fire on the Santa Cruz deputies, and in subsequent days sought to cover up their association with him by erasing evidence. "Kit up and get here," Carrillo allegedly wrote to his compatriots as the deputies arrived. "there's inly (sic) one road in/out. Take them out when theyre coming in..." Rush immediately told Carrillo to "factory reset" his phone, according to the complaint, which would have destroyed stored communications. The other militia members later deleted those communications from their own devices, including another message from Carrillo that day that read, "Dudes i offed a fed." Later, Blancas also deleted Dropbox files related to the Grizzly Scouts, including what appeared to be a nondisclosure agreement requiring members to maintain confidentiality of the group's materials, and scorecards to assess members' skills in areas such as firearms and combat. Authorities allege the group had formed only months before the attack Rush founded the Grizzly Scouts last spring and granted himself the titles of "Commanding Officer," and "Major," according to the complaint. Blancas, who also went by the monikers "MuskOx" and "Orgotloth" was in charge of security and intelligence, while Ybarra handled recruitment and Miksch, who used the name "Senapai," and handled firearms and training. Carrillo, dubbed "Armadillo" and "Dillo," was also a member, joining in on their Facebook discussions in a group named "/K/alifornia Kommando." Blancas was separately indicted late last year on charges related to child pornography and enticement of a minor after federal officers searched multiple locations associated with him and other Grizzly Scouts members on Aug. 6 while investigating the conspiracy. Along with two assault rifles, a pistol, body armor and other tactical equipment, authorities found electronic devices that contained evidence of child pornography. Authorities allege Blancas met a 15-year-old middle school girl in an online forum labeled "DDLG," short for Daddy-Daughter Little Girl, on Whisper, a platform that allows users to remain anonymous. From there, Blancas began communicating with her through the instant messaging platform Kik, and through calls and videos on Skype, the criminal complaint alleges. Though the girl originally told Blancas she was an adult, authorities allege he had similar interactions with other minors. All six men remain in custody pending ongoing trials. Carrillo and Justus could face the death penalty. Devin Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, said the charges help "break down that myth that Carrillo was a lone actor." Brian Levin, executive director of Cal State San Bernardino Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, said the Grizzly Scouts have been on the radar for extremist watchers for months. "This is not the first time the name has come up," he said. Northern California, he said, has become a hub of extremist antigovernment activity, though much of the boogaloo element shares little beyond a love of the 2nd Amendment and a hatred of organized government. "It is a bring your own plate to the extremist buffet," Levin said. Levin called Friday's indictment a "very significant" development in the government crackdown on such groups, which have become a focus for law enforcement after the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, where multiple extremist groups were involved. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. At an extraordinary meeting of the Council of People's Deputies of the capital of Adygea, the deputies accepted Andrei Getmanovs early resignation from the post of Maykops head. From today, April 10, 2021, the first deputy head of the city administration Sergey Stelmakh will act as the head of the municipal formation City of Maykop, AiF-Adygea informs. Andrei Getmanov was arrested and taken into custody for two months on March 24, he is charged with extortion and illegal acquisition and storage of ammunition. TORONTO, March 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ThreeD Capital Inc. (ThreeD or the Company) (CSE:IDK) (OTCQB:IDKFF), a Canadian-based venture capital firm focused on opportunistic investments in companies in the junior resources and disruptive technologies sectors, is pleased to announce Premium Nickel Resources (PNR) has completed the Exclusivity Memorandum of Understanding with the Liquidator on the Botswana nickel-copper-cobalt assets formerly operated by BCL Limited (see PNR News Release dated February 16, 2021). ThreeD Capital owns 6,716,456 shares of PNR, representing a 9.13% ownership in the company. Furthermore, Sheldon Inwentash, Chairman & CEO of ThreeD Capital is on the Board of Directors of PNR. More information on this subject can be found in PNRs press release below: Toronto, Ontario, March 24th, 2021 Premium Nickel Resources ("PNR") is pleased to announce that it has completed the Exclusivity Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Liquidator which will govern a six-month exclusivity period to complete its due diligence and related purchase agreements on the Botswana nickel-copper-cobalt ("Ni-Cu-Co") assets formerly operated by BCL Limited ("BCL"), that are currently in liquidation. On February 10, 2021, the Honourable, Lefoko Moagi, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security of Botswana, affirmed in Parliament a press release by the Liquidator for the BCL Group of Companies, stating that PNR was selected as the preferred bidder to acquire assets formerly owned by BCL. PNR will now start an estimated six-month systematic due diligence program. During this period, PNR will complete an environmental assessment, a metallurgical study, a review of legal and social responsibilities, a review of the mine closure and rehabilitation plans and an on-site inspection of the legacy mining infrastructure and equipment that has been under care & maintenance. Concurrent with this due diligence program PNR will negotiate definitive agreements to finalize terms on the prioritized assets to be purchased. PNR CEO, Keith Morrison commented, The World, Botswana and the mining industry have changed dramatically since mining first started at the former BCL assets in the early 1970s. The nickel-copper-cobalt resources remaining at these mines are now critical metals, required for the continued development of a decarbonized and electrified global economy. As we move forward, it is our goal to demonstrate the potential economics of redeveloping a combination of the former BCL assets to produce Ni-Cu-Co and water in a manner that is inclusive of modern environmental, social and corporate governance responsibilities. To attain this, extensive upgrades to infrastructure will be required with an emphasis on safety, sustainability and the application of new technologies to minimize the environmental impact and total carbon footprint for the new operations. Our team remains committed to working with the local communities and all of the stakeholders throughout this period and we encourage anyone with questions or feedback to reach out to us directly. PNR continues to monitor the global Covid-19 developments and is committed to working with health and safety as a priority and in full respect of all government and local Covid-19 protocol requirements. PNR has developed Covid-19 travel, living and working protocols in anticipation of moving forward to on site due diligence. PNR is ensuring to integrate these protocols with the currently applicable protocols of The Government of Botswana and surrounding communities. About Premium Nickel Resources Corporation PNR is a Canadian company dedicated to the exploration and development of high-quality nickel-copper-cobalt (Ni-Cu-Co) resources. We believe that the medium to long-term demand for these metals will grow through continued global urbanization and the increasing replacement of internal combustion engines with electric motors. Importantly, these metals are key to a lowcarbon future. PNR maintains a skilled team with strong financial, technical and operational expertise to take an asset from discovery to exploration to mining. PNR has focused its efforts on discovering world class nickel sulphide assets in jurisdictions with rule-of-law that fit a strict criteria that comply with PNR's values and principles which stand up against the highest acceptable industry standards. We are committed to governance through transparent accountability and open communication within our team and our stakeholders. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Charles Riopel Chairman of the Board Premium Nickel Resources Corporation For more information contact: Premium Nickel Resources Corporation 130 Spadina Avenue, Suite 401 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2L4 info@premiumnickelresources.ca CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of PNR. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the ability of PNR to access capital, any spending commitments, the success of exploration activities, the future economics of minerals including nickel and copper, the benefits of the development potential of the properties of PNR, the benefits of drilling and advancement of projects. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. PNR 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 law. Although PNR 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 not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the property is developed. About ThreeD Capital Inc. ThreeD is a publicly-traded Canadian-based venture capital firm focused on opportunistic investments in companies in the junior resources and disruptive technologies sectors. ThreeDs investment strategy is to invest in multiple private and public companies across a variety of sectors globally. ThreeD seeks to invest in early stage, promising companies where it may be the lead investor and can additionally provide investees with advisory services and access to the Companys ecosystem. For further information: Jakson Inwentash Vice President Investments jinwentash@threedcap.com Phone: 416-941-8900 ext 107 The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy hereof. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements) within the meaning of Canadian securities laws including, without limitation, statements with respect to the future investments by the Company. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which are inherently uncertain, are based on estimates and assumptions, and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties (both general and specific) that contribute to the possibility that the future events or circumstances contemplated by the forward-looking statements will not occur. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking statements contained in this press release, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are made, are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this document, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause the Companys actual performance and results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. In the trendy Koukaki district, a discus throw from the Acropolis in Athens, owners of restaurants that have survived the virus lockdown are trying to keep themselves occupied as the weather and the noises from government improve. "Everyone is frantically cleaning their storefronts, just to keep busy," says Elena, who sells ouzo, the popular anise-flavoured alcoholic drink, to the restaurateurs. She is wandering the streets to see how many of the restaurants have managed to avoid going out of business. Some five months after the Greek government ordered a restaurant shutdown in November as coronavirus cases began to increase, operators and their staff have been burning up both their financial and psychological reserves. "We have borrowed money and spend less. We have learned to live on little since the economic crisis," says Koukaki restaurant owner Venetia Avgerinou, referring to the ten-year debt crisis Greece has just exited. His restaurant was only allowed to open for four months last year. Since November, all ten staff members have been put on a government partial employment scheme. The cook, Florentia Psimadis, has had to survive on a monthly allowance of 534 euros ($628), while her husband was already unemployed. Faced with growing lockdown fatigue but buoyed by improving weather and increasing Covid-19 vaccinations, the government now says the sector can reopen next month, but only for service outdoors. "I predict that this will not happen before (Orthodox) Easter," which falls on May 2, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Star TV on Wednesday. - Establishments threatened - Greece at present has over 3,000 new coronavirus infections and over 70 deaths daily, higher figures than when the lockdown was ordered in November. The government has already announced a tentative reopening of the vital tourism sector for May 14. Special allowances are already being made for vaccinated Israeli tourists, while other foreign visitors must self-quarantine for a week upon arrival. Story continues But Grigoris Tassios, head of the Hellenic hoteliers federation, says there is no significant movement in room bookings. "Right now there is no tourism traffic, except some pilot schemes that are still covered by restrictions... after all, in epidemiological terms, Greece is in the red," he tells AFP. "We expect tourism to realistically begin at the end of June." At least 330,000 people work in Greece's restaurant industry. According to the president of the restaurant owners' union, Yiorgos Kavvathas, six out of ten establishments are threatened with closure, despite the measures to save them. Dozens of restaurants, bars and cafes have already gone out of business in central Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki, he notes. - 'Will we collapse under debt?' - To keep himself afloat, bistro owner Tilemachos Nikoletatos decided to downsize. He ended his rental lease in the working-class Athens district of Kesariani and will open a smaller fast-food restaurant a few meters away. "The bills are piling up, I can no longer pay my rent and I surely cannot keep my 16 employees, so I decided to take smaller, cheaper premises," he tells AFP. Others, like Triantafyllos Ladas who owns a small fish tavern tucked inside an Athens gallery, have relied on a meagre income from takeout customers. Ladas says he serves about ten takeout meals a day and has lost about 80 percent of his turnover. The government has tapped into an EU support budget of 330 million euros in European funds to help restaurant owners restock their supplies with loans. But many are concerned about making enough money to repay the state. "Will we have the possibility or will we collapse under debt?" asks Avgerinou. "We hope that tourists will be able to come back this summer, that the Greeks will want to go out and meet in restaurants despite the health situation, but there is a lot of uncertainty," says Ladas. As she waits to reopen, Avgerinou has revamped her Koukaki restaurant menu and has not lost hope. "As Aristotle said, Man is a social animal. We need to meet again, to discuss with friends over a good meal," she says. Ladas also tries to stay philosophical. "In Greece, we go from one crisis to another, but we always recover. I survived the financial crisis, I will survive this one too." mr-str/chv/jph/pvh/bp San Antonios ailing tourism industry hit hard as the COVID-19 pandemic scared off visitors and emptied hotels last year is poised for a strong comeback, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Friday. I anticipate that this summers going to see a very robust recovery economically when it comes to visitor traffic and the convention business, Nirenberg said in virtual remarks delivered during his State of the City address before the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. The citys convention business a key driver of the downtown hospitality industrys performance dried up last year as the virus spread and meeting planners pulled out of events at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. On ExpressNews.com: Hard-hit San Antonio bars and restaurant could soon get extra money from the city under council proposal But as the pandemic wanes and more people receive vaccinations to inoculate them against the virus, city officials have recently seen an uptick in requests to book conventions and gatherings at the convention center, Nirenberg said. City convention officials are working on a transition plan to accommodate more events at the convention center though still with safety protocols in place, like mask-wearing. Continuing to require mask-wearing at the facility shouldnt be too much of a stretch, Nirenberg said, given that people increasingly understand they can go about their normal lives if they take precautions. Weve seen finally this kind of become part of the psyche, and the mentality of folks is that, we can do stuff as long as were playing it safe, Nirenberg said. In the meantime, the mayor touted efforts to keep San Antonio residents and businesses afloat during the pandemic. Those efforts include small business grants, housing assistance to residents and career training for those who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. So far, the citys $75 million job training program is off to a slow start since it launched last September. About 2,330 have begun Train for Jobs SA. Some 214 people have completed the program, while 124 area residents have secured new jobs. The city aimed to help 10,000 residents through the program by September. Nirenberg pointed out the program is reaching historically disadvantaged populations. Seventy-two percent of the programs participants are women. Nearly two-thirds are Hispanic, and 17 percent are Black. This is reaching folks who have disproportionately less opportunity, and were getting opportunities to the communities that desperately need them, Nirenberg said. The successor to the current program is in the works. Last November, voters approved a four-year, $154 million project to help those who are unemployed because of the pandemic with job training and college degree programs. Now, the city has to adopt policies and draw up a budget to guide the new program known as Ready to Work. Initially, the citys economic development department pitched a structure to oversee the Ready to Work program, creating a new department and hiring more than 60 employees an idea decried by proponents of the program, including the grassroots organization COPS/Metro. That idea no longer is in play, Nirenberg said. The plan now is to contract out most of the work to local organizations that already have experience providing job training. We dont need this to be a top-heavy city bureaucracy, Nirenberg said. We just need some folks doing oversight at the city level. Weve got program providers out in the real world economy to conduct the actual program. We need to be on guard to protect our competitive advantage here in San Antonio, which is cost-of-living and, until recently, affordability of housing. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFReports Alberta MLA: We Need a Regional Approach Rather Than Blanket COVID Restrictions Health and economic crisis caused by restrictions are as challenging as the COVID crisis, says Drew Barnes As Alberta reverts to more stringent restrictions in an effort to tame a spike in COVID-19 cases, one MLA says a regional approach to lockdowns would make more sense because not all areas are impacted equally by the virus. We need a regional approach, a targeted approach that recognizes that a lot of regions are not having a huge impact from COVID. The targeted approach would also include protecting our vulnerable and our compromised, Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes told The Epoch Times. We need an approach that recognizes how big Alberta is and the fact that there are challenges other than COVID, Barnes said, adding that in his riding, after 14 months of restrictions, we have a mental health, a spiritual health, a physical health, and an economic health crisis as challenging as the COVID crisis. Barnes is one of 16 MLAs from the United Conservative Party (UCP) caucus who signed a joint letter on April 7, criticizing their governments decision to move the entire province back to Step 1 COVID-19 restrictions as a wrong decision. We have heard from our constituents, and they want us to defend their livelihoods and freedoms as Albertans, the MLAs wrote. On April 6, Premier Jason Kenney announced that the province would revert to Step 1 of the four-step reopening framework due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. He said the stronger measures are necessary to stem the third wave from threatening our health system and the health of thousands of Albertans. The rapid rise in cases, especially variants of concern, makes this a critical time to stop the spread. These measures will buy us some time for additional COVID-19 vaccines to arrive and take effect so we can once again start safely easing restrictions as quickly as possible, Kenney said. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announces $43 million in repairs and improvements to provincial parks at a news conference in Calgary, Alta on Sept. 15, 2020. (Todd Korol/The Canadian Press) Under Step 1, retail stores and malls must reduce customer capacity to 15 percent. Libraries are closed, gyms must return to one-on-one training, and indoor dining at restaurants, is prohibited. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford went a step further, putting the entire province into an emergency shutdown on April 3, followed by declaring a state of emergencythe third since the pandemicon April 7 as well as a provincewide stay-at-home order that restricts the movement of people to only essential purposes such as grocery shopping or accessing health care services. On April 8, Quebec Premier Francois Legault brought back the 8 p.m. curfew in Montreal and Laval starting April 11 until further notice. He also extended the lockdown order in three cities and one region to April 18. Like Barnes, West Yellowhead MLA Martin Long, also a member of the UCP caucus but not a signee of the letter to Kenney, argues that its time for the Alberta government to rethink our response to COVID-19. Let me be clear here: COVID-19 is real. The virus has impacted many lives and families in irreparable ways, Long said in an April 6 statement posted on Twitter. That said, restrictions have and continue to have an impact on many lives, families, and business in irreparable ways as well. Long said he will continue to push for restrictions to be lifted in his region, as they have gone on long enough and are no longer acceptable to his constituents. The group of 16 MLAs said in their letter that they have raised their concerns at the highest levels of government and unfortunately, the approach of the government has remained the same. Barnes says areas where cases have remained low and that have no pressure on the hospital system should be able to move to Step 3 of reopening. Open up to Step 3 which allows more restaurants, dining, which allows more family cohorts to get together, which allows things like museums and libraries to have a bigger capacity, he says. After 14 months, we need to return to normalcy. Barnes has taken a voluntary 20 percent pay cut for six months in solidarity with the small- and medium-sized businesses that continue to struggle amid the public health measures. I want to highlight how hard the lockdown and the restrictions have hit the private sector. So many of my friends that are in business, that are in free enterprise, have lost their businesses, have had to take huge pay cuts, are struggling, and they had to take on a lot of debt, he said. He said the 20 percent he set aside will go to charitable organizations that help the needy such as the Salvation Army, Medicine Hat Community Foundation, and United Way. Last December, he wrote a letter to all Alberta politicians and senior bureaucrats urging them to also take a 20 percent pay cut for six months to show support to the private sector. Alberta families, communities, and free enterprise are facing some of the most trying times in Albertas history, he said in the letter. Financial advisory business in the growing Senior Life Settlement (SLS) asset class A life settlement refers to the sale of an existing US insurance policy to a third party for a one-time cash payment According to a study, $200 billion worth of life insurance will lapse or be surrendered each year through 2027 What Alpha Growth does: ( ) (OTCQB:ALPGF) is a financial advisory business providing specialist consultancy, advisory and supplementary services to institutional and qualified investors globally in the growing multi-billion dollar Senior Life Settlement (SLS) asset class. A life settlement refers to the sale of an existing US insurance policy to a third party for a one-time cash payment. Payment is more than the surrender value, but less than the actual death benefit. After the sale, the purchaser becomes the policy's beneficiary and assumes payment of its premiums. By doing so, the buyer receives the death benefit when the insured dies. Building on its well-established network, Alpha Growth has a unique position in the longevity asset services and investment business as a UK and US-listed entity with global reach. The companys strategy is to expand its advisory and business services via acquisitions and joint ventures in the UK and the US to attain commercial scale and provide wholistic solutions to alternative institutional investors who are in need of specialised skills and unique access to deploy their financial resource in longevity assets. In addition, the groups BlackOak Alpha Growth Fund, provides non-correlated, strong returns in a tax-efficient manner. The fund invests in life settlements targeting annual returns in the 10% to 14% range. According to a study by investment firm Conning, $200 billion worth of life insurance will lapse or be surrendered each year through 2027 all of which could qualify for a life settlement and be pocketed by the policy owner. How is it doing: Alpha Growth said the trend of growth and improved operational & financial performance continued in the first quarter of 2021. The Black Oak Alpha Growth Fund saw US$5mln of additional inflows during the quarter. Assets under management (AuM) at the end of the quarter stood at US$25.5mln. The company is looking to substantively increase the marketing of the Black Oak Alpha Growth Fund in 2021, to which end it has announced the appointment of Michael Molloy, who has significant experience within the alternative investment sector and who will be responsible for growing the fund. Alpha Growth started 2021 with news of an expansion, announcing, on February 11, that it is acquiring an unnamed Bermuda-based insurance company supported by an oversubscribed 3.75mln share placing. The group said the deal, which will be earnings accretive, represents a significant building block in the company's continued evolution. The Class C licensed insurer has assets under management of US$290mln and in-force policies of US$750mln. Once the transaction completes, Alpha will have around US$300mln assets under management compared with just US$10mln at the start of last year. The company also said it continues to progress the Alpha Growth & Income strategy. This is a combination of life settlements and life contingent structured settlements hedged by a life insurance policy that is suitable for investors seeking cash flow and growth. The group said this will be funded in either a separately managed account or as a co-mingled fund with a minimum investment of US$50mln. Alpha Growth also said it has almost completed discussions to secure a short term credit facility. On January 15, Alpha Growth had announced year-end results for its BlackOak Alpha Growth Fund which, on a net basis, showed the fund produced a 2020 calendar year return of 10.63% and a 13.71% total return since inception in September 2019. This placed BlackOak in the top five BarclayHedge yearly performance rankings in its category. Assets under management for the fund have doubled in this period. Alpha Growth said it continues to actively market to registered investment advisors in the US and to look at supplementing the direct outreach with virtual events in the US that showcase the fund. With its December listing on the US OTCQB market, Alpha Growth added, it intends to closely coordinate the US marketing of the fund with greater reference to the company so US investors are able to follow the holding company of the general partner and investment manager of the fund as well. Alpha Growth shares commenced trading on the OTCQB Market operated by OTC Markets Group Inc ( ) under the ticker symbol 'ALPGF' on December 16, 2020. The financial services specialist's ordinary shares continue to trade on the London Stock Exchange's Standard List market under the symbol 'ALGW'. The firm said the listing on the OTCQB Market allows its ordinary shares to be traded by broker-dealers in the United States. Alpha was sponsored by B. Riley Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer with FINRA. Initially, B. Riley will act as the company's market maker in the US. Pello Capital continues to be the company's corporate broker in the UK. Inflexion points: More news on Bermuda-based insurance company acquisition Completion of discussions to secure short term credit facility. Alpha Growth & Income strategy growth BlackOak Alpha Growth Fund assets to reach target range What the boss says: Gobind Sahney, executive chairman 2020 was a foundational year for the fund and a significant growth year for the company overall. Despite the impact from Covid, we were able to implement various strategies across the company which are now enabling the phenomenal growth. During 2021 we will continue to further invest in these strategies to ensure we accelerate growth, increase AuM and substantially build our fee revenue. NEW YORK, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Jianpu Technology Inc. (NYSE: JT) between May 29, 2018 and February 16, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important April 19, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased Jianpu securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Jianpu class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2033.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 19, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience or resources. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020 founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) certain of Jianpu's transactions carried out by the Credit Card Recommendation Business Unit involved undisclosed relationships or lacked business substance; (2) as a result, Jianpu's revenue and costs and expenses for fiscal 2018 and 2019 were overstated; (3) there were material weaknesses in Jianpu's internal control over financial reporting; (4) as a result of the foregoing, Jianpu's fiscal 2018 Form 20-F was reasonably likely to be restated; and (5) as a result, Jianpu's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Jianpu class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2033.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Related Links www.rosenlegal.com Dehradun, April 10 : "The forests are very useful for the people living in the mountains. These forests cater to their basic needs such as clean water, pure air, cooking fuel, farming, fodder etc. Wherever the forests are meeting the basic needs of the people, the forests are healthy," says Mallika Virdi. She is the sarpanch of the Van Panchayat of Sarmoli village in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district. And her Van Panchayat is counted among the finest in the mountain state. Van Panchayat refers to a locally-elected institution that plans and organises activities to manage community forests in a sustainable manner. In Virdi's village, for instance, the community members clear bushes, remove weeds and prune dry branches to "get good-quality grass". "If we leave the forest (unattended), then the shrubs will grow as tall as trees. The management of forests is, therefore, necessary," she explains. Out of the total area of 51,125 sq.km in Uttarakhand, about 71.05 per cent of the land is covered in forests. Of this, 13.41 per cent forest area comes under the management of the Van Panchayats and there are 12,167 of these all over the state, the 2020-21 Uttarakhand Economic Survey says. Community knows best The Van Panchayats of Uttarakhand are known for managing community forests efficiently. Each Van Panchayat makes its own rules to use, manage and protect the local forest. These rules range from selecting forest guards to penalising defaulters. In Virdi's village of Sarmoli, the penalty fee can go from Rs 50 to Rs 1,000. "Van Panchayats do all the work related to environmental protection such as the revival of water sources, water conservation, protection of forests from fires, and plantation," says Puran Singh Rawal, who is the sarpanch of Adauli Van Panchayat in Bageshwar district. Rawal gives an insight into how his people fight forest fires. One, they routinely collect the fallen leaves and dried bushes and keep them aside. This is to ensure that the fire doesn't spread from the ground up. Two, they have identified the water sources they can rush to, in case there's a fire. Van Panchayats mostly operate independently of each other, but instances of collaboration are not uncommon. Take the case of Sarmoli. Since the villagers don't get enough grass from their own forest during the winter, they visit the forest in the adjacent village of Shankhadhura to meet their needs. On certain terms and conditions though. One, Shankhadhura Van Panchayat opens up its forest to outsiders only when it has a surplus of grass. Two, the outsiders have to buy a pass for Rs 150 from Shankhadhura Van Panchayat to enter their forest. Three, only one person per household is given entry. These Van Panchayats also ensure that the forest resources aren't overused. All movement of villagers and their cattle in the monsoon, from June to September, is stopped. During this period, people arrange grass and fodder for their cattle from within the village itself. Some villagers are also deployed to patrol the forest and to catch intruders. Virdi explains why this is done: "(As a result of the ban on forest use) a good amount of grass grows in the forests by October and November. The Van Panchayat then distributes the grass to the villagers as per their requirement. This grass is used as fodder all through the winter season." Fight to stay free The Van Panchayats won their right to manage traditionally-held forests after a sustained campaign against colonial rule. Tarun Joshi, President of the Van Panchayat Sangharsh Morcha, says that the British had declared these forests as the property of the state and banned the movement of people into the forest. The people of Uttarakhand (then a part of the United Provinces) opposed the move, the British authorities were forced to form the Forest Grievances Committee to address their concerns. It was on the advice of this committee that the institution of Van Panchayat was created under Section 28 (2) of the Indian Forest Act, in 1927. The working of Van Panchayats was disrupted in the year 1997 when the Indian government introduced the concept of Joint Forest Management or JFM. This model required both the forest departments and local communities to work together to manage and protect forests. It was met with protests by Van Panchayats across Uttarakhand, as they were opposed to the idea of the forest department 'meddling' in their affairs. The Forest department officials were given economic and administrative rights in the Van Panchayats, which the Panchayats did not approve of. As a result, the JFM system was discontinued from the state in 2003 and the Van Panchayat rules were reinstated, informs Joshi. However, the Van Panchayats are still not completely free of either the forest department or the revenue department. The sarpanches complain of increasing interference by the forest officials. Retired officials from the forest department are being inducted into the Van Panchayats against the wishes of the locals. The revenue department is responsible for conducting elections for a Van Panchayat every five years. They also step in to resolve disputes related to encroachments. On the part of the forest department, they assign a guard for every community forest managed by the Van Panchayat. They also sanction budgets for the Van Panchayats to execute various projects like the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning (CAMPA) scheme, or the Japan Interactive Corporation Agency (JICA) funded scheme. These may include afforestation, forest protection, water conservation and soil rejuvenation. "We are working to increase the livelihood sources of these Van Panchayats through projects such as JICA. So far, 700 Van Panchayats are executing projects under JICA," says Neena Grewal, who is the chief conservator of forests under the forest panchayat and community forestry department. A budget of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 is issued to the Van Panchayats for a period of three to four months, informs Rawal. According to the Forest Department Rules 2012, the department is supposed to draft a 'micro-plan' for the Van Panchayats every five years and sanction the budget for the same. However, a majority of the Van Panchayats haven't yet received the funds to execute these projects, which they wanted to take up to supplement their income. The Van Panchayats' own sources of income stem from the money they make by auctioning the pine, grass or rhododendron gathered from the forests, or from the sale of juices, jams, pickles and other processed products made by self-help groups. However, they have to seek permission from the forest department to use this income, even if it is for smaller interventions such as making a pond. Such interference remains a sore point in the otherwise efficient model of the Van Panchayat in Uttarakhand, say these leaders. (The author is a Dehradun-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.) * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT An Ukrainian serviceman walks in a trench by a sort of mannequin as he stands at his post on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8, 2021. - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was travelling to the country's eastern frontline on April 8, 2021, after a surge in clashes with separatist forces and a spike in tensions with Moscow. Fighting between the Ukrainian army and separatists has intensified in recent weeks, raising fears of a major escalation in the long-running conflict over the mainly Russian-speaking Donbas region. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) Credit - AFP via Getty Images After a lull in fighting since last July, the last few weeks have seen an outbreak of violence along the ceasefire line separating the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine with the rest of the country prompting Moscow to start massing troops along Ukraines border. Is it a prelude to war? Not likely. Heres what happens next in the long-running standoff between Kiev and Moscow. Why It Matters: Last summer, Russia and Ukraine agreed to better enforce a shaky ceasefire over the fighting that has gripped eastern Ukrainespecifically the separatist enclaves in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regionssince 2014. Russia has been supporting the secessionists movements in Donetsk and Luhansk, where 14,000-plus people have died in the fighting to date. Why? Because Ukraine is a strategically critical country that Moscow believes it needs to keep under its influence. Back in 2014, Ukraine was setting its sights westwards toward the E.U. and NATO, which Russian President Vladimir Putin regarded as an existential threat to Moscow. Hence the occupation of Crimea, and the fueling of independence movements in Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine still isnt a member of either the E.U. or NATO, so Russias gambits have worked in that regard, but that success has come at a costRussia has been under onerous energy, defense and financial sanctions from the West ever since. Story continues So what is Russia actually gunning for? For Moscow, the intention is to have the two separatist regions hold local elections and govern themselves, but not break away from Ukraine completely; Moscow wants the territories to remain semi-independent so they can be used by Russia to influence political developments within Ukraine, such as potentially blocking any moves to join NATO. Russias ultimate goal is that this quasi-independent status gets enshrined in Ukraines constitution. Unsurprisingly, thats a non-starter for many of Ukraines most prominent political leaders, including former comedian and current president Volodymyr Zelensky. In 2019, Zelensky used an aggressive anti-establishment platform to win the countrys presidency, but he also made ending the war in eastern Ukraine a central campaign pledge. Earlier in his administration, he insisted that Russia pull its troops from within Ukraines borders before moving forward with any longer-term political solution. That was smart politicstheres not much appetite in Ukraine for appeasing Russian aggressionbut Zelenskiy has been unable to deliver on his promise of ending the violence. What Happens Next: There have been five Ukrainian soldier casualties over the last week according to the White House, and Russian troop movements of late signals that the July 2020 ceasefire deal will be tested in the coming few weeks. What changed? Things had been quiet in recent months, a short-term reprieve for Zelensky given the lack of casualties but a long-term problem since no progress was being made towards ending the conflict. With President Joe Bidens move into the White House, Zelensky began making overtures to get the Biden administration more directly involved in the stalemate, but, given all the other crises the Biden Administration inherited, that was a longshot. Still, more U.S. involvement is the last thing Putin wants; Putin likely decided a show of force would dissuade the U.S. from interfering too much, while at the same time hoping the pressure would get Ukraines leadership moving towards negotiating a political settlement to the conflict even without Russia withdrawing its forces. Russia claims its the Ukrainians who provoked them with aggressive actions, and has warned NATO from interfering. And while Zelensky asked NATO just this week for an action plan that would allow Ukraine to join NATO down the linea move sure to aggravate Putin even morefor the time being, NATO is staying out of the fray. NATO officials are calculating that Russia is unlikely to escalate matters too dramatically vis-a-vis Ukraine. Moscow is worried about getting bogged down in (yet) another costly conflict with no clear exit strategy, especially one which has the potential to rally Western countries already frustrated with Russias actions across a host of other areas (election interference, cyberattacks, the arrest of Alexei Navalny, to name just a few) to Ukraines side, at least in the form of sharper sanctions. Factor in that military intervention on behalf of Donetsk and Luhansk doesnt have the same political appeal to the Russian public as past forays into Georgia and Crimea did, and the risk-reward calculus is too unbalanced for Putin. Ukraine, meanwhile, wants no part of an extended war with its much larger neighbor if it can avoid it; Kiev also knows that if it takes any aggressive offensive action against Russia, it risks losing the Western backing it currently has. Given all that, well surely see more violence in limited areas along the ceasefire line, but not much beyond that; and so long as the violence is contained, its unlikely to lead to more sanctions against Russia (though it certainly does no favors to Moscows broader relationship with the West). Of course, you never know what you get with Putin; former U.S. President Donald Trump liked to talk a big game about keeping his enemies guessing, Putin has the track record to prove it. While plenty in the Kremlin have been making threats of varying degrees, for the moment we havent heard much from Putin himself on the situation (except for accusations of dangerous provocative actions); if he decides to weigh in and starts making specific demands, then its time to start worrying. The One Major Misconception About It: That a maximally aggressive Putin is eyeing Donetsk and Luhansk for occupation the same way he did Crimea. The reality is that occupying any territory, let alone as hotly contested as these, requires serious resourcesfrom personnel to military equipment to straight financingand all that is before additional sanctions get factored in. Oh, and dont forget the recent economic hit from the pandemic. Putin is many things (even a killer, according to Biden) but he isnt crazy. The One Thing to Read About It: Over at GZERO Media, Willis Sparks lays out the case for why NATO shouldand shouldntwelcome Ukraine into its fold. The One Thing to Say About It on a Zoom Call: Neither side is currently happy with the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk, as both Ukraine and Russia want to see progress toward their preferred outcomes. But the longer the conflict gets drawn out, the more the enclaves in Donetsk and Luhansk are treated as de facto separate entities that need to be negotiated with in an official diplomatic capacity. That puts Putin in the position of strength. And Zelensky knows it. As more Americans line up to receive their COVID-19 vaccines, theres confusion over just how protective the shots are against the disease. Clinical trials showed the Pfizer and Moderna shots, for example, had efficacy rates of about 95% against symptomatic COVID-19 in lab settings. So, that means 5% of people who get vaccinated could still get sick, right? No it also doesnt mean vaccinated people have a 5% chance of getting COVID-19 or that 95% of people are protected from the disease. Data suggests risk of infection after vaccination is actually much lower. Efficacy tells us about risk reduction, so people who get vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna shots benefit from about a 95% lower risk of developing COVID-19 compared to those who are not vaccinated. Still confused? Think of it this way. If you could clone yourself and you had one version of you that was vaccinated and then one version of you that was unvaccinated, then the vaccinated one is 95% less likely to get sick, Natalie Dean, a biostatistician specializing in infectious diseases at the University of Florida, told Bloomberg. Breaking the math down helps About 36,000 people were involved in Pfizers late-stage vaccine trial in which about half received the shot and another half a placebo. In total, 170 people developed symptomatic COVID-19 162 in the placebo group and eight in the vaccine group. So, in reality, the odds of getting symptomatic COVID-19 after vaccination is really 0.04% (not 5%) after you divide the number of vaccinated people who got sick to the total number of vaccinated people. But even this explanation is misleading, according to Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, a virus expert at Yale University. If you were to ensure that the 18,000 people all got exposed to the virus, then yes, the vaccine efficacy would be incredible, right? But theyre not, Iwasaki told Business Insider. Thats why we have to compare the vaccine arm with the placebo arm, because the placebo arm is what tells us how much exposure and infection there would have been, if they werent immunized with the vaccine. Story continues Its more helpful to compare the eight people who got infected after vaccination to the 162 people who got sick without a vaccine. Scientists do this by finding the difference between the fractions of people who got sick in the placebo and vaccine group. Thats where the 95% comes from, Iwasaki said. The same process applies to the Moderna and one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines. That makes the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines one of the most effective vaccines that we have, Brianne Barker, a virologist at Drew University in New Jersey, told Live Science. For comparison, the flu vaccine is between 40% and 60% effective, depending on the version of the virus thats circulating in a given year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Yet, the flu vaccine prevented an estimated 7.5 million flu illnesses, 105,000 hospitalizations and 6,300 deaths during the 2019-2020 season. The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 shot is just as effective at preventing severe COVID-19 infections compared to the other coronavirus candidates, experts say. But its easy to not understand why given late-stage trials showed the shot had a lower efficacy rate (72%) compared to Pfizer and Moderna among Americans. Thats because it had a very different clinical trial than those of the Pfizer and Moderna shots; Johnson & Johnson was up against the new coronavirus variants that appear to be more contagious and evade vaccines to a small degree. Pfizer and Moderna completed their clinical trials before the variants emerged from the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. While clinical trials give us the vaccines efficacy rates, they do not reveal the shots effectiveness, which is how well the vaccines protect against COVID-19 in real-world settings outside of the lab. However, emerging evidence suggests the vaccines are performing just as well now that millions in the general population have been vaccinated. A CDC study posted last week found that risk of coronavirus infection dropped by 90% two weeks after receiving a second and final dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and by 80% two weeks following a single dose among nearly 4,000 health care workers, first responders and other essential workers across six states. Overall, it suggests vaccines can prevent both asymptomatic without symptoms and symptomatic infections among vaccinated people. How soon and how long could you feel side effects of COVID vaccines? What to know Can you donate blood after getting a COVID vaccine? What to know about eligibility Is it OK to drink alcohol before or after COVID vaccination? What to know Poland has commemorated the 11th anniversary of a plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk that killed 96 people -- including Poland's then-President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and many of the country's senior political and military officials. Many Poles, including senior members of the governing Law and Justice Party, question the results of an investigation released in 2011 by a special Polish commission. It concluded the Tu-154 military flight from Warsaw had crashed on April 10, 2010, in extreme fog on its approach to an airport near Smolensk because of pilot error and a lack of warnings from Smolensk air-traffic controllers. Poles are also suspicious of Russias handling of the investigation. The current Polish president, Andrzej Duda, has noted that while Russia turned over data from the plane's flight recorders that it deemed relevant to the case, "the wreckage is still in Russia; the black boxes are still in Russia." The late president's twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has said he suspects the crash was the result of an assassination plot by the Russians. The tragedy has strained relations with Russia, all the more so because the plane had been traveling to commemorate the World War II Katyn massacre of some 22,000 Polish military officers and civilian intelligentsia by Soviet secret police. Events commemorating the plane crash on April 10 began in the morning with a Roman Catholic religious service and the laying of wreaths at a monument dedicated to the victims of the crash and at their graves. An evening religious service was also scheduled in a Warsaw cathedral. For the second consecutive year, the commemorations took place amid coronavirus restrictions and were limited in scope. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the crash in a Facebook post on April 10 as "the biggest national tragedy in Poland's postwar history." With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa ADVERTISEMENT The Students Union of the Lagos State University (LASUSU) has said it is speaking with the relevant security agencies to rescue one of the students of the institution that was abducted on Friday. According to Zainab Adams, the spokesperson of LASUSU, Kehinde Olowa, a student of LASU, was kidnapped alongside others at Warri-Benin Highway while returning to Lagos. In a statement on Saturday, the students union said it has contacted the State Security Service (SSS) and the Police Command in Lagos over the kidnap and how to rescue the student. Having received the information in regards to the kidnap of one of our dear own in person of Olowa Kehinde, the members of the 30th LASUSU Students Executive Council have swung into action immediately. Immediately we received this information, we got in touch with the investigation team and investigation has commenced in regards to this situation at present. Afterwards, we contacted the director of DSS, Lagos State axis and also contacted the Police headquarters and lodged in our complaint which these aforementioned quarters immediately swung into action and assure us of discharging their duties diligently, the student body said. LASUSU added that it is cooperating with the security agencies in bringing Mr Kehinde back home safely. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Ademola Adekoya, the spokesperson of the Lagos State University (LASU), he said the university is yet to confirm the identity of the kidnapped student. The news broke out on Friday, at the closing hour, so, there is no way anybody could reach out to identify whether it is our student or not. The Dean of Students Affairs has been informed and the school will identify which of the students is involved, he said. Mr Adekoya said security personnel have been contacted on how the student can be rescued. Unfortunately, it is not that he went for a university official assignment, he travelled and then coming back, that happened. The university is concerned that one of its students is kidnapped, he said. There have been past reports of kidnappings along the Benin-Ore expressway and many other parts of the country. PREMIUM TIMES reported how gunmen kidnapped Odetunde Emmanuel, a student of the University of Ibadan, and demanded N100 million ransom. The student was later rescued by security operatives in Kaduna State. Malaysia-China joint train project sees 1st tunnel breakthrough Xinhua) 14:21, April 10, 2021 Guests wave flags at the breakthrough ceremony of Paka tunnel in Paka of Terengganu State, Malaysia, April 9, 2021. The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), Malaysia's mega rail project jointly constructed with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), saw on Friday the first tunnel breakthrough in Terengganu state. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei) PAKA, Malaysia, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), Malaysia's mega rail project jointly constructed with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), saw on Friday the first tunnel breakthrough in Terengganu state. The breakthrough ceremony of the 1.1-km long single-bored Paka tunnel was attended by officials and representatives of project owner Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) and CCCC. Despite major challenges faced during the construction period including work suspensions and strict containment measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, the tunnel site team managed to achieve the breakthrough ahead of schedule, according to MRL and CCCC. Expressing his appreciation for the excellent work progress at Terowong Paka, MRL Chairman Mohd Zuki Ali said the hard work and commitment of about 100 ECRL personnel in carrying out the tunneling works have contributed to the breakthrough. All other related tunnel civil works are expected to be fully completed by the first quarter of 2022. "Today's tunnel breakthrough is a result of mutual assistance and collaboration between MRL and CCCC that put into practice top-notch technology, equipment, planning, and safety aspects in tunnel engineering and construction," said Mohd Zuki. For his part, CCCC's Managing Director for ECRL Bai Yinzhan thanked the ECRL project team from both sides for putting in efforts in accomplishing the first tunnel breakthrough and other project milestones. "In the past 12 months, we had faced many challenges, including the pandemic and severe flooding along the East Coast. But our workers together with our local partners have put in relentless efforts to ensure the project stays on track while adhering to strict enforcement of the applicable standards of procedures to keep our workplace safe," said Bai. The ECRL runs from Malaysia's largest transport hub Port Klang and travels across the peninsula to Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia. The rail link is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to the country by linking its less-developed region on the East Coast to the economic heartland on the West Coast upon its completion in 2026. Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said earlier this week that the construction work of the ECRL is "in full swing" and is progressing at an "encouraging" rate of 21.39 percent as of March 2021. The works at more than 300 locations will commence by the year-end involving earthworks, bridge construction works as well as tunnel works which will drive the construction of the ECRL into its peak period, he said. Enditem (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Carrie Underwood's gospel album 'My Savior' tops multiple charts; Easter concert raises $100K Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Country star Carrie Underwood celebrated the resurrection of Christ by reaching atop Billboards Country and Christian charts with her new gospel album, My Savior. She also raised over $100,000 for children in need. The faith-filled release debuted at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200 list and topped the Christian and Country chart. My Savior is now Underwoods ninth-consecutive album to debut at the top of the Billboard Country charts. The 13-song release includes classics such as "Softly and Tenderly" and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," which was sung as a duet with gospel legend CeCe Winans. How Great Thou Art," "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Amazing Grace" are other songs on the album. Seven songs from the project also debuted on the Country Songs Track chart, including How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace, Just As I Am, Because He Lives, Victory In Jesus, The Old Rugged Cross and Blessed Assurance. Underwoods last release in 2020 was a Christmas album titled, My Gift, which also featured some Christian songs. To celebrate her latest release on Easter Sunday, the "American Idol" alum performed all 13 songs off of My Savior during a livestream performance at Nashvilles historic Ryman Auditorium, known as the Mother Church of Country Music. The concert has since raised $112,000 for the nonprofit charity Save the Children US, which services over 100 countries to ensure children worldwide receive health and education. According to a statement from Universal Music Group Nashville, about 2.5 million fans worldwide viewed the show while millions more viewed exclusive performance clips during the 48-hour window. Underwood wore a white and pink floral gown as she belted out her new songs with her band socially distanced behind her. The event also included special appearances by Winans, who performed "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" with Underwood. NEEDTOBREATHE frontman, Bear Rinehart, was also in attendance. He and the Grammy-winning artist performed their rendition of "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." Clips of the concert can be viewed on Facebook. Six civilians died and seven more were injured on Saturday when an Al-Shabaab suicide bomber blew himself up outside a cafe in Somalia, police and witnesses said Mogadishu, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2021 ) :Six civilians died and seven more were injured on Saturday when an Al-Shabaab suicide bomber blew himself up outside a cafe in Somalia, police and witnesses said. The attack happened in the central town of Baidoa, 250 kilometres (190 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu and police said the target was the regional governor, who was inside the cafe taking tea. "A terrorist suicide bomber blew up himself at Suweys cafeteria and killed six people, he was targeting the governor Ali Wardheere but he survived the attack,"local police officer Mohamud Adan told AFP by phone. "Two of his security guards were among the wounded, one of them seriously, and five other civilians. "The suspicious bomber was stopped at the door by the guards but unfortunately, he suddenly blew himself (up) and caused fatalities. The governor survived with a few scars," the officer added. The United States is consulting with partners and allies in the region about the current situation around Ukraine, including the movement of Russian troops near the country's borders, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. "The White House said it was engaged in discussions with NATO allies about growing tensions in Ukraine amid Russias military buildup near the order," Psaki said at the briefing. "We also communicate a lot with the Russian side at many levels," she said. In addition, Psaki raised the issue of Washington's impending response to a number of alleged actions by Russia, which the United States regards as destructive. She recalled that the United States, in response to the unfriendly actions of Russia, will resort to a number of both explicit and covert measures. Bloomberg previously reported that the U.S. administration, having completed a review of the actions of the Russian Federation, is now preparing countermeasures. According to the agency, it could be about sanctions and the expulsion of "intelligence officers working under diplomatic cover." Bloomberg said that it is possible that the sanctions will affect people close to the Russian leadership, as well as structures that, according to the United States, are related to attempts to interfere in the U.S. elections. NEW DELHI: The Election Commission ordered adjournment of polls at polling station number 126 in the Sitalkuchi Assembly constituency of West Bengal amid reports of violence on Saturday (April 10). A spokesperson of the poll panel said the decision was based on an interim report filed by special observers. Detailed reports have been sought from them and the state Chief Electoral Officer by 5 pm. The decision comes against the backdrop of five persons being killed as central forces allegedly opened fire after coming under attack from locals, who 'attempted to snatch their rifles', in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district on Saturday. The incident took place in the Sitalkuchi area when voting was underway, a senior district police officer told PTI. Violence first broke out when two unidentified men on a motorcycle fired at a queue of voters, killing one person, a police official was quoted by Reuters. Four people died near another polling booth when security forces opened fire to control unrest among voters, as people shoved and pushed duty police officers, said the official, declining to be named ahead of a final assessment of the incident. Trinamool Congress seeks explanation from Election Commission The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Saturday sought explanation from the Election Commission over the death of five persons, who were shot allegedly by central forces at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district during the fourth phase of assembly elections. "We are sad to say with deep concern that firing by central forces has left four dead and four injured at Mathabhanga. We also want to say that the central forces are committing crimes and crossing all limits. The EC should come out with an explanation," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen said. Meanwhile, according to reports, Trinamool Congress supremo and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Sitalkuchi on Saturday and take stock of the situation. She will reportedly board a flight at 3:15 pm today. The Trinamool Congress in West Bengal is planning to hold a protest over the incident and demand resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah over the Cooch Behar firing in which five people lost their lives. Sen said when Mamata had pointed to the excesses of the central forces, she was twice issued a showcause notice. "Now, the people of the state want to showcause the EC about how this unfortunate event unfolded," she said. The TMC leader said the BJP is playing mind games and resorting to pressure tactics. Live TV "Mamata Banerjee has already won the Nandigram seat by a huge margin. BJP is merely selling a dream to its party workers," Sen said. She also shared clippings of purported videos, one of which showed central forces vandalising TMC camps at night. Bahrain has undergone transformative changes in its understanding and management of human rights issues: Sam Zakhem Bahrain has undergone transformative changes in its understanding and management of human rights issues: Sam Zakhem TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Former US Ambassador to Bahrain Sam Zakhem has lauded the legislative and legal measures taken by Bahrain to ensure human rights. Zakhem hailed Bahrain for the establishment of Ombudsman at the Ministry of Interior and the Special Investigation at the Office of the Public Prosecutor, legal reforms such as raising the juvenile age to eighteen, alternative sentencing, and de-emphasising the role of confessions as evidence of guilt. In an opinion piece published in the US National Interest magazine, on How Bahrain Is Improving its Human Rights Record, Zakhem urged the American officials to re-balance their approach to human rights and that not all protestors are high-minded Jeffersonians. Bahrain, he said, strives to confront these challenges openly, which required more cooperation by the United States to produce better results. Recalling the statement of former US President Ronald Reagan, who said in 1987, Ounce for ounce and inch for inch, Bahrain is Americas best friend in the world today Zakhem said, Thirty-four years later, his assessment remains truer than ever. The ambassador indicated that Bahrain is a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional melting pot in which the vast majority of citizens seek to better themselves economically, politically, and socially. They have lived together peacefully for centuries, and their modern history has been forged in concert with Western values and political and economic models. Bold and concerted action Over the past ten years, the government of Bahrain has taken bold and concerted action. In 2011, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (Bassiouni Commission) released its report into the unrest of that year and made far-reaching recommendations, many of which have been implemented. Bahrain has also undergone transformative changes in its understanding and management of human rights issues. There now exist unprecedented measures for legal protection, oversight, and accountability to protect citizens from governmental excesses, he added. He denounced the keenness of some critics not to recognise the positive developments. Some detractors will never be satisfied, however. They will continue to label Bahrain a pariah as long as members of the opposition remain incarcerated or prisoners allege abuse. This all or nothing' approach is misguided, he said. The former US Ambassador expressed dismay over the fact that criticisms lack context and homogenize detainees. Many of Bahrains highest-profile prisoners are bona fide bad actors. Some have plotted and carried out targeted acts of violence involving sophisticated explosive devices that have killed scores of policemen. Others are members of groups that the United States has designated as foreign terrorist organisations. The evidence against them is overwhelming and not the product of forced confessions. They are violent extremistsarmed, trained, and funded by hostile foreign powers. After a year of closed theatres around the world, Australia is leading the way in bringing performance back to the stage. The dramatic spotlight has focused on plays with small casts - one-, two- or three-handers - which have been instrumental in enabling companies to open their doors again, and which bring their own special rewards. The artistic director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, Brett Sheehy, says, I have been as dazzled, challenged and transformed by a solo performance of Beckett in Melbourne as I have by 65 actors on stage at Theatre du Soleil in Paris. Dan Speilman and Izabella Yena in the MTC production of Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes. Credit:Scott McNaughton If you ask Nadia Tass about the experience of directing Amanda Muggleton in Coral Browne: This F------ Lady (which opened on Thursday in Brunswick), the one hander about the woman from Footscray who conquered the English stage, all Tass sees is the satisfaction the solo format allows. Directing Amanda Muggleton, she says, is sheer joy. Its an opportunity for both actor and director to commit to each others vision, trust each other and explore the moments of comedy, pathos and the characters world. The MTCs first production back from lockdown, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, was a tense #MeToo-era two-hander. This month the company opens Joanna Murray-Smiths Berlin (in the MTCs Sumner from April 17), a two-hander starring Grace Cummings and Michael Wahr. I asked the director Iain Sinclair about the challenge involved when just two actors have to hold up a show together. Two handers have a very specific dramaturgy that boil down to the rift between text and subtext, he says. Jos two young characters in Berlin, a young Jewish man from Melbourne and an establishment Berliner are roughly packed on either end of a kind of ethical and emotional centrifuge, which Jo speeds up and slows down and flings these two lovers around in a way that feels exactly what its like to be in your 20s... My challenge is to help the actors navigate themselves across those stormy seas. India and China agreed to resolve the outstanding issues related to disengagement at various friction points in Eastern during eleventh round of military-level talks. The latest round of India-China Corps Commander level meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border point on April 9 and the talks lasted for about 13 hours. The parleys began at around 10:30 am and ended at 11:30 pm. The meeting was focused on how to take forward the disengagement process in the remaining friction points such as Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern The Indian military delegation was led by Lieutenant General PGK Menon, Commander of the 14 Corps based in Leh. "The two sides had a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement along the LAC in Eastern and agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols," the government said on Saturday. During the meeting, it was highlighted that completion of disengagement in other areas would pave the way for both sides to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquility and enable progress in bilateral relations. Both India and China agreed that it was important to take guidance from the consensus of their leaders, continue their communication and dialogue and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest. They also agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground, avoid any new incidents and jointly maintain peace in the border areas. On February 20, 2021 Indian and Chinese military held the 10th round of military dialogue to deescalate tension at the LAC. The border standoff between the armies of India and China erupted on May 5 last following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas in eastern Ladakh and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February in line with an agreement on disengagement. India has been insisting that a resolution of outstanding issues including in Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra is essential for overall ties between the two countries. Every Sunday, Randy Rush helped his wife, Tami, into their RAV-4. They'd drive away from the memory care center where Tami lived and where the staff would dress Tami up for her date night. And every Sunday, the couple would find a new pizza place in Colorado Springs. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today A mainly sunny sky. High 93F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low near 65F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Mae Whitman and Jane Levy have endured a friendship that spans nearly a decade. And on Friday the the Good Girls actress, 32, was her friend's number one cheerleader as she celebrated Levy's Los Angeles Confidential Magazine cover at a chic springtime luncheon. The NBC darlings who struck up an instant friendship after being introduced by a mutual friend dazzled in bright colors while toasting to the Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist star's latest accomplishment. Cheerleader: Mae Whitman, 32, proved to be the ultimate best friend to gal pal Jane Levy, 31, as she celebrates her LA Confidential Magazine cover at a springtime luncheon in Beverly Hills Honored: The Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist star was honored with a magazine cover, having become a prominent name on account of her show which even snagged her a Golden Globe nomination Mae looked chic in a cap sleeved mint dress adorned with zebra stripes. She paired the eye-catching dress with a simple pair of black mules, adding a pop of color with a statement red lip. Her two toned tresses were down in soft waves as she triumphantly posed next to Jane's cover. And the red-haired beauty shined both on an off the cover while debuting the upcoming issue at the Women of Influence party in Beverly Hills. Jane shined in a magenta set, pairing a blouse with elegant matching trousers. The wide-legged pants showed off her slender frame and she also played up her look with a red lip. Friendship: The NBC darlings have a friendship that spans nearly a decade after being introduced by a mutual friend and immediately hitting it off Family affair: Also present at the luncheon was Levy's mom Mary as they were seen toasting with a refreshment while dining al fresco She left her fiery locks curled and accessorized with a pair of droplet earrings, continuing to savor the day with many stunning photo opps. The Golden Globe nominee celebrated with her mom Mary Tilbury and a few other close pals and relatives, at a party with stunning floral arrangements. Also joining Levy for the day was So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Mandy Moore and the ladies all toasted with some refreshments. The lifestyle magazine made it a point to celebrate not just Levy but all the strong women who have become part of the Hollywood landscape. Spring florals: In honor of spring being in full bloom the ladies stepped out in a cheery color palette to offset the stunning floral arrangements Magenta moments: Jane ensured all eyes were on her as she wowed in a magenta set with a red lip for an added pop of color A celebration of female empowerment, Levy's boyfriend Thomas McDonell was not present for the outing but he was the catalyst for she and Mae's friendship. In a joint interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the ladies spoke about their origin story, Mae sharing they hit it off immediately after linking up at a 'cool weird bar' in LA. 'I came around the corner and Jane was sitting in this giant booth with a big-a** shrimp cocktail right in front of her face. It was just these big, blue, clear eyes probing into my soul the second that we met, and I was so jolted and scared but also excited,' the Parenthood actress shared. Levy continued to sing her friend's praises as well. 'I was just so struck by how cool [she was] and I hate to use the term down-to-earth, which is an unfortunate phrase that we use about people but she really is just such a real person. But beyond being a real person she's the most incredibly charming and generous person to be around.' Gushing: Jane hit it home with the ultimate compliment as she gushed over her friend: 'Everyone's dream best friend is you...and everyone is jealous of me because I get to be your best friend' Their night continued afterwards with Succession star Nicholas Braun and the trio busted out their best Mariah Carey renditions at karaoke, further solidifying their friendship. Speaking to the publication the ladies proceeded to hype each other up, sharing that despite being in the same industry it's all love and both have even recommended the other for roles. 'We've been known to both go into auditions and be like, "We are not right for this but my friend is actually the person for this." We've both done that,' said Mae. And Jane hit it home with the ultimate compliment as she gushed over her friend. 'Everyone's dream best friend is you...and everyone is jealous of me because I get to be your best friend, which makes me feel good,' she said, as they shared a laugh. Kolkata, April 10 : Hours after the death of four people in the firing by central forces at Sitalkuch in Cooch Behar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing condolences over the deaths said that inciting people against the central forces and creating hindrances in the poll process won't be able to save you Didi (Mamata). Modi said this while addressing a rally at Jalpaiguri in North Bengal on Saturday. "My condolences are with their family members" Modi said in Jalpaiguri adding that "This violence, inciting people against the central forces and creating hindrances in the poll process won't be able to save you didi (Mamata). I urge the ECI to take stern action against the guilty in the Cooch Behar case," he added. Though police claimed that the central forces opened fire in self-defence, the Election Commission has adjourned the polling process in the booth and sought a report from the special police observer and CEO Ariz Aftab by Saturday evening. The final decision regarding the incident will be taken after the commission examines the report. Referring to the cut money issue and alleged extortion by the Trinamool Congress leaders the Prime Minister said that Didi and her goons have become jittery seeing the people's support for the BJP. Seeing her rule coming to an end, "Didi has stooped to this level. But I would like to make it clear to the TMC that this won't work in Bengal," Modi said. Referring to Mamata Banerjee's recent comments on central forces for which she was served a notice by the Election Commission, Modi at his Siliguri rally said, "Can you imagine a head of the state is giving training to the voters to gherao central forces?" Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, defended her action. In a reply to the Election Commission she said she has the highest regard for the Central Armed Police Forces and in her speech there was no attempt to threaten, incite or influence the electorate against the forces. In a separate meeting at Krishnangar in Nadia district, Modi said, "Handicrafts, business, marketing, investment aren't among the TMC's priorities. Didi's TMC is an expert in 'tolabaazi', cut-money." He also alleged that TMC is an expert in killing BJP workers and in rigging. He added that Mamata Didi abuses the EC, CAPF, EVMs to the extent that Didi is abusing her own party's polling agents now. "She is so desperate that she is defaming Bengal's voters, Didi, o Didi! People of Bengal don't expect you to have sensitivity anymore," he said. He went on to say, "the reason behind Didi's anger is not only BJP & Modi but the people whose trust Didi has broken. The minority community that Didi persuaded are in distress so she needs to appeal to them continuously", he added. Raising his voice for the people of Bengal he said, "this election is not only being fought by BJP but people of Bengal are also fighting this election." Flash Germany would amend its infection protection act to "regulate on a nationwide basis" what restrictions would apply when local seven-day COVID-19 incidence exceeded 100 per 100,000 citizens, deputy government spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said Friday. Demmer told a press conference that it was not yet clear how quickly the change in the law would be implemented, but it would be done "as quickly as possible." In the past, Germany's COVID-19 response has been characterized by regional differences as the ultimate legal power lay with the country's federal states. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state governments agreed on an emergency brake in case of a seven-day incidence above 100, not all states reacted accordingly in recent weeks. Earlier on Friday, Minister of Health Jens Spahn and the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Lothar Wieler warned that the COVID-19 situation in Germany was serious as the number of patients in intensive care units was rising rapidly. Despite the ongoing lockdown and the country's vaccination campaign, new infections rose sharply again. Germany recorded 25,464 new cases within one day on Friday, around 3,500 more than on the same day last week. The seven-day incidence rose from around 105.7 per 100,000 citizens on Thursday to 110.4, according to the RKI. Spahn appealed for uniform nationwide measures. "I recommend that we all tone down the party squabbling, election year or not, and concentrate on the essentials, fighting the pandemic," he said during a press conference. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. GREENWICH The political landscape will shift in Greenwich after the municipal election in the fall, with many familiar political figures from both parties deciding to not seek reelection this year. One member of the Board of Selectmen and at least three of the four members of the Board of Education whose terms are up this year are stepping aside. Selectperson Jill Oberlander, a Democrat, said she is not planning to run this fall. On the school board, Chair Peter Bernstein and member Peter Sherr, both Republicans, and Meghan Olsson, a Democrat, all said this past week they would not be on the ballot. Democrat Kathleen Stowe, the boards vice chair whose term is also expiring, has not announced her plans. While I have enjoyed my eight years of service to the students and citizens of Greenwich, I will not be seeking another term on the Board of Education, Bernstein, who has been chair since 2017, said Friday. The Board of Education consists of eight elected members serving four-year terms, with four members elected every two years. First Selectman Fred Camillo and Selectwoman Lauren Rabin, who ran on the Republican ticket in 2019, have not announced their plans for 2021. Rabin said Friday that she expects to make a joint announcement with Camillo in the coming weeks. But Oberlander will not be on the fall ballot, after running for first selectman in 2019 and earning a seat on the board. The Board of Selectmen has three members who are elected every two years. It is a privilege to represent the residents of Greenwich on the Board of Selectmen, and I am very proud of my contributions and accomplishments, Oberlander said in a statement. At present, I do not plan to stand for election in this years municipal election cycle. Oberlander, who served from 2017 to 2019 as the first Democratic chair of the Board of Estimate and Taxation in recorded town history, declined to comment further on her decision and would not say if she would seek a different role in town government. Several possible candidates are likely interested in running for her seat, including Democrat Howard Richman, who served as tax collector from 2017 to 2019. The Democratic Town Committee candidate search committee is aware of my interest in the nomination for selectman, Richman said Friday. I expect to be interviewed by the nominating committee in the near future. Under Greenwichs town charter, the top three vote-getters are seated on the Board of Selectmen, and only a candidate running for first selectman can be elected to that position. But if the losing candidate for first selectman gets more votes than a candidate for selectman, the first selectman candidate gets the seat on the board. Thats what happened in 2019 with Oberlander and in 2017 with Sandy Litvack, after each fell short in their bids for first selectman. Full tickets likely The political season kicked off in Greenwich last week when Republican Tax Collector Heather Smeriglio announced she is seeking a second term. Republican Town Committee Chair Dan Quigley said he expects Camillo and Rabin to run again and anticipates Carmella Budkins will run for a 16th term as town clerk. Our community should take great pride in the job our Republican leaders have done to help navigate Greenwich through the uncharted waters of this past year, Quigley said. First Selectman Camillos vision and strong leadership have set the tone for our entire community during a period when their was real fear about COVID. Democratic Town Committee Chair Joe Angland said the Democrats would likely field a full slate of municipal candidates, which was not always the case. But the local Democratic candidates have seen far more success in recent years than they once did in Greenwich. My optimism that we will have candidates for all offices is based on my understanding that many highly qualified Democrats have expressed interest in running for office, Angland said. Of course, we are early in the process, and we wont know for sure until ... (they) seek endorsement from the DTC. Filling the school board The DTC and RTC will both be looking to fill the vacancies on the Board of Education, which is losing two longtime members. Bernstein has served for eight years, including the last four as chair. And Sherr is completing his 12th year on the board. Both are Republicans, but Sherr has clashed publicly on several occasions with Bernstein as well as with other past Republican board chairs and party leaders. Sherr once went against the GOP and supported a Democratic chair of the school board over the sitting Republican. Ive been blessed to give 12 years to the towns children and improving schools, said Sherr, who was chair from 2016 to 2017. Its time to focus in new directions and engage in different ways. Sherr was censored last month in a bipartisan but not unanimous vote of the Board of Education after he was caught on a live mic uttering a profanity during a February meeting. But he said the censure had no bearing on his decision. It was the surprise resignation of school superintendent Jill Gildea in May 2018 that compelled him to stay on this long, he said. I never planned to serve three terms, Sherr said. But all the other senior members decided to leave and I was holding the bag when we had hired a new superintendent. I stayed to assure a successful transition. Despite many people asking me to run again, I never considered for a moment a fourth term. Sherr said he almost left in the middle of this term but many parents see me as their voice in the chaos of the last few years; I decided to fulfill my commitment to them. As for the Democrats, Olsson accepted an out-of-state teaching position in 2019 and had been calling in remotely to meetings even before the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that she and her family would soon be moving to Massachusetts. Ive truly enjoyed my tenure on the board, the relationships forged and the work we have done, Olsson said. The particular challenge our board faces is the obstacle to funding our public education system, and my hope is that Greenwich can appropriately fund the public schools going forward to provide a first-class education and facilities to all of our students. Stowe, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in the 149th House District last November, she said she has not reached a decision on the school board. Im still trying to digest the outcome of the BET (budget) meetings, Stowe said this week. My focus right now is ending this strange school year strong and then we will see. The RTC and DTC will hold nomination meetings in July. Both parties have set up committees to look at prospective candidates. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. 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. THE first Limerick homes and business to secure access to high-speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan, will be connected this summer, it has been confirmed. National Broadband Ireland (NBI), which is designing, building and operating the new fibre broadband network for rural Ireland, says it expects around 2,000 premises in Limerick will be connected by October. The first connections - to around 1,600 premises in the greater Limerick city area - could be complete by June with customers then being able to sign up with a service provider once the fibre 'passes' their property. At a virtual meeting, Donal Hanrahan Chief Operating Officer with NBI Deployment - told members of Limerick City and County Council that the network will be extended to other parts of Limerick once work to build a regional exchange in the city is complete. From there work will begin to build a number of 'local exchanges' at locations across Limerick including Adare, Abbeyfeale, Hospital and Newcastle West. Mr Hanrahan explained that each exchange caters for premises which are located within a 20km radius meaning around 1,300 homes and business in Clare will also be connected once the Limerick city exchange is built in June. Around 350 premises in East Limerick will receive high-speed broadband via an exchange in Tipperary Town which is due to be completed by October. The special council meeting was told the new fibre network, which will offer speeds up to 1GB, is being rolled out in specified "intervention areas" where commercial operators do not provide a service. More than 21,000 properties have been identified across Limerick and the total cost of extending the network under the National Broadband Plan will be more than 84m. While the the first homes and businesses will be connected in Limerick this summer, those in more rural parts of the county will have to wait for at least another 12 months before they are connected. According to Donal Hanrahan, the local exchange in the Adare area should be built in the second half of 2022 while the timetable for the remainder of the roll-out in Limerick has yet to be confirmed as survey works are ongoing. The overall plan, he said, will take seven years to complete. Voters in Kyrgyzstan will cast ballots Sunday on whether to approve a new constitution that would substantially increase the presidents powers in this impoverished Central Asian nation. The referendum comes three months after Sadyr Zhaparov was elected president, following the ouster of the previous president amid protests, the third time in 15 years that a leader of Kyrgyzstan had been driven from office in a popular uprising. In the January election that brought Zhaparov to office, voters also approved a referendum on whether presidential powers should be increased. The proposed new constitution would reduce the size of the countrys parliament by 25% to 90 seats and give the president the power to appoint judges and heads of law-enforcement agencies. It also calls for creating an advisory council that critics say could essentially become a shadow parliament or an instrument for the president to exert pressure. Zhaparov last year was serving a prison sentence on charges of abducting a regional governor amid a dispute over a gold mine when he was freed by demonstrators who contested the results of the October parliamentary election. Immediately after his release, Zhaparov mobilized stone-hurling supporters to evict President Sooronbai Jeenbekov from office and then took the helm as the nations interim leader. Kyrgyzstan, a nation of 6.5 million people that borders China is a member of Russia-dominated economic and security alliances. It hosts a Russian air base and depends on Moscows economic support. Reports surfaced a few hours ago claiming that Google had canceled its plans for the release of a Pixel 5a. Google has swiftly laid those rumors to rest, though, by confirming that the Pixel 5a will be released later this year, at least in the US and Japan. 4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 5G , Accessory , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Ice Lake , Intel Evo / Project Athena , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Linux / Unix , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) Ticker Fans of Google's Pixel A series will have been looking forward to the next iteration, the Pixel 5a, and Google has now confirmed that it will launch the phone later this year, amidst recent rumors claiming the phone had been canceled. A few hours ago, rumors surfaced that Google had canceled its plans for the release of the Pixel 5a, codenamed "Barbet". Going by the source tweet, Google's decision was down to the issue of chip shortage in the industry, resulting in the company choosing to keep on selling the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G while working on the Pixel 6. Thankfully, though, Google has swiftly laid those rumors to rest: Pixel 5a 5G is not canceled. It will be available later this year in the US and Japan and announced in line with when last years a-series phone was introduced. In 2021, its nearly impossible to imagine the biggest recording artist in the country getting ambushed by a gang of gunmen in his own home. But thats what happened to Bob Marley in Jamaica at the peak of his popularity. Marley was preparing to play a unity concert, Smile Jamaica, at the time. If youve seen footage of the concert, you know Marley had the wounds to back up his account. Yet the bullet holes only make up part of the story; the motivation behind the assault remains unclear nearly 45 years after the fact. Theories abound as to how and why gunmen entered Marleys home, which doubled as his studio and rehearsal space. And they start with the two warring parties in contemporary Jamaican politics. Bob Marley and 3 others with him were shot in December 1976 Bob Marley sits outside the X-Ray department at Jamaicas University Hospital after being shot. | Bettman RELATED: The Bob Marley Song That Became the Wailers Breakout Hit Most sources agree on the basics of Marleys shooting. The incident took place on December 3, 1976, at 56 Hope Road in Kingston. When the gunmen had finished shooting, Marley, his wife Rita, Marleys manager Don Taylor, and Marley friend Louis Griffiths counted among the wounded. From there, you wont find agreement on all the details. For instance, some reports indicate that 56 Hope Road had security guards out front. So either they ignored the invaders, went on an inconvenient break, or werent there in the first place. But two vehicles full of gunmen arrived and entered. Reggae historian Roger Steffens spoke with several present that night over the years. Steffens included a section on the shooting in his 2017 oral history on Marley, So Much Things to Say. In that account, Steffens said (via Rolling Stone) that the longtime guards mysteriously disappeared. Tyrone Downie, who played keyboards in the Wailers, told Steffens a gunman entered the room where he was and started firing indiscriminately. And Downie heard gunshots in other parts of the property. All told, witnesses on the scene counted between five and seven shooters. Many point to political motivations behind Marleys shooting Bob Marley relaxes with friends in front of his house at 56 Hope Road in Kingston. | Charlie Steiner Hwy 67 Revisited/Getty Images The Smile Jamaica concert could not proceed without the cooperation of the ruling socialist party (PNP) led by Michael Manley. So the fact Marley planned to perform at the event looked like a political endorsement. That drew the ire of the labor party (JLP), with which the PNP had been at war. Going by that theory, the JLP would have ordered the shooting. They would go after Marley as a warning against backing the PNP so publicly. Yet Downie considered the possibility that the gunmen targeted Taylor, the man wounded most seriously. Meanwhile, a question remained: How did everyone present survive? Six or seven gunmen could have killed everybody (all unarmed) in the house. Rita Marley, shot point blank in the head, fully recovered, as did Marley, Griffiths, and Taylor. In Steffens oral history, Marley biographer Stephen Davis relayed the account of Wailers guitarist Don Kinsey. Kinsey says that the gunman came in with this automatic weapon, looked at Bob, and obviously could have killed him, Davis said. Instead of aiming the weapon and shooting Bob, he aimed in a sort of vague, general direction. Don Kinsey insists if this man had wanted to kill Bob, he would have. In that respect, it remains a puzzle over four decades later. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Thunderstorms in the morning followed by occasional showers in the afternoon. High 82F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy with late night showers or thunderstorms. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. H-E-B CEO Charles Butt is getting lots of praise on social media for his letter to Gov. Greg Abbott regarding public school funding, including from Texas Representative Vicente Gonzalez. The congressman, who represents District 15 in Texas (covering Seguin and McAllen area), tweeted on Thursday Butt's letter is "spot on." The letter, which was sent on Tuesday, urges Abbott to send all federal dollars intended for Texas schools as quickly as possible. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to Centre and Election Commission on a PIL challenging recent changes in law on political funding. The Supreme Court sought response from both Centre and EC . A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued the notice on a plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said that the amendment has removed the cap that barred corporates from donating more than 7.5 per cent of their average net profit to a political party. He also said that the political parties can now take donations in the form of election bonds without disclosing the source. The Lok Sabha had in March this year approved a proposal by the government, as part of amendments to the Finance Bill, 2017, relaxing conditions for corporate funding to political parties. With PTI inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Deshaun Watsons attorneys on Friday issued their first extensive defense of the star quarterback, alleging that every sexual act he partook in was consensual. Rusty Hardin and a team of four women spoke from the Hilton Americas hotel downtown, issuing statements of support to the media and apologizing for remaining quiet as Watson was hit with 22 separate lawsuits of sexual assault and harassment. But the veteran, high-profile defense attorney also prodded reporters to look more closely at the behavior of the womens lawyer, Tony Buzbee, who he said withheld the names of the anonymous plaintiffs until it was vital that they be made public through an emergency hearing. At least 13 women will be identified publicly in court documents after two judges on Friday ruled in Watson and Hardins favor. More hearings are expected to occur, and Buzbee said some women have felt emboldened to come forward publicly even though it was their initial wish to remain as Jane Does. We have not been comfortable talking to you, Hardin said. The reason is we dont know what happened for sure. Watson has been receiving two to three massages a week for four years, totaling sometimes to 150 a year, Hardin said. Most of the allegations seem to stem from 2020 and 2021 because the massage industry has changed over the course of the pandemic with the closure of spas and tendency of massage therapists to turn to Instagram for marketing, he said. Watson, 25, largely operates from Instagram, and he doesnt have a large team of massage therapists at his disposal through the Texans as many would believe, his attorneys said. The female attorneys at the press conference clarified that they were not the only people from Hardins office on the lawsuits and did not appear to speak for appearances. They were only there because they wholeheartedly believe Watson, they said. Attorney Leticia Quinones, a sexual assault survivor herself, said that she and other women on the team personally met with Watson and were convinced of his innocence. She urged the public to look at Watsons credit history of good deeds in the community and success in overcoming a rough childhood. She said Watson has a target on his back after signing a $160 million contract. Hes separately trying to leave the Texans. This 25 year old man was thrown in the depths of something he wasnt accustomed to money fam and stardom, Quinones said. Quinones added however, I dont discount anything that a young woman believes happens to her, and after taking questions, Hardin agreed that good guys are capable of doing bad things. Hardin said he simply wants to move the needle back to the middle in terms of public discourse following weeks of attacks from Buzbees team. Watson is dumbfounded at the allegations and is now having trouble sleeping and eating, his attorneys said. Hardin would not respond to questions about allegations of Watson requesting the women wear certain clothing to the sessions, but he did respond to questions about Watsons alleged nudity during massages, which Hardin said is more common than people seem to believe. Hardin and his team havPublishe not heard from the police or the NFL, he said. The 18 women who offered Hardin testimonials about their experience with Watson came to them and were not sought out, the attorney said. A selection of some of the week's mining stores in brief ( )(ASX:RIO) has entered into a binding Heads of Agreement with its partner Turquoise Hill Resources in regard to an updated funding plan for the completion of the underground portion of the huge Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia. The plan addresses the estimated remaining known funding requirement of approximately US$2.3bn, building on and replacing the arrangements established in the Memorandum of Understanding that Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill previously entered into on 9 September 2020. Oyu Tolgoi has been the subject of intense pressures in recent months, as scheduling delays have pushed out the financial projections for return on capital. ( ) said it will spin off its thermal coal operations in South Africa, helping the group move closer towards its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2040. Subject to the approval of Anglo American's shareholders on May 5, the thermal coal operations in South Africa will be transferred to a new holding company, Thungela Resources Ltd, which will have a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and a standard listing in London. ( ) said it has strengthened its management team through the appointment of Mark Schild as full-time Group Financial Controller. The minerals exploration firm said the appointment is in line with its strategy to perform all management and administrative services in house. PLC ( ) said production and sales from its Sahamamy deposit in Madagascar ran at record levels during the first three months of 2021. Sales of high-quality flake graphite were above 97% of nameplate capacity of 3,000 tonnes a year, added the London standard listed group. ( ), the gold exploration and development company focussed on Australia, has raised 2mln through a share placing. The shares were placed at 2.2p. Shares in ECR Minerals were trading at 2.33p in early deals on Friday, down 9.7% in the day. (LON:CMCL, NYSE:CMCL) lifted its quarterly dividend for the fifth time in 18 months and said it is confident of making further increases based on its outlook for the business. It plans to pay a quarterly dividend of 12 US cents, a 75% rise since the first dividend increase in October 2019 and 1 US cent higher than the payout in the previous quarter. PLC ( ) said significant nickel intersections were hit by KKME 1-6, the first hole of a drilling programme at Molopo Farms in Botswana. Assay results showed five intersections including 16.7m at 0.16% Ni from 501.8m down and 4.1m at 0.49% Ni from 309m. Landore Resources Limited ( ) said it has disposed of its 30% interest in the West Graham property in Ontario, Canada, to SPC Nickel Corp ( ). Under the terms of the disposal, Landore said it will receive C$250,000 in cash, a 1% net smelter return royalty on the project and 1mln warrants in SPC Nickel, (LON:TRR, FSX:5KVlc) said it completed the acquisition of a set of copper royalties over the Pukaqaqa copper project in Peru. Last December, Trident announced it had agreed to buy the existing copper royalties (the "Royalty Package") from Orion Resource Partners in a US$3.0mln share deal. PLC (LON:CMRS) acquired a private, Cypriot-registered exploration and mining company, giving it a further suite of advanced copper-gold exploration licences in the Republic of Cyprus. Caerus Minerals has agreed to pay 750,000, via the issue of new shares, for PR Ploutonic Resources Ltd (PRL) and its licences. Zanaga Iron Ore Company ( ) said the re-costing exercise of Stage One of the Zanaga iron ore development project is being completed and is expected to be concluded around the middle of this month. ( ) said it acquired a controlling stake in local holding company Reservoir Minerals Cameroon Sarl (RMC) for its early-stage exploration licences in Cameroon ( ) said it was encouraged by the results of a surface mapping and sampling programme carried out on its newly acquired Nueva Andromeda permit, strategically contiguous to the San Celso silver project in Zacatecas State, Mexico. San Francisco, CA, April 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthy nails are a good indicator of a healthy lifestyle. One needs to learn how to improve on the conditions of this essential organ of the skin. Clean eating and using supplements can help maintain them, ensuring that your whole body is healthy. One with unhealthy nails often suffers from fungal infections. These infections lead to various side effects such as itchy toes, irritation, odors which can be quite embarrassing. Below are some of the most natural ways to keep your nails healthy; Natural Ways To Keep Your Nails Neat and Healthy Ensure that they are clean and dry Always wash your nails using warm water and soap while taking a shower and after using the bathroom. Use cotton-based towels to dry your feet and toes thoroughly. Remember, a small amount of moisture can negatively affect your nails. Wear Light, Breathable Socks A good pair of socks allow your nails and feet to breathe. Polystyrene socks will make your feet sweat, making them moist and a perfect way to introduce infection. Avoid Walking With Bare Feet Wear a pair of slippers or socks even when you are indoors. They protect you from coming into direct contact with bacteria left on the floor. Keep Your Nails Thin The thickness of your nails is important in maintaining a healthy state. Use a disinfected nail file to file your nails. What is Keravita Pro Sometimes, it isn't easy to follow the above ways to maintain a healthy state due to tight schedules. The Keravita Pro supplement is a powerful natural supplement that helps in maintaining healthy nails. The supplement ensures that they are neat, enriched, and healthy. Irritation and bad odors brought about by unhealthy nails can lead to further complications such as organ failure. Manufacturers of Keravita Pro say that the supplement assists in fighting such problems. It also enriches the nails with the right nutrients and ensures sustainable effects. Before purchasing the supplement, it is important to get more information about it to make full use of the supplement. The article provides a full review of the Keravita Pro supplement, including its benefits, ingredients, and where to purchase the supplement. Who Invented Keravita Pro Supplement Benjamin Jones created the Keravita pro supplement using 31 natural ingredients. He spent almost 17 years researching the best treatment for healthy nails. Apart from improving nails, it also promotes healthy hair, improved skin conditions, and supports the immune system to fight against infections. How Does it Work? The manufacturers of the supplement use a collection of carefully selected ingredients to ensure optimal results. The selection of each ingredient is due to its contribution to the overall functioning of the supplement. It works in the following four steps: 1 - Fast Penetration and Massive Fungus Build-Up Elimination The moment one takes the Keravita pro capsule, the ingredients begin to penetrate fast into the body. After penetration, it starts eliminating any fungal and other pathogen build-ups in the blood vessels. It does not matter the age of the germs; Keravita Pro will eliminate them. 2 - Blood Purification and Feet Skin Recovery Continuous intake of the supplement helps in cleaning the blood. It dissolves any bacteria or fungus in the blood. Once the blood is clean, the skin becomes more nourished, making it smoother and healthier. It also restores feet and nails that were destroyed by infections caused by germs. 3 - Antifungal Defense Mechanism Continued use of the Keravita Pro protects you from getting fungal infections in the future. It builds an immunity shield against the fungus and any other bacteria. It also protects you from future fungal attacks. 4 - Application of a Full Clean-up It is the final stage of the Keravita pro pill. The pills do an ultimate clean-up for the whole body. It nourishes and purifies the blood naturally, keeping it healthy. It removes any of the remaining fungal toxins that are in the body. Keravita Pro's Active Ingredients The creator create the powerful supplement using a 1512mg proprietary blended formula and included several all-natural ingredients to create a well-rounded and effective formula: Soursop Leaves: These are natural ingredients used for treating numerous parasitic infections, hypertension, and other stomach ailments. It also has antioxidants that help in flushing free radicals and toxins from the body. Rhubarb: The rhubarb compound is best for treating digestive problems. It treats digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn. Burdock: It helps by improving the health of the urinary organs. The herb purifies the blood and treats a selection of infections, including skin-related conditions. Sheep Sorrel: It is responsible for treating inflammatory problems and diarrhea. Lycopene: This ingredient is mainly found in tomatoes. An effective antioxidant that improves the heart's health by lowering blood pressure and body sugar levels. It also helps prevents asthma attacks and reduces the risk of cancer. Graviola Leaf: It is a powerful ingredient used to fight fungal and bacterial infections. Green Tea Leaf: It contains bioactive compounds that help to increase the body's immune system further. Pine Bark: The pine bark is also an antioxidant that reverses the effects of stress on the cells. It also protects the skin from damage by the sun. Mushroom Complex: It helps to improve the immunity of the body. The complex contains three mushroom blends known as the Reishi, Shiitake, and Maitake. Apart from improving the immunity of the body, it eliminates stress and improves sleep. Panax Ginseng: These ingredients boost the immune system and also act both as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It energizes the body and helps in fighting fatigue. It enhances brain functioning and reduces the risk of cancer, and lowers blood sugar levels. Other Ingredients: The list above contains the main ingredients in the making of the Keravita pro supplement. Other ingredients include: Garlic Cats Claw Arabinogalactan Olive leaf Pomegranate Quercetin Dihydrate Grapeseed Essiac Tea complex Turmeric Beta-glucan Red Raspberry Selenium Vitamin C and E Slippery Elm Benefits of Keravita Pro Supplement The supplement comes with a lot of benefits. It helps in promoting nails and hair conditions. Apart from those, the supplement also helps in promoting the overall health of the body. Below are just a few of the main benefits; Eliminates fungal infections naturally. Fights fungus cells in toenails and removes any fungal build-up Improves immunity against fungus infection Purifies blood Improves the condition of the skin, hair, and nails Enhances immunity by providing you with the necessary antioxidants. Lowers the blood sugar levels Boosts digestion Energizes the body Improves cardiac and skeletal health Increases confidence and self-esteem Does Keravita Have Any Negative Side Effects? There are no known negative side effects associated with the pill. The supplement is free from toxins, allergens, and artificial chemicals. It is free from harmful effects because it contains natural ingredients in their purest forms. The manufacturers of the supplement follow the strict guidelines stipulated by the FDA and GMP. The pills are non-GMO hence do not contain any toxins. Keravita Pro Supplement Dosage It is advisable to take only two capsules of the supplement with a glass of water every day. Take the pill after the first meal of the day to ensure that you yield maximum results. It is best to take the pill daily and avoid skipping days to acquire optimum results. Even with no side effects, it is not advisable to take more than the recommended amount. Overdosing might lead to more problems. It is important to note that the pill is not magic. One requires consistency and patience to allow enough time to garner results. The results from using the supplement are observable within three weeks, but it may take longer than three weeks for some. Most users tend to see major changes within the first three months by staying consistant in taking the supplement. On the other hand, there is no official duration for one to take the supplement. It solely depends on how it functions within the user's body. However, the manufacturers advise users to use it for at least three months to let it build up and then to ensure protection while enjoying the optimal benefits. The pill works well for most users. Although some groups of people are restricted from using it. It is best to consult a physician to get an ok to use the supplement. The pill is not recommended for; Underlying medical conditions such as diabetes Pregnant women Lactating mothers Persons below 18 Where Can I buy Keravita Pro supplement? The Keravita pro supplement is available on the official website. It has three packaged offers with different prices. The basic package comes with a 60 capsule bottle that lasts for 30 days. The six-bottle package comes with six bottles and is the most popular because of the discount. One bottle for $69 Three bottles for $177 Six bottles for $294 The more bottles you purchase, the more you save. The pill comes with a shelf life of two years, and therefore you can buy enough stock for almost six months and not worry about them going bad. To contact the company's creator, customers can do so by: Submitting an inquiry to the customer service team by filling out the form on https://keravitapro101.com/help/contact-us.php. Final Verdict Keravita Pro is a special supplement designed to enhance the health of nails and hair through the use of quality ingredients. It helps treat a wide range of fungal infections and provides long-lasting immunity to the body. It concentrates on maintaining healthy nails and hair, but it also impacts other parts of the body such as the skin, immune system, heart, liver, and kidney. It is a risk-free drug and has a 60-day money-back guarantee. Visit the official website to learn more or to purchase the Keravita Pro directly. Official Website: https://keravitapro101.com/presentation/ Contact Details: Keravita Pro Email: contact@keravitapro101.com About MarketingByKevin.com This product review is published by Marketing By Kevin. Marketing By Kevin reviews are researched and formulated by a group of experienced natural health advocates with years of dedication and determination to finding the highest quality health products and wellness programs available. It should be noted that any purchase derived from this resource is done at your own peril. It is recommended to consult with a qualified professional healthcare practitioner before making an order today if there are any additional questions or concerns. Any order finalized from this releases links are subject to the entire terms and conditions of the official websites offer. The researched information above does not take any direct or indirect responsibility for its accuracy. Affiliate Disclosure: The links contained in this product review may result in a small commission to Marketing By Kevin if you opt to purchase the product recommended at no additional cost to you. This goes towards supporting our research and editorial team and please know we only recommend high quality products. Disclaimer: Please understand that any advice or guidelines revealed here are not even remotely a substitute for sound medical advice from a licensed healthcare provider. Make sure to consult with a professional physician before making any purchasing decision if you use medications or have concerns following the review details shared above. Individual results may vary as the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Product support: contact@keravitapro101.com Media Contact: info@marketingbykevin.com Claudia Yoli Ferla was 8 when she and her mom emigrated from Caracas, Venezuela, to El Paso. In Venezuela, Ferlas mother practiced law. In El Paso, she worked as a waitress, cook, dishwasher and school crossing guard. Whatever was required to provide for her family. As an undocumented immigrant, Ferla grew up with the fear that at any moment she could be deported and have her dreams completely upended. So when then-President Barack Obama issued his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) order in 2012, it wasnt just a policy decision she supported. It was an action that altered the trajectory of her life. When U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz instigated a 16-day government shutdown in 2013 in a bid to strip funding for Obamas Affordable Care Act, it was similarly personal for Ferla. Prior to the enactment of the ACA, Ferlas mom became very ill and, because she had no access to health insurance, she had to return to Venezuela. We were separated for years, Ferla told me Thursday. And then she passed away. For Ferla, 28, politics is no game. She doesnt view elections as horse races, but as opportunities to achieve social justice. On Monday, Ferla will take over as executive director of MOVE Texas, the San Antonio-based grassroots organization devoted to engaging and mobilizing young people. Her belief in the power of the voting process, and her skill at connecting politics and policy, made her an ideal candidate to succeed H. Drew Galloway as MOVEs leader. MOVEs mission perfectly aligns with Ferlas history of seeking out the intersections of young people and social justice, as she likes to put it. For me, making the decision to lead an organization like MOVE Texas is really rooted in my story and in my values, she said. Galloway, 38, a former sommelier who grew up on a Georgia farm, ran the nonprofit for the past five years. During that time, he expanded it from a local organization (originally known as MOVE San Antonio) to a statewide force. Four months ago, he announced his intention to step down. Ferla was one of 91 applicants for the position, but Galloway said she stood out immediately. She was outstanding from the first time the transition committee met her, Galloway said. And it was because she is so inspirational. She has got an amazing story. She has worked in the political sector, but she has also worked in the movement. She really has a lot of passion for youth engagement and inspiring the next generation of leadership. In 2013, Ferla worked in Washington, D.C. as an intern for her hometown congressman, Beto ORourke. In 2014, she served as a campus organizer at the University of Texas at El Paso for Wendy Daviss gubernatorial campaign, building a team that registered 3,170 students to vote. She subsequently did regional field organizing for the Texas Freedom Network and handled community relations in the state Senate office of West Texas Democrat Jose Rodriguez. Over the past two years, Ferla has served as co-executive director of Deeds Not Words, a nonprofit founded by Davis to help young women develop advocacy skills. MOVE Texas formed as a rebuttal to the premise that young people dont care about government. The organization is devoted to the cause of breaking the so-called cycle of neglect, in which young people dont vote, so politicians ignore their concerns, and young people respond to being ignored with ever-deepening disgust. Under Galloways leadership, MOVE took its cause directly to where young people congregate: school campuses, community events and live-music shows. While driving up turnout for young voters (most notably in a 2017 mayoral race where the youth vote helped carry Ron Nirenberg to victory), MOVE also advocated for causes that its members valued. That meant standing up for San Antonios paid sick leave ordinance. It meant successfully fighting Hays County in the fall of 2018, when commissioners tried to limit the use of an early voting site on the Texas State University campus to only three days. This past week, it meant going to the Texas Capitol and registering opposition to a Republican-driven House bill designed to restrict voter access in Texas. I actually think the mission (of MOVE) has distilled in a lot of ways, Galloway said. Its distilled this idea that young people are powerful and can make change in their community, because Texas is a young state. If they talk to their friends about voting, about the issues they care about, it will ignite their passion to be involved. In Ferla, MOVE Texas has found a leader who will never lack for political passion. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) An Iowa inmate charged with fatally beating two prison employees with a hammer had threatened to assault staff at another prison a year earlier using a different maintenance tool. Disciplinary records show Michael Dutcher testified that he picked up a mop wringer and threatened to use it as a weapon to attack correctional officers at the state prison in Oakdale. Dutchers threat came during an outburst in which a judge said he engaged in very dangerous actions that included charging into several officers on a stairway. Dutcher and inmate Thomas Woodard are charged with murder in the March 23 slayings of Anamosa State Penitentiary nurse Lorena Schulte and correctional officer Robert McFarland, during a failed escape attempt. National carrier Gulf Air said it had recently signed an agreement with Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) to promote the kingdom as a tourist destination in the French and German markets. The MoU will allow both parties to collaborate and combine efforts to attract more tourists to choose Bahrain as their holiday destination or spend a number of nights in transit before reaching their final destination. The collaboration will see both Gulf Air and BTEA promote Bahrain as a boutique destination and work closely on various initiatives to establish comprehensive offering. Areas of pricing, distribution, digital marketing, media engagement and press trips will be the main focus of the new appointed teams in both European countries. The MoU will also pave the way to create stronger awareness of Bahrain as a tourist destination in France and Germany by appointing sales and marketing executives based in Paris and Frankfurt, stated Gulf Airs Acting CEO Captain Waleed AlAlawi after signing the deal with BTEAs Chief Executive Officer Dr Nasser Ali Qaedi. "Promoting inbound tourism to Bahrain is one of Gulf Airs main missions. Today, we will elevate our targets to attract more tourists from France and Germany," he noted. "As we fly direct to Paris and Frankfurt, we provide a link between Western Europe and Bahrain. The opportunity is big and we will work closely with our partners at BTEA to show the great value of Team Bahrains approach," he added. The collaboration will see both Gulf Air and BTEA promote Bahrain as a boutique destination and work closely on various initiatives to establish comprehensive offering. Areas of pricing, distribution, digital marketing, media engagement and press trips will be the main focus of the new appointed teams in both European countries. On the tieup, Dr Ali Qaedi said: "We are excited to collaborate with Gulf Air to promote Bahrain as a preferred tourist destination in Germany and France which will further enhance BTEAs international network and promotional efforts in these key markets." "We look forward to leveraging on BTEAs strategic relationship with Gulf Air to expand our reach in other international markets in the near future," he added.-TradeArabia News Service House Committee Announces Probe Into Matt Gaetz Over Sexual Misconduct Claims The House Ethics Committee announced Friday that it is beginning its own probe into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) following allegations of sexual misconduct. Gaetz has denied the allegations and hired a legal team to fight the charges. The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct, the panel said in a statement. The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee, the statement added. The committees investigation comes in the wake of a New York Times article published last month that the Department of Justice is probing whether the Florida Republican had an alleged inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl and possibly violated sex trafficking laws. A subsequent NY Times report alleged Gaetz and his friend, former Florida county tax collector Joel Greenberg, paid women who were recruited for sex online and may have involved illegal drugs as well. A host of other allegations have also surfaced since then, including a CNN report stating Gaetz shared nude pictures with colleagues on the House Floor. Gaetzs office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about these allegations. Gaetz has been one of former President Donald Trumps strongest allies and an advocate for the America First agenda, calling for Republicans like Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to give up her leadership role in the party after she voted to impeach Trump for the Jan. 6 breach on the Capitol. The second-term Florida congressman denies all the allegations and says he and his family are being targeted for extortion. Over the past several weeks, my family and I have been victims of organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name. We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBIs direction to catch these criminals, said Gaetz in a press statement. The planted leak to The New York Times tonight was intended to thwart that investigation. No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation. I demand the DOJ immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations, Gaetz added. Gaetz hired a pair of lawyers, Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kishner, to fight the unfounded allegations against him. Matt has always been a fighter, a spokesperson for Gaetz said in a statement to Fox News Friday, adding that Gaetzs lawyers will take the fight to those trying to smear his name with falsehoods. His female staff members penned a letter this week supporting the congressman and vouching for his professionalism and honesty, saying there was no hint of impropriety witnessed by them. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the voters in the fourth phase of the West Bengal election to cast their votes in record numbers on Saturday. "As the 4th phase of the West Bengal elections begin, urging the people voting today to do so in record numbers. I would especially request the youth and women to vote in large numbers," the PM said in a tweet soon after the polling began. As the 4th phase of the West Bengal elections begin, urging the people voting today to do so in record numbers. I would especially request the youth and women to vote in large numbers. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 10, 2021 Voting for 44 constituencies in West Bengal`s fourth phase Assembly election 2021 began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security. This phase of the elections will witness an intense battle between 373 candidates in 44 constituencies of the state across five districts - Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar. A total of 1,15,81,022 voters will participate in this phase, out of which 2,63,016 are first-time voters. The smallest constituency is Bally with 1,76,001 electorates whereas Chunchura is the biggest constituency with 3,13,701 electorates. The fifth phase of the assembly elections will commence on April 17. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. Live TV Kathmandu, April 10 The Ministry of Health and Population has informed that the countrys Covid-19 tally has reached 279,725 as of Saturday afternoon. The ministry says 337 new cases were confirmed in the country in the past 24 hours. In this period, 3,532 swab samples were tested. So far, 2 million and 309,776 people have been tested in the country. As of today, 2,800 cases are active. Of the total cases so far, 273,886 people have achieved recovery whereas 3,039 died, according to the ministry. In the past 24 hours, 151 people have been discharged whereas one death was reported. Over 80 people are quarantined across the country. Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, on Friday commended Zoomlion for a good work at the Kpone Landfill site, as the place used to be filled with flies, scavengers and a mountain-like refuse dump before the commencement of the project. Madam Dapaah said government through the Sanitation Ministry was committed in handling the sanitation issues in the country, noting that because of their initiatives, since 2017 cholera and dysentery outbreaks in the country had been eliminated as over 103,000 household toilets had so far been validated. She added that the Sanitation Ministry would continue to collaborate with the Greater Accra Regional Minister to ensure that the vision of making Accra the cleanest city was realized. Madam Dapaah made the remarks during a working visit to the Kpone Landfill Site in the company of the Greater Accra Regional Minister Mr Henry Quartey to inspect the ongoing re-engineering works. The re-engineering of the landfill which receives waste from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Accra (GAMA), commenced on June 1, 2020 by the Zoomlion Ghana Limited. The project, which is expected to be completed in December 2021 will see the decommissioning of the landfill and subsequent re-engineering with the needed landscape to enable it to be used for recreational and other purposes. Currently, the decommissioning is in progress as some capping had been done after which composite layers would be laid, followed by the re-engineering. According to the project consultants EAP Limited, to prevent leaching, pipes had been laid underground and connected into a collection pond to be treated. Mr Quartey, on his part also commended Zoomlion and the consultants for their good work and success in transforming the site while appreciating the Sanitation Ministry for the initiative to re-engineering the place. He appealed to the sector Ministry to consider replicating the project at other landfills in the Region and across the country. He further tasked the Kpone Municipal Chief Executive and the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive to frequently visit the place and ensure excellent work was done. Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Director of the Jospong Group of Companies, said local contractors were grateful for the confidence reposed in them to handle such an initiative. Mr Agyepong noted that they had acquired a lot of skills from undertaking the project saying, the standard of what we are doing is high class like that in UK and other countries, and we are trying to have an international standard for local contractors as a model. 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 Burma At Least 14 Police Killed as Ethnic Armed Groups Attack Outpost in Myanmars Shan State The Muse-Lashio Highway in northern Shan State / The Irrawaddy At least 14 Myanmar police officers are dead and two are missing following a coordinated attack by ethnic armed groups on a police outpost in northern Shan States Lashio Township early Saturday morning. At least five family members of police officers were wounded during the attack in Naung Mon Village, a witness told The Irrawaddy. A local resident said the attack was jointly launched by the tripartite Brotherhood Alliance, which groups the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA); Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA); and Arakan Army (AA). The Irrawaddy has not been able to confirm the claim. TNLA spokesperson Mai Aik Kyaw told The Irrawaddy he has not been able to communicate with troops on the ground in the area, and could not confirm whether the alliance launched the attack. The strike comes one week after the Brotherhood Alliance warned the Myanmar military junta that it would join forces with all ethnic people to fight the regime if its brutal killing of anti-coup protesters across the country continued. Following the attack, Myanmar military troops raided Naung Mon and nearby Naung Kwe Village, causing more than 300 residents of the two villages to flee, a local resident said. The [initial] attack began just before dawn. The police outpost also burned down during the attack, a local resident said. Security has been tightened in Lashio and the military has blocked traffic on some main roads near the police station in the city, a local resident said. Prior to the coup, the members of the Brotherhood Alliance had been negotiating individual bilateral agreements with the military to cease fighting, and the group declared a unilateral ceasefire in support of the negotiations. After the military coup, they extended the truce until March 31. The military has extended its own unilateral ceasefire until April 30. The Brotherhood Alliance has not responded to that announcement, however. Prior to the attack on Saturday, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Karen National Union (KNU) launched a series of attacks on regime forces in Kachin and Shan states and Bago Region in response to the regimes killing of civilians during its crackdowns on anti-coup protesters in the country. Police have been involved in the regimes lethal crackdowns on the protests since the military takeover on Feb. 1. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 618 civilians have been killed by police and soldiers during crackdowns on peaceful anti-regime protesters nationwide. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regimes Troops Kill More Than 20 in Friday Assault In Myanmar, Pair of Protest Activists Share Common Goal: Root Out Dictatorship Myanmar Junta Bans Satellite Dishes in Effort to Restrict Anti-Regime News Chief Minister on Saturday called an all-party meeting via video conference to review the current COVID-19 situation in the state. This comes a day after recorded 58,993 new COVID-19 cases, 45,391 recoveries, and 301 deaths. The government has also imposed a strict weekend from Friday night till 7 am on Monday. The home delivery of food and essential supplies and movement of students taking various exams are allowed. Streets near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation wore a deserted look due to weekend Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 tally hit a record daily high since the outbreak of the pandemic with over 1.45 lakh new infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the cumulative count to 1,32,05,926, according to the Union Health Ministry. The single-day rise in cases breached the 1 lakh mark for the fourth consecutive day. According to the ministry, the country recorded 1,45,384 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. As many as 9,80,75,160 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country. From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Associate Justice Stephen Breyer sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, on Nov. 30, 2018. (J. Scott Applewhite/File/AP Photo) Biden Wont Push Supreme Court Justice Breyer to Retire: White House White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on April 9 that President Joe Biden wont interfere in Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyers decision about when to retire, with the 82-year-old judge facing growing pressure from progressive groups to throw in the judicial towel. He believes thats a decision Justice Breyer will make when he decides its time to no longer serve on the Supreme Court, Psaki told reporters, responding to a question about what Bidens view was on calls for the oldest member of the Supreme Court to step down. A reporter asked, So should those groups pushing for him go back off? Psaki replied, I think I can just speak to what the presidents view is of the Supreme Court justices ability to make his own decision. Breyer has long been the target of a campaign among progressives calling for his retirement to give Biden the opportunity to seat a freshand presumably liberaljustice on the high bench. After Justice Amy Coney Barretts confirmation to the Supreme Court gave conservatives a 63 advantage, speculation around Breyers retirement became more vocal, as did progressive calls for radical proposals such as expanding the number of seats on the high bench, known as court-packing. In December, Breyer said he had no immediate plans to retire, in remarks to Slate, in which he was reluctant to address the issue of court-packing after being asked whether he would support extending the high bench. Well, I cant answer this question because it is too close to something that is politically controversial. I mean, eventually Ill retire, sure I will. And its hard to know exactly when, said Breyer, a Clinton appointee. Breyer was less guarded in addressing the issue in a speech to Harvard University students and alumni earlier this week, in which he threw cold water on fiery enthusiasm to pack the court. To make those whose initial instincts may favor important structural change, or other similar institutional changes, such as forms of court-packing, think long and hard before they embody those changes in law, Breyer said. If the public sees judges as politicians in robes, its confidence in the courts and in the rule of law can only diminish, diminishing the courts power, including its power to act as a check on other branches. My experience of more than 30 years as a judge has shown me that once men and women take the judicial oath they take that oath to heart. They are loyal to the rule of law, not to the political party that helped to secure their appointment. Demand Justice, an advocacy group led by a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), on April 9 launched an online petition campaign to pressure Breyer to step down and push for the appointment of a black woman in his place. Tell Justice Breyer: Put the country first. Dont risk your legacy to an uncertain political future. Retire now, the group wrote on Twitter. Demand Justice launched the campaign on the same day Biden issued an executive order establishing a committee to study possible reforms to the Supreme Court, including whether to expand the number of justices or to set term limits. Biden has been asked repeatedly about whether he supports court-packing, with the president declining to back the measure but supporting the establishment of a committee that would look into it. The executive order will form the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, comprised of a bipartisan group of experts on the Court and the Court reform debate, according to an April 9 statement from the White House. The commission will hold public meetings to hear arguments from experts and interested parties and will issue a report on its work within 180 days of its first public meeting. During his term, Trump successfully appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme CourtBarrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. "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 As pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January, then-vice president Mike Pence made an urgent call to the acting defence secretary from a secure room. On the phone to Christopher Miller, Mr Pence demanded: Clear the Capitol. Order would not be restored for hours at Congress, nor in the streets around the complex. Details of the call and other communications between congressional leaders and the military were revealed in a previously undisclosed document seen by the Associated Press. The timeline of events that day was prepared by the Pentagon for internal use. The newswire had it vetted by current and former government officials. According to the timeline, at 4.08pm, some two hours after the gates of the complex were initially breached, and after chants to hang Mike Pence had been heard, the vice president called Mr Miller demanding answers and a deadline for securing the building. Mr Pence was not the only official making pleas for the military to intervene. Elsewhere in the building from their own secure locations, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made similar calls. An hour after rioters had entered the Senate chamber, a desperate Mr Schumer said: We need help. Tell POTUS to tweet everyone should leave, the senator implored officials at one point. On a later call, the acrimony between congressional leadership and the Pentagon reportedly bubbled over, with an accusation that the National Security apparatus knew of a plan to assault the Capitol, according to the timeline. Ms Pelosis spokesperson told the AP that there was a brief discussion of the intelligence failures that led to the insurrection. Officials at the Pentagon were also worried that the violence was not just occurring in Washington after media reports of trouble at state capitals made them fear a national insurrection was underway. This turned out to be false. The timeline laid out in the document furthers the understanding of the institutional chaos that ensued during the 6 January Capitol riot. The lack of any action on the day by then-president Donald Trump hampered the response from the military and law enforcement. Any delays or tactical errors on the part of the response also appear to be eclipsed by a complete failure by the government to grasp the scale and ferocity of the insurrection. With no direction from the Oval Office, the leadership vacuum was filled by a small group of White House aides, Pentagon officials, congressional leadership, and a vice president holed up in a secure bunker, according to the document. Even with this new timeline, as well as hours of sworn testimony, the AP notes that there is still only a partially complete picture of how the violent insurrection advanced so quickly, delaying the peaceful transfer of power to then-president elect Joe Biden. The timeline does detail frantic phone calls, pleas for additional support, and a delay of 90 minutes while deployed National Guard troops were recalled and issued with new gear suited to the escalating situation all despite cabinet-level preparation for the possible use of the guard some three days prior. Guard troops eventually arrived on site at 5.20pm and began clearing the crowds. The Capitol was secured by 8pm. Iran announced Saturday it has started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges in a breach of its promises under a troubled 2015 nuclear deal, days after the start of talks on rescuing the accord. The United States had said Friday that it had offered 'very serious' ideas on reviving the accord but was waiting for Tehran to reciprocate, something Saturday's move notably failed to do. President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the three cascades of 164 model IR-6 centrifuges and 30 IR-5 at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant in a ceremony broadcast by state television. The television aired no images of the injection of uranium hexafluoride gas into the cascades, but broadcast a link with engineers at the plant who said they had started the process. Iranian President President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the three cascades of 164 IR-6 centrifuges, 30 IR-5 and another 30 IR-6 devices in a ceremony on Saturday A grab of a videoconference screen shows an engineer inside Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant during a ceremony to restart uranium enrichment on Saturday It comes as the diplomats of the EU, China, Russia and Iran held closed-door talks on reviving the nuclear agreement on Friday at the 'Grand Hotel Wien' in Vienna, Austria Iran's latest move to step up uranium enrichment follows an opening round of talks in Vienna Tuesday with representatives of the remaining parties to the nuclear deal on bringing the United States back into it. Then-president Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 but his successor Joe Biden has said he is ready to return, arguing the deal had been successful in dramatically scaling back Iran's nuclear activities. The Vienna talks are focused not only on lifting crippling economic sanctions Trump reimposed, but also on bringing Iran back into compliance after it responded by suspending several of its own commitments. All sides said the talks, in which Washington is not participating directly but has the European Union as intermediary, had got off to a good start. Iran has demanded that the United States first lift all sanctions imposed by Trump, which include a sweeping unilateral ban on its oil exports, before it falls back in line with obligations it suspended. The 'US - which caused this crisis - should return to full compliance first,' Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, adding that 'Iran will reciprocate following rapid verification.' Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted the US must drop all sanctions first A satellite image of Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, south of the capital Tehran, is seen in January. Iran announced Saturday it has started up advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 155 miles south of the Iranian capital Tehran Washington has demanded movement from Tehran in return. 'The United States team put forward a very serious idea and demonstrated a seriousness of purpose on coming back into compliance if Iran comes back into compliance,' a US official told reporters as talks broke for the weekend. But the official said the United States was waiting for its efforts to be 'reciprocated' by Iran. The US official indicated that the major stumbling block in the initial talks was not the order of compliance but rather which sanctions were under discussion, as Iran is demanding an end to all US restrictions. The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, covers only nuclear sanctions and not US measures taken in response to human rights or other concerns, the official said. The centrifuges started up on Saturday allow uranium to be enriched more quickly and in greater amounts than the Iran's first generation devices, which are the only ones that the 2015 deal allows it to use. Uranium enrichment can produce the fuel for a nuclear reactor, or in highly extended form, the fissile core of an atomic warhead. It is one of the most sensitive nuclear activities carried out by Iran. Rouhani again claimed at the ceremony, which coincided with Iran's National Nuclear Technology Day, that Tehran's nuclear program is solely for 'peaceful' purposes. Iran's IR-9 centrifuge, when operational, would have the ability to separate uranium isotopes more quickly than the current centrifuges being used, thereby enriching uranium at a faster pace. The IR-9's output is 50 times quicker than the first Iranian centrifuge, the IR-1. Iran's nuclear program is also developing IR-8 centrifuges. The new IR-9's output is 50 times quicker than the first Iranian centrifuge, the IR-1. Above, Iran shows off its IR-9 in Tehran on Saturday The type of centrifuges used at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz are one of the key restrictions it signed up to under a troubled 2015 nuclear deal with major powers Since January, Iran has begun enriching uranium at up to 20 percent purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels, though Iran's leadership insists the country has no desire to develop a nuclear weapon. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear accord in 2018, accusing Iran of failing to live up to the agreement, opting for what he called a maximum-pressure campaign of stepped-up U.S. sanctions and other tough actions. Iran responded by intensifying its enrichment of uranium and building centrifuges in plain violation of the accord, while insisting that its nuclear development is for civilian not military purposes. Israel maintains Iran still maintains the ambition of developing nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehrans ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran denies it is pursuing nuclear weapons, and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Iran's stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium has reached 121 pounds, moving its nuclear program closer to weapons-grade enrichment levels. The amount of the material was 37 pounds in January. Iran has installed 1,000 IR2 centrifuge machines and one cascade of 164 IR4 machines. Both are in operation and have more speed than the IR1 machines. Since late February, Iran has ceased abiding by a confidential agreement with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog reached as part of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The International Atomic Energy Agency has additional protocols with several countries it monitors. Rouhani delivers a speech as Iran announced Saturday it has started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges in a breach of its undertakings under a troubled 2015 nuclear deal Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (center) and head of Iran's nuclear organization Ali Akbar Salehi (second from right) visit an 'exhibition of nuclear achievement' on Saturday in Tehran Under the protocol with Iran, the IAEA 'collects and analyzes hundreds of thousands of images captured daily by its sophisticated surveillance cameras,' the agency said in 2017. The agency also said then that it had placed '2,000 tamper-proof seals on nuclear material and equipment.' However, Irans parliament passed a bill in December requiring the government to limit its cooperation with the IAEA and push its nuclear program beyond the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal. After the bill became law, Iran then began enriching uranium up to 20% purity and spinning advanced centrifuges - both barred by the deal. Iran argues that the U.S.'s departure from the nuclear deal was the first violation of the deal by either county and therefore the U.S. must make the first move and remove sanctions before Iran returns to compliance. President Joe Biden came into office saying that getting back into the accord and getting Irans nuclear program back under international restrictions was a priority. But Iran and the United States have disagreed over Irans demands that sanctions be lifted first. That deadlock has threatened to become an early foreign policy setback for the new U.S. president. Talks in Vienna aimed at bringing the U.S. back into the deal with Iran broke Friday without any immediate signs of progress on issues dividing Washington and Tehran. Buddhist spiritual leader the on Saturday expressed grief over the demise of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, saying he lived a full and meaningful life. In a letter written to express his condolences to Queen Elizabeth, the spiritual leader wrote: "I am sorry to learn the sad news that your husband, H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has passed away. I will pray for him and offer my condolences to Your Royal Highness and your family at this sad time." "As we all remember him, we can rejoice that he lived a meaningful life." In his letter to Prince Charles, he declared: "I have written to your mother, Her Majesty the Queen, offering my condolences at this sad time. As someone who counts you as a dear, respected friend, I would also like to offer my condolences to Your Royal Highness and your family." The Nobel Peace Laureate repeated his appreciation that the Duke lived a full and meaningful life. Prince Philip, II's husband, has died aged 99. --IANS vg/rs (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.) Abu Dhabi-based Masdar said its consortium with global renewable energy leader EDF Renewables, is set to start construction work on a 300-megawatt utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Jeddah following its financial close with Nesma Company. The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Repdo) of Saudi Arabias Ministry of Energy had awarded the consortium the Jeddah project, after it had submitted the most cost-competitive bid of SR60.9042 ($16.24) per megawatt hour. It also signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) this January for the project. Under the terms of the PPA, the consortium will design, finance, build and operate the plant, which will be located in Third Jeddah Industrial City, 50km south-east of Jeddah. The plant will begin operation in 2022. CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said through this project Masdar had affirmed its commitment to Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 objectives and its climate goals. "Saudi Arabia's National Renewable Energy Programme is fast developing into a global renewable energy player, and Masdar will continue to work closely with the Saudi government and our partners here to help the kingdom achieve its clean energy transition, while reducing environmental impacts in line with the Saudi Green Initiative," stated Al Ramahi. EDF Group Senior Executive VP (Renewable Energies) Bruno Bensasson said: "We would like to thank the Saudi Arabias authorities for the official award of the 300 MW-Jeddah project today. We are delighted to pursue our commitment to contribute to the energy transition of the Middle East with this new solar plant project alongside our partners Masdar and Nesma." "After the 400 MW Dumat al Jandal wind power farm currently under construction in the North of the Kingdom, this solar project highlights our strong commitment to contribute to Saudi Arabias goal to produce 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030," he noted. "It clearly demonstrates our ability to jointly provide highly competitive bids.These large-scale renewables installations are perfectly in line with the EDF Groups CAP 2030 strategy, which aims at doubling its renewable energy net capacity in operation worldwide, between 2015 and 2030, from 28 to 60 GW net," he added. Nesma President Faisal Al Turki said: "Masdar, EDF Renewables and Nesma will continue to innovate and optimise solar power projects; the Jeddah project is an excellent example of how the consortium is leveraging international, regional and local expertise to great effect." "The Jeddah solar plant will utilise the latest technology in the PV market, combining bifacial PV modules with mounting structures that utilise single-axis tracking technology to maximise energy generation by following the suns position throughout the day. State-of-the-art robots will also be used to clean the modules," he added. In 2019, a consortium led by EDF Renewables in partnership with Masdar was selected to build a 400 MW utility-scale wind farm in Dumat Al Jandal Saudi Arabias first wind energy project and the largest in the Middle East. The plant will start operation and generate carbon-free electricity by late 2022.-TradeArabia News Service Washington: The deadliest mass shooting in modern US history at Las Vegas that killed at least 58 people and injured over 500 others has rekindled the debate on gun control laws in America. Nearly 12,000 Americans have been killed by guns in 273 mass shootings in 2017 so far one incident for each day. On an average, more than 90 Americans lose their lives to gun violence every day, a daily toll of heartbreak and tragedy in communities across the US. Experts believe that the last night incident, which President Donald Trump termed as an "act of pure evil", is unlikely to bridge the bitter differences between the pro- and anti-gun control law lobbies in the country. Trump, who ran his campaign against any gun control laws, did not mention it in his two remarks on Monday during which he said that this is "a very very sad" day for him. Responding to questions, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Monday that is the day of reflection and mourning and not a day to discuss political issues. Referring to Chicago, she said gun control laws have not been helpful. Read more: Las Vegas shooting: 58 killed, 515 injured; US denies ISIS connection Taking a lead, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, sought off a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan on the creation of a Standing Committee on gun violence and passage of a common-sense legislation on gun control. "Congress has a moral duty to address this horrific and heartbreaking epidemic. Charged with the solemn duty to protect and defend the American people, we must respond to these tragedies with courage, unity and decisive action", Pelosi said in her letter to Ryan. The Congress, she said, must pass the bipartisan King-Thompson legislation to strengthen the life-saving background checks that keep guns out of the wrong hands. But this is only a first step, she said. "I urge you to create a Select Committee on Gun Violence to study and report back common sense legislation to help end this crisis. The bipartisan committee would make recommendations to prevent unspeakable tragedies such as the mass shooting in Las Vegas and to restore confidence in the safety of our communities", Pelosi said. Congressman Kathy Castor said: "Certainly, we can come together to pass common-sense safety requirements such as background checks and limits on the civilian use of military-style weapons and to enforce the laws on the books. The sorrow that I and so many around the country feel for the innocent men and women whose lives were cruelly cut short by this heartless act of domestic terrorism is immeasurable". Congressman Earl Blumenauer said: "From Orlando to Roseburg, OR and now Las Vegas, the carnage has only continued. Thoughts and prayers will not stop future tragedy. Enough is enough. My hope is that sanity will prevail, and Republican leadership in Congress will muster up the courage to act". The right-wing and NRA messaging point that nothing could have been done to prevent the horrific attack in Las Vegas is just wrong, he said. Over two years ago, he had released a comprehensive plan to deal with gun violence like the public health epidemic that it is, the lawmaker said, adding that the solutions should not be hard. Read more: Las Vegas: Know more about music festival shooter Stephen Paddock Congressman Andre Carson said it is time people need to stop hiding behind the false narrative that enacting common sense gun policies somehow limits the rights of law-abiding Americans. "Every day that we fail to act puts more innocent lives at risk. It is long past time to fix our gun laws. Congress has a moral responsibility to act and address the daily tragedy of gun violence in our communities", he said. Last week, he said, Republicans planned to vote on a bill that would loosen gun laws, instead of strengthening them. In light of the tragedy in Las Vegas, and the ongoing tragedy of gun violence in America, this could not be more inappropriate. The American people deserve a vote on legislation that will curb gun violence, including reinstating an assault weapons ban and instituting new restrictions on gun trafficking, Carson said. Congressman Alcee L Hastings said that more than 33,000 people will die from gun violence this year. "With each new tragedy that occurs, those who stand in the way of legislation to address our country's gun violence epidemic are increasingly culpable for its continuation", he said. "Trump, who ran as a champion of gun rights throughout his campaign, is unlikely to directly tackle the issue of gun control and, in fact, rolled back a restriction that made it more difficult for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun", a report in Newsweek said. Acts of mass gun violence, reported The Washington Post, "have done little to change the strong partisan divide on the issue". Most Democrats argue that the incidents heighten the need for tighter gun laws, while most Republicans think Americans should have a greater ability to protect themselves, the daily said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Iran on Saturday enforced a ten-day lockdown as the president officially acknowledged a fourth wave of the coronavirus spreading across the country. The National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce, a body in charge of making decisions regarding virus restrictions, ordered the closure of all parks, restaurants, beauty salons, malls and bookstores in 257 cities. Over 85% of the country is in a designated "red" or "orange" zone, with the toughest restrictions in place. Iranian officials said the daily death toll from COVID-19 rose by 155, putting the country's total at 64,039 as of Friday. Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 22,478 new confirmed cases were registered since a day earlier, bringing Iran's total in the pandemic to 2,029,412. At least 2,567 people were hospitalized with the virus, she added. The country is grappling with a spike following the Persian New Year or Nowruz holiday, the nation's biggest holiday which drove millions to travel to the Caspian coast and other popular vacation spots, pack markets and congregate in homes for parties in defiance of government health guidelines. There appears to be no respite in sight, as the country's vaccine rollout lags, with only some 200,000 vaccine doses administered, according to the World Health Organization. COVAX, an international collaboration to deliver the vaccine equitably across the world, delivered its first shipment to Iran on Monday from the Netherlands containing 700,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses. Authorities have done little to enforce the restrictions and repeatedly resisted a nationwide lockdown to salvage an economy already devastated by tough U.S. sanctions. A year into the pandemic, public fatigue and intransigence has deepened. President Rouhani said several factors played a role in the rising number of cases, but the prime culprit was the U.K. variant of the virus that entered from Iraq, which shares a 1,280 kilometer-long border with Iran. Earlier this year, the country kicked off its coronavirus inoculation campaign, administering a limited number of Russian Sputnik V vaccines to medical workers. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer HOUSTON (AP) Texas expects to receive fewer vaccine doses for use next week because of production problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, state health officials said Friday. The Texas Department of State Health Services said more than 1.9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses will be shipped to providers across Texas. The state will be getting 350,000 fewer doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use next week. The body that plays the lead role in Royal funerals in the United Kingdom (UK), the College of Arms, has indicated that Prince Philip's funeral will take place at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. In a statement yesterday a few hours after the announcement of the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, the College of Arms further said there would not be a state funeral, and that the Dukes body would not lie in state. It would, however, lie at rest in Windsor Castle ahead of the funeral, "in line with custom and with His Royal Highness's wishes, the college stated. It said the Princes funeral arrangements had been amended in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and requested members of the public not to attempt to attend or participate in any of the events that make up the funeral. Buckingham Palace will confirm the detailed arrangements for the funeral on the Royal website, the college added. All UK government buildings have been told to fly official flags at half-mast in tribute to the Duke until 8 a.m., a day after the funeral. Death and funeral A statement from Buckingham Palace announcing his death said: "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle." The statement, issued by the palace just after midday, was framed and posted as notice on the gates of Buckingham Palace, and then the flag was lowered to half-mast. Pre Order Ghana Year Book 2021 "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty, The Queen, has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, it said. That announcement plunged the United Kingdom and the world into mourning, as the Royal Family began preparations to bid one of the longest-serving consorts in British history a final farewell. Prince Philip died at the age of 99 years, just two months away from his 100th birthday in June. The Duke of Edinburgh has had challenges with his health in recent times and only returned to Windsor Castle on March 16, this year, after being hospitalised for one month, during which he was treated for an infection and went through a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition. Nation reacts The announcement suddenly pushed the nation into mourning. The Prime Minister, Mr Boris Johnson, was among the first people to react to the news of the death of the Duke. Speaking at Downing Street, the Prime Minister said that the Duke had "earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world". People also began arriving outside Buckingham Palace to place floral tributes, while hundreds visited Windsor Castle to pay their respects, the BBC reported. According to the British national broadcaster, the government had urged the public not to gather or leave tributes at royal residences, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A bank of photographers and cameramen were lined up around the growing number of tributes at Buckingham Palace yesterday afternoon, the BBC further reported. Ghana connection The Duke of Edinburgh made regular visits to many Commonwealth nations, including Ghana, where he visited three times. His first visit to Ghana was in 1959, two years after the country had gained independence. On that first visit, archive footage shows that he inspected the diagram of the Port of Tema construction. That visit, during which Queen Elizabeth had been expected, attracted a lot of euphoria among Ghanaians and found expression in popular highlife musician King Bruces lyrics: This is the day, five million Ghanaians will go gay Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip will be here that special day We'll drink and dance the whole day And put on Kente fine On that Thursday, 12th November, 1959." CHORUS: "May God bless this fine Thursday When all Ghana will go gay Queen Elizabeth we love you Akwaaba awa awa atuu." Two years later, he returned for his second visit, when he accompanied Queen Elizabeth, who was visiting the country as the Head of the Commonwealth. That visit lasted 11 days from November 9 to 20, 1961. The Royal couple were met on arrival at the airport in Accra by President Kwame Nkrumah and his wife Fathia Nkrumah, as well as some chiefs. As part of activities to mark their visit, the Royal couple inspected a mass parade at the Black Star Square, watched a surf boat regatta and also visited the Makola Market. The Duke also visited Ghana in the company of the Queen in November 1999. During this visit, they visited and had a tour of the Christiansburg Castle, Osu. The Queen also addressed Parliament. The Duke of Edinburgh would return to Ghana for the fourth and last visit in July 2008 for a four-day visit, during which he presided over the 30th triennial conference of the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League of which he was President. Prince Philip was met on arrival for that visit by the late Vice-President Aliu Mahama and some ministers of state. The conference was organised in collaboration with the Veterans Association of Ghana. Duke of Edinburgh Award Perhaps the Dukes most enduring contribution to Ghana is the Duke of Edinburgh International Awards, a youth awards programme which he founded in the United Kingdom in 1956. The awards recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises modelled on Kurt Hahn's solutions to his "Six Declines of Modern Youth". The awards have since been expanded to 144 nations, including Ghana. The Duke of Edinburgh International Awards, otherwise known as the Head of State Awards, have, since their inception in Ghana in 1967, continually empowered young people to develop practical life skills, learn about themselves and others and gain confidence. Last Wednesday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the construction of a GH5-million National Secretariat for the Head of State Awards, the Ghana Award House. The Duke of Edinburgh International Awards have changed and touched the lives of many young people, including some 750,000 beneficiaries in Ghana. Retirement At age 96 in August 2017, Prince Philip retired from official Royal duties with a final solo appearance at an official event. He had announced his retirement in May that year, after completing more than 22,000 solo appearances, spanning seven decades. Profile Prince Philip was born into the Greek and Danish Royal families in Greece on June 10, 1921. His family was exiled in Greece when he was 18 months old. After being educated in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18. During the Second World War, he served with distinction with the Mediterranean and the Pacific Fleets. After the war, Philip was granted permission by King George VI to marry then Princess Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, he abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and styles, became a naturalised British subject and adopted his maternal grandparents' surname, Mountbatten. He married Princess Elizabeth on November 20, 1947 and was at the Queen's side for more than 60 years of her reign, the pair having been married for 73 years. Just before the wedding, King George VI granted him the style His Royal Highness and created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich. Prince Philip left active military service when Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, having reached the rank of Commander, and was made a British Prince in 1957. They had four children Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales; Princess Anne, the Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen also had eight grandchildren, including Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and second in line to the British throne, and 10 great-grandchildren. 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 Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 03:54:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Visitors show negative COVID-19 test results to enter the Neues Museum (New Museum) in Berlin, capital of Germany, on April 9, 2021. Germany would amend its infection protection act to "regulate on a nationwide basis" what restrictions would apply when local seven-day COVID-19 incidence exceeded 100 per 100,000 citizens, deputy government spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said Friday. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua) BERLIN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Germany would amend its infection protection act to "regulate on a nationwide basis" what restrictions would apply when local seven-day COVID-19 incidence exceeded 100 per 100,000 citizens, deputy government spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said Friday. Demmer told a press conference that it was not yet clear how quickly the change in the law would be implemented, but it would be done "as quickly as possible." In the past, Germany's COVID-19 response has been characterized by regional differences as the ultimate legal power lay with the country's federal states. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state governments agreed on an emergency brake in case of a seven-day incidence above 100, not all states reacted accordingly in recent weeks. Earlier on Friday, Minister of Health Jens Spahn and the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Lothar Wieler warned that the COVID-19 situation in Germany was serious as the number of patients in intensive care units was rising rapidly. Despite the ongoing lockdown and the country's vaccination campaign, new infections rose sharply again. Germany recorded 25,464 new cases within one day on Friday, around 3,500 more than on the same day last week. The seven-day incidence rose from around 105.7 per 100,000 citizens on Thursday to 110.4, according to the RKI. Spahn appealed for uniform nationwide measures. "I recommend that we all tone down the party squabbling, election year or not, and concentrate on the essentials, fighting the pandemic," he said during a press conference. Enditem Photo: pixabay A Burnaby acupuncturist faces a lawsuit alleging sexual assault and harassment from a female patient who went to see him after a car accident. The suit, filed in BC Supreme Court March 30, names Myung June Kim and Kim Acupuncture & Pain Clinic as defendants. The complainant is known only by the initials I.B. She had been seeing Kim since 2016 as a result of injuries from the accident. The complaint said Kim had told I.B. she had fibromyalgia, a pain disorder, something he said acupuncture could cure while western medicine could not. I.B. lists in a notice of civil claim five alleged instances of assault around July 2019, including multiple times when Kim allegedly pulled down her panties and touched her genitals during the course of the acupuncture sessions. I.B. seeks awards for damages and loss of earnings. The allegations have not been tested in court. The College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of B.C. in November 2019 told Kim to have a chaperone present whenever he dealt with female patients. That resulted from a complaint alleging professional misconduct in September 2019. A college notice said it had been notified by police of the same conduct alleged there and that a criminal investigation was underway. The complaint and police notification were referred to the [college] inquiry committee for investigation, the notice said. Glacier Media reached out to Kim for comment but needed an unavailable interpreter to talk with him Covid-19 vaccination sites drop to half in India amid shortage of doses Mumbai municipality vehicles were en route to the Pune facility of the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, on Friday afternoon. An official said the cargo they pick up could beat the shortage of doses threatening to scuttle the Covid vaccination process in the countrys financial capital. We are expecting as many as 188,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Read More Crackdown on tax evaders: I-T notices to holders of foreign assets The Income-Tax (I-T) Department has issued notices to taxpayers, seeking action under the black money and benami transactions laws for not disclosing their foreign assets in assessment years from FY14 to FY18. The notices have been issued ahead of the April 30 deadline, which has been set for reopening tax evasion cases as announced in Budget 2021, shortening the period of investigation to three years from six. Read More 6 start-ups join unicorn club this week; 150 likely by 2025, say experts The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated the pace of start-ups joining the unicorn club, with as many as 10 companies crossing the $1-billion valuation mark this year. Six of them have turned unicorns this week only. According to venture capital investors and experts, India is expected to have 150 unicorns by 2025. Currently, there are 47 Indian start-ups valued at $1 billion or more, and Paytm is the most valuable start-up at $16 billion, according to the Venture Intelligence data. Read More Net direct tax mop-up exceeds revised estimates at Rs 9.45 trillion in FY21 Direct tax collection, excluding refunds, fell below Rs 10 trillion for the first time in four years in 2020-21. However, the collection was expected to decline even further due to the Covid-19 impact. This could be gauged from the fact that the FY21 mop-up of Rs 9.45 trillion was higher by around 4.5 per cent compared to the revised estimates. Also, the government issued 41 per cent higher refunds compared to last year. Read More 10-year bond yield drops to 5.97% in morning trade but closes at 6.02% The 10-year bond yield fell below 6 per cent in intra-day trade on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committed to buying at least Rs 1 trillion of bonds from the secondary market. In the morning trade, the yield dropped to 5.97 per cent, but it climbed up to close at 6.02 per cent once it was found that the central bank had refused to sell a new 5-year benchmark paper at the rate demanded by the market. Instead, the RBI forced the primary dealers, or underwrites of the auction, to buy almost the entire stock of the new 5-year benchmark paper at 5.63 per cent. Read More Tata-Mistry case: SC verdict puts spotlight on duties of nominee directors The Supreme Courts recent judgment in the six-year-old boardroom and courtroom battle between the two principal stakeholders of the Tata group has put the spotlight on the role and duties of nominee directors of a charitable trust in a holding company. The apex court in its judgment dismissed the minority shareholders (Mistry group) claims of oppression and mismanagement at Tata Sons, the holding company of the conglomerate, when the board decided to remove its then executive chairman, Cyrus Mistry." Read More PE-VC exits from Indian companies at two-year high after Covid-19 setback Vani Kola, managing director of Kalaari Capital, recently wrote a blog on LinkedIn thanking Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, founder of Dream 11, for allowing the venture capitals (VCs) to play a part in the start-ups journey. Starting with a Series A investment, you have already returned $206 million to our limited partners (LPs), with upside potential to the tune of multiple folds for our shares still locked into the company; thank you for that, she wrote. Read More Coal India firms up Rs 40,000-crore domestic coal evacuation plan In a bid to give a fillip to the Centres Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme, Coal India (CIL) has drafted plans to ramp up domestic coal evacuation facilities at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. The miner will execute 35 projects to improve first-mile connectivity and coal handling plants as well as create more rail lines and sidings. Read More China has stepped up its efforts to crack down on telecom and online frauds in a bid to combat such rapidly rising illegal activities. Police across the country cracked 322,000 cases of telecom and online frauds last year, arresting 361,000 suspects, data from the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) showed. Besides, 1.6 million fraudulent websites were blocked and 11,000 gangs were dismantled for perpetrating criminal activities using telephones or bank cards, the data added. A cumulative loss of at least 187.6 billion yuan (about 28.68 billion U.S. dollars), involving 8.7 million potential victims, was averted as a result. STRINGENT ACTIONS Thanks to a holistic approach of clampdown, precaution and regulation, a tightly-knit safety net was forged that prevented many people from being deceived. The number of cases cracked by Chinese police forces in 2020 rose by 61 percent from the previous year, while the number of apprehended suspects increased by 121 percent year on year. Judicial and law enforcement agencies have spotted rampant and multiple new types of scams in recent years as the development of internet technologies is further accelerating changes in criminal means. The MPS, together with the Cyberspace Administration of China, have launched a big data platform, an app, and a fraud alert hotline to intercept and block fraudulent contents. A total of 140 million phone calls and 870 million text messages involved in fraudulent activities have been intercepted so far. The country's central bank and telecom regulators and operators have also launched special campaigns to plug loopholes and rectify malpractices to address fraud at its source. Liu Zhongyi, an MPS official, has assured that such stringent measures would continue. Big data analysis will be applied, regulations will be tightened and special campaigns will be launched in the future to crack down on criminal rings that engage in sales of personal data, development of fraudulent websites and creation of financial channels for money laundering, the MPS added. A male was shot dead Friday night in the Lafitte section of New Orleans, police said. Responding to an 8:20 p.m. report of gunshots, police said they found the victim in a vehicle near the Orleans Avenue and North Dorgenois Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Police Department did not immediately release more information. Over the last several months, Gambits Kaylee Poche has investigated the Ruston-based Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB). The center receives millions of dollars annually in federal and state grants and contracts. It presents itself as a place of hope for blind Louisianians, a place where they can learn fundamental life skills. Poches reporting shows otherwise. According to many students, the center has a disturbing, decades-long history of racism, LGBTQ discrimination, sexual assault and psychological abuse. On Thursday, Poche reported the Ruston Police Department has launched an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault dating back to 2018. According to Deputy Chief Chad Hamlin, the investigation is in the early stages, and they have not yet begun interviewing witnesses. However, Hamlin did say that while the woman is now of age, based on the timeline police investigators currently have, there is a chance she was underage when the assault occurred. Significantly, Hamlin also told Poche this is not the first time the Ruston Police Department has investigated allegations of sexual abuse against LCB staff, but the new allegation is the most serious that he has seen. Additionally, Hamlin said that while the LCB itself is not currently the subject of an investigation, if there is evidence the center covered up the assault or otherwise withheld information, the department could begin broader inquiry into the center. +12 Former students allege 'toxic culture' of racism, abuse and assault at Louisiana Center for the Blind The Louisiana Center for the Blind was supposed to help blind people learn vital life skills. But many students say there was a 'toxic culture' of abuse, racism and assault. This is welcome news. It is imperative for law enforcement officials to take allegations of assault seriously and vigorously investigate them. LCB and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) with which it is affiliated have acknowledged longstanding problems with how they handle allegations of sexual assault. In recent months, they have taken needed steps to begin correcting those problems, including partnering with state and national sexual assault organizations. That process still lacks accountability, however. LCB Director Pam Allen, who also serves as NFBs vice president, learned of sexual assaults at the center in at least 2018 but took no significant action at that time. To date, no official with either organization has resigned or been fired. This is wholly unacceptable. Allen should immediately step down from her positions or be fired if she is unwilling to go voluntarily. Given the substantial amount of money in contracts LCB has received from Louisiana Tech, a public university, the Legislative Auditor should conduct a full review of how the group spent taxpayers money. Depending on the auditors findings, law enforcement at the local, state and federal levels should consider criminal investigations. Justice must be done for the survivors. Ruston Police investigating abuse allegation at Louisiana Center for the Blind The Ruston Police Department has launched an investigation into an alleged incident of sexual abuse that occurred by a worker or former worke Finally, we urge state lawmakers and our congressional delegation to open investigations into LCB and NFB. Thanks to reporting by Poche, the Des Moines Register and other outlets, we now know allegations of assault and abuse go back years, not only at LCB but at NFB-affiliated centers in other parts of the country as well. Because LCB has received millions of dollars in state and federal funds over the years, they have an obligation to use their oversight powers to shine a bright light in the darkest corners of this organizations history to ensure the long history of abuse has ended and will never happen again. The time for a reckoning in Ruston is long overdue. An influential bloc of congressional progressives has produced a list of items they want added President Bidens $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan from the expansion of programs for the homeless to a bigger increase for Medicaid-funded home health care. The 95-member Congressional Progressive Caucus released their proposed revisions on Friday, in part, to counter Republicans who claim the American Jobs Plan includes too many programs that fall outside the traditional road-bridge-rail-sewer definition of infrastructure. The group, which represents many of the partys ascendant figures, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, is also pushing Speaker Nancy Pelosi on legislative tactics. They want to see the infrastructure and jobs legislation passed as a single package, while Ms. Pelosi, eager to fast-track the plan, is considering breaking the proposal into two parts, one for traditional infrastructure projects, the other for jobs and social welfare programs, to avoid parliamentary snags. He acknowledged that most of the excess deaths in his region were indeed caused by the pandemic in some way. A heart attack in a coronavirus-stricken patient, for example, would not have shown up in the official toll. The low official toll has contributed to the obliviousness of Russians to the viruss dangers in some cases and to their profound distrust of the governments messaging regarding the pandemic in others. Last October, a poll found that most Russians did not believe the governments tally of coronavirus cases: Half of those who did not believe the tally thought it was too high, while half thought it was too low. In February, another poll found that 60 percent of Russians said they were not planning to get Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, and that most believed the coronavirus to be a biological weapon. In the Samara region, Inna Pogozhevas mother, an obstetrician-gynecologist, died in November after being hospitalized with a Covid-19 referral based on a CT scan. The undertakers, clad in rubber boots and hazmat suits, carried her mother from the morgue into their hearse in a sealed coffin, then doused each other in disinfectant. But there was no word about Covid-19 on the death certificate. Ms. Pogozheva said she did not know what to believe about the pandemic including whether, as the widely circulating and false conspiracy theories go, the Gates Foundation might be behind it. But one thing was certain, she said: She will not get vaccinated, even after seeing Covids devastation up close. After all, if she cannot trust her mothers state-issued death certificate, why should she trust the Russian government about the safety of the vaccine? Who the heck knows what they mixed in there? Ms. Pogozheva said. You cant trust anyone, especially when it comes to this situation. TORRINGTON The grounds of the Hotchkiss-Fyler House are in bloom with early flowers and shrubs. Inside, Curator Gail Kruppa and Executive Director Mark McEachern and their staff have spent time ready for visitors. The societys museum and garden, along with its carriage house behind, will reopen to the public April 14. Were getting ready, Kruppa said Thursday, as she prepared to feed the societys resident cat, Eddie, and close up for the night. The Torrington History Museum is home to the award-winning exhibits, No Place Like Home: The History of Torrington and Pursuit of Precision: The Hendey Machine Company 1870-1954. The exhibits will remain open through October 30th. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 12-4. Admission is FREE. No Place Like Home is a self-guided exhibit that takes visitors on a chronological tour of Torringtons history. Visitors will learn how the town grew and developed and the factors that led to its change over time. Objects from the Societys collection, as well as reproductions of photographs and maps, are featured throughout the exhibit. Items include: Native American tools; 18th century artifacts; products made in Torrington including brass, clocks, guitars, and bicycles; items brought to Torrington by immigrants; John Brown memorabilia; and a vendors cart that belonged to Sam the Hot Dog Man. Topics addressed in the exhibit include: Geology, Native Americans, 18th century settlement, the Litchfield County Anti-Slavery Society, John Brown, Immigration, the Flood of 1955, and the citys rich industrial history. Pursuit of Precision interprets the history of the Hendey Machine Company, a longtime Torrington manufacturer of machine tools including lathes, shapers and milling machines. A belt-driven machine shop display featuring three Hendey machines is a highlight of this exhibit. For the safety of visitors and staff, COVID-19 protocol will be in effect. Visitors are required to wear face masks and must observe social distancing. Hand sanitizer will be available. Those who have been sick or are not feeling well are asked to remain at home and anyone who is required to self-quarantine should remain at home. To learn more about Torrington history and the Torrington Historical Society, visit the museum website: www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org The Hotchkiss-Fyler House has been shut down since March 2020, the start of the pandemic in Connecticut. The usual events and programs were replaced by online story readings, live music performances and history programs. Those will continue this spring, and eventually evolve into more in-person programs, based on the guidance of the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A few people already have stopped by to see whether the society was open, Kruppa said. A couple was here today. They were in the area, she said Thursday. It will be nice to have visitors again. Meanwhile, the society has scheduled a series of free virtual programs, starting with Spring into Torrington History at 6:30 p.m. April 21 on Zoom. The program explores one of the societys acquisitions, a collection of glass negatives. This is a story of discovery, the society said in a statement. In 2017, the Torrington Historical Society received hundreds of glass plate negatives from a donor in Vermont who, decades earlier, had purchased them at a yard sale. Little was known of the collection but several boxes were labeled Flieg & Newbury, Torrington and some images were identifiable as Torrington scenes. A few years later, Sue Weston, then a volunteer at the society, began cleaning, scanning and housing the collection. Sues interest in the images led her to begin an intensive research project. Illustrated with dozens of images from the collection, this program will explore the clues that helped Sue identify the photographer and the places and people that inspired his work. Learn of this collections fascinating journey and its return to Torrington more than a century after the glass plate negatives were produced. The next program is Black Friday: The Flood of 1955, presented by McEachern, at 6:30 p.m. May 19 on Zoom. Then, on June 16, also at 6:30 p.m., Kruppa will present, Whats in a Name: The History of Torrington Streets. Both of these talks also will be held on Zoom. Registration is required for all guests. To register and receive the Zoom login information, visit www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org. For visitors, the society at 192 Main St. is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required and there is no charge. Founded in 1944, the collections of the society first were stored and displayed in two rooms at Dr. Elias Pratts house on Daycoeton Place. The society quickly out grew their first home and moved to the Batters Building on Church Street. When Gertrude Hotchkiss died in 1956 she left her estate in trust to be used by the historical society as a museum and headquarters. Included in her gift was an endowment to help support the work of the historical society. When the library collection and archives were moved into the Hotchkiss-Fyler House in the late 1950s, they were dedicated as the John H. Thompson Memorial Library, after the founder, who also was first editor of the Torrington Register newspaper and the societys first president. Myanmar's UN envoy urges action against junta Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, pushed for more concrete action against members of the military and their families. File photo: AFP Myanmar's own ambassador to the United Nations has urged "strong action" against the junta, as reports emerged of scores killed in the military's latest crackdown. The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February, with protesters refusing to submit to the junta regime and continuing to demand a return to democracy. With more than 600 people killed by security forces trying to quell the movement, the international community has increasingly raised the alarm on the crisis. During a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, Myanmar's ambassador pushed for more concrete action proposing a no-fly zone, an arms embargo and more targeted sanctions against members of the military and their families. "Your collective, strong action is needed immediately," Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun told the meeting. "Time is of the essence for us," he said. "Please, please take action." An independent analyst with the International Crisis Group also warned the council that Myanmar was "at the brink of state failure". "The vast majority of the population does not want military rule and will do whatever it takes to prevent that outcome. Yet the military seems determined to impose its will," said Richard Horsey. "Its actions may be creating a situation where the country becomes ungovernable. That should be of grave concern to the region and to the broader international community." China and Russia wield veto power at the Security Council and generally oppose international sanctions. However, Beijing the top ally of Myanmar's military has voiced growing concern about instability, and has said it is speaking to "all parties". There have been reports that China has opened contact with the CRPH, a group representing the ousted civilian government. (AFP) Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Laroyce Reed and his girlfriend were watching Nick Cannons new game show on television Tuesday night in their Harrisburg apartment bedroom with Italian food. He was eating garlic bread. His girlfriend said she dove right into her seafood Alfredo as they laughed and talked. Thats when she heard gunshots. Reed jumped up and ran to the door and his girlfriend dropped to the floor from the bed. When she got up and looked around, she saw blood on his back. Reed struggled to breathe but didnt say a word. He died on the floor of their home in the 1400 block of Vernon Street with the rest of his meal still sitting on his bed. His girlfriend believes the shots came through one of their two bedroom windows. They lived on the first floor. PennLive is not publishing her name since the shooter has not been identified. Police and prosecutors havent released any details about the shooting, which was reported at 8:35 p.m. Tuesday. They said the investigation is ongoing. His death marked the fifth homicide in the city so far this year. Reed grew up in St. Marys, Camden County, Georgia, where he developed a love for cooking and worked in various restaurants. He met his girlfriend there, and after her mother died in New York City, Reed went with her to help. The couple then relocated in 2017 to Harrisburg, where his girlfriends daughters live. They lived with one of her daughters at first, then got their own place on Vernon Street, which was supposed to be temporary. They dreamed of opening a restaurant together called City in the Country, that would feature his Southern cooking from his Georgia upbringing and her Northern cooking from growing up in New York City. But in 2018, the girlfriend suffered a stroke that nearly killed her. Reed devoted himself to nursing her back to health, she said. He cleaned me, washed me, massaged me, went to therapy with me, she said. He cooked for me. He put on my socks. If she was having a hard day, Reed would take her in her wheelchair and give her a wild ride in a parking lot to make her laugh. He was so nice, she said. He was the sweetest, kindest person. So for him to be taken, the world has lost an angel. Reeds kindness extended to stray animals he saw on the street. He would share his grilled meats with dogs and cats who stopped by, his girlfriend said. Reeds nephew said he was known to give turkeys and hams to residents of a housing project in his hometown in Georgia. When an officer in uniform showed up at a family barbecue in Laroyce Reeds hometown in Georgia a few years ago, most people there froze with uncertainty. Some of them had bad experiences with officers and Reed had tangled with the police at times. But the visit didnt ruffle Reed, who as usual, was working the grill. Reed put his arm around the officer and handed him a plate of barbecue. You want a rib? Try that! Reed said to the officer. Now what you here for? Turns out the officer was responding to a noise complaint. But he ended up eating Reeds ribs and everyone instantly felt comfortable, according to his great-nephew Avery Reed, who fondly recalled the incident. The interaction was typical of Laroyce Reed, who was known to his relatives as Ross. He didnt hold a grudge. He was generous to a fault. He loved to cook. And he would talk to anybody and everybody. I am so hurt and sad, said Shakira Griffin, Reeds niece, who lives in Reeds hometown. They took a good person from his family. This was not his time to go. They took that from us. I dont know if Im ever going to be the same. Reed kept in close touch with his relatives back in his hometown. He was known for his high frequency of calling and checking on all of this relatives and telling them each, I love you during every call, according to his cousin Jinna Houston. There were days it seemed as if Reed had texted every person in Camden County, his sister Darnell Kinnitt said. If things were going badly for Reed in Harrisburg, or he was having trouble with someone, he could have easily moved back to Georgia, Avery Reed said. Dozens of relatives would have warmly opened their doors to him. He was a great guest, Avery Reed said. If he stayed with someone, he would clean the entire house and prepare meals. He wouldnt dream of taking any kindness for granted. He was just born to help people, his sister said. If you met him, you would never forget him. Sometimes friends or relatives would try to convince Reed to move back to Georgia, because they missed him so much. But he would always say no, that he needed to stay in Harrisburg to care for his love. Thats why Reed always called his girlfriend: Love. While Reed was getting older, he always remained youthful in spirit, relatives said. He constantly cracked jokes and had snappy comebacks. Avery Reed remembered a time a few years back when he challenged him to a foot race even though Avery was more than 20 years his junior Im fast. I could run, Avery recalled. Hes chunky so I thought I was going to beat him. Instead, he beat me bad, Avery said. I was like, what happened? and he would just flash that big cheesy grin. He was such a character. One of Laroyce Reeds lesser known talents was his penmanship. He wrote so fine and neat it looked like it was off a machine, his sister said. He also was extremely clean, known for washing his hands dozens of times as he was preparing food. He also insisted on living in a pristine environment and wearing well-fitted, fashionable clothing. He had a teenage son back in Georgia and was great with kids. When he met children at events or with relatives, he always took the time to speak directly to each child, Avery Reed said. Shakira Griffin said each time he would call her, he would insist on FaceTiming with her three kids. During the video calls, Griffin said he would show her his surroundings in Harrisburg. Everybody would speak to him, she said. It was clear everybody loved him. Now, Griffin and other relatives are focused on getting justice for Laroyce Reed. They say they wont rest until they know who killed him and why. Hes been there for us. He was a father figure for me, she said. We were very close. I cant believe hes gone. Its not supposed to be like this. READ MORE: Harrisburg man charged with killing truck driver over stupid argument Federal agency to add warning signs at dams across Pa., after boy dies in drowning machine A project aimed at reducing plastic pollution along the Mississippi River is deploying new technology in an ancient form: This is not your average message in a bottle. Scientists are placing GPS devices inside plastic bottles to study how trash enters the watershed and travels downstream, with the ultimate goal being to reduce pollution in rivers and oceans. The initiative was launched Saturday in Baton Rouge, the first of three cities participating in a pilot program that involves tracking several bottles on their journeys toward the Gulf of Mexico. East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor Sharon Weston Broome held a news conference Saturday morning on a floating barge at Shamrock Marine. With the river flowing swiftly behind her, Broome said Baton Rouge is proud to be the first pilot site. She serves as co-chair of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, which is organizing the program. "I'm sure you recognize the value of this monumental waterway," she said. "It physically shapes our community, it is a staple of our economy and it is an asset to our environment in Louisiana." Researchers are focusing on the Mississippi River watershed, the drainage system for 40% of the continental United States. The other pilot cities are St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, near where the river begins. A total of 10 plastic bottles will be divided between the pilot cities, including at least three in Baton Rouge, researchers said. Jenna Jambeck, a distinguished professor in environmental engineering at the University of Georgia, said the GPS technology contained in these bottles has never before been used in the United States, though she was involved in similar research on the Ganges River, which flows through India and Bangladesh. She said one of the bottles released into the Ganges traveled more than 1,200 miles. Researchers planned to release the Baton Rouge bottles on Saturday, but delayed their deployment because of minor technical difficulties. 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 Jambeck said that, if the bottles get stuck somewhere downstream, researchers plan to rescue and redeploy them. She said the information they provide will help fill a "data gap" in estimating the overall quantity of plastic in rivers and oceans. +2 Top on Garret Graves' list for massive federal spending bill? Mississippi River bridge money 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 mas The data will also be made available to the public online at debristracker.org, where people can download an app and contribute to an online database of plastic pollution. A group of LSU students is using the app to document plastic trash recovered from local waterways. Massive amounts of trash end up in the ocean every year, an issue that has recently gained traction in part because of its devastating impact on marine life, including whales washing ashore with bellies full of plastic. The animals can starve to death after ingesting too much plastic because they feel full and stop eating, research shows. A recent study found that a small piece of plastic was enough to kill a 38-foot whale that washed up near the Florida Everglades in 2019. Scientists found the plastic had sliced through its insides, causing internal bleeding and ultimately a painful death. The species, known as a Rice's whale, was just recently discovered and is believed to live only in the Gulf of Mexico, where pollution is proving an increased threat to these endangered animals. In 2016, the United States generated more plastic waste than any other country in the world, according to research from Jambeck and others. "You don't have to look too far around our city to see that we have a trash problem," said Mark Benfield, with the LSU Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences. He said the scope of the problem can seem overwhelming, especially because it encompasses millions of people living in the Mississippi River drainage basin. Iowa Governor Says She Declined Request to House Unaccompanied Minors 'This is not our problem, this is the president's problem' Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said her state cant receive unaccompanied minors amid the unfolding border crisis, which she says was caused by President Joe Biden, adding that he has a duty to correct the situation. Reynolds, a Republican, told WHO radio earlier this week that she declined a request from the Biden administration to come up with foster care for children who illegally cross the border. We dont have the facilities. We are not set up to do that, Reynolds said. This is not our problem, this is the presidents problem. The governor also explained that there are Iowa children that still need to be placed in foster homes at the moment. He is the one that opened the borders. He needs to be responsible for this, and he needs to stop it, she added. Unaccompanied minors wait for their turn at the secondary processing station inside a holding facility in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/Pool/AP Photo) Recently, 11 former Border Patrol chiefs wrote a letter to Congress, asking them to address the border crisis. On behalf of retired Chiefs of the United States Border Patrol, we write with grave concern regarding the current crisis on the southwest border. It is time to address our broken immigration system as well as the push and pull factors encouraging mass migration, and its impacts on border security, reads the letter obtained by Breitbart. The letter was addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Four of the letters co-authors previously acted as chief of the Border Patrol, several others were agency heads at the Department of Homeland Security. Unaccompanied minors lie inside a pod at a holding facility in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo/Pool) There is an unprecedented number of unaccompanied children arriving at the southern border. The rate at which children are arriving on a daily basis will likely eclipse the previous crises. In February, the number of unaccompanied children totaled 9,500, a 61 percent increase from January, the letter reads. Push factors such as poverty, violence, governance, and a lack of economic opportunity have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the change in administrations, strong signals in policy changes and security postures at the border has created a hyper acceleration in the number of undocumented migrants seeking to enter the United States. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol apprehended 100,441 illegal immigrants at the southern border in February, representing a 28 percent increase compared to January. CHICAGO A man who fired off gunshots as he stood next to 13-year-old Adam Toledo on a Little Village street corner sparked the chain of events that led to Toledos fatal shooting by Chicago police, Cook County prosecutors said in court Saturday. Ruben Roman, 21, was charged with felonies including child endangerment, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge. Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him held on $150,000 bond; he will need to post $15,000 to be released on an ankle bracelet pending trial. Roman is on video firing the weapon that brought officers to Little Village on the night of the shooting last month. He and Toledo fled the scene together, with officers in pursuit, according to prosecutors. Roman was arrested as another officer chased Toledo, who was holding a gun when the officer shot him, prosecutors said. That gun matched the spent cartridge casings that were found in the area where Roman was firing, prosecutors said. That sequence of events would strongly indicate that Roman at some point passed the gun to Toledo, though prosecutors stopped short of saying so explicitly. If the defendant does not bring the 13-year-old with him, if he doesnt bring his gun with him while on gun offender probation, if he doesnt shoot that gun seven to eight times on a city street with (Toledo) standing in arms length of him while hes firing those shots none of it would have happened, Assistant States Attorney James Murphy said in court. Romans attorney Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood vigorously rejected the implication that Roman is responsible for Toledos death, noting that the gun was allegedly recovered from Toledo. The victim is dead at the hand of the Chicago police officers, not my client, she said, calling Toledos death tragic. The police shooting itself remains under investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. In court Saturday, Murphy gave the most detailed public description to date about what happened the night police killed Toledo, whose death at such a young age sparked outrage around the city. Story continues No body-worn camera footage has been publicly released, and police have given scant details, saying only that Toledo was shot during an armed confrontation with an officer. But prosecutors on Saturday gave a moment-by-moment account of that night and said their description was backed up by copious surveillance and body-worn camera footage. About 2:30 a.m. March 29, Roman and Toledo were walking together on South Sawyer Avenue toward 24th Street, Murphy said. They can be distinguished in the camera footage by their clothing: a gold jacket on Roman and a white hat on Toledo, Murphy said. As they walked toward the corner, a vehicle drove by, and Roman walked up and got into a shooting stance, Murphy said. Toledo, at first, backed away. But as Roman began firing, the boy walked up closer until he was just an arms length away from the shooter, Murphy said. Roman got off seven or eight shots, and the two quickly fled, Roman taking the lead and Toledo right behind, Murphy said. A city ShotSpotter detected the gunfire, and two uniformed Chicago police officers in a marked squad car responded to the scene in less than a minute, Murphy said. Roman and Toledo cut through an alley together, and police gave chase on foot, Murphy said. Both of the officers body-worn cameras were recording. The officers who chased Roman and Toledo after the shots were fired both had their body-worn cameras recording, Murphy said. One officer tackled Roman as Toledo kept running. As Roman was being arrested, he dropped a pair of red gloves, Murphy said. Those gloves tested positive for gunshot residue, according to Murphy. Toledo kept running as an officer ordered him to stop, then paused near a break in a wooden fence, Murphy said. The officer ordered Toledo to show his hands. Toledo was standing with his left side to the officer and held his right hand to his right side, Murphy said. The officer told Toledo drop it, drop it, as Toledo turned toward the officer with a gun in his right hand, Murphy said. The officer fired one shot, hitting Toledo in the chest. The gun Toledo was holding landed a few feet away, Murphy said. The officer radioed for an ambulance and began chest compressions on Toledo, who was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, Murphy said. The 9 mm Ruger that was recovered next to Toledo matches the fired shell casings that were found on the corner where Roman was shooting, prosecutors said.Toledos right hand also tested positive for gunshot residue, Murphy said. Roman was taken into custody and, when asked who he was with, initially gave a fake name for Toledo. Later, he denied knowing who he was with. He also denied shooting, saying he was just in the alley waiting for a train. He never explained what train would have stopped in that alley, Murphy said. Roman was released from custody on a misdemeanor charge of resisting a police officer. He is due back in court next month on that charge. Meanwhile, he failed to appear at a court hearing on an unrelated case Wednesday, leading a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest, records show. He is on probation for a gun charge in that case. Roman was arrested on the warrant Friday at his mothers house, where he was hiding in the closet and had shaved his head in an apparent effort to disguise himself, Murphy said. Smallwood, Romans attorney, said much of the states evidence connecting her client to Toledos death was speculative at best. There was no indication that Roman ever wore the red gloves that tested positive for gunshot residue, or that the gun allegedly recovered from Toledo was in fact Romans weapon, she said. In setting bond, Ortiz noted that the spent cartridge casings from the scene matched the gun allegedly found in Toledos hands that resulted in, as both sides put it, this very tragic situation. In a statement Saturday evening, attorneys for Toledos family declined to comment on prosecutors allegations until we see all of the videos and examine the evidence for ourselves. The attorneys said they had an appointment to view the footage in the coming week. Also on Saturday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has spoken to Toledos mother recently but did not give details. During an unrelated news conference, she reiterated the familys calls for peace in the wake of the shooting, which has spurred multiple protests across the city. Lightfoot said Elizabeth Toledo, the boys mother, will view the shooting video early next week with her lawyer. Were going to hopefully follow their lead in this, but I do believe there is obviously a significant amount of interest in the video, said Lightfoot, who has said she has not seen the video. I think it will only help disabuse a lot of urban myth that has sprung up in the void. But I want to be clear: From whats been described to me, it is going to be a very tough video for people to watch. Lightfoot acknowledged that police were preparing for unrest, but said that was largely in response to the upcoming verdict in the Minnesota trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who is accused of murdering George Floyd, a Black man. The officers involved in Toledos shooting have been removed from regular duty pending a review of their conduct. (Chicago Tribunes Alice Yin contributed to this story.) (CNN) Pre-pandemic, Phuket's Patong Beach was not a place you'd go for peace and quiet. On any given day during high season, this popular Thai beach town would be filled with tourists from all around the world. Jet skis, longtails and speed boats roared through its bright blue waters. Some pulled parasails, their colorful puffs of nylon kites moving through the skies, keeping harnessed bodies afloat. Massive cruise ships could sometimes be seen anchored offshore. In the evenings, the streets adjacent to Patong's beach were packed with travelers till long after the sun slipped into the Andaman Sea horizon, the air filled with the shouts of taxi drivers, massage staff and restaurant workers, all in pursuit of the next customer. These days, Patong is unrecognizable. Its beach a long, clean strip of beige sand is free of crowds. Nearby, the majority of businesses are shuttered, some with "For Rent" signs. Door handles are wrapped in chains and padlocks, while closed hotels have put up rope fences blocking the driveways to their entrances. Even American chain outlets like McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks are shut. Further south, similar scenes await visitors to the once popular beaches of Kata and Karon. "The areas of Phuket island that have been hit the hardest are most definitely Patong, Karon and Kata beaches," says Anthony Lark, president of the Phuket Hotels Association. "These three enclaves were 95% reliant on international tourism. And it dried up." For the few who decided to stick it out, life has been incredibly difficult. "It's very bad for us," says Su Sutam, manager of Lobster & Prawn Restaurant on Kata Beach. "Not many people come. We have only Thai people but not so many. In one day, only one or two tables. Normally we are full downstairs and upstairs." He says staff are only getting paid half of their regular salaries until international tourists return. For the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, founded in 2016, closing shop till the tourists return isn't an option. Whether visitors come or not, the facility's 12 retired working elephants, which live in the sanctuary's 30 acres of jungle, need to be fed. "It costs approximately between 20,000 and 30,000 Thai baht a month to feed one elephant," says general manager Vincent Gerards. With a dozen animals on hand, that's about $7,500-8,000 each month. Prior to the pandemic, most of that money came from the many visitors that would pay to experience the sanctuary and observe the elephants for a full day. "Around 85% of the population of Phuket relies on tourism in some form or another, whether they're working in hotels or taxi drivers, fisherman it's all connected and we're very dependent on international tourists," says Gerards. "So Covid obviously had a huge impact when we talk about elephant tourism in particular. More than 150 elephants living in Phuket have left the island since the beginning of Covid-19 because the camps had to temporarily or permanently close, and those elephants were then moved back to their owners who often live in other provinces." Government launches reopening plan Thailand has fared incredibly well compared to other countries, reporting just over 30,000 cases and 95 deaths since the start of the pandemic. It shut its borders to international travelers in late March 2020 as Covid-19 began to spread, imposing strict quarantine measures on those who did arrive. Most residents affected by the absence of tourists CNN spoke with say they are pinning their hopes on a new plan that would allow vaccinated international travelers visiting Phuket to skip the 7- to 14-day quarantine measures now in place. "We hope for vaccines," says restaurant manager Sutam. "If vaccine is okay we hope customers will come back." According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the approved plan will take effect on July 1. "Phuket will be the first destination to lift quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign tourists under the 'Phuket Sandbox' program," says a TAT statement. "However, they will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in Phuket for seven days and will then be allowed to visit other Thai destinations." The plan is reliant on efforts to vaccinate 70% of the island's residents, with officials requesting more than 930,000 doses. According to a report in Phuket News, more than 70,000 Phuket residents have received their first dose of the vaccine. But given only a small population of Thais has been vaccinated in the entire country, there have been criticisms in the press and on social media of moves to prioritize Phuket when many at-risk citizens elsewhere have yet to receive their own doses. Further hampering the program, a new outbreak of Covid-19 infections has emerged in recent days, forcing many in the country to cancel their Songkran (Thai New Year) travel plans. CNN reached out to several government officials for further specifics on the reopening plan, as well as the status of vaccination efforts but as of publication time had yet to receive a response. Nonetheless, for Phuket's tourism players, the possibility that international tourists will return in just a few months is sparking cautious optimism. "There is a glimmer of hope and a shining light at the end of our very dark, long tunnel," says Phuket Hotels Association president Lark, noting that quarantine restrictions are what's preventing the island from recovering. "The fear factor here is quite high. There's a lot of people in Thailand who don't want foreigners coming in here carrying the virus. So the secret is to get the local community vaccinated to a level where we feel safe enough with the presence of antibodies in people's systems to welcome back tourists without that fear." Lark, who has lived on Phuket for more than 30 years, notes that it will take a long time before tourism returns to pre-pandemic levels, but at least there should be enough business to sustain the employment of those who need it most. "Fifty percent of the staff who work in the hotels in Phuket don't come from Phuket," he says. "They come from Krabi, or Trang, or other provinces around Thailand in the north/northeast. They relied on their salaries and service charges to support their moms and dads back home." For now, Phuket relies on domestic tourists In the meantime, domestic tourism is keeping some businesses afloat but just barely. "It has literally been the oxygen that has enabled almost all of the tourism-related businesses on Phuket to continue to breathe and survive." says Lark, who points to the Bangkok residents that have been flying down on the weekends and government holidays. "But it's unsustainable. Phuket's tourism can't survive at 6% to 8% occupancy. These hotels were designed to run at 30% to 40% occupancy to break even. So it's helped stem the tide of outgoing grief, but it's by no means sustainable, sadly." Rooms in big-brand luxury hotels that once cost upwards of $300 a night are now going for a fraction of the cost, though this has made it challenging for mid-priced hotels to compete. Members of the island's expat communities and local residents are also helping to keep restaurants and bars open, with areas such as Bang Tao Beach, near the large Laguna resort and residential community, still busy. On a recent Sunday at the InterContinental Phuket Resort on Kamala Beach, the property was filled with guests enjoying the pool and beach bar many of them local residents taking advantage of the Sunday brunch special. In the evening, a fire show on the beach had a full audience of spectators. One of Phuket's newest resorts, it opened in December 2019 but was only open for a few months before Covid-19 forced the island into lockdown. Bjorn Courage, general manager, says the InterContinental Phuket opened in July of 2020 following the initial shutdown and adapted their strategy to appeal to both domestic travelers as well as local residents. "This is a tough time," he says. "Phuket does need international tourists, so at some point we do need to open up. I think everybody has been very creative to try to make the most of the situation that we are in at the moment. But we managed to find a way. "We're supporting the local community, and we were working closely with local government and central government to get ready, in order to re-open Phuket, and to re-open Thailand, and to be ready to welcome visitors from overseas." Far from the beaches, Phuket's historic Old Town has been able to tap into the local markets as well. Famed for its Sino-Portuguese heritage buildings, many of which have been converted into shops, cafes and bars, it's a popular destination for island residents as well as Thai tourists. During a recent visit to its Sunday Walking Street Market, the area was filled with visitors -- all wearing masks as per local regulations. But the pandemic has forced some businesses in that area to change the way they operate. Property manager Vorakorn Suwannate is owner of Neighborgood x Origami Cafe on nearby Phangnga Road. She says the lack of tourists prompted her to move her cafe which was originally in a hotel -- into a new space. "We have to think about the local market," she says. "There so many things to adjust. In the past we were familiar with serving in-house guests. After the Covid situation we had to adjust ourselves and promote the product that matches with the local people. It's a hard job. "In my opinion the vaccinations are the best solution to make things normal. If we got the vaccine for residents and international tourists I think situation will improve faster." Ekkapan, a street food vendor at Patong Beach, specializes in dishes from Thailand's northeast Isaan region. He says the demographics of his customer base have shifted but in spite of being in an area so reliant on international tourists profits haven't dipped. "Before Covid my customers were 80% foreign tourists," he tells CNN. "But now we are serving mostly Thai people. Same money but we have to work harder. Foreigners liked to order grilled dishes, which were easy to make. Thais prefer things like som tom (papaya salad) and larb (a spicy minced meat dish) which take longer." The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary has also had to adapt its programs to cater to the domestic market shortening the time length of its programs and lowering prices while also creating remote online opportunities to connect with their many followers from abroad. It's helping to put food in the elephants' mouths, but what they really need is for international tourists to come back as soon as possible. With the pandemic tossing out an endless supply of curveballs over the last year, a lot can happen between now and July. But Gerrards is hopeful. "It's great to finally see that light at the end of the tunnel and to have a pretty clear plan of what's going to happen," he says. "We're ready to welcome tourists again." This story was first published on CNN.com "Empty beaches, chained doors: Surreal scenes in Phuket as island pins reopening hopes on vaccines" (Editors note: This project is a collaboration between the Plainview Herald and Saint Francis Ministries to showcase kids who are cleared for adoption.) Ashley is a creative teen with a great sense of humor. She may seem shy and quiet at first, but she really opens up once shes comfortable. The 13-year-old takes joy in making others laugh, and shes a great conversationalist when she finds a common interest with someone. She likes to draw and is specifically interested in Anime. She is hesitant to share her artwork, but her face lights up when she is complimented. Like most teens, she likes to play video games and watch videos online. Ashley isnt terribly picky when it comes to food, as long as it doesnt have onions. Her one and only wish is to find a family to call her own that will be there for her. Is your home the right environment for this teens creativity to blossom? --- Ashley is legally cleared for adoption and listed on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE). Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.aspx/Default for more details. Saint Francis Ministries is a nonprofit organization and a community-based care provider for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services Region 1. This region includes 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains. To learn more about fostering or adopting, those interested are encouraged to attend one of the monthly virtual meetings hosted by Saint Francis Ministries and other child placing agencies. The meetings provide information about how to get started, the basic qualifications and more, in addition to providing opportunity for attendees to ask questions. Those interested can visit Saint Francis Texas on Facebook @SFMtexas to register for the online meetings, which can also be found below: The meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month (Lubbock area https://lubbock-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com) and the third Thursday of the month (Amarillo area https://amarillo-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com). For more information, please contact Erin Baxter at (806) 317-5631 or email texasinfo@st-francis.org. Visit Saint Francis Ministries online at https://saintfrancisministries.org. US and Iranian officials clashed on Friday over what sanctions the United States should lift to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, with Washington predicting an impasse if Tehran sticks to a demand that all sanctions since 2017 be removed. The two nations laid out tough stances as indirect talks in Vienna on how to bring both back into full compliance with the agreement wound up for the week, with some delegates citing progress. The talks, in which European Union officials are shuttling between the remaining parties to the deal and the United States, aim to restore the bargain at the core of the agreement - restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of US and other international sanctions. The United States was the first to renege on that bargain under then-President Donald Trump, who vehemently opposed the deal and sought to wreck it. He pulled out, reimposed the sanctions that were lifted, and brought in many more. Iran responded by breaching many of the nuclear restrictions. "All Trump sanctions were anti-JCPOA & must be removedw/o distinction between arbitrary designations," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Twitter, referring to the deal by its full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The United States says it is prepared to lift "sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA". While it has declined to elaborate, that appears to exclude sanctions formally unrelated to nuclear issues covered by the deal. A senior US State Department official told reporters the United States had seen some signs of Iranian seriousness about returning to the nuclear pact but "certainly not enough." "If Iran sticks to the position that every sanction that has been imposed since 2017 has to be lifted or there will be no deal, then we are heading towards an impasse," the senior US official told reporters on a conference call. Whether the statements are opening gambits or more firm positions remains to be seen. European officials said Iran was bargaining hard at the outset. The remaining parties to the accord - Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - met again on Friday after talks formally began on Tuesday and they agreed to keep going, Russian and Chinese envoys said. "The #JCPOA participants took stock of the work done by experts over the last three days and noted with satisfaction the initial progress made," Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Twitter after the meeting formally known as the Joint Commission. "The Commission will reconvene next week in order to maintain the positive momentum." The remaining parties have formed two expert-level working groups whose job is to draw up lists of sanctions that the United States will lift and of nuclear restrictions Iran will implement. Their work continues between Joint Commission meetings. "All parties have narrowed down their differences and we do see the momentum for gradually evolving consensus," Wang Qun, China's ambassador to the IAEA, told reporters. 'IRAN IS THE PACE CAR' Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement diplomats would meet again on Wednesday in Vienna. Talks are expected to drag on for weeks. "Given the technical complexity of the nuclear aspects and legal intricacies of sanctions lifting, it would be very optimistic to think a few weeks," a senior European diplomatic source said. Some diplomats hope agreement can be reached before Iran's June 18 presidential election or else talks risk being pushed back until later in the year. "Iran is the pace car for progress. If Tehran decides to push forward swiftly before the June presidential elections, the US will almost certainly be receptive," Henry Rome, an analyst with the Eurasia Group research firm, said in a note. "That would require Iran to compromise on its sanctions and sequencing demands. If Tehran is unsatisfied with the US position, or if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is wary about the political consequences of a diplomatic breakthrough in the midst of a presidential campaign, Tehran will tap the brakes." Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters, has opposed any gradual easing of sanctions. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Batavia, NY (14020) Today Partly cloudy skies with gusty winds. High 82F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 67F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Moderate mag. 5.3 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 33 km southwest of Kanyete, Provincia de Arauco, Region del Biobio, Chile, on 10 Apr 3:52 am (GMT -4) - Moderate magnitude 5.3 earthquake at 39 km depth 10 Apr 08:10 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 17 minutes. 10 Apr 08:10: Now using data updates from GUG (U. Chile) [ show map ] Show interactive Map [ smaller ] [ bigger ] please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it! Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it ! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you! If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter),Other users would love to hear about it!Alsoalthough you were in the area, please! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you! Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision. Magnitude Depth Location Source unspecified n/a Near Temuco, Araucania, Chile VolcanoDiscovery 5.3 39 km 38 Km Al S De Lebu, Chile GUG (U. Chile) 5.3 10 km Near Coast of Central Chile GFZ 5.3 20 km 5.3 BIO-BIO, CHILE EMSC 5.4 10 km CHILE (Argentina) INPRES 5.3 20 km 33 Km WSW of Canete, Chile USGS User reports for this quake (25) User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! pucon (214.1 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : not very intense, but easily noticeable | One user found this interesting. Temuco / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : I woke UP with the quake | One user found this interesting. Temuco Hotel Frontera / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Das Bett wackelte ca. 15 Sekunden lang. Mehrere Wiederholungen im Abstand von 2-3 Sekunden. ZimmernachbarInnen offneten auch ihre Turen, um zu horen, ob andere das Beben auch registrierten. Die Wande knisterten. | One user found this interesting. Temuco / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Estaba despierto en mi cama, se sintio moderado, sacudon en forma horizontal. | One user found this interesting. Nueva Imperial (112.7 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Me desperte asustada con el movimiento de la cama. | One user found this interesting. Lautaro / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : un pequeno ruido, luego un movimiento que venia desde el norte y paso hacia el sur, moviendo la casa como un mareo | One user found this interesting. Temuco (133.6 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Mas o menos debil | One user found this interesting. Temuco Hotel Frontera (132.6 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) Temuco / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short Nueva Imperial / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Me desperto, fue un solo golpe, sacudio la casa, se sintio mas fuerte que 5, pero corto En mi casa estaba durmiendo / Moderate shaking (MMI V) villarrica / Very weak shaking (MMI II) Canete / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s Pucon (211.5 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s Temuco / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Nueva Tolten (145.3 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s 155.5 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s Temuco / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s Temuco (129.7 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating CURANILAHUE / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s Curacautin / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s Traiguen (98.3 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s Temuco / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s 131.6 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s Temuco chile (135.7 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 10-15 s Aftershocks More info 2 (=8 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 8 km (5 mi). Aftershocks typically occur during the days and weeks following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone. The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake ruptured along a surface of approx. 20 km(=8 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 8 km (5 mi).Aftershocks typically occur during the days and weeks following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone.The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the map below to verify). Earlier earthquakes in the same area This can take up to 20-30 seconds. Please wait while we search through millions of records.This can take up to 20-30 seconds. Click here to search our database for earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900! 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 A Hudson County fulfillment company will pay $25,000 to an employee who alleged the business discriminated against her while she was pregnant, the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office said Friday. The now-former employee filed a complaint against Bergen Logistics of North Bergen, claiming the fulfillment warehouse wouldnt make reasonable accommodations for her during her pregnancy, including bathroom breaks and a limit on lifting loads over 20 pounds, according to a news release. An investigation by the attorney generals Division of Civil Rights revealed the company had instituted a policy saying that employees may only work when then they are not under medical restrictions a violation of New Jerseys anti-discrimination laws. Rather than making accommodations for the employee who filed a complaint, she was required to take unpaid family leave and was told she couldnt return to work unless she had a doctors note saying she had no physical restrictions, the Attorney Generals Office said. Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or who experience pregnancy-related medical conditions must be provided with a reasonable accommodation under the law, and cannot simply be told to take a leave of absence, Rosemary DiSavino, deputy director of the Division of Civil Rights said in a statement. As part of the settlement, Bergen Logistics will pay its former employee $25,000, write new policies that comply with the New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and train employees on the states anti-discrimination laws, according to the news release. The Civil Rights Division also announced Friday findings of probably cause in two separate pregnancy discrimination complaints filed against a medical transport company and housekeeping business. In the complaint against Exceptional Medical Transport of West Berlin, an employee with a high-risk pregnancy and a doctors saying she should not lift more than 50 pounds was told the company does not offer alternative work assignments when someone cannot perform an essential part of their job, the Attorney Generals Office said. However, an investigation found the company had made such accommodations for employees injured at work and that there was an open dispatch job at the time, it said. A call left with the company Friday was not returned. In a separate complaint against an unnamed institutional housekeeping company, a woman said she was fired after seeking an extended leave of absence under state and federal family leave laws following a c-section delivery. The states investigation determined the company did not accommodate the employees pregnancy-related disability and neglected to inform her and other employees of their rights under the Family Leave Act. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. [April 09, 2021] Ash Converstions International Creating Remote Workspaces that Keep Businesses Operating at their Best TORONTO, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - 2020 was a year of temporary fixes and short-term solutions for employees working from home. As companies move into year-2 of the pandemic many are making permanent decisions to keep employees working from home. Ash Conversions International has leveraged their existing software to provide work-from-home solutions that keep businesses running as usual. Ash Converstions International Creating Remote Workspaces that Keep Businesses Operating at their Best The percentage of employees working from home is expected to double in 2021 (Forbes, 2020) and with over 40 years of experience in business process automation and digital document management solutions, Ash Conversions International (ACI) is the risk-free choice to keep employees connected. ACI does this in two ways: providing customizable and innovative cloud-based technologies that allow employees to stay connected no matter where they decide to work, and by providing ongoing services and support. "Last year companies were just trying to make it through as best they could. This year we have had an increase in the number of companies looking to fill the gaps in their workflow processes on a long-term basis" says Anna Reale, ACI's Vice President of Marketing and Sales. "Our Remote Workplace Program allows companies to thrive regardless of their location and our Digital Mailroom services are a hassle-free way to get companies their mail without a physical office, plus our customers gain the ongoing advantage of our extensive experience in a wide range of industries." About Ash Conversions International (ACI): ACI's mission has been to help organizations transform the way they manage their information by leveraging innovative solutions for document & data driven business processes. ACI helps companies in diverse industries with their digital document transformation and document process automation strategies. For more information visit www.ashconversions.com. SOURCE Ash Conversions International [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] / Bridgeport Police Department BRIDGEPORT A 25-year-old man taken into custody in Ohio has been charged with first-degree muder in the 2019 shooting death of an acquaintance whose body was found in an abandoned Remington building along Barnum Avenue, police said Saturday. Luiz Roman was arrested Friday on an outstanding warrant in the murder of 22-year-old Miguel Afzal, according to a statement from Bridgeport police Capt. Kevin Gilleran. Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this Thursday, June 18, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump looks at his phone during a roundtable with governors on the reopening of America's small businesses, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Former President Donald Trump insists he's enjoying his life off Twitter. The press releases his aides fire off on an increasingly frequent basis are more elegant, he says. Plus there's no risk of backlash for retweeting unsavoury accounts. But since Trump was barred from major social media channels after helping incite the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, his power to shape the national conversation is being tested. Trump transformed from a reality television star to a politician and president by bending the tools of communication and the media to his will. He still connects with his supporters through his releases and appearances on Fox News and other conservative outlets, where he repeats misinformation about the 2020 election. And he remains a powerful force in the Republican Party, with a starring role Saturday at a Republican National Committee event that will be held at his Mar-a-Lago club. Still, the sway over American life he once enjoyed appears to be eroding at least for now. Itll never be the same for Trump unless hes a candidate again," said Harold Holzer, an historian who is director of Hunter College's Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute and wrote a book about presidents and the press. I dont think it's unnatural for coverage to diminish. I'm sure its tough on his ego, given how much oxygen he sucks up and how much ink he generates, but it's not unnatural for an ex-president to get less attention. It's been a dramatic adjustment nonetheless. Trumps tweets used to drive the news cycle, with CNN, MSNBC and Fox News often spending dozens of hours a week combined displaying his missives, according to a GDELT analysis of television news archives. Since he was barred from Twitter and other platforms, Trump can no longer speak directly to large swaths of his audience and must now rely on his supporters and conservative and mainstream media to amplify his messages. To compensate for the ongoing blackout, Trump aides have been pumping out statements and endorsements that often sound just like the tweets he used to dictate. Happy Easter to ALL, including the Radical Left CRAZIES who rigged our Presidential Election, and want to destroy our Country! read one sent from his political action committee. (Happy Easter! was the more subdued version offered by his official government office.) At the same time, Trump has been ramping up his appearances on conservative media even sitting down with his daughter-in-law for her online program. But few of those comments have reverberated as mainstream outlets, long criticized for allowing Trump to dictate coverage, have become increasingly wary of repeating his falsehoods, especially pertaining to the 2020 election. While Trump still garners coverage, Google search results for his name are at their lowest point since 2015, as noted this week by The Washington Post. And on late night TV, some have tried to scrub him out entirely, with Late Show host Stephen Colbert refusing to say his name. After five years of wall-to-wall Trump, the contrast is jarring. "He was unlike any prior president in the amount of oxygen he sucked up. But he increasingly resembles many former president in how little oxygen he now gets," said Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary to George W. Bush. While that is the reality for any former president, Fleischer argued that Trump continues to loom large in the party and could return to the spotlight if he chooses to run again. And though his dominance of cable news has dropped precipitously from its peak in fall 2016, when he was mentioned tens of thousands of times a month, per GDELT data, he remains a presence on cable news channels nonetheless. Two months out of office, hes still roughly where he was in March of last year when the pandemic largely displaced him, said Kalev Leetaru, the project's creator. It shows that even two months out of office, hes still looming large. While most of Trump's statements garner relatively little coverage, some, like one that blasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, dominated news coverage, with CNN, in particular, running with it for more than 44 minutes. President Trump is the greatest news generator in American history," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said, insisting, "There was never this type of media interest in the post-Presidential careers of Clinton, Bush or Obama. Others see it differently. I think he lost all momentum when he got pulled from the platforms. Politics is about momentum and he has none now, said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. While Trump has tried to inject himself into news coverage, Brinkley said his comments are largely treated as add-ons to coverage focused on other matters. Where it used to be he was shooting tweets like Zeus, they were like thunderbolts from up high, and now it's little squeaks from the mouse of Mar-a-Lago, he said. Yet Trump remains a commanding figure for the Republican Party. His endorsement is highly coveted heading into the 2022 Republican primaries. And he continues to publicly flirt with running again for president in 2024. And Holzer believes Trump could reemerge if he is allowed to rejoin Twitter or goes through with much-hyped plans to launch his own social media outlet, as aides have said he is still considering. GOP strategist Alex Conant argued Trump's power is waning by the day" as other Republicans make plans to run in 2024, and said Trump could be taking a more strategic approach if he wants to remain part of the daily conversation. "When you're president of the United States, it's very easy to insert yourself into every news cycle. But once you've left office, it has to be more strategic," Conant said, arguing Trump could have announced a book, sat for primetime interviews, or delivered a series of major speeches about the future of the party. Fleischer, too, argued Trump could have greater influence by following in the footsteps of presidents Bush and Obama, whose statements garner attention because they are rare. The risk for a former president is you risk starting to be seen as former senators or former congressman or contributors who are on TV on a somewhat regular basis. A former president should be at an elevated posture," he said. "But Donald Trump has always done things differently with some success. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 05:56:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group should work closely together to contain the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure fair and efficient distribution of vaccines across all countries, the institutions' Development Committee said on Friday. "Timely delivery of safe and effective vaccines across all countries is critical to ending the pandemic, especially as new variants emerge," the joint ministerial committee of the World Bank and the IMF said in a communique following a virtual meeting. "Developing countries need to strengthen their readiness for vaccination campaigns and develop coordinated strategies to reach vulnerable populations," the communique said. The committee welcomed the World Bank's partnerships with international institutions and private manufacturers to help ensure that developing countries have "fast, transparent, affordable, and equitable access to vaccines." "The pandemic has triggered far-reaching consequences, and we must strengthen global preparedness for future pandemics, and at the same time make progress in building robust health systems with universal coverage," the communique said. The committee also urged the World Bank and the IMF to help countries design and implement policies to "address the root causes of excessive and unsustainable debt." "We ask the Bank and the IMF to identify lessons learned and continue working closely with other organizations and policymakers to address the debt challenges facing middle-income countries, on a case-by-case basis," the committee said. The committee also welcomed advancing the International Development Association's twentieth replenishment (IDA20) to help fight the pandemic and reduce global poverty. "An ambitious and successful IDA replenishment by December 2021, underpinned by a strong policy framework, will support a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery in IDA countries as they address both the immediate and longer-term impacts of the pandemic," the committee said. IDA is one of the largest sources of funding for fighting extreme poverty in the world's poorest countries. Replenishment discussions and negotiations for IDA20 will run from April to December 2021. World Bank Group President David Malpass said at the meeting that the Development Committee plays an essential and unique role in the international cooperation architecture. "It is the only forum in which the governments of developed countries and developing countries, creditor countries and borrower countries, come together with a primary focus on development and resource needs for developing countries," he said. Malpass also said that the last year has made even clearer the challenges and staggering needs, noting the current international financial architecture is "heavily skewed in favor of the rich and creditor countries." "It is ever important that all voices are heard. I urge all of us to consider how we can restore growth in developing countries and help reverse the growing inequality, in terms of access to vaccinations, unsustainable debt, and adverse climate impacts," he said. Enditem OTTAWA First Nations leaders are trying to drum up an interest in COVID-19 vaccinations and fight conspiracy theories to avoid a catastrophic third wave. OTTAWA First Nations leaders are trying to drum up an interest in COVID-19 vaccinations and fight conspiracy theories to avoid a catastrophic third wave. "Were going to see even higher hospitalization rates in even younger First Nations people, if we dont do something about it," Dr. Marcia Anderson said Friday, just moments after Manitoba officials said the province has entered its third wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. "What were at the edge of, is more First Nations young adults being infected and experiencing severe outcomes." At a virtual briefing, Anderson said the stance is based off how more infectious variants in Ontario and Saskatchewan have resulted in people in their 30s ending up on ventilators. In Ontario, the largest cohort of active cases are people aged 20-29, followed by people under 20. Ever since the pandemic started last year, First Nations have been over-represented in Manitoba hospital wards and death counts, particularly at younger ages. Anderson, a medical officer with the First Nations Pandemic Coordination Response Team, noted its currently off-reserve First Nations people who seem to be ending up in hospital lately, despite more active cases occurring on reserves. "The most important thing we can do is get vaccinated," said Anderson, though she added people still need to physically distance and wear face masks. "We should all be very concerned." Officials noted Manitoba might change immunization criteria, which currently sits at age 40 and up for off-reserve First Nations people. Meanwhile, conspiracy theories are preventing some from getting shots on reserves. Melanie MacKinnon, a nurse co-leading an effort to vaccinate all adults on reserves, said First Nations will be able to request 60 per cent of the doses they were supposed to receive this month, and get the rest later. She said the move is "a mitigation, to reduce any potential risk of wastage. (There are) lots of lessons learned." Reserves such as Long Plain had offered doses to non-Indigenous people in Portage la Prairie, after struggling to get band members to book appointments, while other reserves are offering door prizes to drum up interest. MacKinnon said the first 11 First Nations to get large shipments managed them well, immunizing as many as 400 people a day. "The stewardship has been remarkable, to make sure that were not wasting any doses, and that, where appropriate, we are co-operating and sharing with other First Nation communities that are currently still waiting," she said. Pimicikamak Chief David Monias said 65 per cent of his community (also called Cross Lake) has had one shot of the vaccine, but he wants more people to step up. "Cross Lake lost 46 per cent of its citizens, its band members, in the (1918-20) Spanish Flu," Monias said. "I was not going to let that happen" with COVID-19. Monias noted some have criticized band councils for offering door prizes at vaccination clinics. "Im not ashamed of that," he said. "Whatever I can do to help my people, to make sure that they are safe with the (vaccines)." Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas suggested conspiracy theories are posing a major obstacle to vaccination. "Im just a little bit frustrated about all of the conspiracies," said Dumas. "Fundamentally, we need to protect and help everyone persevere." Dumas said First Nations need to heed the lessons of past epidemics, when vaccines were not available. "In my home community of Pukatawagan, there are three mass graves from different pandemics that came through. Go ask the elders about it, theyll tell you," he said, adding COVID-19 is hitting close to home. "I had a cousin on life support; my cousin is a lot younger than me. That was a reality check. Were not immune and it will impact us." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca TRACKING AN OUTBREAK An article on Monday about an elite high schools efforts to implement a coronavirus testing program, relying on outdated information from the Illinois Department of Public Health, misstated the status of its investigation into SafeGuard Screening. After publication, The Times was told that the investigation had ended in March, after SafeGuard received federal certification. METROPOLITAN An article this weekend on Page 7 about the impact of the pandemic on food pantries misstates the role the National Guard played in helping the Rev. Emaeyak Ekanem run a food pantry in the Bronx. Last year, the National Guard helped Mr. Ekanem set up his pantry for increased demand. It did not provide Mr. Ekanem with training before the pandemic, as he was never part of the National Guard. OBITUARIES An obituary on Friday about Sharon Matola, who became a fixture in the society of Belize, her adopted country, after opening a zoo there, referred imprecisely to mycology, which she was studying at one point. It is the study of all fungi, not just mushrooms. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. Just next to Nepal's Mayadevi temple, known as the place where Buddha was born more than 2,600 years ago, hundreds of people wait outside a makeshift hospital in hope that their fading eyesight will be restored. They are waiting for their appointment with eye surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit, pioneer of an innovative and inexpensive cataract surgery camp that has earned him many awards. His assembly line style of surgery at a temporary hospital in Lumbini has made it possible for nearly 400 patients to get their cataracts removed in just three days. "My passion and love is to see there remain no people with unnecessary blindness in this part of the world," Ruit, who is also known as Nepal's "god of sight," said. Cataracts, which form a white film that cloud the eye's natural lens, commonly occur in older people but also sometimes affect children or young adults. Exposure to harsh ultraviolet radiation, especially at high altitudes as in Nepal, is a major risk factor. Many people in Nepal, most of them poor, have benefited from Ruit's work. He regularly visits remote villages high in the mountains and low lands of the Himalayan nation, taking with him a team of experts and equipment bringing surgery to their villages. He has performed more than 130,000 cataract surgeries so far. "The doctor is a god for me he has given me a new life," said Satindra Nath Tripathi, one of Ruit's patients. "The world was completely dark on one side for me but now I have new life and new sight." Ruit began his work in 1984 when the surgery was done by removing the entire cloudy cataract and giving thick glasses. He pioneered a simple technique where he removes the cataract without stitches through small incisions and replaces them with a low-cost artificial lens. The low cost intraocular lenses are produced for $7 (USD) apiece at the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in the capital Kathmandu, which Ruit founded in 1994. Ruit's average surgery costs about $100 (USD) but is free for those who can't afford it. Patients rarely have to spend the night at the hospital. Ruit now aims to expand his work, taking it to as many countries as possible targeting 500,000 surgeries in the next five years. "We will be able to make possible in Nepal in one to two years, everybody who needs cataract surgery will have cataract surgery irrespective of the fact whether they will be able to pay or not," he says. "And we will scale it up globally to other parts of the world where it is needed." (Image Credit: AP) (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Scenario Global Medical Automation Market is expected to reach US$ 140Bn by 2026 from US$ 58Bn in 2017 at CAGR of 11.6%. Global medical automation market segmented by application, end user and region. Based on applications, the global medical automation market is segregated into diagnostic and monitoring automation, lab and pharmacy automation, therapeutic automation and medical logistics and training. End user are classified into research laboratories & institutes, home & ambulatory care, hospitals & diagnostic centres, and pharmacies. Region-wise divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Global Medical Automation Market Various technological advancements managed to the automation of the medical sector which enabled the controlled use of medical systems and related technologies. This reduced the necessity for human work in the production of goods and services. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and others along with the growing pharmaceutical & biotechnology sector are the major drivers for the market growth during the forecast period. Medical institutions are channelling more funds into global medical automation systems and software enticed by benefits such as cost containment, increased speed, greater transparency in processing, and reduction in errors. The top trends that are shaping the global medical automation market are affordable automation software and systems that make daily tasks easier. Based on the application, therapeutic automation segment is estimated to hold the largest share of the global medical automation market in 2017. The increasing application of automated devices (such that defibrillators, surgical robots, surgical navigation systems, and automated medication systems) in therapeutics and rising incidences of various chronic diseases are driving the growth of this market segment. Request For Report sample @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11382 On the basis of an end user, hospitals and diagnostic centres dominating the medical automation market. Diagnostics represents one of the most lucrative markets in the domain. Moreover, the market has developed strongly in enhancing disease prevalence and rising consumer awareness. Inflows into sectors such as hospitals & diagnostic centres and medical appliances stood at US$4.1 billion and US$1.45 billion, respectively, during the forecast period. In terms of region, North America accounts for the largest share of the medical automation market followed by Europe. The dominance of these regions in this market is seen due to increasing government investments and funding. Additional, collaboration among the key players and increased investments by the venture capitalists are some of the reasons which have augmented the demand for medical automation in North America and the European region. In the U.S market medical automation in therapy segment accounts for the major share of the market followed by diagnostics & monitoring and logistics & training. Asia-Pacific region is expected to show healthy growth in the upcoming future majorly in India, China, Taiwan and Japan. The reason behind an expansion would be a rapid decline in the number of rural labour, the rise in government investments towards automation and economic developments. Key players operating on the global medical automation market are, Medtronic Inc., DePuy Synthes (Johnson & Johnson), Koninklijke Philips N.V., Ge Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Cardinal Health Inc, Stryker Corporation, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Baxter, Danaher Corporation, Stanley Black and Decker Inc., Intuitive Surgical, Swisslog Holding AG, Tecan Group Ltd., iCad INC, Given Imaging Ltd., Brainlab AG, Accuray Incorporated, Clearcount Medical Solutions, eScreen, Quiqmeds and Acrobot Company. Scope of the Global Medical Automation Market Report To Get this Report at an Incredible Discounts, Visit @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11382 Global Medical Automation Market, by Application Diagnostic and monitoring automation Lab and pharmacy automation Therapeutic automation Medical logistics and training Global Medical Automation Market, by End user Research laboratories & institutes Home & ambulatory care Hospitals & diagnostic centres Pharmacies Global Medical Automation Market, by Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Latin America Key players operating in Global Medical Automation Market: Medtronic Inc. DePuy Synthes (Johnson & Johnson) Koninklijke Philips N.V. Ge Healthcare Siemens Healthineers Cardinal Health Inc. Stryker Corporation Becton Dickinson and Company Baxter Danaher Corporation Stanley Black and Decker Inc. Intuitive Surgical Swisslog Holding AG Tecan Group Ltd. iCad INC Given Imaging Ltd. Brainlab AG Accuray Incorporated Clearcount Medical Solutions eScreen Quiqmeds Acrobot Company. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/11382/Single The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and National Disaster Management Act, 2005 grant the Government of India a great deal of autonomy and control in declaring an infectious disease as a pandemic and in suspending citizens rights. Three distinct but related legal issues regarding the governments handling of intellectual property rights under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement of the World Trade Organization, consumer rights, and product liability for the COVID-19 vaccines are discussed, as the raging pandemic has created uncertainties in the implementation of these laws. Various intellectual property rights (IPRs) protect COVID-19-related technologies: testing kits and vaccines under patents; masks and personal protection equipment under designs, trademark; and copyright. (About 2,070 patents have been filed on such technologies globally; 63 patents filed in India, and three filed by Indian organisations).1 Unauthorised use of such products would constitute infringement of IPR, and authorised use would increase their costs because of royalties, making them expensive to address pandemic needs. To resolve this, on 2 October 2020, India and South Africa (ISA) issued a joint statement before World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) council requesting a waiver for implementation, application, and enforcement of Sections 1 (copyright), 4 (industrial designs), 5 (patents), and 7 (undisclosed information) of Part II of TRIPS [] in relation to prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19 (emphasis inserted). They expect the waiver to continue until widespread vaccination is in place globally, and the majority of the worlds population has developed immunity []. (WTO 2020) It is interesting to inquire and understand as to why the Indian government made this request, when provisions relating to compulsory licensing were already available under TRIPS, and was integrated in the Indian Patent Act (IPA), 1970. Heroic Dog Saves Family of 4 From Knife-Wielding Intruder Who Broke Into Their House When a Texas home was broken into in late March, it was the familys four-legged friend who saved the day. In their home in Wylie, Taylor Newsom was getting ready for bed in the early hours of March 26 when the family dog Marley sounded the alarm. Following her barks to the hallway, Taylor flipped the light switch. Woken by the noise, his wife Amber followed. Well, it was pitch black, so we couldnt see anything, only could hear Marley, Amber told FOX, and once he flipped the hall light on, we realized that the guy was holed up in the corner trying to hide. The familys dog Marley (Courtesy of Taylor Newsom) Amber stayed back to protect the couples daughters, Finley, 6, and Sadie, 4, who came out amidst the commotion. Meanwhile, Taylor confronted the intruder who was armed with a knife, and there was a scuffle. Wylie police later identified the man, 53-year-old Thong Pham, of Garland, who had snuck into the house through a back door the Newsoms had forgotten to lock. I think he got to the front door and realized, I cant get out, and by that point in time, Marleys got him cornered, said Taylor. Unfortunately, Taylor was wounded in the encounter, stabbed deeply in the arm by Pham, as the men fought in the hallway. After the ordeal, in a video uploaded to Facebook, Taylor explained that Marley pursued Pham as he ran into the kitchen. Pham then picked up a steak knife. During the struggle between the two men, Marley fought alongside her owner. She [bit] him pretty good and I got him pretty good in the face, the father of two recalled. Meanwhile, brave Marley sustained several knife wounds from her head and neck down to her chest. Amber said staying back with the terrified kids was really hard. She wanted to make sure her husband wasnt going to die. When Pham saw the two girls, he fled, backing up and running from the house. The Newsoms called 911. Police arrived minutes later. They found Pham hiding by a creek and arrested him on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and cruelty to an animal. The motive for the break-in is not known, though Pham has a prior record for assault and burglary. Neighbors security footage also caught him stealing pool noodles and trying to break into a truck that same night. The family posted that their house looked like a murder scene after the incident, the walls and much of the furniture ruined by blood spatter. The couple and their daughters went to a relatives home to recover after the ordeal. The Newsoms and their dog, Marley (Courtesy of Taylor Newsom) Dont be the person who doesnt have a security system This could be anybody; this is a nice neighborhood, Taylor advised, before thanking his community for their thoughts and prayers. Both Taylor and Marley are recovering well from their injuries. Despite the harm done, one thing is clear: it could have been much worse had it not been for the familys four-legged hero, Marley. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are set to travel to Brussels next week to discuss Russia's escalation in eastern Ukraine with allies in Europe. "Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to return to Brussels next week for more meetings with NATO and European officials, according to people familiar with the matter, as the U.S. grows increasingly concerned about Russian troop movements near Ukraine," Bloomberg reports. According to preliminary information, the meetings in Brussels will take up most of the week. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be in Brussels at the same time, for a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The situation in Ukraine is very likely to be on the agenda. In addition, the parties will talk about other security challenges faced by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As Ukrinform reported, the West has expressed strong support for Ukraine following Russias escalation in eastern Ukraine, as well as the pulling of Russian troops to the Ukrainian border. Washington said it is holding close consultations with allies in Europe on this matter. ish The scenario of the introduction by the European Union of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in the form of an emissions trading system looks the most realistic, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said. "The emissions trading system will also be introduced in Ukraine. This is our obligation under the Association Agreement with the EU. Big business already knows about these obligations, and the ministries are working out appropriate solutions," she told Interfax-Ukraine on April 9. The deputy prime minister believes that due to different "starting conditions" in comparison with European countries, Ukraine has the right to expect some steps towards meeting from the EU. "In particular, the implementation of (CBAM) in relation to Ukraine should be commensurate with the economic and financial capabilities of Ukrainian business, the country's climate agenda and the Association Agreement," Stefanishyna said. She also said the Ukrainian side has already managed to hold the first round of consultations with EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni, who is responsible for developing this decision. The deputy prime minister said that in these negotiations she persistently defends the position that Ukraine needs to have access to information. "We do not want to learn after the fact about decisions that affect the interests of Ukraine. We want to give Ukrainian business an opportunity to prepare for any changes," she said. Stefanishyna said that Kyiv also clearly communicates the position that any EU decision should not violate the terms of the free trade area with Ukraine or worsen the terms of trade enshrined in the Association Agreement. "I am also proud that the consolidation of our efforts with other countries has pushed the EU to come out with an official statement that the carbon adjustment mechanism at the border will be trade neutral. In other words, it will not affect trade as a direct trade restriction," the deputy prime minister said. The Minister of State with responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Malcolm Noonan described the current status of the Curlew as one of the most difficult and pressing conservation concerns of our time. The Curlew is a link with the wild Ireland of past generations, and the farmers and landowners who support our remaining breeding populations of Curlew are vital to its future, he said. Curlew are beautiful birds that have played a significant role in Ireland's heritage being represented in placenames, storytelling, poetry, music, coinage and folk lore. They are a large wader with greyish brown colouring with dark streaking standing tall on long bluish legs with a majestic long down curved bill, their call is evocative and easily recognisable. Concerns have been growing about the Curlews survival in the late 1980s, between 3,300 and 5,500 pairs were estimated to have been breeding today that is believed to be no more than 150. This represents a decline of at least 96 per cent. This decline is due to multifaceted pressures such as changing land use and agricultural practices, afforestation, land fragmentation, industrial peat harvesting, a decline in invertebrates and predation. In 2016, wader bird ecologist Dr. Alan Lauder calculated that without action, the species could die out by 2026. The Curlew Conservation Programme (CCP) was established in 2017 by the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS). It is now a partnership programme involving both the NPWS (of the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage) and the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine. This conservation work is deemed essential even under level five lockdown because Ireland's breeding Curlew are in desperate need of protection if they are to be saved from extinction. Within the framework and structure of the CCP, there is an emphasis on local with local teams engaging with local landowners and communities to apply relevant measures at a local level. These Curlew Action Teams (CATs) search out and protect nesting areas and, critically, engage with landowners and local communities on their importance to the survival of Ireland's Curlew. The mid-Leitrim area is one of the nine sites across Ireland where there is active conservation effort underway by the Curlew Conservation Programme. Anyone who would like to make contact with the team are encouraged to contact Kyle Sweeney by phoning 087 721 8006. On facebook @curlew conservation Programme Given this year also sees a national survey underway, records of Curlew anywhere in Ireland between the months of April and July should be reported to Agri.Ecology@chg.gov.ie Yuill said there were lessons from the pandemic, including the revelation of how resilient, inventive and resourceful hospitality can be. A lot of people did the right thing in terms of trying to keep hold of staff and I guess coming back from Melbourne, I know the people there struggled a lot and speaking to them they learned how to maximise their capacity to create an income from different streams, Yuill said. James Cole Bowen will be representing Le Rebelle. La Rebelles James Cole-Bowen is one of the chefs cooking for the April 18 lunch and says being out of work was something hed never considered. Job security was something I never even thought about before the pandemic but like most other hospitality professionals who put their whole life into their career, to hear that you are suddenly non-essential definitely stirs up some feelings and emotions and you start to doubt yourself and the choices you have made, he says. I wouldnt say Im a better chef because of it but maybe a stronger person mentally. It has definitely given me lots of time to think about my career and given me a bit of perspective. In Australia and particularly Perth we have been really lucky and our version of difficult times does not compare to our overseas counterparts most of whom still have not, or may not return to work, or even worse have loved ones lose their lives. He said in spite of the lessened impact of COVID on Australia compared to some overseas countries, people working in the industry had their own mental health battles and it was important to know they were not alone, to talk to your friends and co-workers who were probably going through the same thing as you. As chefs we are an incredibly resilient bunch of individuals and we will always keep moving forward, he said. Amanda Yong was running her own cafe when COVID hit and had no choice but to close her doors. The decision to close was definitely tough as this whole thing hit us with no warning. No-one was prepared for a situation like this. With significantly reduced sales and for the safety of our staff we felt we had to close, she said. If youre not careful too much pressure will break any individual, and any team Amanda Yong Yong was fearful of not only losing her job, but the cafe she had opened. Were seeing business drop by 75 per cent a few months into the new normal. Its getting to the point where selling the cafe was the most logical course of action we needed to explore, she said. When COVID hit, it was way beyond our training, and I found I had to take a step back and look at the options available and be realistic with what we cant do. Back cheffing in the new normal, pandemic protocols are not much different to serving patrons who have allergies or food intolerance, so the pandemic might not entirely make me a better chef, but perhaps a more considered one. Yong said there was always pressure in her line of work. Henry Huang from Hearth. However, theres a myth about pressure in a professional kitchen that you can only deliver exceptional food under immense pressure, she said. Not so. A certain amount of pressure allows us to achieve a high standard of performance, to excel, and ironically, to also improve creativity. But if youre not careful too much pressure will break any individual, and any team. Henry Huang said he stayed positive throughout the two-month stand-down as he had been assured he was going to return to work eventually. I thoroughly enjoyed the time off; I spent quality time with loved ones, did a lot of cooking at home and tried to get into baking, he said. Callum Snares, now working at Shadow, said he was at Gordon Street Garage when the shutdowns hit. We were all a bit scared; we knew what was coming, we were going to close down and not have a job, but then it came, and we closed, but they said wed all have our jobs when they came back, he said. It was stress, the worry that I might not have a job for a week or two weeks and no pay coming in to pay the rent. While Snares said shutdowns made him think about his career it ended up making him more determined. And I do enjoy what I do, so Id rather stick it out as long as I can, he said. Callum Snares from Shadow Wine Bar A few of the chefs I worked with at Gordon Street were thinking of doing different things, one of them is studying to do something else now and one of my mates was going to start a business doing something else completely. But the pressure of being out of work though is different to the pressures in the kitchen. I kind of enjoy the pressure of the kitchen, you get into the swing of things and just go with it. Ill sit up at night and think about financial pressure, but I wont think about a service afterwards, Snares said. Head of Nine Food Events, Venessa Cowell, said Good Food Month was a great opportunity for young chefs to show off their talents and resilience. Its really gratifying to see so much support from Perth restaurant-goers, both for Young Chefs and for Good Food Month in general, she said. Now that chefs are back at work they must deal with a different kind of pressure the pressure of the kitchen. Yuills advice to young chefs when things start to get out of control is to take a deep breath and reassess where they are at. Take 10 or 20 seconds to sort your head out, and that has always seemed to work for me, especially when you are being bombarded with dockets for different orders coming in and you feel a bit lost, just take a short step back and work through it logically. Thats what Ive always found to be the best for me destressing through a busy service, he said. As the mentor for the Young Chefs Lunch, Yuill said he wont be putting pressure on the chefs, hell be there to help if needed, but it will be up to them to present their own styles through their dishes. The four young chefs will show off their talents at the four-course Sunday lunch at Shadow Wine Bar on April 18. For more information on Good Food Month events, click this link. April 10 : Owning to the massive spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, particularly in Maharashtra, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has issued new guidelines for film shooting. The guidelines also include those for pre-production and post-production work as well. In a statement, FWICE urged the film industry people to adhere the new guidelines strictly in order to avoid a complete lockdown, which will be quite shattering and destructive for the film industry. The FWICE members came out with the fresh guidelines after they had a Zoom meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The FWICE team has assured the Chief Minister that the film industry will be held responsible where standard operating procedures (SOP) of the COVID guidelines are concerned. The FWICE also made it clear through the statement that the guidelines are applicable for all people involved in pre-production, shooting and post-production work, and stressed that the guidelines are not negotiable. These guidelines as of now will be applicable till April 30, 2021. According to the new guidelines, filmmakers have been asked not to shoot crowd sequences and songs with dancers among large number of people. The crew of every film will have to adhere to the common precautions of wearing masks and have to continuously sanitise the sets, production offices, and post-production studios. FWICE will also constitute a monitoring team which will visit the sets and studios to ensure that no guidelines are flouted by the filmmakers. In case any rules are flouted, the individual will be liable for strictest disciplinary action by FWICE. FWICE has mentioned that production offices and post-production offices can function as per government guidelines so that films can be completed and aired. Mumbai is under a complete lockdown from Friday 8 pm, which will continue till Monday 7 am. All shooting, setting, pre-production or post-production work will not commence during this period. Maharashtra is currently witnessing the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India. As a result, Mumbai is experiencing a lockdown-like situation during the day, curfew at night and lockdown on weekends. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) A group of anti-LGBTQ demonstrators in Brevard County, Fla., took their protest to the home of a school board member. According to local reports, protesters showed up Thursday evening at the home of board member Jennifer Jenkins carrying signs that read two genders & one crazy-evil school board, Brevard School Board approved dangerous anti-Christian policies and LGBTQ agenda is ungodly. At least one other sign also criticized mask mandates. Jenkins, her husband and their kindergarten-age daughter were out of town during the commotion, but heard about it through neighbors and city officials. I dont even know what I would do if I was home with my daughter right now, Jenkins told Florida Today on Thursday. Its the same people that were screaming in deputy sheriffs faces. I understand freedom of speech and everything, but the fact that theyre doing this in a residential neighborhood is (expletive) disgusting to me. Last month, a heated clash between anti-transgender protesters and LGBTQ students and their allies during a school board meeting made national headlines. Conservative groups such as the newly formed Moms for Liberty took issue with a document released by the district on March 1 and mobilized protesters to demonstrate at the meeting. The document clarified the school boards policy designed to ensure the safety of every student, including those who identify as LGBTQ. That includes allowing trans students to use their preferred pronouns, access locker rooms and bathrooms that are consistent with their gender identity or be provided appropriate accommodations, and participate in school activities that are consistent with their gender identity. Some of the protesters who showed up at Jenkins home this week appear to have been at the meeting, Florida Today reported. One of them, a megaphone-wielding man who gave his name as Thomas Jefferson, told the paper that group is affiliated only with Jesus Christ. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich lost to Jenkins in the 2020 election. But in a Facebook post Thursday, Descovich condemned the protest. It has just come to my attention that a group of protesters has formed outside the home of a Brevard school board member, she wrote. I wholly denounce this behavior and Moms for Liberty would never support such antics. Jenkins father-in-law said that the group plans to demonstrate outside her home every night, she told Florida Today. Scientists said today that blood clots caused by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are 'extraordinarily rare', as regulators launch a of review four cases linked to the single-dose jab. The vaccine, also known as Janssen, is yet to be approved for use in the UK, but the Government has ordered 30 million doses. However, four serious cases of rare blood clots with low platelets were detected in people vaccinated with the jab, one of which died, sparking a review from the European Medicines Authority (EMA). In the US, four clinics have had to pause J&J vaccinations, after eight people suffered 'adverse reactions' in the latest crisis, coming at a site in Cummings, Georgia. Officials did not specify what types of reactions the eight people had to the shot, but said they were 'consistent with common reactions in adults being vaccinated with any vaccine,' and cited the number of cases as the trigger for the pause. However, the eight people who had reactions were among 425 people who got the J&J shot at that site and, ostensibly, did not have any noticeable reactions. The same thing has happened at clinics in three other states this week. Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the Covid-19 clinical information network, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We still don't know whether they are directly related and caused by the vaccine but it seems possible that they could be. 'It wouldn't be surprising to find the J&J, the Janssen vaccine, also causes rare blood clots because it's based on an adenovirus technology which is not that far away from the technology being used in the AstraZeneca vaccine.' Asked if he is concerned it could undermine public confidence in coronavirus jabs, Prof Openshaw said: 'These are extraordinarily rare events and there is no medicine that is going to be completely free of side effects but this is on the scale of the risk of adverse outcome you would expect if you get into a car and drive 250 miles, and many of us wouldn't blink before taking that risk.' A patient receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Staten Island, New York this week The vaccine, also known as Janssen, is yet to be approved for use in the UK, but the Government has ordered 30 million doses Prof Peter Openshaw said today that blood clots caused by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are 'extraordinarily rare' J&J vaccinations have now resumed at a Colorado site that reported 11 people had had bad reactions to the one-dose vaccine and two were taken to hospitals on Wednesday, as well as at a North Carolina site where 18 people had reactions. Four were taken to hospitals. 'The reactions people experienced today were consistent with known common side effects from receiving the vaccine,' Wake County officials said in a statement about the adverse reactions at PNC Arena in Raleigh. Georgia officials said in a statement that there was a similar incident in Iowa, but no details have been released there. The J&J jab, made by the US-firm's Belgium arm Janssen, had been earmarked by UK officials for young people because it is given as a single dose. The vaccine has been approved in the EU and was due to be rolled out in the coming months. It is currently under review by the UK's medicines watchdog and the UK Government has ordered 30million doses. The EMA has said that 'at this stage, it is not yet clear whether there is a causal association' between either vaccines and the reported conditions. J&J said that it was aware of the reports of blood clots and is working with regulators to assess the data and provide relevant information. 'At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen Covid vaccine,' the company said in a statement. It comes as another potentially dangerous blood condition has been spotted in a handful of patients given the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, the EU's drug watchdog has announced. The European Medicines Authority (EMA) said five cases of capillary leak syndrome had been reported in vaccinated patients on the continent. The rare condition sees blood leak from tiny vessels into muscles and body cavities, resulting in a sudden drop in blood pressure. If left untreated, it can cause organ failure. Data suggests the UK's regulator, the MHRA, had spotted three cases of capillary leak syndrome out of 20million people given the AstraZeneca vaccine by late March. It is another blow for the British-made jab, which has been restricted for certain age groups in various countries around the world, including under-30s in Britain, after reports of rare blood clots in the brain and abdomen. Officials insisted there is still no evidence the jab causes the blood conditions and stressed the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risk. The European Medicines Authority said five cases of capillary leak syndrome had been reported in people given the AstraZeneca vaccine The EMA revealed it is also reviewing reports of rare clots involving Johnson and Johnson's Covid vaccine, which uses the same technology as AstraZeneca It comes as Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot was paused at the PNC Arena site (pictured) in Raleigh, North Carolina after 18 people had adverse reactions on Thursday. Four have been taken to area hospitals Both AstraZeneca and the J&J vaccines are viral vector types, which use a weakened version of a different virus to deliver instructions to human cells. So far over 20 million AstraZeneca jabs have been given out in the UK, and 5 million J&J vaccinations in the US. They tell the cells to produce a harmless piece of Covid, known as a spike protein, so the body can recognise it if the real virus infects them. WHAT IS CAPILLARY LEAK SYNDROME? Capillary leak syndrome, also known as Clarkson's disease, sees blood leak from tiny vessels into muscles and body cavities. This can result in a sudden drop in blood pressure and, if left untreated, organ failure. Initial symptoms may include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain and extreme thirst. The condition is extremely rare and thought to affect just one in a million people a year, according to the US National Institutes of Health. In most cases the cause is not known, but some people have reported having a viral infection before the episode. Patients are treated with an infusion of fluids or blood medications. Advertisement Scientists are interested in whether the clotting issues are related to the engineered spike protein specifically, a senior SAGE source said today. This could explain why clotting conditions have been widely reported in people who catch the real coronavirus. However, the SAGE member said this would not account for why clotting issues have not been linked to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Those vaccines use different technology to deliver the genetic instruction to the cells but they also trigger the body to make and recognise spike proteins. Meanwhile, it was claimed today AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine may also be restricted for under-40s when Britain's immunisation drive moves down to younger groups. Medical watchdogs will assess data on the jab's links to extremely rare blood clots in 'scrupulous detail' in order to paint a clearer picture on the exact risk-benefit ratio. They have already advised 18 to 29 year olds are given an alternative to the UK-made jab because their odds of falling seriously ill with Covid are so small that the benefits of AstraZeneca's do not clearly outweigh the potential clot risks. Analysis of the UK vaccine rollout has found that younger people appear more prone to clotting after vaccination but there is no set cut-off age. Experts have told MailOnline there is a 'gradual age gradient of risk'. Professor Jeremy Brown, a member of the JCVI, which advises No10 on jabs, told the Daily Telegraph: 'We're going to start vaccinating phase two healthy adults, starting with the 40 to 50-year-olds, and then we'll go to the 30 to 40-year-olds. 'When we are approaching that point we'll need to think about this a little bit more to be absolutely sure at what point in that age cut-off given the situation we are facing at that time, and any more data that comes through on this rare complication, because more data will come through then that might alter the age range.' GPs have warned the announcements this week have unintentionally caused 'panic' and sparked a wave of cancellations for the AstraZeneca jab. Doctors in Nottingham and Peterborough said they had also been inundated with calls from concerned patients who have already had their first dose. Statisticians insist the risk of under-30s developing blood clots from AstraZeneca's jab is so tiny that if Wembley stadium was filled with people in the age group, only one would be struck down. Britons still back the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine - as 75 per cent tell pollsters (pictured) they consider it to be safe For older adults, the risk of blood clots is even smaller - but their risk of dying from Covid is much higher, meaning the risks versus benefits swings heavily in favour of vaccination. The move to recommend under-30s get a different jab does not mean it is unsafe for young people, with neither the UK's drug regulator or the EU's ordering the jab to be banned for certain age groups. But both acknowledge cases of blood clots from the life-saving jab appear to be occurring slightly more often in younger adults. EU nations - who have been embroiled in a stand-off with AstraZeneca for months - have defied guidance based on statistical analysis showing the vaccine's benefits outweigh the risks of the vast majority of adults. Germany has halted the jab for under-60s, while France has made the same move for under-55s. France and Germany have both advised younger adults already given AstraZeneca's jab should get a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna's - taking the opposite stance to British counter-parts. But the World Health Organization (WHO) today said there was 'no adequate data' on switching doses. The UK is currently trialling this dosing regimen, and scientists say it is likely to be safe and effective but results are not expected until later in the year. Amid fears the guidance could scupper the UK's vaccination roll-out, which is heavily reliant on AstraZeneca's jab, ministers yesterday sought to dismiss blood clot fears. Health Secretary Matt Hancock compared the risk of blood clots overall - one in 250,000 - to taking a long-haul flight. Nottingham GP partner Dr Irfan Malik told Pulse Magazine the new advice 'created panic' among patients. He said: 'Patients and the public have become very concerned about the risk of clots with the Astra Zeneca vaccine they are declining to have it. I'm afraid this has been badly managed and stopping the under-30s from having the vaccine has alarmed the public. 'The changes have led to a substantial increase in calls to practices creating a further huge increase in workload.' Peterborough GP Neil Modha said the vaccine hesitancy was not just exclusive to under-30s, adding: 'It's not just under-30s who are calling, the person who I just spoke to was 53, so it's just general increased anxiety unfortunately about the vaccine programme. 'And then people have been signposted to their GPs for conversations and they're not easy and simple conversations, you need to give people time and space to have them.' But polls show 75 per cent of the public still consider the jab to be safe. Professor Anthony Harnden, the deputy chairman of the JCVI, said the public 'should remain confident' in the vaccine programme despite the changes to guidance. He stressed to The Telegraph that the link with blood clots was a 'very, very rare, extremely rare safety signal'. However, he said the new advice that those under 30 should be offered an alternative to AstraZeneca is unlikely to change. Professor Harnden said his team was poring over data for other groups and that they will have a 'much more clear' view a by the time the programme moves to thirty-somethings. Any decision to restrict AstraZeneca jabs to adults in their thirties could damage the UK's roll-out. Ministers insist there is enough doses of Moderna and Pfizer to cover the remaining 8.5million under-30s who have yet to be jabbed. But estimates suggest there is around 10million adults in the 30-39 age bracket - and most won't have been offered their first dose yet. No10 has bought 40million doses of Pfizer's jab, but is rationing it for second doses to ensure the 11million people already given their first dose get their top-up within 12 weeks. Britain has also purchased 17million doses of Moderna's vaccine. It means that if the UK was to completely reserve supplies, there would be enough of the alternatives for around 17.5million people - similar to how many under-40s still need to be jabbed. But there is no guarantee all the supplies will come by July 31 - the date ministers have set for offering every adult their first dose. Other jabs, including ones made by Novavax and Johnson and Johnson, are set to come on stream in the coming months, which could provide the roll-out a much-needed boost in the face of any other age-restrictions on AstraZeneca's. The rashes people claim occurred after receiving the AstraZeneca jab Mild side effects have been common from all of the Covid vaccines approved so far, including AstraZeneca's. The Anglo-Swedish firm acknowledges that its shot can cause a host of symptoms that are usually nothing to worry about. The most common are pain, itchiness and bruising around the injection site, tiredness, chills, headaches, nausea and joint pain. But number of people have reported suffering sore rashes after getting the shot and shared images of the painful blotches on social media. Britain's drug regulator lists rashes as an 'uncommon' side-effect of the AstraZeneca jab affecting up to one in 100 people and has recorded 3,795 cases so far. Experts say the rashes, or any mild side effects, are actually a good thing, signalling that a person's immune system is responding to the vaccine. However, they warn that if symptoms persist for more than four days then people should seek urgent medical care. Leigh King, a 41-year-old hairdresser from North Lanarkshire, said her skin erupted into rashes almost immediately after she got the AstraZeneca vaccine Advertisement Johnson & Johnson vaccinations are paused at North Carolina site after 18 people have 'adverse reactions' and four are hospitalized following similar reactions at Colorado site ByNatalie Rahhal U.S. Health Editor Vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot have been paused at a North Carolina site after 18 people had adverse reactions on Thursday. Four have been taken to area hospitals. 'The reactions people experienced today were consistent with known common side effects from receiving the vaccine,' Wake County officials said in a statement about the adverse reactions at PNC Arena in Raleigh. The site stopped giving the J&J shot for the day 'out of an abundance of caution.' Officials from Wake County, where Raleigh is located, are consulting with the state health department to decide how the clinic's vaccination program should proceed, according to local outlet CBS17. Wake County said it will announce 'guidance' about its use in the coming hours after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts assess the lot. It was not immediately clear what types of reactions the 'number' of people suffered following the shot, and the Wake County Health Department did not immediately respond to request for comment. Just hours earlier, a similar incident forced a Colorado clinic to shut down. Eleven people suffered adverse reactions 'such as nausea and dizziness' at a pop-up vaccination site at a Dick's Sporting Goods in Commerce City and two had to be hospitalized. Vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot have been paused at the PNC Arena site (pictured) in Raleigh, North Carolina after 18 people had adverse reactions on Thursday. Four have been taken to area hospitals Just hours earlier, a similar incident forced a Colorado clinic to shut down. Eleven people suffered adverse reactions 'such as nausea and dizziness' at a pop-up vaccination site at a Dick's Sporting Goods in Commerce City (pictured) and two had to be hospitalized It's worth noting, however, that the Raleigh site gives up to about 2,000 shots a day, and only a 'handful' of the J&J shots it gave resulted in adverse reactions, spokesperson Stacey Beard told WRAL. Similarly, the reactions at the Colorado clinic represented less than one percent of the 1,300 shots it was giving a day. So far, more than 4.5 million Americans have received J&J's one-dose vaccine. Generally, the shot is thought to have a milder side effect profile compared to vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna. Side effects are to be expected with any vaccine, but it comes at a tense time for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Earlier this week, 15 million doses of the shot had to be thrown out because a manufacturing plant in Baltimore, Maryland used an ingredient meant for AstraZeneca's vaccine - which it was also producing at the time - in the shots. U.S. officials assured Americans that shipments of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine shipped this week and last were not affected, however. A New York Times report last week revealed that workers at an Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, which produced both AstraZeneca Plc and J&J doses, mixed up ingredients of the two vaccines, ruining 15 million J&J doses. The Baltimore facility has not been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a federal health official told Reuters last week that none of the vaccine doses from the plant have been used in vaccination efforts so far. The Colorado pop-up vaccination site also shut down after 11 people suffered reactions to the Johnson & Johnson shot, 'such as nausea and dizziness,' said a spokesperson for Centura Health, which oversees the clinic. CDC and local officials are investigating the reactions, which accounted for less than one percent of vaccinations at each site 'out of an abundance of caution.' By Thursday evening, officials concluded that the reactions in Colorado were not signs of anything worrying about the vaccine. 'After reviewing each patient's symptoms, analyzing other vaccinations from the same lot of the vaccine and speaking with the CDC to confirm our findings, we are confident in saying that there is no reason for concern,' said Dr Eric France, chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. 'We are committed to making sure every community clinic is well-staffed with medical professionals who take patient safety with the utmost seriousness, just as they did at yesterday's clinic.' The investigation at the Raleigh clinic is still ongoing. Charity Mensah, the traditional priestess (Juju) who was arrested in connection with the murder of 11-year-old Ishmael Mensah has revealed that the two teenagers currently in police grips for their alleged involvement in the ritual killing contacted her on phone to be perpetually rich. She said the two boys, who were only in touch with her via phone, requested for the pocket no dry charm. Charity Mensah, made this known during police interrogation after her arrest earlier this week. She was arrested alongside her errand boy, Desmond Nii Adjei, at Amanase near Suhum in the Eastern Region. Citi News Anass Seidu said during interrogation, she did not say whether she demanded a human body for the alleged rituals. What they [teenagers] wanted was pocket no dry charm so that they will never lack money in their lives. According to information we picked up from the interrogations, she [priestess] told the boys that she could do it for them. There have been several phone interactions between one of the boys and the traditional priestess and the police have in their possession phone records of their conversations. She is yet to confirm to the police that she directed them to bring human parts or a human being for the ritual, Anass Seidu said. The two teenagers still in police custody over the killingFelix Nyarko and Nicholas Kini have also alleged that the priestess was aware of the killing and went ahead to instruct them to bury the body of the deceased. During interrogations, they said the priestess assured them that she will visit the place later at night with some aides to collect the body of the deceased for the ritual. Charity Mensah is yet to confirm or deny that allegation. Meanwhile, the priestess said to be a Beninois and a 2-week-old nursing mother has been granted bail. Her Ghanaian husband and herbalist is reported to have fled with their baby. But for the timely intervention of the Police in Suhum, residents of Amanase would have burnt down a shrine believed to be for Charity Mensah. Angry residents led by the regent of Amanase gathered at the shrine on Friday morning in protest ready to damage the shrine. This was their way of expressing their anger at the priestesses who they say has tarnished the image of the community after she was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the suspected ritual killing last week. The regent of Amanase, Osabarima Obengfo Addo Agyekum, issued a three-day ultimatum to the Inspector General of Police and the police service to furnish them with updates of the arrest made. It is only now that weve understood the gravity of their activities to the extent of taking a life in the name of giving money to the youth for that matter. The 11-year-old boy, Ishmael Mensah, was buried yesterday, April 8, 2021, after he was allegedly killed by his two teenage friends at Atia Coca Cola in the Ga South Municipality. The two teenagers, Felix Nyarko and Nicholas Kini, were earlier arrested by the Kasoa Divisional Police Command following the killing. Earlier reports suggested that the incident occurred at Kasoa, but local authorities clarified that the area is located within Bortionor Ngleshie Amanfro in the Ga South municipality. Source: citinewsroom 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 Accusing the BJP of giving false promises to the members of the politically significant Matua community on citizenship, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that those people have already been given all rights as citizens. Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, claimed that if the saffron party is voted to power, it will keep the people of West Bengal in detention camps as it has done to "14 lakh Bengalis" in Assam. "Your Didi (the CM herself) has already ensured citizenship right of the Matuas by facilitating land deed to every refugee occupying government or private lands. Why is the citizenship issue being raked up again?" she said at public meetings held in North 24 Parganas district. Matuas, originally from East Pakistan, are a weaker section of Hindus who migrated to India during the Partition and after the creation of Bangladesh. The Matua community, with an estimated population of three million in the state, can tilt the scales in favour of a political party in more than 30 assembly seats in Nadia, and North and South 24 Parganas districts bordering Bangladesh. Read | PM Modi leaves no stones unturned to woo Matuas in Bangladesh It once stood behind the TMC but had supported the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP is saying that it will provide citizenship to them if voted to power. "If your (Matua's) children study in educational institutes, if you have electricity and telephone connection in your name and address, you are already a citizen. How can the BJP promise you citizenship again?" Banerjee said at Baduria. She said that her government has declared a holiday on the birthday of Harichand Thakur, the spiritual guru of the Matuas, but the saffron party did not do it in states ruled by it. The BJP is shedding crocodile tears for the backward community to win votes, the TMC boss claimed. A few people from the Matua community are spreading misinformation to help the BJP, she alleged. "The (West Bengal) government is inclusive. It has tried to reach out to every community and sect," the chief minister said. Also Read | Mamata accuses PM Modi of speaking at Bangladesh's Matua Temple with an eye on WB polls At another poll meeting in Bijpur, she referred to the allowance given to every Durga puja committee, and stipends provided to Hindu priests and Imams. "We don't discriminate. We reach out to every community unlike the BJP which only sow the seeds of discord," Banerjee said. Accusing the saffron party of conspiring to keep people of the state in detention camps, she said, "If you don't want to share the fate of 14 lakh Bengalis in Assam, if you don't want your names to be deleted from electoral rolls following the exercise of NPR (National Population Register), prevent the BJP from coming to power." Only the TMC can prevent the BJP from coming to power in West Bengal and only her party is putting up a fight against the saffron party, she claimed. She also called for forming squads "to reply to the BJP's gun and bombs". At Hingalganj, Banerjee promised that a separate district will be carved out of Sunderbans by her government in future. Advertisement A small community in south-central Arizona remained under an evacuation notice Friday after crews and air tankers stopped the growth of a wildfire that burned at least 12 homes, officials said. The fire burned through thick vegetation at the bottom of the Gila River in Dudleyville, a census-designated place with a population of about 1,000 located about 60 miles north of Tucson. Officials said the fire continued on Thursday to an estimated 500 acres with containment around 20% of its perimeter as of Friday. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The county Sheriff's Office said approximately 200 residents were evacuated and that the evacuation notice might be lifted Friday evening or Saturday morning. Crews on Friday continued to build fire lines to keep the fire from spreading into Dudleyville if winds gust again but utility crews also needed to check for damage to power lines that were deenergized Thursday, said state Department of Forestry and Forest Management spokeswoman Tiffany Davila. Homes near the intersection of Church Road and N. Dudleyville Road are seen as the wildfire burned near Dudleyville, Arizona on Thursday Smoke is seen soaring into the air as a wildfire burned in south-central Arizona into the weekend while crews worked to contain it A car is seen driving down a road near Dudleyville, Arizona while pillars of black smoke filled the sky as the wildfire raged A dozer is seen creating containment lines in Arizona as a wildfire burned near the community of Dudleyville on Friday Approximately 40 people spent the night at a shelter at a high school in a nearby community, Red Cross spokesman Mike Sagara said. Officials told KNXV-TV that residents can seek shelter at Ray High School in Kearny, which is being set up as an emergency shelter location, as well as the Mammoth Community Center. There was no immediate report of injuries. Approximately 100 people were assigned to fight the fire. Arizona State Forestry officials said on Twitter that a dozer was being used to assist with the fire. 'Dozers are a valuable asset in wildland firefighting and are instrumental in creating defensive barriers that keep fires from spreading,' according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The bulldozers create containment lines during fires. The hellish flames are seen consuming a tree as the Margo fire raged near Dudleyville in Arizona on Friday A line of fire is seen burning through brush in the Arizona community of Dudleyville on Friday as workers try to contain it A fire is seen burning branches and consuming wild plants near the Arizona community of Dudleyville on Friday Water tankers are seen spraying down an area that suffered a massive wildfire in Arizona on Friday The blaze rages in the background as it threatened to destroy more homes in the community of Dudleyville on Friday A firefighter is seen spraying water onto a fire near the community of Dudleyville in Arizona on Friday Aerial pictures show red fire retardant covering an area near the community of Dudleyville in Arizona on Friday A video from KNXV shows a helicopter working to stop the quick-moving fire as homes are destroyed in Arizona on Friday The National Weather Service in Tucson said that modeling shows that 'considerable' smoke from the fire, combined with smoke from a nearby fire near Bylas, will blow near Graham, Eastern Pinal and southern Greenlee County before settling into valleys at night. The forecast for the next week shows that weather will remain dry and breezy as the region suffers 'extreme to exceptional drought,' according to the National Weather service. The agency noted that one-year statewide precipitation numbers rank the last year as the driest in 126 years. Arizona had one of its worst wildfire seasons in nearly a decade in 2020 according to state Forestry and Fire Management Department officials. Officials have warned there is a potential for widespread, statewide fire activity by June. An Arizona State Fire vehicle covered in red fire retardant dropped out of planes fighting the Pinal County Wildfire near Dudleyville, Arizona Fires are seen burning near a grouping of homes in the Dudleyville community of Arizona on Friday Officials are seen gathered on a road in Arizona will crews work to battle the enormous fire on Friday that caused evacuations A state fire vehicle is seen parked along a road in Arizona on Friday while flames burn in the background near Dudleyville Pillars of smoke are seen soaring into the air above dry brush as Arizona suffers through a historic drought Crews are seen working to combat the fire in Arizona on Friday as it burned near the community of Dudleyville Among the factors for last years severe wildfire season was unseasonably warm conditions, a lack of moisture, an overabundance of fuels across Arizonas central region and within the Sonoran Desert, and increased recreational traffic across the state. A sweeping government study released Tuesday that concludes the situation is worsening as rainstorms grew more erratic and droughts much longer across most of the western United States over the past 50 years as climate change warmed the planet. The most dramatic changes were recorded in the desert Southwest, where the average dry period between rainstorms grew from about 30 days in the 1970s to 45 days between storms now, said Joel Biederman, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson, Arizona. The consequences of the intense dry periods that pummeled areas of the West in recent years were severe - more intense and dangerous wildfires, parched croplands and not enough vegetation to support livestock and wildlife. The National Weather Service in Tucson said that modeling shows that 'considerable' smoke from the fire, combined with smoke from a nearby fire near Bylas, will blow into nearby counties A police vehicle is parked near homes as a wildfire is seen burning in the background near the community of Dudleyville Pinal County Sheriff's Office vehicles are seen parked along a road in Dudleyville as they work to close down roads from the fire A Pinal County Sheriff's Office deputy is pictured with a dog as crews worked to contain the massive fire in Arizona A fire engine is seen approaching the massive fire as crews worked to contain the blaze near Dudleyville in Arizona on Friday The problem appears to be accelerating, with rainstorms becoming increasingly unpredictable, and more areas showing longer intervals between storms since the turn of the century compared to prior decades, the study concludes. The study comes with almost two-thirds of the contiguous U.S. beset by abnormally dry conditions. Warm temperatures forecast for the next several months could make it the worst spring drought in almost a decade, affecting roughly 74 million people across the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Water use cutbacks, damaged wheat crops, more fires and lower reservoirs in California and the Southwest are possible, weather service and agriculture officials have warned. Climate scientists are calling whats happening in the West a continuation of a 'megadrought' that started in 1999. The new findings were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Thursday, Angelica Nebria Malena Chalepah, 21, of Truxton, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi to 31 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Chalepah previously pleaded guilty to Arson. On March 18, 2019, Chalepah set fire to a duplex residence located on the Havasupai Indian reservation. Chalepah had become angry with residents of the home and set it on fire after an argument, burning it to the ground. The two families who resided in the duplex were not home during the fire. The victims are enrolled members of the Havasupai Indian Tribe. Chalepah is an enrolled member of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Christina Covault, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-19-8227-PCT-JJT RELEASE NUMBER: 2021-024_Chalepah New Delhi: After the first major outbreak of violence during West Bengal assembly elections, in which five persons were killed, including four in alleged firing by CISF personnel, the Election Commission on Saturday (April 10) directed the Union Home Ministry to deploy 71 additional companies of Central Armed Police forces (CAPFs) in West Bengal for the conduct of the remaining four phases of polls. Senior officials told PTI that the poll panel has directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to rush in and deploy the fresh companies immediately. Till now, a total of 1,000 companies were earmarked for the conduct of elections in the state that has 294 assembly seats. The new companies are drawn from the BSF (33), ITBP (13), CRPF (12), SSB (9) and CISF (4). A CAPF company has an operational strength of about 85 personnel. West Bengal voted in its fourth phase of polls Saturday (April 10) as part of the eight-phase polling. The next phase of polls is scheduled on April 17 followed by April 22, 26 and 29. Earlier in the day, four people were killed as central forces opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals, who 'attempted to snatch their rifles', in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district, police said. The Election Commission ordered stopping the voting exercise at polling station number 126 of the Sitalkuchi constituency where the incident happened when polling was underway. According to preliminary reports, four persons were killed as CISF personnel opened fire after coming under attack in a village. "A scuffle took place, and locals gheraoed them and attempted to snatch their rifles, following which the central forces opened fire. Further details are awaited," a police official told PTI. The EC has sought a detailed report on the incident. According to official sources, the preliminary report submitted by the EC's special police observer Vivek Dubey said a huge mob of around 350-400 people had gheraoed the central forces, following which they fired in "self-defence". The incident led to violence in the area where bombs were hurled, prompting central forces to baton-charge to bring the situation under control. Live TV The Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda. The European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a press release earlier on Friday that participants would "take stock of the discussions held at various levels this week, including the relevant expert groups, in the view of a possible return of the United States and to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA by all sides", Xinhua news agency reported. The joint commission started the talks on Tuesday, which have drawn public attention as representatives from the United States are in Vienna to save the deal. The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the US withdrawal in 2018. The US and Iranian negotiators are expected not to meet face-to-face, but will hold indirect talks with the intensified help of the coordinators, according to a statement previously released the by EEAS. The talks are chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the EEAS, on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. Representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran are attending. --IANS int/ (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 -- More than five months after the guns fell silent on the battlefields of Nagorno-Karabakh, the dust is settling in the halls of power in Stepanakert, the disputed region's de facto capital. In Karabakh's very opaque political environment, however, it's not entirely clear who has come out on top after the 44-day Second Karabakh War won convincingly by Azerbaijan late last year. There are two men who appear to be in close competition to control the Azerbaijani region predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians: de facto President Arayik Harutiunian and the region's influential security chief, Vitaly Balasanian. Harutiunian has led the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, as it's known by Armenians, since his victory in the March 2020 presidential election. That vote was by far the most competitive in Karabakh's post-Soviet history and saw Harutiunian -- who was prime minister from 2007 to 2017 -- emerge victorious in a runoff after securing just under 50 percent of the vote in the first round. One of his opponents in that first round was Vitaly Balasanian, a former general-turned-opposition leader who garnered nearly 15 percent of the vote, finishing third. But after the dismal showing in the war with Azerbaijan led to unhappiness with Nagorno-Karabakh's leadership, Balasanian is now poised to be the president's main challenger domestically. Defeat Brings Change The crushing defeat resulted in a major political shakeup in Nagorno-Karabakh. In the months following the November 10 cease-fire deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan -- which was brokered by Russia -- nearly all of the region's cabinet ministers were replaced. Harutiunian himself said he would resign at some unannounced date and leave politics -- something he has not yet done. In the meantime, Balasanian was appointed by Harutiunian on December 2 as head of Karabakh's powerful Security Council, the chief military body for the region. Harutiunian also announced two weeks later that Karabakh's armed forces were subordinate to the council, effectively granting huge power to Balasanian. That move led many to speculate that he would formally replace Harutiunian as Karabakh leader and had, in fact, already garnered sufficient power to exercise authority in the breakaway state. Who Holds The Most Power? But it is still unclear which of the two men has more influence in Karabakh. Emil Sanamyan, a fellow at the University of Southern California's Institute of Armenian Studies, thinks Balasanian is indeed in the ascendent. Sanamyan said it seems "very likely" that Balasanian will replace Harutiunian as Karabakh's president. "The question is when that might happen," he added, pointing out that Karabakh is not in a position to hold an election anytime soon. Sanamyan suggested Harutiunian might thus remain as a figurehead, the formal leader in Karabakh but with Balasanian exercising "effective commander in chief powers." Balasanian gained prominence in the First Karabakh War as head of the Askeran regiment that spearheaded the operation to seize the Azerbaijani city of Agdam in 1993, resulting in tens of thousands of ethnic Azeris being expelled. He left the army in 2005 to join Karabakh's political opposition, making a name for himself as "the opposition general." He ran for president of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2012, finishing second. He first served as head of the Security Council from 2016 to 2019. In the last two years he became known for his political stances, particularly his strident opposition to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, whom Balasanian slammed as a "Western stooge." Some people think his opposition to the previously popular Pashinian and his first tenure heading the Security Council has cost him politically. "In 2016, [Balasanian] became the head of the security council [Nagrono-Karabakh], joining a small group of 'siloviki'" in the region, said an Armenian official with knowledge of Karabakh politics, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This was the turning point for him. The modest, noncorrupt general became part of the most corrupt group in Karabakh." Sanamyan has a completely different view of Balasanian. "He is a man of integrity and not known for any criminal or corrupt activity," he said. And Then There's Russia The narrative about the rise of Balasanian has grown beyond what the situation in Stepanakert reflects, said the anonymous official. "There's a real hype around [Balasanian], especially in Yerevan, but this doesn't reflect reality," the official said. "Balasanian doesn't have the administrative resources [that Harutiunian] does and there are only three members of parliament [from his party]," he added. But observers warn that the political savvy of Harutiunian should not be discounted. "Arayik [Harutiunian] has effectively consolidated power in the last few months," the official continued. "He has tied everyone to him by bringing them into his cabinet. There is a joke right now in Karabakh: if you want to be a minister, just criticize [Harutiunian]," he explained. "I don't think Balasanian has anywhere near the influence [that Harutiunian] has," he said. Whatever the true balance of power behind the scenes, many think that both men are still playing second fiddle to the real authority in town: Russia. "De facto, real authority [in Karabakh] is now in Russia's hands," said Benyamin Poghosian, chairman of the Yerevan-based Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies. "[Rustam] Muradov, the Russian peacekeeping head [in Karabakh], is the No. 1 guy. The Karabakh government does still function, but [the situation is] somewhere between strong Russian influence and de facto control." For the time being at least, Harutiunian and Balasanian appear to be prepared to try to ride out the tough situation in the sparsely populated, war-torn region, which Armenian forces controlled from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 until last year. "I don't think [Harutiunian] is going anywhere," said the official. "A few months ago, when people were demanding his resignation, he said he wouldn't leave because the Russians want him there. He has very good relations [with Muradov]." "There's some speculation that [Harutiunian] will resign on May 21, the one-year anniversary [of his swearing-in as president], but I'm not sure," said Poghosian. "Many people also think he will stay [in office beyond that date]." Of course high politics are currently of little concern to the average Karabakh Armenian civilian, many of whom are still reeling from the bitter defeat in the war, which led to large swaths of territory being taken by Azerbaijani forces. "It's hard to speculate about [politics and] policies considering the situation [Karabakh] finds itself in," Sanamyan concludes. "The priority [is] people's security." Many of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's achievements in the previous term have become challenges for its minister Nguyen Hong Dien, a newcomer to the portfolio. Unlike other newly appointed ministers, who have already spent time in their ministries, Dien took office as an outsider without any such experience. He had earlier worked in culture and propaganda and was a leader in the northern Thai Binh Province and of the Youth Union. The 56-year-old trained in finance, accounting and public administration, and has more than a decades experience in administration in Thai Binh, unlike most other ministers who often only have one or two years local experience. But this might not be the major problem awaiting him: That honor might fall to the yeoman work his predecessor did and he is expected to continue. Tran Tuan Anh, the previous trade minister, took advantage of the various free trade agreements Vietnam has signed such as the CPTPP, EVFTA and RCEP and managed to push exports to unprecedented levels. Last year, even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the country's exports sustained their recent high growth rates and were worth US$281.5 billion. Dien clearly has a hard act to follow. According to analysts, the contribution of local companies to Vietnams exports remains low with foreign-owned ones accounting for around 70 percent. Speaking to VnExpress, a former advisor to the industry and trade sector, who asked not to be named, said one of the many tasks Dien has is to come up with a breakthrough strategy for industry. "The value added in manufacturing after all these years is still very low as it is mostly processing. A countrys industry cannot rely on the import of raw materials and the domestic component of value added is still too low." Since Vietnam seeks to become an industrialized country by 2030 after having missed its earlier deadline of 2020, now is the time for industry to achieve a breakthrough, the expert said. Tran Hoang Ngan, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, expressed the hope that Dien would make good use of the opportunities and benefits brought by free trade agreements. Only then would it be able to entrench itself in the global supply chain and increase value added and national competitiveness, he said. One immediate task for the new minister is consolidating the domestic market and improving the quality of products so that the Vietnamese people could get the best products, he said. The recent Covid-19 outbreaks have shown that the domestic market is a lifesaver for businesses. Another ticklish issue passed down to Dien is that of electricity planning and how to avoid the pitfalls of the previous plans. The highly anticipated eighth plan, the National Electricity Development Plan for until 2045, has been drafted, but there are still concerns about whether this massive plan could be achieved. It forecasts that for the next 25 years Vietnam would need nearly $13 billion annually so that it could triple its current power generation capacity. But it has yet to indicate where this money would come from. Furthermore, the recent boom in solar and wind power has seen their output far exceed plans and put great pressure on the national grid, frustrating investors. While development of renewable energy is the right way to go, its implementation has caused it to become a bottleneck in the power system. A power industry executive lamented: "Operating the power system when there is an electricity shortage is difficult, but now that there is an oversupply it has become many times more difficult." The task of easing the solar and wind power boom requires fresh thinking from the ministry. With his experience in running administrations in localities, which are directly affected by industry and trade policies, for over a decade, Dien is expected to efficiently address this issue. Besides long-term strategic issues, Dien also faces many immediate issues such as commercial fraud, adulteration of gasoline and the mushrooming of gas stations with poor government oversight, ministry projects that have incurred millions of dollars in losses or stalled for years. Last but not least, the minister also faces pressure to continue with administrative reforms and resolve internal issues. Dien was appointed trade minister on Thursday, one of 12 new ministers and department heads named by the new government. Heather Matherly has always been a very intuitive person. She feels that this trait has been of tremendous assistance in lending a helping hand to others through the use of nature and movement. Jill McMahon needed gas. Her car was running low on fuel, so the Tigard woman pulled off at the Woodburn exit. The Chevron station nearest Interstate 5 had a tanker blocking customers, so McMahon drove down the street to the ARCO AM/PM station. The ARCO gas station had a large, blue banner reading OPEN 24 HOURS covering its outdoor price display. I specifically drove around to look for their reader board but it was covered up, explained McMahon. After filling up at the Arco gas station, McMahon said she was shocked by the price. It was almost twice as much as it took to fill in Portland, said McMahon. I was just appalled. That just seemed wrong. Dozens of other customers also complained about being blindsided by high gas prices at the Woodburn Arco station. I think it is a bad business model, said customer Grant Hardy. Hardy explained he had no idea how much the Arco station charged for gas until it was too late. I was like, Dude, stop! Because I noticed the price was increasing, said Hardy, frustrated by the lack of price transparency. Online review sites like Yelp and Google are filled with warnings about the ARCO gas station in Woodburn. There are nasty comments about the price display being covered, along with photos of expensive receipts. On March 29, KGW found the ARCO gas station in Woodburn charged $4.38 per gallon for regular unleaded fuel, compared to $3.25 a gallon at a nearby Chevron and $3.29 at Shell. From the drivers side, this reporter could not see the price displayed on each gas pump and there were no prices posted out front. Government records show over the past year there have been 59 consumer complaints filed with the Oregon Department of Justice about the ARCO station in Woodburn. Most of the complaints involved claims of charging an excessive price. Michael Mills, an attorney representing the ARCO gas station in Woodburn, declined to comment due to an ongoing investigation by the DOJ. The Oregon Department of Justice declined to comment on the pending investigation. State records show Mills has responded on behalf of the ARCO station to consumer complaints filed with the Oregon DOJ. In one letter, Mills explained the Woodburn ARCO is a franchisee of BP ARCO and is charged much higher prices for the fuel it buys from corporate than other ARCO stations in the area. Additionally, Mills noted prices are displayed on each pump for each grade of gasoline, which is all that is required. Mills pointed out that Oregon law states, A retailer is not required to display prices charged for motor vehicle fuel. That is the law, explained Marie Dodds of AAA Oregon. Oregon gas stations are not required to post signs of the prices of the fuel they sell. Dodds explained there are no federal requirements either. Instead, theres a patchwork of laws across the country. We have different laws and regulations in different states and sometimes even different cities so it can be really confusing for consumers, explained Dodds. For example: New York requires gas prices posted so theyre clearly visible to any approaching car. Maryland has a similar mandate. Prices must be readable to passing drivers. Orlando, Florida also requires gas stations post prices on the street, including specific mandates on the size of the block letters. Although there is no requirement in Oregon, most gas stations voluntarily advertise prices to passing motorists. Everybodys prices are on their reader boards out front, explained McMahon, who wished the ARCO AM/PM in Woodburn would do the same. I will definitely pay attention now. At just 13, Sugar Land entrepreneur Lily Rood is celebrating five years in business and selling her handmade crafts at farmers markets across the Houston area and beyond. Last year, the seventh grader sold around $10,000 in products through her Lil Roo Designz. On HoustonChronicle.com: Lamar CISD board announces lone finalist for superintendent Lily started the business with $100. Her dad, an accountant, had her write a business plan. She began sewing customized headbands and selling them to volleyball teams and teachers at her school, Highlands Elementary, to make some extra money. I enjoyed crafting a lot, and I still really do, Lily said. So its a really fun way to really be able to take that out and be able to do it a lot without having stuff pile up in my room Im never going to use. After sort of saturating the local headband market, Lily evolved her business into other crafts. Today, she sells air freshener car vent clips, key chains and other items made from acrylic and resin. Painted Mason jars used to hold tissues are top sellers. She said marketing her products and making some profits was super crazy exciting. While other young people begin working several years later, Lily knew she wanted to start sooner. To her, working is fun. On HoustonChronicle.com: Fort Bend County recognizes National Child Abuse Prevention Month, dedicates awareness field Once Lily received her tax ID and DBA (Doing Business As) registered name, she was ready to sell to the public. The Farmers Market at Imperial in Sugar Land was her first big show. She continues to sell there most often because it is only 10 minutes away from home, but she has traveled as far away as Wimberley. Lily tries to use the money she earns wisely. She reinvests some of it back into her business and sets aside a portion for product research. She saves some, spends some and gives some to charities like the American Cancer Society in memory of her Uncle Steve and her favorite, the Samaritans Purse shoebox drive. Her enthusiasm has inspired others. Lilys mom, Laura, worked with the Highlands PTO in 2018 to establish an entrepreneurship program called Scottie Barket. The event was part of the schools multicultural festival and encouraged students to learn about business through renting $10 booths and marketing their creations. On HoustonChronicle.com: American Heart Association forum encourages COVID-19 vaccinations The time Lily spends on Lil Roo Designz varies from week to week, usually around 20 to 30 hours. She has school, and the business doesnt have set hours like a brick-and-mortar shop. So she works until a project is finished and sometimes takes off to hang out with her friends, like a typical teenager. But it really depends. If shes inspired, we let her do it, Laura said. We dont ever force her to do it. This is her job. This is her passion. So when shes not feeling it, she gets to take a break whenever she wants. Lily enjoys selling because she is very social and gets to meet lots of people at the markets. Because she has been doing school virtually since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it also lets her get out and be around others. The business has taught her some valuable lessons, like how to deal with difficult or disrespectful customers and how to manage money. Laura does most of the taxes, but Lily helps and watches the process so that she can learn. Lily records her mileage to and from different markets and even uses QuickBooks to budget her business account. She has also learned how to follow through and work hard. And her mom says she has grown more outgoing and confident. On HoustonChronicle.com: Gumbo for good: MKT Distillery to host Cajun Festival benefiting Katy Christian Ministries Lily also has her own online store on Square that did very well during the 2020 holidays. They didnt keep exact records, but she sold 200 to 300 2020 stink, stank, stunk Grinch-themed Christmas ornaments to people all around the United States. The message seemed to resonate amid the pandemic. Around 50 sold during just the first 24 hours. Customers also commission custom pieces. One customer wanted items for her Jeep club, and Lilys church had her make gifts for its vacation Bible school volunteers. As she began her business five years ago, Lily wanted to become a fashion designer. Today, she is considering interior design or business school, but she has a few years to think about it. Lily is glad to have her business and plans to keep at it. Im grateful that Im able to do all this stuff. Im able to take out my crafting love and then put it into something that other people enjoy, Lily said. Most Saturday mornings, Lily and Lil Roo Designz can be found at the Farmers Market at Imperial, located at 234 Matlage Way in Sugar Land. The market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit www.lilroodesignz.com to learn more or shop. tracy.maness@hcnonline.com China in Focus (April 9): New US Bill Aims to Counter Beijing Aggression New U.S. legislation aims to counter communist China. The bill will confront nearly all of Beijings aggressive behavior. The White House says its upcoming renewable energy programs will create new U.S. jobs. But it seems the plan could make more jobs in China instead, and they could involve forced labor. The Philippines is invoking an old treaty with the United States. It says an assault on Filipino territory is the same as an assault on U.S. territory. Meanwhile, South Korea increases funding for hosting U.S. troops there. All of the new actions target Beijings aggression in the South China Sea. A report says an enraged homeowner killed a high-profile gang member in China after authorities asked a group of thugs to forcibly tear down local houses. Now, authorities are covering up the incident. A heartbreaking story follows a 13-year-old girl as she fights for justice. Police and even her parents failed to help her after a violent kidnapping and assault, so shes turning to social media to get her message out. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China. For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter. MASON CITY, Iowa Public health officials say they are seeing a disturbing upward trend in COVID-19 cases in Cerro Gordo County. There are two current trends that concern me the most, says Jeni Stiles, assistant manager of disease prevention at CG Public Health, the increasing infection rate among children and young adults, and the decline in testing. Health officials say the existence of coronavirus vaccines should not create a false sense of security and that COVID-19 remains a threat to the young and old. We are urging businesses and employers to allow their employees time off to get tested, to stay home if they are ill, and allow them time off if they need to stay home with children in quarantine, says Stiles. We are encouraging parents and young adults to test their children and themselves even if symptoms appear mild, like a common cold. The only way to control this virus is through tracing, quarantine, and isolation. We cant do that without testing. As of Friday, Cerro Gordo County has had 5,554 positive tests for COVID-19 and 86 deaths linked to the virus. The county has had 73,012 coronavirus tests administered. The State of Iowa reported 519 new COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths on Friday. Chandigarh, April 10 : Wheat procurement kicked off in Punjab on Saturday with the Arhtiyas calling off their proposed strike after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered various steps to ensure their continued involvement in the process and immediate release of their pending payments of Rs 131 crore without waiting for dues to come from the FCI. On the Chief Minister's directives, the state Food Department has amended the procurement software so that the Arhtiyas or commission agents will continue to be involved in the process of release of payments to the farmers, albeit in a modified manner, while farmers get their payments in their bank accounts within 48 hours, as mandated by the state government. Declaring his unequivocal commitment to safeguarding the interests of Punjab's Arhtiyas, Captain Amarinder said despite the government of India's directives to exclude them from MSP payments, "the Arhtiyas shall always be associated with procurement". "Till I am there, you will part of the system, and your role will always remain," he asserted, adding that he will ensure that the Arhtiya's commission and other charges permitted under the APMC Act shall continue. Commenting on the government of India's adamant refusal to accept the state's request for deferment of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, the Chief Minister said, "We fought hard with the Centre on the issue, but they were adamant, and even went to the extent of threatening not to procure from Punjab if we do not implement the DBT." The Chief Minister also ordered the Finance Department to immediately release Rs 131 crore due to the Arhtiyas without waiting for it from the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which had withheld payments after some Arhtiyas had failed to upload details. These Arhtiyas were probably misguided at that time by people who wanted to play politics, he said, adding that even though the money was yet to come from FCI, his government would release it immediately, without waiting for the same. He also assured the Arhtiyas that his government will take up with the Centre the issue of 30 per cent deduction in labour payments made by the FCI. CM Singh thanked Vijay Kalra, the president of the Federation of Arhtiya Association of Punjab, for heeding his government's plea to withdraw their proposed strike and lift the grain as the farmers would otherwise have suffered. He appealed to the Arhtiyas to immediately start procurement and also take care of Covid norms. The government had to delay procurement this year till April 10 (from the previously scheduled April 1) on account of the second surge of Covid. The Chief Minister said like last year, farmers will again be issued passes this year to reduce congestion at the grain markets in view of the pandemic situation. He assured that farmer passes would be issued at the district level, strictly in consultation with the Arhtiyas who are in the best position to know which farmer has harvested his crop and is ready to come to the market. Sharing the Arhtiyas' pain, which he said he could feel from the bottom of his heart, the Chief Minister said he failed to understand why the Central government was treating them and the farmers in such a shoddy manner. He recalled that the system of Arhtiyas prevailed even when he was a kid, and visited mandis with his grandfather, and said it was inexplicable why the government of India wanted to ruin it. The Arhtiyas are not middlemen but service providers, he said, adding that the private sector can function along with the existing system and there was no need to change it. Pointing to the 72 per cent increase in farmers' earning, he attributed it to the combined efforts of the farmers and the Arhtiyas. "Your contribution to the Green Revolution and filling of India's granaries is unforgettable," he told them, adding that he does not agree with anything that the Centre is doing on agriculture. He assured that all their concerns would be addressed, and all the commitments made to them will be fulfilled. Announcing the withdrawal of the strike in the interest of the state and the farmers, Kalra thanked Captain Amarinder and his government for their support in their fight with the Centre. The Centre, he said, was penalising Punjab for the farmers' agitation. Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu told the Chief Minister the Arhtiyas simply wanted protection for their business and livelihood. UPDATE: All adults eligible for COVID vaccine starting Tuesday as Pennsylvania accelerates into Phase 2 Pennsylvania on Monday is again expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, allowing a new group of essential workers to book appointments. Amid the expansion, state health officials stress the need to avoid wasting vaccine doses and appointment slots. State Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam on Friday urged all Pennsylvanians to remember to both attend a scheduled COVID-19 vaccine appointment and cancel any unneeded appointments so that all vaccine doses get into the arms of people. All three available vaccines are safe and effective, and we need folks to get the first available vaccine, Beam said in a statement. If you have scheduled appointments at numerous places as part of your attempt to get vaccinated, please remember to call those other locations and cancel the remaining appointments. You can let them know that you have been vaccinated. Each time someone is a no-show for an appointment, it increases the chances of a dose of vaccine being wasted if the appointment cannot be refilled by someone else who has not yet been vaccinated. The state spent about four months in its Phase 1A vaccine rollout, prioritizing frontline healthcare workers, the elderly and younger people with certain medical conditions that put them at higher risk for coronavirus complications. The pool expanded to roughly 1 million essential workers April 5. It will open April 19 to anyone 16 and older, provided they have no contraindications for receiving the vaccine. Starting Monday, 1.3 million to 1.7 million Phase 1C essential workers are eligible to book appointments in Pennsylvania in the following industries: Transportation and logistics Water and wastewater Food service Housing construction Finance, including bank tellers Information technology Communications Energy, including nuclear reactors Legal services Federal, state, county and local government workers, including county election workers, elected officials and members of the judiciary and their staff Media Public safety Public health workers Pennsylvania is rapidly expanding vaccine eligibility to comply with President Joe Bidens directive all Americans be eligible for vaccination April 19. Gov. Tom Wolf said this week that every Pennsylvanian who wants one should at least have their first dose by mid-May. As of Friday, about 36% of Pennsylvanians have at least received their first shot. (Cant see this map? Click here.) The states already completed its educator vaccination campaign, inoculating more than 100,000 teachers and support staff via targeted clinics with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. On March 31, the state made a segment of higher risk Phase 1B workers eligible for appointments: law enforcement, firefighters, grocery store workers and food/agricultural workers. Pennsylvania offers a map to find a vaccine provider here. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. The general public is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri. Many tried to get the vaccine earlier, but had to wait their turn until now. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that district magistrates must assess the number of Covid cases in the district and decide on night curfew at their own level. But before such a situation arises, the district administration should make arrangements so that any public event or wedding ceremony is completed by 9 pm. The Chief Minister held a divisional review meeting on Corona control, vaccination and encephalitis eradication at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur on Saturday. He said that the second wave of Corona may be as challenging as the first, but the state government is committed to overcome it through collective efforts. Adequate resources are available for Corona testing and vaccination. The district collector and the chief medical officer should ensure that no one suffers owing to lack of screening and vaccination. There should be no reduction in the number of beds in dedicated Covid hospitals and the admitted patients should get all the facilities. The CM reiterated said that all public events should be completed by 9 pm for to keep infections in check. Chief Minister Yogi said that the guidelines issued for effective control of corona should be followed at all costs. He said that people should be made aware of this and motivated to comply with the norms laid down by the government. He warned officials that negligence at any level in corona prevention programmes won't be forgiven. The necessity of not allowing congestion in public places, compliance with social distance norms and use of masks should be constantly monitored. He also issued directions to give special attention to cleanliness in order to prevent the spread of Corona in rural areas. "The DM and CMO of all districts should conduct regular reviews on Corona and take concrete action towards preventing the spread of corona with focus on screening and vaccination," added the chief minister. --IANS vkt/anm/ash (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.) (Natural News) United Airlines joined other corporations and the US government in making identity characteristics a qualifier for employment. On Tuesday, the company announced that: (Article by Libby Emmons republished from ThePostMillenial.com) Our flight deck should reflect the diverse group of people on board our planes every day. Thats why we plan for 50% of the 5,000 pilots we train in the next decade to be women or people of color. And they invited those who are women or specifically not white to apply to train for work with United Airlines. Our flight deck should reflect the diverse group of people on board our planes every day. Thats why we plan for 50% of the 5,000 pilots we train in the next decade to be women or people of color. Learn more and apply now: https://t.co/VbOFvFOksB pic.twitter.com/r0ScH6MQAJ United Airlines (@united) April 6, 2021 The link directs would-be pilots to a training program. The site states that United expects to hire more than 10,000 pilots over the next decade. 5,000 of those spots are dedicated to women and people of color by 2030. The recruitment video features the voices of two pilots, one male and one female. United says that Partner organizations will help identify and recruit top talent. The financial barrier to entry for highly qualified and motivated candidates will be tackled through a partnership with JP Morgan Chase. OANNs Jack Posobiec said simply Disastrous. Do not do this. Disastrous. Do not do this. https://t.co/UhrMTQSq14 Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 7, 2021 What makes the United program different from other corporate diversity initiatives is that pilots are not in board rooms, but flying planes with lots of people on them. Its the kind of job where a person should have skill and affinity. Skin color, or the lived experience that comes with a racial or ethnic background, has absolutely no bearing on how best to safely fly planes. According to Zippa, a careers website, the current demographic of pilots is over 86 percent male, and over 88 percent white. The emergence of this initiative led Joel Berry of satirical website The Babylon Bee to ask if United would be first trying to figure out why less women go into careers as airline pilots. Are women just not interested? Is there a reason that American people of color do not fill the ranks in pilot training school? Are these people barred from entry by racism or do they simply not attend of their own free volition? Will the existence of Uniteds diversity quotas create the circumstances under which women and people of color become more interested in piloting planes? I went to college to be a pilot. Everyone in my program was a white guy, even though over 50% of the students in my college were women and people of color were over represented as a percentage of the local population. If United is gonna meet these diversity quotas Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) April 7, 2021 Berry suggests that these skin-color-based quotas will instead be filled by South Asian and Middle Eastern men who are interested in being pilots. The truth is, this diversity requirement will be filled by male immigrants from Asia, India, and the Middle East. Im all for it, but it wont turn out to be the virtuous progressive vision theyre trying to paint here. Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) April 7, 2021 In September, Bloomberg reported that more and more companies are instituting diversity quotas in hiring. United joins Wells Fargo, which determined to increase black leadership to 12 percent, Ralph Lauren that promised that 20 percent of its global leadership would be people of color, and Delta which is aiming for 14 percent of their officers and directors to be black by 2025. The black population of the US is about 13 percent. Ryan Girdusky pointed out that United received a massive federal bailout last year, and with those funds they laid off or cut the hours for over 15,000 employees, and discriminate against white men. United got a $5 billion dollar bailout last year whats the first things they did: laid off or cut the hours for over 15,000 employees discriminate against white men https://t.co/K40Q4Hn2Rd Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) April 7, 2021 Will Chamberlain, an attorney and co-publisher at Human Events, believes that United will face lawsuits for these discriminatory hiring practices and prioritization of specific races and ethnicities for training programs. There are a lot of professions where there are legitimate, professional reasons to prioritize diversity Piloting IS NOT ONE OF THEM Passengers do not interact or communicate with the pilot, ever The ONLY thing that matters is skill Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) April 7, 2021 Gad Saad simply suggested that the real barrier to entry was to blind pilots, and that they should be prioritized next. Heroes! Next, please hire blind pilots. I always thought it were disgusting that Ive never seen a blind pilot. The ableism made me feel unsafe on your flights. We must hire pilots based on irrelevant immutable traits to achieve true equitable safety.https://t.co/FgIwls9eic Gad Saad (@GadSaad) April 7, 2021 This new initiative also makes some wonder if United Airlines was actively discriminating against women and people of color prior to this quota requirement. So United Airlines was actively discriminating against women and people of color before? pic.twitter.com/EYXxZpG7qV Greg (@CasuallyGreg) April 7, 2021 United Airlines also came out in opposition to the new voting laws in Georgia, which put them in the ranks of other corporations that have decried voter IDs. This earned them praise from the left, and further derision from the conservative right. Surely you've been eager to know United Airlines' corporate position on voting. After all, their mission is to 'unite the world.' https://t.co/wQ7Vxw6igC Byron York (@ByronYork) April 5, 2021 Read more at: ThePostMillenial.com and AntiWhite.news. Starting Aug. 1, Dr. Kofi Campbell will assume the role of Brandon Universitys provost and vice-president (academic), taking over for Dr. Steve Robinson, whose term is coming to an end. Advertisement Advertise With Us Starting Aug. 1, Dr. Kofi Campbell will assume the role of Brandon Universitys provost and vice-president (academic), taking over for Dr. Steve Robinson, whose term is coming to an end. According to a Wednesday news release, Campbell is coming to the university from Renison University College in the University of Waterloo, where he served as that schools vice-president academic and dean since 2017. "I cant wait to get to Brandon," Campbell said in this news release. "I love that BU is an established university, yet its size allows faculty and students to develop close working relationships which can lead to exceptional learning and mentoring opportunities." Campbell said he is particularly drawn to the universitys strong research profile and is looking forward to working with the schools president, deans and other members of the community to advance their academic programming. "I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Campbell to Brandon University," president David Docherty said Wednesday. "His thoughtful and thorough approach will be enormously valuable as we embark on a challenging time of building back better." Outside his current role at Renison University College, Campbell also serves as the special advisor to the anti-racism taskforce at the University of Waterloo headed by that universitys president. Beyond that, Campbells academic career includes a run as associate dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he taught English and film studies beginning in 2006. During his time at Renison University College, Campbell also spearheaded a number of initiatives that aimed to modify the schools academic development and institutional direction. This includes: planning a national anti-racism conference focused on the higher education sector, helping create a strong first-year experience plan for students and securing five years worth of external funding to help consolidate the institutions studies in Islam program. Campbell originally came to Canada from Guyana at the age of 10 and lived in Ottawa throughout his undergraduate studies. In 2005, he received his Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Western Ontario. According to Wednesdays release, Campbell also describes himself as a tabletop and video game enthusiast who is in the middle of an extensive role-playing campaign that has lasted more than a year. "Games are a great way to unwind and socialize, and theyre also a great way to learn about people," he said. "We put ourselves in contrived situations with heightened stakes and unrealistic consequences, and we have a lot of fun, but we also end up learning about how to work together, how to solve problems and how to distinguish between important goals and distracting side-quests. I apply these lessons in my own life every day." Docherty closed out Wednesdays news release by revealing Robinson will return to a teaching and research role at BU once his term as provost and vice-president academic expires in August. "Steve leaves the VPs office in great shape, and BU will continue to benefit from Steves guidance and experience." The Brandon Sun Green campaigners and residents' associations have pointed the finger of blame at Nerja town hall and local landowners for damage caused to flora and fauna during last week's fire near the Maro watchtower and cliffs. GENA-Ecologistas en Accion criticised lax law enforcement and failure to pay proper attention to the protected area, while residents' group Otro Maro es Posible (another Maro is possible) said that they were "not surprised" that a fire broke out as they say the area has been incorrectly used for holiday rentals, instead of agricultural land, for some time. Woman arrested GENA said that a "large amount of woodland" had been destroyed, which "cannot be simply replaced by a reforestation programme". While the environmentalists recognised that the fire was "an accident caused by negligence" they have called on Nerja town hall and the owners of the land, the Larios group, to fully check on the "dangers" and "illegal activity" that have been allowed to happen in the area. On Monday this week, Guardia Civil officers arrested a Swedish woman for allegedly being responsible for the wildfire which started last Thursday (1 April). More than 60 specialist Infoca forest firefighters tackled the blaze that destroyed four hectares of pines and scrubland. Local Police, Guardia Civil and Civil Protection volunteers also responded to the incident as well as regular firefighters. The woman, who lives in a small rural house in the area, confessed to the police at the scene that she was burning the remains of some pruning on her land and that the flames spread "by accident". As a result of the fire, at least five people had to be evacuated. Another group of five - including a child under 12 years old and a dog - had to be rescued by sea when they found themselves surrounded by flames in Carrizal cove. A Guardia Civil patrol boat, with the support of a Nerja Civil Protection jet ski, took them to safety. Infoca has warned the public via its social media pages that "small bonfires, even in low risk periods, can have terrible consequences". Off-Duty Pentagon Officer Charged in Fatal Shooting of 2 Robbery Suspects in Maryland A Pentagon police officer who tried to stop a car robbery has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in relation to the deaths of two people in Maryland earlier this week, police said. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) officer, identified as David Hall Dixon of Takoma, was off-duty at the time of the incident and was on his way to work, Takoma Park Police Department Chief Antonio DeVaul confirmed during a press briefing on Friday. Dixon was taken into custody early on Friday after police obtained an arrest warrant charging him with second-degree murder and the use of a handgun in a commission of a felony, according to a police statement. He was also charged with one count of reckless endangerment, as well as an attempted second-degree murder charge in the assault of Michael Thomas, who was the driver of a vehicle Dixon shot into after the robbery suspects tried to flee. He was a civilian, who acted as a civilian, who happened to be a law enforcement officer in another jurisdiction, DeVaul said. Dixon is accused of fatally shooting 32-year-old Dominique Williams of Hyattsville and 38-year-old James Lionel Johnson of District Heights, police said. Williams and Johnson suffered from gunshot wounds and died at a nearby hospital. Thomass condition is unknown. Authorities responded to reports of gunfire that day shortly after 5 a.m. at the parking lot of the Takoma Overlook Condominiums on New Hampshire Avenue. Upon arrival, officers learned in a preliminary investigation Dixon fired his service weapon in response to a car robbery after the suspects tried to flee and failed to follow his direction and almost ran him over. He engaged the suspects who failed to follow his direction, according to a Wednesday police statement. The suspects attempted to flee in a vehicle at which time the officer discharged his service weapon. Chief DeVaul confirmed during the Friday briefing all three of the suspect were actually breaking into vehicles, but Dixon had no authority to shoot the robbery suspects. He also said Thomas wont face any charges in the alleged robbery, saying he was a victim in the police-involved shooting. Mr. Dixon had no lawful or justifiable reason to shoot and kill Mr. Williams and Mr. Johnson, DeVaul said, adding that there were also inconsistencies in the overview the officer provided to investigators. Dixon told investigators the robbery suspects tried to run him over with the vehicle, and he then responded by firing his service weapon multiple times. An examination of the vehicle also found multiple bullet holes in the car, according to an application for a statement of charge. However, a surveillance video of the incident allegedly showed Dixon fire multiple times at the car after it passed him and no longer presented an immediate threat that would have justified the use of deadly force, the document states. The PFPA said in a statement following the shooting Dixon remains in an administrative leave status pending the results of an internal administrative investigation. Understanding the seriousness of the situation and their responsibilities, we are conducting a stand-down with our officers to ensure they have a full understanding of their off duty responsibilities, and review our use of force policy and jurisdictional considerations, according to the statement obtained by ABC News. From NTD News Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 18:44:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines celebrated its one decade of flight services between China and New Zealand here on Friday. A celebration event was held on Friday in partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charity at the Auckland City Hospital. Guests and participants worked together to make dinners for the families with hospitalized children at the Ronald McDonald House. China Southern Airlines' Auckland Office General Manager Lily Wang said the company will continue its commitment to being the "air bridge between China and New Zealand." She expressed hope for the company's future development in New Zealand after the difficult times as COVID-19 significantly hit the aviation industry. "We will come out the other side better and stronger," said Wang. An aircraft of China Southern Airlines first landed at Auckland Airport on April 9, 2011 in the first regular passenger flight route between the Chinese mainland and New Zealand. Over the past 10 years, the airline has transported a total of 2.26 million passengers and 63,000 tons of cargo between China and New Zealand. In 2020, the company continued its flight services between China and New Zealand to ensure essential travels and cargo transportation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 326 flights have been operated carrying more than 68,000 passengers and 6,000 tons of cargo without any COVID-19 infection. The company has also sponsored a number of charity events in the local community. Chinese Vice Consul General in Auckland Xiao Yewen and other guests attended Friday's celebrations. Enditem Uncontrollable tears, shock, and, at some point, rage were the emotions that were expressed as the family, friends and other sympathizers came together yesterday to bid 10-year-old Ishmael Mensah Abdallah, who was gruesomely murdered by his friends for ritual purposes last Saturday. Ishmael, a Class Four pupil of the Maranatha Preparatory and Junior High School, was killed on Holy Saturday by two teenagers, Nicholas Kini, 18, and Felix Nyarko, 16, at Coca Cola, near Lamptey Mills, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region. It was difficult for people to hold back their tears when the body of the lad, wrapped in black cloth and laid out on a stretcher, was brought to the family house for Muslim prayers before burial. Mourners Although a quiet but affable boy in the community, Ishmael's tragic death has attracted both media and public interest, and that was reflected in the crowd that gathered to bid him farewell. The mourners included close family relations, family friends, residents, his schoolmates and classmates, as well as others from neighbouring communities who had been moved by the incident. As early as 7 a.m. yesterday, mourners had started gathering at the family house to await the arrival of the body for the final rites. Also present at the event were policemen from the Kasoa and the Weija divisions and officials of the Ga South Municipal Assembly, led by the Chief Executive, Mr Stephen Nyarni. Scene By 12:30 p.m., the entire house was filled with mourners, some of whom could not find space there and had to relocate outside where canopies had been mounted. Others also found space under trees and beside buildings. Some of the mourners visited the uncompleted building where the boy was killed by the two teenagers. The atmosphere initially seemed calm, with some people seen in groups discussing the incident, until the hearse conveying the remains from the Police Hospital pulled up, when the calmness gave way to an outpouring of emotions. As if by design or coincidence, the mourners started wailing as soon as the hearse arrived at the house a little after 1 p.m. Both the young and the old could not hold back their tears and it took an effort for the religious leaders to get people to calm down to allow for the solemn Islamic prayers for the dead to be offered, after which the body was conveyed to the Ngleshie Amanfro Muslim Cemetery for burial. What next? The Spokesperson for the Abdallah Family, Mr Samed Akalilu, thanked all present for the show of love to the family over Ishmael's killing. He said now that he had been buried, the family awaited the judicial process to proceed and expressed the hope that justice would be served appropriately. The suspects appeared before an Ofaakor District Magistrate Court last Tuesday and were remanded in police custody to reappear on April 20, 2021. Minister visits The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, has given an assurance that the government is prepared to go all out to support efforts at bringing every person involved in the heinous crime to book. Mrs Assan gave the assurance when she led a delegation to visit the bereaved family to empathise with them. "We are here to commiserate with them and pledge to really go into the matter and pursue it to the letter. We assure you that the perpetrators of the crime will be punished, so that it can serve as a deterrent to others mooting similar plans," she said. Mrs Assan was accompanied by the Central Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mrs Habiba Twumasi-Sarpong; the Director of the Central Regional Gender Department, Ms Richlove Amamoo, and some members of the Central Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC). While she explained that the incident happened in the Ga South municipality and not at Kasoa, as had earlier been reported, she nonetheless described it as very unfortunate and pathetic. On behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the government, she expressed condolences to the family and also donated an undisclosed amount to the family. Call on parents Mrs Assan used the opportunity to advise parents to keep a close eye on their children to ensure that they did not fall prey to those ills that were creeping into society. She said it was prudent that parents observed closely every move of their children to shield them from harm. "It is not good for a parent to go to bed while the child is nowhere to be found. We need to work closely with our children, be with them and monitor where they go, even where we have sent them," she said. Arrests Apart from the two teenagers who are in police grip over the incident, a third person, a fetish priestess, has also been arrested in connection with the crime. The priestess, yet to be officially named by the police, was arrested at Amanase, near Suhum in the Eastern Region, by a team of policemen to assist with investigations into the ritual murder. The Central Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ms Irene Oppong, told the Daily Graphic that the case docket had been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service. 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 Senator Steven Bradford, Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, Endorses Councilwoman Emma Sharif for Mayor of Compton This week, Councilwoman Emma Sharif, announced the high-powered endorsement of State Senator Steven Bradford, who represents Compton in the California state legislature. Senator Bradford, who previously worked for the City of Compton, said I am proud to endorse my friend, Councilwoman Emma Sharif to represent the City of Compton as Mayor. Councilwoman Sharifs long record of collaborative leadership, integrity and public service is critical to moving the city forward. As a former city Councilman, I know the importance of dedication and commitment in representing a city. I support Councilwoman Emma Sharif for Mayor and I look forward to continuing to work together to fight for all the citizens of Compton and beyond. In response, Councilwoman Sharif, who recently received the endorsement of the LA Sentinel, said, I am extremely proud to have received the most coveted endorsement in this campaign for Mayor. Senator Bradford and I have fought together on many important issues facing our community. I look forward to working with my Senator to deliver much needed resources for Compton. ADVERTISEMENT Since being re-elected to the Compton City Council in 2019, Councilwoman Sharif and the council has accomplished the following: Completed $5.9 million in street repairs Approved $45 million in revenue bonds to fund additional street repairs Fought for a COVID-19 testing site in Compton Fought for Homeless Outreach Plan that provided services to 90 individuals Approved a contract to clean up Illegal Dumping Approved hiring a painter to clean up graffiti Approved a $1.2 million tree trimming contract Approved over 500 units of housing Worked with Assemblyman Mike Gipson to revitalize the Compton Creek Although we have much to be proud of as a city, we still have work to do to increase the quality of life for all Compton residents. I look forward to working with the council, staff and residents to take Compton to the next level said Sharf. Her administration will focus on tackling the homeless issue, finishing street repair projects, recruiting businesses that will bring revenue to the city, increasing programs and resources for our seniors and repairing our relationship with law enforcement. Councilwoman Sharif, a 30-year resident of Compton who raised her four children in the city, is battle-tested, honest, transparent, and has remained true to the people she serves. She holds a bachelors degree in Political Science/Sociology, and a masters degree in Public Administration. Prior to being elected to the city council, Emma served the City of Compton as an elected School Board Member and proud union member in the Compton Education Association. She represents the city on several regional boards and serves as an elected member of the California Democratic Party State Central Committee. MASON CITY, Iowa - According to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds. Every 9 minutes, that victim is a child. Throughout the month of April, agencies like Crisis Intervention Service are helping to raise awareness, as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Child Abuse Prevention Month. Executive Director Mary Ingham has seen a 5-10% increase in reported sexual assault cases. She hopes that the awareness being brought this year leads into taking action, and reducing abuse in North Iowa. "I think the beautiful thing about North Iowa is there's so many people working together to raise awareness, to work with victims, to hold abusers accountable." "We continue to see more and more people reaching out, and I think it has to do with articles or stories like this. people know that there is support available. I think people know that sexual assault is wrong, but not knowing what that next step is, where can I go for help or assistance, or what if no one believes me." In addition, Crisis Intervention Service will be holding awareness events in Mason City and Clear Lake during Crime Victims' Rights Week April 18-25. According to ChildHelp, more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the U.S. yearly. Bengaluru, April 11 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayana has said that university-level examinations, including graduation, post-graduation, engineering, diploma and other courses, will be conducted according to the schedule. Narayana also clarified that following the completion of the impending examinations, there will be no summer holidays. The Deputy CM, who is also the in-charge of higher education portfolio, told media that the academic activities for the year 2021-22 have already been delayed and there should not be further delay, therefore no academic activities will be suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic but will be held as per the scheduled time table. He added that in case of any further delay, the cycle of course period, test, results, employment, further studies would get severely affected hence, the state government would be taking tough measures to ensure the academic activities for the year 2021-22 are not affected based on the year-long experience of tackling the pandemic. "I appeal to the student community to not harbour any doubt about the scheduled time table of the examinations," Narayana added. "Academic year 2021-22 will start functioning immediately and students will have both the options of offline and online classes," he said, adding that online classes would start quite early and this year it will be mandatory for students either to attend the classes. The Deputy CM said that all the universities and colleges will have to follow the standard operating procedure to contain the spread of Covid, when conducting the off-line classes. "Those institutions opt to conduct off-line classes, they will have to adhere to all SOP's in the interest of those who attend the physical classes. Sanitization of classrooms, maintenance of hygiene, Covid test, maintenance of physical distance and wearing of masks will be compulsory," he added. Narayana said that the Integrated Learning Management System (LMS) was already implemented in view of Covid-19. It was almost 20 years ago but Indigenous leader William Brim, then in his thirties, still has a very clear recollection of the Duke of Edinburgh asking the infamous spear question of his father. It was on a visit in March 2002 to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Park when Prince Philip turned to Ivan Brim, in his sixties representing the Buluwai elders, and asked what was to become known as the spears gaffe reported around the world. Britains Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh watching a culture show at Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park, Cairns, 2002. Credit:Getty Ivan Brim died three years ago, and his son William, also a Buluwai elder from Kuranda north of Cairns, said he was saddened to learn of the death of Prince Philip on Friday night. He said the incident happened at the park where people could experience Indigenous culture. The Queen and the Duke visited as part of their Royal tour. Vice governor of Shanxi Province under investigation for discipline violation Xinhua) 14:18, April 10, 2021 BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Liu Xinyun, vice governor of north China's Shanxi Province, has been put under disciplinary and supervisory investigation by the country's top anti-graft body for suspected severe violations of disciplines and laws. Liu, also head of the Shanxi provincial public security department, is being investigated by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Coronavirus cases across the Bay Area are lower than they were in March, but theyve leveled off recently and for the first time in months, not one of the nine counties is expected to move to a less restrictive tier in the states reopening blueprint in the coming week. Public health and infectious disease experts say thats a good thing. We are not at the point where the virus is done with us yet, and so caution is still warranted, Dr. Susan Philip, San Franciscos health officer, said plainly at a news conference this week. San Francisco is the Bay Area county that has come closest to satisfying the states criteria for advancing to the least restrictive yellow tier, which would allow for nearly all businesses to reopen, though at no more than half capacity. The city had been preparing to move to yellow next week but reported case counts that were slightly too high. Average daily cases for the Bay Area are 23% lower this month than for the same time in March. But new cases have plateaued over the past two weeks, halting the encouraging decline from the winter surge. In four Bay Area counties Napa, Alameda, San Francisco and Santa Clara case counts rose during the first week of April. The Bay Areas progress against the virus generally matches Californias as a whole. Both the state and the region are averaging about five to six new cases per 100,000 residents a day. Yet much of the rest of the country is experiencing a surge in cases as are many countries. If we were an island, I wouldnt be quite as concerned, said Dr. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley. But were not. Across the country, new cases rose by 2% this week over last, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. On Thursday alone, more than 74,000 new coronavirus cases were reported, with many of the infections in younger people, said the agencys director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. Michigan and Minnesota are experiencing dangerous surges. And around the world, cases are soaring in Italy, Germany, Brazil and India. Swartzberg said California is doing comparatively well in part because a highly contagious variant known as B.1.1.7, which is now the dominant strain across the United States, is still not prevalent in the Bay Area or most of the state. That variant roughly 50% more contagious than the original virus is wreaking havoc elsewhere in the country, even as many states are racing to open up their economy. What that means for the Bay Area is that no one can really say which direction this will go, Swartzberg said. If were going to err, lets err on the side of being conservative. In the Bay Area at least, there wont be much opportunity to reopen further any time soon. On Thursday, San Francisco unveiled an expanded orange plan that will take effect next week and allow some low-key business expansions and the resumption of certain indoor events. The tier movements happen every Tuesday, and this coming week is the first time in two months that no Bay Area county will advance. Now the earliest San Francisco or any other county could move to the yellow tier is April 20. Napa County was at risk of being moved to a more restrictive tier next week, but California released new rules tying low hospitalization rates to tier movement that will likely keep it in orange. With a goal of beating back the virus by June, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that he will end the states color-coded reopening tiers on June 15 and permit almost all sectors of the economy to open at or near full capacity, assuming the state continues to meet aggressive vaccination goals and hospitalizations for COVID-19 remain low. Most Bay Area counties have so far vaccinated no more than half of their adult residents. Those rates may accelerate after Thursday, when everyone at least 16 years old will become eligible for a shot. But limited supplies of doses remain a problem in California and other states. Once weve passed a critical threshold of vaccinations, well probably feel a little more at ease to open, said Dr. Jahan Fahimi, an emergency room physician at UCSF who treats COVID-19 patients. Marin County has vaccinated 62% of residents aged 16 and above, a Chronicle review of records shows. San Francisco, Sonoma and San Mateo counties have vaccinated about 50%, while most others, including Napa, Santa Clara and Alameda counties are not yet at the halfway mark. Most of us would like to see that number at 70% before reopening, Fahimi said. Philip, San Franciscos health director, said that vaccinations will be our ticket out of the pandemic. Yet this period when cases are creeping up, when variants remain unpredictable and when vaccinations have not yet reached critical mass is not the right moment for counties to leap ahead to reopen, she said. Noting that San Franciscos hospitalizations have also risen slightly in the past few days, although they remain much lower than during the pandemics three surges, Philip said that reopening now would make it that much harder to prevent a surge. We were on such a roll, werent we? she said of the declining case counts since the winter. I think we will get there. But we dont know exactly when that will be. Nanette Asimov and Meghan Bobrowsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com, meghan.bobrowsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov, @MeghanBobrowsky Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-10 20:11:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on April 10, 2021 shows the SS Ventnor Memorial in Far North, New Zealand. A dedication ceremony was held on Saturday in Far North, New Zealand, for SS Ventnor Memorial to commemorate the unique bond between Chinese and Maori since the steamer sank. (Photo by Ding Hao/Xinhua) AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 10 (Xinhua) -- A dedication ceremony was held on Saturday in Far North, New Zealand, for SS Ventnor Memorial to commemorate the unique bond between Chinese and Maori since the steamer sank. The SS Ventnor was a British ship, chartered in 1902 by the Cheong Sing Tong, a charity organization led by Dunedin businessman Choie Sew Hoy, to carry the remains of 499 Chinese gold miners back to their homeland to be buried by their families according to Chinese custom. The ship sank near Hokianga Heads in Far North, New Zealand on Oct. 27, 1902, leading to the death of 13 crews as well as the loss of the remains of the near 500 bodies. Names of the 499 Chinese gold miners were read out in the ceremony on Saturday for the first time in more than 100 years since the ship sank. In 2007, descendants of the early Chinese settlers discovered that after the SS Ventnor sank, remains had drifted ashore and were gathered and cared for by the local Hokianga Maori tribes. Since then, formal relations started between New Zealand Chinese community and the local Maori tribes and the making of the memorial was brought up. The wreck of the boat was discovered in 2014 and is now a National Heritage Site in New Zealand. The SS Ventnor Memorial, after years' of dedicated work of New Zealand Chinese community lead by the New Zealand Chinese Association with government funding support, was established at the Hokianga Harbour in December 2020. At the ceremony, New Zealand Chinese Association president Richard Leung recalled the history backgrounds around the SS Ventnor Memorial and said that he was proud to witness the memorial being built and having the Chinese and Maori communities together for the ceremony. "The Memorial may be about the past, but we built it for the future. This is for all New Zealanders. The care, the respect and the guardianship shown are the values that we share. No matter who you are, Chinese or Maori, Pakeha or Pacific, we share these values," said Leung. New Zealand Minister for Maori Crown Relations Kelvin Davis, talked about the spiritual path when a Maori person passes away. "Your ancestors were joining here with our ancestors' spiritual route. They lie here with us and they are at home," said Davis. New Zealand Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon delivered his speech in Maori at the ceremony. He talked about the tradition of the Chinese Qingming Festival in commemorating the ancestors, saying he was grateful for the joint efforts in the making of the SS Ventnor Memorial. The dedication ceremony on Saturday was also attended by representatives from the New Zealand Chinese Community, many of them descendants from the early Chinese settlers, local Maori tribes and New Zealand government ministers and representatives. Enditem The contraption that raised eyebrows at a recent small-tire race in Kansas may look like a longer-than-usual wheelie bar, but it's actually a better way to hang weight behind the rear bumper. The bars extend several feet off the Mustang's rear end to support removable ballast, thus removing the need to put weights in the trunk.The concept is actually simple. The further out the weight is, the less you need to balance the car. "In my opinion, this makes the car safer, because a lot of people that are racing on poor surfaces are putting 250-pounds or more in the trunk. As far as mine is hanging out there, its a lot less than that," Hiykel explains, according to DragZine In order to use the bar, Hiykel also had to fit the Mustang with a pair of "not your regular" front shocks so that the tires remain in contact with the asphalt. Still, the Beater Bomb has enough power to launch into big wheelstands, so keeping the car balanced is a delicate matter.Does it create a significant advantage at the drag strip ? Well, Hiykel is still testing and fine tuning the concept. Right now, I dont have many passes on it, so its harder to use it to my advantage, but once I get it manageable and get some more data, I think itll be a game-changer for me," he says.But he might not have a lot of time to test and improve the weight bar. Hiykel says that while some people praised the contraption as innovative, other racers felt it should be illegal."Several racers that felt threatened by it thought it was dangerous. I feel like they saw its advantages and felt it should be illegal and shouldnt be allowed. I foresee them outlawing it at some places, but maybe itll just become a thing where, man, that guy was crazy enough to try that, props to himI dont know," he added.I definitely like the idea, especially since the weight carrier also works as a wheelie bar. It's great to see that racers still come up with outside-the-box ideas so here's to Beater Bomb not getting outlawed from too many events. Now check out this crazy contraption in the videos below. New Delhi, April 10 : Strong acceptance of e-commerce and digitisation is expected to accelerate the growth of India's auto sector, advisory firm Grant Thornton Bharat said. Accordingly, India's automobile market is estimated to grow more than '2.3X' from $222 billion currently to $512 billion by 2026. Notably, the analysis by Allied Market Research, Market Line, Reserve Bank of India and Grant Thornton Bharat showed that e-commerce portals focused on the automobile market, such as Droom, Cardekho, and Olx have put consumers and the user experience in the spotlight helping the manufacturers attract more users. Besides, the growing base of internet and smartphone users will further boost the digital transformation, and lead to an increase in expanding the market size of the e-commerce portals. "The strong emergence and acceptance of the online channel have provided an impetus to seamless solutions, price discovery, transparency, digital real-time payments along with certification on the quality of the vehicle for the consumers in the auto sector," said Rahul Kapur, Partner, Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat. According to the analysis report, since last year, Maruti Suzuki saw a five-fold increase in sales through digital means which now stand at 20 per cent of their total sales. "These changes in consumer's buying and research preferences signal a shift for the auto sector, as Covid19 played a big part in the online channel gaining traction." "Technology-enabled innovations like secure digital payments, hyper-logical logistics, analytics-driven customer engagement, increasing consumer awareness and digital advertisements are likely to support the growth going forward." As per the report, other factors such as rising middle class and young population with increasing disposable incomes will contribute towards growing the sector. Furthermore, ease of owning a vehicle through the availability of multiple financing options as well as reduction in vehicle ownership tenure due to regulatory rules in some states, cited the report as other growth inducing factors. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text ADVERTISEMENT Gunmen described as cattle herders have killed eight workers at a mining site in Kuru, Plateau State. The incident occurred at about 7 p.m. on Friday at a mining site belonging to Cabitex Company in Jos South Local Government Area of the state, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Governor Simon Lalong has expressed sadness over the attack and directed security agencies to fish out the killers. Dalyop Mwantiri, an official of Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria (ECCVN), a non-governmental organisation based in Plateau, also confirmed the incident. In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, he listed the names of the eight workers. The Secretary-General of Kuru Development Association, Chapo Daniel, also condemned the attack. (It is) a heavy loss that drills mourners with heavy hearts; we are saddened with the bad news of the loss of our people who went for their legitimate businesses in this harsh economic period, but were ambushed and eight killed while others sustained several degree of injuries as a result of the attack by assailants suspected to be herdsmen, he told ECCVN. It behoves on government and its security agents to double up in addressing the trending security challenges being witnessed in Plateau, especially Kuru and its environs in order to avoid recurrences as well as violent reactions that might arise as a result of inaction from its part. Its also imperative to speed up preliminary investigation aiming at apprehending and arresting violent actors that had played part in the unfortunate development, bearing focus on some security information and happenings unfolded prior to the invasion, said Mr Mwantiri. Governor Lalong described it as another desperate attempt by criminals to destabilise the state and create fear among the people. According to a statement by his spokesperson, Makut Macham, Mr Lalong directed the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act which is capable of disrupting the substantial peace prevailing in the state. While commiserating with the families of those who were killed and those who sustained injuries, Lalong reiterated his charge to security agencies to resolve such attacks as excuses of unknown gunmen will no longer be tolerated. Governor Lalong also advised the citizens to assist law enforcement agencies with useful intelligence, leveraging on structures such as the traditional institutions, community police constabulary, vigilante groups and other associations. NEW DELHI -- India reported another record number of new COVID-19 infections on Friday and daily deaths hit their highest in more than five months, as it battles a second wave of infections and states complain of a persistent vaccine shortage. Evoking memories of the last national lockdown when tens of thousands of people walked on foot back to their homes, hundreds of migrants in badly affected Mumbai packed into trains as bars, malls and restaurants have again been forced to down shutters. One of those fleeing was Surender Puri, who recently lost his job as a cook at a restaurant in Mumbais suburb. There is no other option for me except to return because cooking is the only skill I brought to Mumbai, said Puri, 31, as he waited to board a train back to his village in the countrys east. The fledgling exodus could also spread the virus to Indias smaller towns and villages. The second surge has already been faster than the first, which peaked in September last year with 97,000 cases a day. The worlds second most-populous country reported 131,968 new infections and 780 deaths on Friday - the biggest daily increase in fatalities since mid-October. Most of the cases again came from Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located. Indias overall caseload has swelled to 13.06 million - the third-highest after the United States and Brazil - and total deaths to 167,642. Indias total number of infections inched closer to Brazils 13.28 million. The government blames the resurgence mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks as businesses had nearly fully reopened since February, only to be partially shut down again as case have galloped. 'Casual approach' Election rallies, where politicians including Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah have greeted hundreds of thousands of supporters, most of them not wearing masks, continued this week despite the record surge in cases. We all know that its because of the casual approach that has been adopted unfortunately by the society and some sort of laxity everywhere in following the discipline of the COVID- appropriate behaviour, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told a news conference, explaining the unexpected spike. He denied on Thursday there was any shortage of shots for the groups eligible for vaccination, with more than 43 million doses in stock or in the pipeline. India has been inoculating about 4 million people a day, tough only to those aged over 45 and health and front-line workers. But several states, which are not ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modis party, have disputed the ministers claim and said they were rationing vaccines as the federal government was not refilling stocks in time. Rahul Gandhi, the face of the main opposition Congress party, blamed the Modi government for exporting tens of millions of vaccine doses instead of focusing on immunisations at home. Was the export of vaccines also an oversight, like many other decisions of this government, or an effort to garner publicity at the cost of our own citizens? he asked in a letter to Modi. He also sought for an immediate moratorium on vaccine exports. The government said on Thursday domestic demand would dictate future shipments but there was no export ban. Young unaccompanied migrants that range in age from 3 to 9 sit inside a play pen at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, the main detention centre for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley, in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/Pool via Reuters) Biden Administration Opening Facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania to House Illegal Immigrant Children President Joe Bidens administration on Friday announced plans to open facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania as officials struggle to care for the surging number of illegal immigrant minors crossing into the United States from Mexico. The emergency sites in Albion and Erie will together have a potential capacity of 888 beds. Both are designated for children aged 12 and under who cross the border without a parent or other responsible adult. The children are known as unaccompanied minors. The number of illegal border crossers soared in March, Bidens second full month in office, topping 172,000, a jump of over 71,000 from the month prior. The number of unaccompanied minors more than doubled to 18,890. The figures do not include people who crossed the border and evaded U.S. officials. Border Patrol has been overwhelmed by the surge in illegal immigrants, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told The Epoch Times last month. All our good intentions are being overwhelmed by the pure numbers of people coming in, he added. Border Patrol is the initial point of contact for border crossers. After a period of time meant to be three days or less in Border Patrol facilities, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transfers the immigrants to facilities across the country. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, part of HHS, is opening the new emergency intake sites in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Border Patrol agents apprehend about two dozen illegal immigrants in Penitas, Texas, on March 11. 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) The Albion facility will be at the Starr Commonwealth campus. The Erie facility will be at the Pennsylvania International Academy. The office has a program that includes over 200 facilities in 22 states but has been forced to open at least 11 new sites to handle the sharp increase in unaccompanied minors, including several at U.S. military bases. The Trump administration was expelling young immigrants who crossed the border but once Biden took office, he directed all minors to be accepted into the country and quickly united with a sponsor, usually a parent or other family member, already in the country. Administration officials have described the change as part of an effort to develop a more humane immigration system. Stephen Miller, one of former President Donald Trumps top immigration advisers, has said the policies incentivize parents to send their children on long, dangerous treks to the United States alone. HHS was caring for nearly 17,000 unaccompanied minors as of April 8. Another 3,881 were in Border Patrol custody. Republicans and some Democrats have repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for its reversal of key Trump-era policies, arguing the changes have spurred the spike in illegal immigrants crossing the border. Families from Central America walk towards the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on rafts in Penitas, Texas on March 26, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) This is out of control. Its the middle of the night. Weve seen dozens of children flow freely across the border in just the past few minutes. This is the reality of Joe Bidens disastrous amnesty agenda, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in a video from the border on April 9. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency, meanwhile, told news outlets that it reached an agreement to pay for 1,200 hotel beds and other necessary services for illegal immigrants in Texas and Arizona. Under the contract, shelter is intended to be short-term, and generally less than 72 hours, for immigration enforcement processing including establishing appropriate terms and conditions of release. All families will receive a comprehensive health assessment to include COVID-19 testing, the agency said. Some of the hotels are in Chandler and Phoenix, the office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said. Sinema recently spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and has called on the Department to provide more resources in Arizona to manage the flow of migrants, the office said in a statement. Senator Sinema is continuing to monitor the situation and will hold Secretary Mayorkas and DHS accountable for protecting Arizona communities and ensuring all migrants are treated fairly and humanely, it added. ADVERTISEMENT Adetutu Ajayi, the traditional ruler of Ewu Ekiti in Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State, has been shot by hoodlums. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the traditional ruler was shot on Friday night on his way to a neighbouring community, Ayetoro Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of the state. Mr Ajayi who, however, escaped with serious injuries on his legs, arms and stomach, is currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed tertiary medical facility. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident. Mr Abutu said the command was worried that such attack could be launched in spite of unrelenting joint security patrol and raiding of black-spots to dislodge criminals. He said the police command in the state was committed to ridding the state of criminal elements and assured the residents that the perpetrators would be brought to book. The PPRO said that the command would continue to work with sister security outfits to ensure that criminality was wiped out of Ekiti. Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Council of Obas has called on security agencies to apprehend the hoodlums and bring them to book. The Chairman of the council, Adebanji Alabi, expressed concern over the increase in banditry and other criminal activities in the country. He called on government and security agencies to increase their level of surveillance on the state with a view to reducing crimes. (NAN) LONDON Buckingham Palace said on Saturday that Prince Harry would be returning to Britain for Prince Philips funeral next weekend, setting in motion fevered speculation about whether the reunion would mend fences in the royal family or sow deeper discord. The visit, Harrys first since stepping down as a senior royal last year, will force a meeting with his brother, Prince William, and father, Prince Charles, who Harry said in an explosive interview last month were trapped in an unhappy palace life. But Harry will travel without his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who palace officials said would remain at the couples California home on doctors orders because she is in the latter stages of pregnancy. For weeks, while the world awaited Oprah Winfreys interview last month with Harry and Meghan, the eyes of many Britons were fixed on the health of Philip, Harrys grandfather, who had been hospitalized with a heart condition. Newspapers pictured Prince Charles in February leaving the bedside of Philip, his father the sons eyes bloodshot as he was driven away. Harry and Meghan were castigated for comments about leaving their royal roles that detractors saw as ill-mannered in light of Philips illness. Have They No Respect? the Daily Mail screamed. British ports under pressure from Brexit and coronavirus-fuelled stockpiling surges have caused UK businesses to face vastly higher container shipping costs than those on the continent, new data suggests. Figures from the logistics company Freightos found problems affecting some of the nation's busiest ports has meant the average cost of shipping a 40-foot container rose as much as 380 per cent between last October and mid-February. Containers shipped from Shanghai to Felixstowe, Britain's busiest container port, cost just under $11,000 on average at the peak, up from just over $2,000 last October. The cost of shipping to the port of Southampton rose by a similar amount. The cost of shipping to the UK has increased since last October and British importers are paying far more than their continental counterparts By contrast, the average cost of shipping a container from Asia to Northern Europe rose by a lower but still sizeable 268 per cent, peaking at around $8,455 in mid-February. Freightos said UK importers had been particularly badly affected as they rushed to get shipments in ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, on top of a demand for goods and shortage of containers during the pandemic. British businesses have also been hit harder by congestion and other problems facing the nation's ports, with Felixstowe in particular having faced significant problems. This is Money first reported on the problems facing the Suffolk port, which accounts for nearly half of UK imports, last September. Meanwhile, some shipping lines opted to reroute containers to Southampton due to delays at Felixstowe, causing costs to rise there too. Ports have previously been blocked by containers filled with personal protective equipment imported by the Government, and have faced a double-whammy of staff shortages and an unprecedented increase in orders. One Essex-based freight forwarder, who acts as a middleman between shipping lines and import businesses, told This is Money that the data 'just shows you what we've all been saying. 'The UK is some $2,000 more expensive than mainland Europe because ports there are running with less demand and delays so it's cheaper', he said. The Port of Felixstowe was found by IHS Markit to be one of the worst-performing ports in Europe, with ships spending 8 hours unloading there compared to an average of its rivals Figures from IHS Markit released last year named Felixstowe as one of the worst-performing ports in Europe and Asia, with ships being unloaded over a period of 32 hours on average. Some other UK ports took close to 10 hours less, while the average among 12 comparable ports was 24. As a result, some of the world's largest shipping lines imposed surcharges on containers shipped to the likes of Felixstowe last year. In the latest update posted on its website on 6 April, the port said 95 per cent of containers were available for collection within 10 minutes of unloading, and the turnaround time for hauliers was around 30 - 40 minutes on average. The Port of Felixstowe was found by IHS Markit to be one of the worst-performing ports in Europe, with ships spending 8 hours unloading there compared to an average of its rivals A spokesperson for DP World, which runs Southampton's container terminal, said: 'When our teams at Southampton have dealt with additional traffic over the past year, they have worked tirelessly to ensure that our operations remain within normal parameters so our customers' goods reach their ultimate destinations in good time. 'DP World Southampton is Britain's second largest container terminal because of our long history of reliability and maintaining high service standards for our customers.' The spiralling shipping costs and delays at ports have meant some businesses, many of which are actually enjoying a boom in sales, have faced rising costs of their own. The manager of a Leeds-based flooring seller which enjoyed a record year of sales told This is Money in February that the hike in container charges from major shipping lines was 'insane'. James Langton, 39, said he had been invoiced nearly $16,000 for one container from China, and higher import costs were costing the business around 1.50 more per square metre of imported material. James Langton, general manager of Leeds-based Luxury Flooring. The company has enjoyed a record year of sales He told us: 'Prices have been rising since Christmas and every time we think they can't get any higher. We can't sustain $16,000 per container ad infinitum or without passing costs on. It's no way to grow a business.' Logistics firms and sellers alike had hoped for a 'slack season' after Chinese New Year, which would see a manufacturing backlog eased, empty containers returned to the Far East and shipping costs fall. But while Freightos's figures suggested rates had plateaued in February and had begun to fall after Chinese New Year in late-February, some analysts said they had not fallen by as much as had been hoped. 'We saw the rates peak in the run up to Chinese New Year with levels of up to $15,000, and it is true that we did see a plateauing and even slight decrease following this, although the decrease was not to the extent the industry anticipated it to be, which would have been down to around $9,000', the logistics firm Woodland Group said. Helen White, founder of House.com, which imports lighting manufactured in China, told This is Money her shipping costs had declined more slowly than had been hoped and first thought. 'We are being quoted for about $8,200 in March which is much better but still four times the amount we paid in November', she said. And for some other businesses, the increases have yet to stop. Ben Charlton, business manager at Hanson Natural Stone, which sells stone for paving, driveways and walls to households and tradesmen said there was 'no sign of prices falling anytime soon'. Paving importer Ben Charlton said his Mansfield-based business was facing the highest import costs in its history Container costs for the business, based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, had risen from $1,750 in 2019 to $3,600 last month, and were continuing to spiral in the first fortnight of April, he said. He added the company had 'covered the costs of that to provide the affordable luxury we promise our customers' but warned keeping prices low 'won't last long with the increases we are seeing'. Meanwhile delays at Felixstowe, where the business primarily imports, also cost it money in the form of refunds and loss of sales 'due to promised arrivals not being met'. He said: 'We have an extremely unreliable system. When I first started in this industry nine out of 10 times if a ship stated a date of arrival we could pretty much count on this, now with UK port delays the ships regularly arrive well past the stated estimated time of arrival.' And any potential improvement in the situation may also have been hit by the six-day blockage of the Suez Canal by the 400m long container ship Ever Given. The blockage prevented billions of dollars' worth of goods passing through one of the world's busiest trade routes. The 400m long Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal for 6 days in March Although it has yet to register on average container rates, Woodland Group said at the end of last month it had led to delays in arrivals to UK and European ports and to congestion in ports in China. It said it would 'impact the industry for months to come' and 'result in further congestion and a lack of containers' which would likely result in higher shipping costs from mid-April. Felixstowe said it expected to be 'very busy' due to a build up of delayed vessels. 'It is thought that we won't get back to normal rates this year, which could be difficult for many retailers', Helen White told This is Money. 'We do seem to be battered by problem after problem at the moment. With Brexit, the Ever Given and coronavirus it has been a bad year for the shipping lanes.' TORONTO, April 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Canada Nickel Company Inc. ("Canada Nickel" or "the Company") (TSXV: CNC) (OTCQB: CNIKF) is pleased to announce that, further to the Company's news release on February 17, 2021 (that Canada Nickel had entered into a binding letter of intent with Noble Mineral Exploration ("Noble") to consolidate ownership of certain claims in MacDiarmid and Loveland Townships (the "Transaction")), Canada Nickel has now entered into a longer-form option agreement with Noble, has received conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange, and plans to close the Transaction as soon as possible following the issuance of this news release. The Transaction options 39 additional mineral claims (the "Option") adjacent to the original MacDiarmid property option previously announced on July 13, 2020. In exchange for the Option, Canada Nickel has agreed to (i) issue 200,000 common shares of Canada Nickel to Noble, (ii) forgive the $160,224 amount currently owed by Noble to Canada Nickel, (iii) take all steps as are commercially reasonable to transfer $500,000 in assessment credits to Noble, and (vi) Noble will retain an NSR of up to 1.75%. Under the terms of the Option, a 60% interest in the claims will vest in Canada Nickel provided Canada Nickel funds at least $100,000 of exploration and development expenditures on the claims within 18 months. An 80% interest in the claims will vest in Canada Nickel provided Canada Nickel funds at least an additional $150,000 (for a total of $250,000) of exploration and development expenditures on the claims within 36 months. Canada Nickel will also be responsible for exploration expenditures and other costs required to maintain the claims in good standing (and to make certain related filings). If the conditions to earn a 60% interest or 80% interest have been satisfied, a joint venture would be formed between Canada Nickel and Noble on such proportionate basis. Issuance of Shares in Connection with Other Timmins Mining Claims The Company would also like to announce that it has (i) entered into an option agreement to acquire certain patented mineral and surface rights located in Timmins, Ontario for consideration at completion of $75,000 in cash and 10,000 common shares (annual option payments payable to maintain the option are $60,000 cash and 5,000 common shares on each anniversary date until 2025; and in the event the Company elects to acquire the property a final payment of $460,000 in cash and 5,000 common shares); and (ii) an acquisition agreement to acquire certain concessions also located in Timmins, Ontario for consideration at completion of $120,000 in cash and 48,000 common shares. Any shares issued under these arrangements will be subject to a four month hold period under applicable securities laws. About Canada Nickel Company Canada Nickel Company Inc. is advancing the next generation of nickel-cobalt sulphide projects to deliver nickel and cobalt required to feed the high growth electric vehicle and stainless steel markets. Canada Nickel Company has applied in multiple jurisdictions to trademark the terms NetZero NickelTM, NetZero CobaltTM, NetZero IronTM and is pursuing the development of processes to allow the production of net zero carbon nickel, cobalt, and iron products. Canada Nickel provides investors with leverage to nickel and cobalt in low political risk jurisdictions. Canada Nickel is currently anchored by its 100% owned flagship Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project in the heart of the prolific Timmins-Cochrane mining camp. Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, future exploration and development results, and corporate and technical objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals, the future demand for metals, the results of drilling, inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the property, environmental liabilities (known and unknown), general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, results of exploration programs, risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals, and the impact of COVID-19 related disruptions in relation to the Company's business operations including upon its employees, suppliers, facilities and other stakeholders. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. Canada Nickel 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 law. SOURCE Canada Nickel Company Inc. For further information: Mark Selby, Chair and CEO, Phone: 647-256-1954, Email: [email protected] Related Links https://canadanickel.com/ Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Xiaomi and Oppo are reportedly planning to develop custom 5G chipsets. The two Chinese companies plan to launch their in-house sub-6GHz 5G chip between late 2021 and early 2022, according to a report by Digitimes. Xiaomi and Oppo would be competing with Qualcomm and MediaTek, the biggest mobile chip manufacturers globally. The report adds that Unisoc is also joining the race with its own 5G chip along with Xiaomi and Oppo. Digitimes quoted industry sources in Taiwan on the latest 5G chip development by the Chinese smartphone brands. There isnt much else revealed about the custom chips from Xiaomi, Oppo and Unisoc. But with a launch timeline that isnt too far away we could be actually seeing 5G chips from Xiaomi and Oppo. This would also make the two companies less dependent on chip makers Qualcomm and MediaTek. The report comes shortly after Xiaomi teased a new chip ahead of the Mi 11 Ultra launch. Its not a mobile processor but an in-house imaging processor. This is also the first one it created since 2017 when it debuted its first in-house chipset, Surge S1. The Surge S1 is equipped with eight Cortex-A53 processing cores, four clocked at 2.2GHz and the other four at 1.4GHz. The Surge S1 uses a quad-core Mali-T860 for graphics. Xiaomi and Oppo preparing its own 5G chips could also keep the companies prepared for a situation that Huawei is facing due to US restrictions. Huawei had to stop developing its custom Kirin chipsets from TSMC due to the restrictions imposed by the US government. This news also comes amid China increasing its semiconductor development so it becomes less dependent on other companies. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Pete Buttigieg:13 4/9/2021 And I also would argue that theres ample evidence that American corporations can be competitive at a tax rate like 28, for the simple reason that they were extremely competitive at a tax rate like 35. If they could handle 35, surely they can handle 28, which was lower of course, is lower would be lower than its been for most of my lifetime. more details or full transcript can be found here some user comments can be found here youtube YEREVAN, APRIL 10, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations reports that several roads are closed across Armenia. The ministry told Armenpress that the roads leading to the Amberd Fortress and Lake Kari in Aragatsotn province are closed. The Georgian side informs that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan The dangers threatening the jobs and livelihoods of workers around the world resulting from rampant speculation in financial markets have been graphically exposed by the recent collapse of two financial firms, Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital. Both firms, which were heavily backed by some of the worlds biggest banks, have collapsed with billions of dollars of debts. Now one of those banks, Credit Suisse, which is estimated to have taken a hit of at least a $4.7 billion from the demise of the two firms, is seeking to carry out a liquidation operation that threatens the jobs of tens of thousands of workers. Its target is the GFG Alliance of Sanjeev Gupta which owns companies employing workers in metal manufacturing in Britain, Europe and Australia. Guptas operations were financed to a large extent by Greensill which in turn was in debt to Credit Suisse. Whyalla steel works (Source: Wikipedia) It is claimed that Guptas company owes around $5 billion to Greensill. This week, following similar action in UK courts, Citibank, acting on behalf of Credit Suisse filed an insolvency application against GFGs OneSteel Manufacturing, which operates the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia (SA) and GFGs Tahmoor Coal in New South Wales in the NSW Supreme Court. Proceedings are expected to begin on May 6. The legal position is that Credit Suisse has to prove that the GFG entities are insolvent. If the liquidation move were successful, it would trigger the appointment of an administrator who would then have to determine the future of the operation. Whyalla has a population of 22,000 with around 1,800 directly employed in the steelworks. Hundreds of small contractors would also be hit. In a statement issued by GFG Alliance this week, a spokesman said the Australian Mining and Primary Steel (MPS), which includes OneSteel and Tahmoor Coal, had received multiple offers from large investment funds and is advanced due diligence. GFG said the current proposals would provide enough cash to repay the creditors of MPS. However, any statement emanating from Guptas company about its operations needs to be taken with a very large grain of salt. Earlier this month the Financial Times (FT) reported that the Greensill administrator in Britain had been unable to verify invoices supposedly underpinning loans to Gupta. It said the disputed invoices raise questions over other transactions underpinning billions of pounds of loans from Greensill to Gupta. The financing of Guptas Liberty Commodities trading firm operated though a facility in which Liberty exchanged bills for customers in exchange for cash. Greensill would be paid when the customer had settled the invoice for the goods it had purchased from Liberty. According to the FT report, however, several companies had disputed the veracity of the invoices. One company said it had been approached about an outstanding invoice but had not traded with Guptas company. We know them, but a trading relation between us does not exist, its manager said. Gupta has also maintained that the debt to Greensill is not due for another three years and none of his steel plants would close. Im committed to all steel plants, especially to Australia, he said in an interview this week. There is nothing that will happen to this business under my watch. Anyone who takes these comments as good coin should consider the remarks by Lex Greensill in February just three weeks before his company collapsed under a mountain of debt. In a speech to staff, which was recorded and has since been published, he said: One of the things that is a really important detail for us to be aware of is just the incredible strength that weve built in our supply chain finance funds. He claimed Greensill had enormous amounts of liquidity that are available to us for our assets across the spectrum. Less than a month later his operation had gone under. The threat hanging over the Whyalla steelworks has attracted the attention of both the South Australian and federal governments. The SA government said it had canvassed the possibility of establishing an emergency plan to provide bridging finance. Federal finance minister Simon Birmingham said the Morrison government was monitoring the situation closely and was doing the type of contingency thinking and planning that would be prudent in these sorts of circumstances. He referred to the previous intervention in 2016 when Arrium, the previous owner, collapsed with debts of $2 billion and the government arranged financing before it was taken over the Guptas company in 2017. The following year it purchased the Tahmoor metallurgical coal mine from the global mining giant Glencore. Birmingham said it was a complicated process. The way the legal obligations work on administrators is such that they have to be very cautious about what extra debts they accrue whilst theyre in the process of paying out the existing liabilities and trying to find new owners. He said the government was working closely with the SA government and was being mindful of how we could respond if we need to, depending on how these legal and financing matters proceed. These comments are a warning that government is not going to simply intervene to save the Whyalla steelworks and that it will continue as before if the liquidation of Guptas company goes ahead. As an article in the Australian noted, while the Whyalla operation might be profitable at the present it remains an ageing asset that lacks the scale to compete on the global market without a substantial and costly reinvestment program, and Tahmoor is a relatively marginal metallurgical coal operation, otherwise Glencore would still own it. In other words, even if there is some kind of bailout it will be accompanied by a major restructuring which, like all such operations in the past, will have at its centre deep attacks on the jobs and conditions of workers. There are indications that Labor leaders are preparing to mount a nationalist campaign, tied to the development of war industries to save the plant. Echoing the remarks of SA Liberal Treasurer Rob Lucas that steel was clearly important to the national government and to the nation, local Labor MP Eddie Hughes said: The plant at Whyalla is an important part of our sovereign manufacturing capacity and is strategically important. Whatever the outcome of the immediate crisis, one thing is clear: steelworkers cannot allow their fate to be determined by speculative and often outright criminal activities of the financial oligarchy, nor put it in the hands of governments which serve their interests. They must begin to develop their own independent response, which will necessarily be developed in opposition to the trade unions that have presided over the destruction of vast sections of industrythe closure of the car industry being only one of the most significant examples. They need to begin a discussion on the development of independent rank-and-file committees to prepare for the struggle immediately ahead. This requires a socialist program to meet the enormous dangers posed by the ongoing and deepening crisis of global capitalism out of which the threat to jobs, wages and working conditions arises. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category April 10 : Major crisis is looming large on Bollywood yet again. With the second coronavirus pandemic threatening the country once again, and with Mumbai been one of the hotspots with massive spike in COVID-19 cases, a major crisis is haunting Bollywood yet again. Mumbai is witnessing complete lockdown on weekends as well as night curfews. On top of it, owning to the massive spike in COVID-19 cases in the city, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has issued some new guidelines for the film industry particularly strict rules for shootings. Under such a situation, filmmakers are not only putting on hold shootings but are also cancelling the release of their films once again. In fact, the country-wide surge in coronavirus cases starting showing its impact on the shooting schedules of films, which are getting halted keeping in mind the safety angle of the cast and crew of the projects. Film shooting are getting suspended not only in Mumbai but also across Indiabe it Inspector Avinash in Rishikesh, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in Mumbai or Fukrey 3 in Delhi. Today, it is reported that Ajay Devgn has put on hold the last shoot schedule of his directorial venture MayDay. The film went on floors in December last year. In the schedule that was been shot recently, megastar Amitabh Bachchan shot for the film in Mumbai. Anees Bazmees film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 starring Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu among others, first got halted when Kartik tested COVID positive a few weeks back. Now, after Kartik tested negative and was ready to resume shoot, work has been suspended yet again. Filmmakers are facing uncertain situations and waiting for the producers to give the green signals for the shootings. Recently, Ram Setus shooting was suspended after its lead actor Akshay Kumar tested positive. Bachchan Pandey shoot has also been put on hold. Meanwhile, Pankaj Tripathi, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal were supposed to shoot for Fukrey 3 in Delhi, but the shooting of the film has been suspended indefinitely. The team of filmmaker Imtiaz Alis production Maazi, starring Gajraj Rao, is also returning to Mumbai from Ujjain after shooting was halted. The FWICE guidelines also say that crowd sequence, songs or dances with large number of people have to be avoided. Filmmakers have also started postponing the recently announced release dates of their ventures. Today, Kangana Ranaut starrer Thalaivi team has announced that they have decided to postpone the release of the film owning to an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases. The film was slated to release on April 23. Earlier, Rohit Shetty had announced that his much awaited film Sooryavanshi, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, was postponed. The film was supposed to be released on April 30. However, not all shoots are coming to a complete stop. Zoya Akhtars team is still shooting for the second season of Made in Heaven in Delhi, which includes Arjun Mathur and Sobhita Dhulipala. The shooting of the web series Hush Hush is still going on in Delhi. Shooting for Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abrahams Pathan is also underway in Mumbai. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) 10 Shares Share In my medical school admissions essay, I wrote about helping at-risk kids like myself. I wanted to be a child and adolescent psychiatrist, but that wasnt the main reason for applying. The real reason I applied was for my own personal survival. I needed to learn how to talk to doctors about my symptoms and get an appropriate level of care. For years, my doctors told me that my illnesses and pain were caused by stress; in my gut, I knew a diagnosis was behind it. With the help of the medical education I received, I worked closely with my doctors and was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune disorders and am now receiving treatment. As a student with disabilities, I could once again function and become a doctor to help those kids, or so I thought. My first experience with discrimination in medical education involved the white coat ceremony before orientation, which included a recital of the Hippocratic Oath. It was a ritual I was not comfortable with but forced to perform on that fateful day. The Hippocratic Oath is mentioned as an ethical standard, yet it was formed on the basis of a caste system that denied others basic human rights. From then on, I saw discrimination everywhere, marked as a proud badge of honor to becoming a physician. It was a glaring problem, in my opinion, that I wanted to fix, but without the power or support to voice my opinions that it needed to change. In the back of my mind, I was hoping that it was more of a tradition than a way of life in medicine. To my dismay, as I navigated the complexities of medical education, I sought others like me in the field and found them, mostly hiding their disabilities, far removed or absent from the sphere in which they were experts. Instead, replacing them were ultra-healthy and physically fit medical doctors without personal knowledge of abnormal and limited relatability to patients with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Once the COVID pandemic was upon us, I was mortified by discussions in medical circles about medical futility, and how to choose which patients receive precious resources, such as medicine and ventilators. I was horrified and scared to realize that doctors think that they should pick those who were worthy of saving. They discussed making these decisions based upon a patients functional status, chronic health conditions, age, among others, rather than talking directly to their patients about these life decisions. This meant that at least 40 percent of American lives could be compromised by someone who personally knows little about their illnesses, disability, and preferences for care. People with disabilities are not surprised to hear this, as they have experienced this cruelty before. And I was just beginning to see the perils they face on their journey navigating medical care. Throughout history, people with disabilities have been discriminated against and mistreated in medicine, despite the professions standard of benevolence. Reports of physicians using their power over those with disabilities include cases of neglect, involuntary institutionalization, forced medical procedures such as sterilization, denial of life-saving medical treatment, and abuse. Although modern society has shunned these acts as human rights violations, discrimination still takes place covertly and is accepted in the culture of medicine. Discrimination in medicine starts with medical school admissions. Technical standards ensure denial of applicants with a lack of normal abilities. This view, termed ableism, believes that providers who cannot meet these exclusive high standards are devalued, and are not fit to be physicians. Although not based in scientific research, these standards exclude people with disabilities from becoming doctors. Recently, the American Association of Medical Colleges has denounced these standards, and now recommends medical schools changing them to reflect inclusivity. Subsequently, student classes do not fully represent the disability community, as only a roughly estimated 1 to 2 percent of medical students are disabled. Those that make it in with disabilities, face discrimination at every step along the way. Schools review accommodation requests from students internally, in private meetings, on the basis of whether the requests are reasonable. Grading is determined by comparing students abilities against other normal students. Physicians are unaware of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and some believe medicine is not bound by the law, further compounding the discrimination. In addition, there is a lack of training in disability cultural competence, leading to ignorance of providers as well as the hesitancy of current doctors with disabilities from speaking out in fear of professional stigma and bias. This leads to continued discrimination while in training and beyond, ultimately affecting patients in the end. Many patients with disabilities fail to receive the care they need, and when they do receive care, it is ineffective and inappropriate. Consequently, people with disabilities have poorer health and use a larger proportion of health care than their counterparts who are not disabled. A deep distrust for medical institutions by those with disabilities has thus followed. The statistics are so appalling that the Federal Government issued a Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons With Disabilities and the New Freedom Initiative that specifically calls for doctors to have knowledge and tools to treat people with disabilities holistically and with dignity. Some argue that standards ensure minimal competency, protection of patients, fair judgement of skill and non-preferential treatment. While they initially intended to ensure an exclusive and high standard of training for physicians, in reality, it excludes people with disabilities from participating in medicine which negatively impacts patient care. Instead, disability cultural training needs to be incorporated into medical school curriculums, with steep fines for those institutions failing to graduate students with disabilities. At some point in their lives, everyone will likely become disabled, so we must welcome those with different abilities and attempt to provide everyone with an absolute minimum of care. Additionally, patients believe a provider who they can identify with will provide better informed care over a healthy, fit physician. There is a moral imperative to convert medical education into an inclusive enterprise for those with disabilities, as patients, co-workers and the government will continue to insist that this goal is advanced in the interest of all. If not to protect our patients and our profession, then to save our co-workers and ourselves. Letitia Tomaszewski is a medical student. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here The author says that when the owner of a business moves from rainmaker to architect, the company can break beyond the sales plateau, increasing the profits and the companys worth. A higher power magnification image shows the structure and density of SARS-CoV-2 virions (red) produced by human airway epithelia. (Photo: Ehre Lab, UNC School of Medicine) Image Source: IANS News Toronto, April 10 : A team of researchers has found that children may not be as infectious in spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, to other people as previously thought. According to the researchers, including Jared Bullard from the University of Manitoba in Canada, the findings have important public health and clinical implications. "If younger children are less capable of transmitting infectious virus, daycare, in-person school and cautious extracurricular activities may be safe to continue, with appropriate precautions in place, and with lower risk to childcare staff, educators and support staff than initially anticipated," said Bullard. For the study published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), a team of fourteen researchers analysed samples from 175 children and 130 adults in Manitoba infected with SARS-CoV-2 to see if there was a difference in infectiousness. Using cell cultures of nasopharyngeal swabs, they investigated viral loads in both groups to determine if children were more infectious. "As an increasing number of jurisdictions consider whether in-school learning, daycares and extracurricular activities should continue or resume, a better understanding of the relative contributions of children and adolescents to SARS-CoV-2 transmission, when compared with adults is essential," the reseasecher said. "This is particularly important given the increased likelihood of asymptomatic infection in this group," they added. Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, Union Agriculture Minister Saturday appealed to the farmers protesting at Delhi borders to call off their long-running agitation, saying the government is ready for a discussion whenever they come with a concrete proposal. Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the three new agri-marketing laws for nearly five months now, braving the raging pandemic. There has been no headway in the logjam over the issue since January 22, when the 11th and the last round of formal talks happened between the Central government and the protesting farmer unions. Tomar expressed concerns about the farmers' health and wellbeing as India witnessed a record surge of over 1.45 lakh coronavirus cases on Saturday. "Now in the second wave of pandemic, the entire nation and the world is following COVID-19 protocols. Even protesting farmers should follow the protocols. Their life is important for us," Tomar said. In the current COVID-19 situation, I urge them (agitating farmers) to call off their protest. The government is ready for a discussion whenever they come with a proposal," he told reporters. Stating that there is no "dissatisfaction" among the farming community across the country over the new farm laws, the minister said many farm bodies in fact are in the favour these legislations, while some are opposing them. "Ours is a democratic country, be it farmers or citizens, if they have any doubt, the government believes it is its responsibility is to clear doubts and find a solution," he said. The minister said the three laws were not drafted all of a sudden, but there was a long discussion in the past and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken it forward, he said. He said that normally any protest continues if the government is not ready for talks. But this government has held with open heart 11 rounds of discussion with representatives of protesting farm unions, yet their agitation did not stop, he said. In these meetings, the government had identified their concerns and offered them a proposal to suspend the laws for 1.5 years and set up a committee to examine them. "We proposed that a committee be set up to look into these laws and the MSP (issue) also. After the committee submits its report, the government will discuss. This proposal was welcomed across the country, but the protesting farmers rejected it without citing any reason," he said. Farmers could have resumed their protest had they found the proposed committee's recommendations unsatisfactory, he added. "We had told farm unions to come up with their own proposal and we were ready for discussion on that also," the minister said, asserting the government is ready for talks even today. Tomar reiterated that he had appealed to the farmer unions in all 11 rounds of meetings to send back senior citizens and children from the protest sites in view of the pandemic. The minister also said the agitating farmers should understand that ordinary citizens are facing difficulty due to their sit-in protest at the border. India reported a record 1,45,384 fresh cases Saturday, pushing the tally to 1,32,05,926. The number of active cases also breached the 10-lakh mark again after around six-and-a-half months, while the death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,68,436 with 794 more fatalities, the highest since October 18 last year. Delhi, meanwhile reported 7,897 cases and 39 new fatalities Saturday. (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.) ADVERTISEMENT The North-west zonal congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was on Saturday disrupted by violent party members in Kaduna. The congress ended abruptly after the supporters of the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, clashed with those of a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, at the event. The PDP held congresses on Saturday across Nigeria to elect party officers for five of the six zones of the country. That of the South-west has been rescheduled for Monday. The warring supporters destroyed ballot boxes before voting could start, forcing observers and other officials to flee the scene. The main subject of the dispute was the position of zonal National Vice Chairman. Mr Kwankwaso is at odds with former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, who leads a rival faction of the PDP in Kano. Earlier on Saturday, Mr Kwankwaso also accused Mr Tambuwal of meddling in the affairs of the party in Kano as part of preparation for the 2023 presidential race. Its unfortunate that Mr Tambuwal in his opinion doesnt want us from the Kwankwasiyya faction to be elected for the positions, the former Kano governor said on BBC Hausa service. We heard the report that Mr Tambuwal purchased the form for Senator Hayatu Gwarzo, a man whom we had accused of anti-party activities in Kano. All these are part of his preparation for 2023. They are making efforts to whittle down our support, Mr Kwankwaso said. However, Mr Tambuwal dismissed Mr Kwankwasos claim as baseless accusations against his personality. Mr Tambuwal said, prior to the congress, they all agreed at a meeting at the residence of former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa in Sokoto that any aspirant willing to contest should do that without restraint. I didnt buy form for anyone as alleged by Mr Kwankwaso, he knows me better. I never meddled in the Kano PDP crisis between himself and the other groups, Mr Tambuwal said. You are here: Business Taiwan's exports to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong hit 15.91 billion U.S. dollars in March, up 35.5 percent year on year, the island's economic affairs department said on Friday. In the first quarter, Taiwan's exports to the mainland and Hong Kong amounted to 42.01 billion dollars, hitting a record high, the department said in a statement. Imports from the mainland and Hong Kong rose 23.8 percent year on year to 6.89 billion dollars last month. In March, Taiwan's total exports expanded 27.1 percent year on year to 35.89 billion dollars, while its total imports rose by 27 percent from a year earlier to 32.23 billion dollars. Electronic goods, IT products and base metals were the most ordered export commodities in terms of their value, according to the statement. Exports are likely to continue to expand at a double-digit rate in the second quarter as the fundamentals of the global economy improve and the demand for chips and electronic products remains high, the statement said. 100% Website bazeuniversity.edu.ng uses latest and advanced technologies like: Php. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 295756 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 94711 bytes (92.49 kb uncompressed) and 13876 bytes (13.55 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-10, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 19:05:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Guests wave flags at the breakthrough ceremony of Paka tunnel in Paka of Terengganu State, Malaysia, April 9, 2021. The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), Malaysia's mega rail project jointly constructed with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), saw on Friday the first tunnel breakthrough in Terengganu state. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei) PAKA, Malaysia, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), Malaysia's mega rail project jointly constructed with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), saw on Friday the first tunnel breakthrough in Terengganu state. The breakthrough ceremony of the 1.1-km long single-bored Paka tunnel was attended by officials and representatives of project owner Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) and CCCC. Despite major challenges faced during the construction period including work suspensions and strict containment measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, the tunnel site team managed to achieve the breakthrough ahead of schedule, according to MRL and CCCC. Expressing his appreciation for the excellent work progress at Terowong Paka, MRL Chairman Mohd Zuki Ali said the hard work and commitment of about 100 ECRL personnel in carrying out the tunneling works have contributed to the breakthrough. All other related tunnel civil works are expected to be fully completed by the first quarter of 2022. "Today's tunnel breakthrough is a result of mutual assistance and collaboration between MRL and CCCC that put into practice top-notch technology, equipment, planning, and safety aspects in tunnel engineering and construction," said Mohd Zuki. For his part, CCCC's Managing Director for ECRL Bai Yinzhan thanked the ECRL project team from both sides for putting in efforts in accomplishing the first tunnel breakthrough and other project milestones. "In the past 12 months, we had faced many challenges, including the pandemic and severe flooding along the East Coast. But our workers together with our local partners have put in relentless efforts to ensure the project stays on track while adhering to strict enforcement of the applicable standards of procedures to keep our workplace safe," said Bai. The ECRL runs from Malaysia's largest transport hub Port Klang and travels across the peninsula to Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia. The rail link is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to the country by linking its less-developed region on the East Coast to the economic heartland on the West Coast upon its completion in 2026. Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said earlier this week that the construction work of the ECRL is "in full swing" and is progressing at an "encouraging" rate of 21.39 percent as of March 2021. The works at more than 300 locations will commence by the year-end involving earthworks, bridge construction works as well as tunnel works which will drive the construction of the ECRL into its peak period, he said. Enditem Step up regulation of pork products: FTU The FTU said it is 'very worried' about the safety of Taiwanese meat products. Photo: RTHK The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) on Saturday expressed concern about pork from Taiwan which may contain chemicals that are banned on the mainland, the European Union and Russia. Since the beginning of the year, Taiwan has been importing American pork which contains additives that are used to increase muscle leanness, but may aggravate cancers and chronic diseases. The group said many pre-packaged foods sold in Hong Kong do not clearly state the origin of their meat, adding that it is important for the government to enact laws to make it mandatory for the relevant information to be displayed on all processed meat products. FTU lawmaker Luk Chung-hung also called on officials to step up inspections on meat products from Taiwan to better safeguard food safety in the territory. In the longer run, he said the government should ban or at least further tighten restrictions on the use of leanness-enhancing feed additive. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 10, 2021 Prime Minister Netanyahu The result of the fourth election in two years clearly points to the dysfunction of Israels political system and the many fault lines of Israels democracy. Sadly, personal rivalries rather than political platforms that address foreign and domestic policies rule the day. Last month, Israelis went to the polls for the fourth time in two years. Not surprisingly, like all three previous elections, the result of the fourth one provided no clear winners. Israels political system is effectively broken. Thirteen of the nearly forty political parties that ran managed to cross the threshold and earn seats in the new Knesset. Ironically, hardly any of the parties ran on specific foreign and domestic policies that would advance the greater interest of the nation. Instead, what looms larger than their socio-economic and national security policies and peace, is the personal ambition of the parties leaders who, almost with no exception, feel they are the most qualified to become prime minister. Following intense horse-trading, whoever ends up forming the next new coalition governmentwhether it be the camp that wants to unseat Netanyahu or if Netanyahu himself manages to establish the next right-wing governmentthe prospect that the new government will last the whole four years is practically nonexistent. Any future government will be composed of several parties who do not see eye-to-eye on many of the pressing issues facing the country. As a result, the government more often than not settles on the lowest denominators as each coalition partner must compromise on critical issues, which often leads to paralysis both on foreign and domestic policies. One example: the three preceding governments led by Netanyahu failed to pass even a national budget, as no member of the coalition could agree on the appropriation of funds deemed necessary to run his or her ministry. The sadder part is that if you were to ask any of the aspirants for the position of Prime Minister, be that Naftali Bennett, the leader of Yamina, Yair Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid, or Netanyahu, or any other party leader what their vision of Israel is 10 or 15 years down the line, I do not believe that any of them can articulate such a vision. Now that Netanyahu has been given the mandate to form the next government, as in the past, the discussion between the various parties will be limited almost exclusively to what ministry each of the coalition partners can control, how much money will be appropriated to the ministry in question, and the prerogatives that each minister can exercise. The past three Netanyahu-led governments made no progress on any single issue of critical importance to the future of the country. To begin with, there is no discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as if by ignoring it, it would simply disappear. The fact remains that every day that passes without a solution, the conflict becomes ever more intractable. Now that there is a new US administration, the new Israeli government should be prepared to deal with President Biden, who differs dramatically from his predecessor in that he believes in a two-state solution and opposes any further annexation of Palestinian territory. The second disastrous problem Israel faces is the horrifying socio-economic gap. It is hard to imagine that in a country with a thriving economy, the poor are becoming poorer and the rich richer. What is astounding is that even pre-pandemic, more than 21 percent of the Israeli population is under the poverty line (it has skyrocketed to 29.3 percent this year). The majority of those affected are the elderly (including 1 in 4 Holocaust survivors), ultra-Orthodox, Arabs, and single parents; many Middle Eastern Jews still bear the brunt of historic poverty and continuing economic and social inequality. Billions are spent on settlement construction and security while scores of neighborhoods of poor Israelis are left to rot. The third problem Israelis refuse to acknowledge is that the Israeli Arab parties, which represent more than 20 percent of the population, have never been invited to join a coalition government, as they are assumed to be untrustworthy and should be politically marginalized. It is hard to fathom how the majority of Israeli Jews expect the Israeli Arabs to be loyal citizens when they are systematically discriminated against at every turn. It is time for Israel to think of the futureand the future does not bode well for Israel as long as such a huge minority is not integrated into Israels socio-economic and political streams. There are several other major problems that none of the Israeli parties are discussing, let alone finding a long-term solution for what to do with Iran and for how much longer the quiet war between the two countries will go on before it explodes into an all-out war. For how much longer the state of no war and no peace can be sustained with Hezbollah. What to do with Hamas, and if Israel can maintain the blockade for another decade before a new deadly explosion occurs. The fact that Israel normalized relations with several Gulf Arab states offer no solution to these and other challenges. Four elections in two years, and possibly heading for a fifth one, offers no way out of the acute challenges the country is facing. The Israeli public and their leaders are basking in the illusion that the country is economically prosperous, militarily powerful, and technologically dominant, and that these should sustain it indefinitely. This is all an illusion; what sustains Israel is social cohesiveness, which is wanting; peace with the Palestinians, which is becoming ever more farfetched; equality among the citizenry, which is lacking; and finally, enlightened and visionary leadership, which is tragically absent. Indeed, Israel is in desperate need of another Ben-Gurion or Rabina morally imbued leader with a vision, who will fight for Israels future wellbeing and its very soul. It is the hour of need that produces such a visionary new leader to rise. The time is now. PLC ( ) said that trading during the first four months of the current financial year has continued well and is in line with its expectations. In a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting on Tuesday, the UKs largest property franchise said revenue increased from its three key income streams of residential lettings, property sales and financial services. Belvoir pointed out that its franchisees - across all three brands - completed on ten portfolio transactions in the period under its Assisted Acquisitions programme, adding 3.2mln network revenue, nearly 2,500 managed properties and 0.3mln per annum of recurring management service fees (MSF). The firm said it is seeing an unprecedented number of smaller independent lettings agents choosing to withdraw from the sector in the face of increased legislation and the previously announced ban on tenant fees, now expected in the Spring of 2019. At meeting with Ukraine's PM, G7 Ambassadors reaffirm importance of fulfilling terms of IMF stand-by arrangement, EU macro-financial assistance G7 Ambassadors at a meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stressed the importance of fulfilling the conditions of the stand-by arrangement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and macrofinancial assistance of the European Union. "G7 Ambassadors met PM Denys Shmyhal yesterday for a wide-ranging discussion. They reaffirmed support for Ukraine's reform efforts and the importance of meeting the agreed conditions for the IMF stand-by arrangement and EU Macro-Financial Assistance," the G7 Ambassadors said on Twitter on Saturday. In addition, the G7 Ambassadors "acknowledged the ongoing challenges of COVID-19." They discussed the reforms of Ukraine's military industrial complex; the importance of good governance across the full range of economic activity. The diplomats also called on Ukraine to further contribution to global efforts to climate change, the ambassadors said. Little was known about Bill Hwang until this week, when a trading fiasco put a spotlight on the $20 billion fortune he lost. A Korean American immigrant who was once a protege of Tiger Management founder Julian Robertson, Hwang ran his own fund called Tiger Asia Management. At its height, the firm accumulated more than $10 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg. Soon after, however, Hwang became the subject of an investigation by U.S. securities regulators, who accused him of using confidential information from private placement offerings to short-sell three Chinese bank stocks. Upon settling the claims and paying more than $60 million in fines and disgorgements, Hwang shut down Tiger Asia and opened Archegos as a family office. Related: Sallie Krawcheck's Ellevest Reaches $1 Billion in Assets Under Management As Bloomberg notes, Hwang, a deeply religious man, would often draw on his faith in explaining Archegos' portfolio, which consisted of investments in big tech companies like Netflix, Amazon, LinkedIn and Facebook. And as his involvement in his faith-based circle grew, so too did his trading activity. Despite Hwang's previous run-in with the SEC, lenders such as Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley continued to partner with him, all while Hwang secretly and increasingly traded via swap agreements and grew his leverage in the same stocks such as those in ViacomCBS and Discovery that some of his banks had exposed him to. By 2017, Archegos had approximately $4 billion in capital. A few years later, Hwang was able to increase his net worth from $10 billion to $50 billion, the New York Post adds. But things went south last week, when ViacomCBS on which Archegos had bet massively and tripled its shares in four months saw its $3 billion stock offering through Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan fall apart, CNBC reports. That, in turn, led some brokers to frantically exit the positions on Archegos' behalf. Although Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo managed to escape relatively unscathed, others including Credit Suisse, Nomura and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. were less fortunate. Nomura alone lost an estimated $2 billion, according to CNBC. Altogether, Wall Street banks that had partnered with Archegos reportedly liquidated $20 billion worth of assets. "This is a challenging time for the family office of Archegos Capital Management, our partners and employees," Karen Kessler, a spokesperson for Archegos, told the network, in the aftermath of one of the biggest and fastest financial losses in history. "All plans are being discussed as Mr. Hwang and the team determine the best path forward." Related: A Math Teacher Went From Earning $5,000 a Month to $28,000 Thanks to 6 Strategic Money Decisions Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Head of Monitoring Unit of the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu has called for a conference of fetish priests to be held in Ghana. He was discussing the recent murder of an 11-year old boy by teenagers at Kasoa in the Central Region. The suspects, Felix Nyarko, 16, and Nicholas Kini, 18, allegedly murdered Ishmael Mensah Abdallah for money rituals. Charles Owusu wondered why the fetish priests are not creating money for Ghana to develop. He noted that if the fetish priests indeed they have magical powers to manufacture or double money for people, they should use it for a noble cause by reviving Ghana's financial sector. He expressed disgust over the activities of the fetish priests rebuked them for deceiving and causing people to kill for money. Making submissions on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Charles Owusu sarcastically said; "I hope we will one day have a conference of fetish priests who can double money to double the money of the economy because Ghana has a monetary challenge. But you see, it's a mind game; they're just using their minds," to swindle 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 The Anti-Defamation League called on the Fox News host Tucker Carlson to resign in an open letter published on Friday, accusing him of giving an impassioned defense of the white supremacist great replacement theory. Mr. Carlson, in an appearance on Fox News on Thursday, referred scornfully to the term white replacement theory, which describes a racist conspiracy theory popular in far-right circles, while arguing that the Democratic Party was trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters, from the third world. He added that naturalized citizens were diluting the political power of him and other Americans. Everyone wants to make a racial issue out of it, Ooh, the white replacement theory, Mr. Carlson went on. No, no, no, this is a voting rights question. I have less political power because they are importing a brand-new electorate. Why should I sit back and take that? The power that I have as an American, guaranteed at birth, is one man, one vote. And they are diluting it. The A.D.L. letter, signed by Jonathan A. Greenblatt, the Jewish advocacy groups chief executive, said that the language by Mr. Carlson was not just a dog whistle to racists it was a bullhorn. Amounts of organic molecules in planetary systems differ from early on An international group of scientists led by the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research have studied the chemical composition of 50 protoplanetary-disk forming regions in the Perseus Molecular Cloud, and found that despite being in the same cloud, the amounts of complex organic molecules they contain are quite different. Interestingly, the chemically rich young disks have similar compositions of organic molecules. These findings raise an important question: do solar-like systems share a common chemistry at birth? It was once believed that complex organic molecules were rare in the universe, and that this rarity might be a reason we have not found evidence of life outside the earth. However, in the last two decades it has become clear that these molecules are common. According to Yao-Lun Yang, who led the research as a member of the Star and Planet Formation Laboratory in the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, and is now at the University of Virginia as a VICO Origins postdoctoral fellow, "Today, scientists have begun to systematically survey protoplanetary disks--disks where planets eventually form around a star--in the hope of determining how these molecules form, how common they are, and what impact they have on planetary systems." Though scientists have looked at individual systems, there is little comparative data to understand these young stars as a group. The RIKEN-led group decided to use observations from the ALMA observatory in Chile, which thanks to its high resolution allows scientists to study chemical compounds in protoplanetary disks. The observations required more than three years to complete. The group surveyed the emission from organic molecules at specific frequencies in very young disks. They looked at methanol and acetonitrile, as well as two larger molecules, methyl formate and dimethyl ether. They found that different regions had large variation in the abundance of methanol and acetonitrile, though intriguingly, the relative abundance between the two species was remarkably similar. According to Yang, "This implies that there is a common production mechanism of these two molecules, and this give us important hints on how they form in space." In addition, the abundances of methyl formate and dimethyl ether tended to be higher relative to methanol in denser regions, hinting that there is something about the denser conditions that allows them to be abundant. Their findings were published by the American Astronomical Society last week in The Astrophysical Journal. According to Nami Sakai, leader of the Star and Planet Formation Laboratory, "This raises important questions regarding how special the chemical environment of the infant Solar system is. We will be able to answer this question in the future by examining the chemical evolution of the gas surrounding young protostars. We hope that such knowledge will be a base for understanding the origin of life on the Earth. ### This story has been published on: 2021-04-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Chinese envoy urges U.S. to immediately lift unilateral sanctions Xinhua) 09:53, April 10, 2021 VIENNA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. promise on lifting unilateral sanctions must be put into action immediately, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Friday, after a meeting with other senior diplomats concerning the Iran nuclear deal. "Regarding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, China and the parties concerned clearly expressed their concerns at the meeting, and it must be lifted immediately," Wang told Xinhua after the talks on the resumption of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the United States and Iran. Wang said that "such sanctions problems were all caused by the previous U.S. government's illegal sanctions on entities and individuals that implemented the JCPOA." He stressed that the lifting of these sanctions is "not only a bilateral issue, but also an important aspect of safeguarding the JCPOA, which is the result of multilateralism." "We have noticed that the U.S. side recently released some positive messages about the lifting of such sanctions, and we call on the U.S. to take practical actions immediately to facilitate the complete and effective implementation of the JCPOA," Wang added. The Joint Commission of the JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again on Friday, following Tuesday's meeting. The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the U.S. withdrawal in 2018. Wang told Xinhua that Friday's meeting was "constructive in general, as all parties have actively implemented the consensus reached at the joint ministerial meeting last December, and that the parties were moving in the right direction." Intensive work has been carried out upon the two processes launched in the current meeting, namely, the nuclear implementation and sanction-lifting working groups' work, and the "proximity talks" with the United States, Wang said. "Through these four days of meetings, the differences between the parties concerned are narrowing, and we have seen the momentum towards gradually forming a consensus among parties concerned. And this has created a beneficial atmosphere for the next step towards a good prospect," he added. Wang said the parties will continue negotiations here next week. "We hope that the positive and constructive momentum of this week's meeting can be continued." "Vienna is the place where the negotiations on the JCPOA started and reached," Wang said. "China hopes that Vienna will also witness all parties reaching an arrangement for the United States and Iran to resume the implementation of the JCPOA." (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Evidence for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones as effective treatment very low': NHS England Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment There is little evidence to show that prescribing puberty-suppressing drugs to children and adolescents suffering from gender dysphoria is beneficial in any way, according to a review by the NHS' National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NHS England commissioned a study into the use of puberty-blocking drugs amid heightened scrutiny of the Tavistock clinic in London, the lone gender clinic in England, and a review of the government health system's gender identity services. NICEs assessment found that "existing studies of the drugs were small and 'subject to bias and confounding,'" BBC Newsnight reported. The review studied "the clinical effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues for children and adolescents aged 18 years or under with gender dysphoria. ... GnRH analogues suppress puberty by delaying the development of secondary sexual characteristics," the NHS explained in its review, titled, "Evidence review: Gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogues for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria." The agency examined the impact of the hormone blockers on gender confusion and mental health including anger, anxiety, and depression and general quality of life and concluded that the quality of evidence for these outcomes was assessed as very low certainty." NICE also found that it was difficult to find evidence from existing literature due to how the studies were designed. The available studies do not have control groups, are all small, and do not describe the physical and mental health comorbidities young people might have in addition to gender dysphoria. "Any potential benefits of gender-affirming hormones must be weighed against the largely unknown long-term safety profile of these treatments in children and adolescents with gender dysphoria," NICE said. As to the clinical effectiveness and safety of cross-sex hormones, NICE said they were also of "very low" quality. The assessment, which was prepared in October and published on March 11, will now help inform a formal independent review that was set in motion last year. BBC Newsnight's coverage of the issue has received pushback from transgender activists and their allies. In response to attacks against BBC's coverage, Deborah Cohen, BBC Newsnight's health correspondent, tweeted: "Enoughs enough. In the last 24 hours @hannahsbee & I have been called dishonest journalists, unethical, accused of killing children, liars...All for highlighting the lack of good evidence for an intervention used on kids & reporting on whistleblowing concerns at an NHS service." The NHS' review comes on the heels of recent legal developments in the U.K. regarding the medical practices used to "treat" children suffering from gender dysphoria. In a high court decision in December, judges ruled against the Tavistock clinic, finding that youth younger than 16 cannot give informed consent to puberty blockers under the Gillick competency, the U.K.'s standard by which youth can consent to medical treatment. The ruling also expressed concerns about the experimental nature of the treatment and the profound impact that it has and criticized the clinic for poor record-keeping and its failure to gather other relevant patient data. A subsequent decision in March held that parents are allowed to consent on behalf of their children for these contested practices without first obtaining a judge's approval, which was seen by some as a partial reversal of the previous ruling. The Tavistock judicial review was brought about in part because of the efforts of Keira Bell, a 24-year-old detransitioned woman, who identified as transgender during her teen years and took puberty blockers at the clinic. As is the case with most youth who start taking the hormone blockers, Bell continued on with cross-sex hormones. As a young adult, she underwent a double mastectomy. Bell said in an essay this week that she is now focused on helping troubled young people. A lot of girls are transitioning because theyre in pain, whether its from mental-health disorders, or life trauma, or other reasons. I know what its like to get caught up in dreaming that transitioning will fix all of this, Bell explained, adding that mental health professionals need to create better models to help young people struggling with gender dysphoria. I do not want any other young person who is distressed, confused, and lonely as I was to be driven to conclude transition is the only possible answer. I was an unhappy girl who needed help. Instead, I was treated like an experiment, she said. News Chicago, Illinois - An Illinois man was sentenced today to 162 months, the equivalent of 13 years, in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization. Edward Schimenti, 39, of Zion was convicted by a federal jury in 2019 on one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS, and one count of making false statements to the FBI. According to court documents, Schimenti advocated on social media for violent extremism in support of the terrorist group. In 2015, Schimenti began meeting with undercover FBI employees and individuals who, unbeknownst to Schimenti, were cooperating with law enforcement. During the meetings, Schimenti discussed his devotion to ISIS and his commitment to ISIS principles. In 2017, Schimenti furnished cellular phones to one of the cooperating individuals, believing the phones would be used to detonate explosive devices in ISIS attacks overseas. On April 7, 2017, Schimenti drove with the cooperating individual to OHare International Airport in Chicago, with the understanding that the cooperating individual would be traveling to Syria to fight with ISIS. Co-defendant, Joseph D. Jones, 39, of Zion was also convicted of a conspiracy charge and sentenced last month to 12 years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois, Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Departments National Security Division, and Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBIs Chicago Field Office made the announcement. The Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and David Rojas of the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Alexandra S. Hughes of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case. The number of accused criminals applying to have their cases heard by a judge rather than a jury has increased as new data shows more people have been acquitted in judge-only trials. Applications for judge-alone trials before the County Court have increased ahead of the temporary measure ending at the end of the month, with 20 applications in the past two months alone, compared to 21 in the first five months of operation. Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd believes matters involving complex scientific evidence could better suit a judge-alone trial. Credit:Paul Jeffers While Victorias head of prosecutions hasnt ruled-out supporting judge-alone trials as a permanent option, major legal organisations backed the continued availability of the trials. If consented to by the accused, judge-alone trials would help reduce trial times and costs and could also help to improve transparency because of the requirement of judges to provide written reasons for their decisions, Law Institute of Victoria president Tania Wolff said, warning the right to a trial by a jury was still fundamental. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Local politicians voiced their support this week for a communitys efforts to have a sidewalk installed on a busy street. The Advance/SILive.com reported Monday that for decades an unpaved sidewalk along Trantor Place in Elm Park forces people to walk into oncoming traffic, particularly when the area gets muddy. On Tuesday, Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) said shed been in contact with Staten Islands city Department of Transportation (DOT) Borough Commissioner Roseann Caruana. The city DOT handles sidewalk maintenance in the five boroughs. She said its her understanding that the city is working to determine who owns the property in order to know whose responsibility the sidewalks are on three pieces of vacant properties that are separate from the homes on the block. The city is willing to install sidewalks when it has the ability to do so and will work with the state to have this done, Rose said. The borough commissioner and I will have a more in-depth meeting to ensure this process moves forward as quickly as possible. Photo composite shows the year-round conditions that can make an unpaved Elm Park sidewalk unnavigable. (Photos courtesy: Everett Wattley) A city DOT spokesman previously said theyre investigating who owns the properties. City records dating back to 2015 indicate that the state Department of Transportation owns the three lots, but a spokeswoman repeatedly denied their ownership of the property ahead of Mondays story. On Friday, a different spokesman for the state DOT said theyre conducting their own ownership review regarding the properties, and will be working with the city and local community members. Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore) said Friday that he saw the need in the area, and also helped bring a state DOT cleanup to the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway. He said he was glad the city was working to determine who owns the property. After visiting the location, I could see the area was in dire need and I am happy to see that action is finally taking place, he said. With this in mind, we still need the New York City Department of Transportation to assess sidewalk placement and cleaning of water basins. Currently, all that pedestrians have to walk on is a dirt path, forcing them to walk in the busy street when the path becomes muddy from rain, snow and drainage backup. To make it more than mere art appreciation is a real challenge, Dr. Dugdale told me. You butt up against people in medicine who see no value in this, or see it as a little bit of an ornament, because of the two things that determine anything of value in medicine: whether it brings in money and whether it can be quantified. People say the arts make you feel good and reflect, but there are patients to see, theres revenue to generate. So, do your wellness thing and then come back to reality. Yet the time may be right for the medical humanities to gain a new hearing even though they represent, in some ways, a return to a very old approach to understanding health. For ancient and early modern thinkers, medicine was not wholly distinct from theology or natural philosophy: an imbalance in the physical body or environment troubled the soul and vice versa. We can be grateful for scientific progress since the days when feeling sick might bring you to your local surgeon-barber for a bloodletting while also acknowledging that earlier societies grasped something about the human condition that modern medicine has lost. For two thousand years we had an interdisciplinary approach, a mind-body idea of health that was fluid and holistic, Fay Bound Alberti, a historian of medicine at the University of York in Britain, told me. It was only in the 19th century that medical specializations emerged dermatology, cardiology, disciplines that go down to the most precise detail of the body, and that bring detachment and separation. The pandemic has made disciplinary boundaries blurry again. This is the moment for champions of the medical humanities to strike. To make sense of disproportionate Covid death rates in Black and Latino communities or white evangelicals vaccine resistance, researchers need to consider everything from the history of redlining to theologies of Gods judgment. They cannot afford to stay in highly specialized lanes or rely solely on the familiar quantitative methods of the medical sciences. The humanities and social sciences do more than shed light on the cultural context of disease. They can also help doctors connect with patients as multidimensional beings. Skyler Kessler, a medical student at Washington University in St. Louis, has known he wanted to be an emergency room doctor since high school. As an undergraduate at the university, he minored in the medical humanities, taking courses in ethics and the history of medicine. I figured it would be incredibly useful in my future career as a physician, he told me. I knew a large portion of medicine would involve listening to patients stories, and thats a skill you have to develop, to be able to listen and hear, and better communicate. I knew I would gain that skill by writing papers, making arguments and engaging in discussion. In large science courses, I wasnt engaging in discussion. Since the early 2000s, the rise of a field called narrative medicine has exposed students to creative writing, history, film, anthropology and other disciplines to teach radical listening and creativity to improve outcomes for both patients and caregivers, in the words of Columbia Universitys Narrative Medicine program. Citing equity reasons, San Francisco health officials on Friday opened up vaccinations to residents 16 and older in select ZIP codes. The move by the San Francisco Health Network, the health care delivery arm of the citys Department of Public Health, comes just before all Californians 16 and older become eligible for the vaccine next week. The ZIP codes 94124, 94134, 94107, 94110, 94112, 94102, 94130 and 94103 are located in the following neighborhoods: the Bayview, Hunters Points, Visitacion Valley, Portola, Sunnydale, Excelsior, Mission, Oceanview, Ingleside, Balboa Park, Potrero Hill, the Dogpatch, Mission Bay, SoMa, Tenderloin and Treasure Island. The state of California provides discretion to providers serving high impact areas on who to vaccinate to support prioritization of communities most impacted by the pandemic, San Franciscos COVID Command Center said in a statement to The Chronicle on Friday night. San Francisco is expanding vaccine eligibility and offering COVID-19 vaccinations to those 16 and over ahead of the April 15, 2021 citywide expansion in neighborhoods most impacted by the pandemic. Two of the eligible ZIP codes are also on the states list of 400 lowest-income ZIP codes being prioritized for vaccine access. Residents can drop-in to the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or the Southeast Health Center in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood also daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Individuals ages 16 and 17 must go to the General Hospital since its giving out Pfizer the only shot theyre eligible for while the Southeast Health Center administers Moderna. The San Francisco Health Network opened up vaccines to its patients 16 and older last week, and Alameda County likewise recently opened vaccine access to residents 16 and older in select ZIP codes. A few other counties Contra Costa, Butte and Stanislaus have already opened up vaccines to all residents 16 and older, regardless of ZIP code. Meghan Bobrowsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: meghan.bobrowsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MeghanBobrowsky Xuecheng (c), the abbot of Beijing's Longquan Monastery, prays during a memorial event in China's Shanxi Province on Dec. 3, 2017. He was the former head of China's government-run Buddhist association and a Communist Party member. He was under criminal investigation for alleged sexual assault in 2018. ( STR/AFP/Getty Images) Under a Communist Regime, Priests and Monks in China Hold Religious Events Ahead of the CCPs Centenary This year marks the centenary of Chinas ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the religious groups in the country held various activities to observe the upcoming occasion. During the Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Festival or Chinas Memorial Day) on April 4, Buddhist and Taoist temples in many provinces sent their monks to visit the tombstones and gravesites of communist martyrs and to pledge allegiance to the Party. The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association held a lecture on the CCPs history. According to the Chinese-language website Modern Buddhist, on April 5, about 100 teachers and monks from Hanshan College of Jiangsu Buddhist University went to the Suzhou Martyrs Cemetery to pay homage to the CCPs martyrsthose who sacrificed their lives in the early years of the revolution led by the CCP. They performed religious rituals such as chanting Buddhist scriptures, offering flower baskets and incenses, and sang the CCPs national anthem. Hanshan College pledged to guide the teachers and students to further strengthen the leadership of the Party, to carry on the will of the martyrs, and to adhere to the direction of the sinicization of Buddhism, Modern Buddhist reported. On March 25, the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which is not recognized by the Vatican, held a lecture on the history of the CCP. Chinese worshippers attend a holy communion during Christmas Mass at a Catholic church in Beijing on Dec. 24, 2009. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images) Recently, the CCP has further tightened control on religions in the mainland, making them part of the ideological state apparatus to serve the communist regimes agenda. Chinas State Administration of Religious Affairs officially issued the Administrative Measures for Religious Personnel on Jan. 18 this year, which will be formally implemented on May 1. The document stipulates that religious staff should support the leadership of the CCP and the socialist system, and the religious personnel will be assessed by this criteria as the basis for their rewards and punishments. Last November, Beijing convened the 14th meeting of the National Joint Conference of Religious Organizations. The heads of the five major religious groups in ChinaBuddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Christianitypledged to unify their thoughts and actions to implement the decisions made by the CCPs Party Central Committee and to engage in the sinicization of religion, according to a report by state-run media Xinhua. In 2019, Chinese leader Xi Jinpings portraits were hung and replaced religious symbols in various churches, according to Bitter Winter, a magazine on religious liberty and human rights in China. Cai Xia, a former professor at Beijings Central Party School and a vocal critic of the CCP, wrote on Twitter: The sinicization of religion proposed by Xi Jinping is the political abduction of religious leaders and their followers by the CCP! The sinicization of religion is a tyranny of the state. Its supported by state power, and openly promotes the politicization of religion, which is the unification of state and religion. Whether it is Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity or Islam, its clerical staff have in fact become the CCPs alternative propaganda department staff, performing the CCPs brainwashing mission, combined with maintaining stability for the regime and controlling the thoughts of believers and followers. After the CCP was founded in 1921, it vigorously promoted atheism. Not only did it wantonly destroy Chinese traditional culture, it also infiltrated traditional Chinese religions. The CCP has politicized religionthere are Party secretaries in the five major religious groups, and they are all operated under the Religious Affairs Bureau. Both the Chinese Communist Buddhist Association (established in 1952) and the Chinese Communist Taoist Association (established in 1957) wrote in their mission statements that they are under the leadership of the peoples government, which is in fact, under the leadership of the atheist Communist Party. Professor Sen Nieh of the Catholic University of America told The Chinese-language Epoch Times that the CCP is the root cause of the chaotic situation in the religious circles in mainland China. The CCP forces religious believers to obey the Party first, and the CCP is a powerful evil cult, he said. Li Tianxiao, a U.S.-based China affairs commentator, told the publication that religious worship and the belief in God should have nothing to do with politics. He said the current situation in China reveals that the CCP has always regarded religion as a political tool since the Party was founded. Farming in Vietnam has become more digitized, which has eased the workload and increased sales of products to people who live in other localities. In recent years, produce was often thrown away by farmers in harvest seasons because it could not be sold. Farm-produce "rescue" campaigns were then started by local authorities, ministries and individuals. However, for many farmers, this is no longer a concern thanks to digitization. Le Thi Dung, a farmer in Yen Khanh district in Ninh Binh province, said she understands the problems that farmers have faced, because she had to donate some of her unsold produce to schools and pagodas many times. In 2000, Dung began buying fields and land to organize large-scale agriculture production. But when Dung started, a lot of the work had to be done manually, which brought low efficiency, while her products did not sell because of the weak brand. Realizing the importance of technology in agricultural production, Dung became one of the first farmers to use information technology in their farms. The system measures and gives information about the status of the soil and environment, and suggests the time for watering and lighting, depending on the development stage of crops. The data collected by sensors is transferred to the central processing unit. The system analyzes the data and gives commands on the spot. There is no need to wait for the host. This hastens the regulation of the systems of irrigation, air conditioners and other instruments. The system maintains normal operations even if there is no internet connection to the host. Dung uses control boards or apps on smartphones to supervise all production activities and make timely decisions anywhere and at any time. The entire process of fertilizing, watering and taking care of crops is recorded automatically. Asked about the efficiency of the new model, Dung said in the past she had to hire 20 workers or even 40 workers in peak times, but now 10 workers are enough. The key products of Dungs farm are supplied to Ninh Binh, Hanoi and Hai Phong, available at retail chains that sell safe produce and are also used for export. The annual revenue of the farm has been VND19 billion in the last two years. Analysts say that digitization has important significance for Vietnam, as 68 percent of the population works in the agriculture sector. Duc Anh - Duc Yen Online stalls help rescue farm produce in North Hai Duongs first farm produce, including cabbage and chicken eggs, are being sold on voso.vn, an e-commerce website, while an online stall distributing Hai Duongs produce has been set up. Gun salutes have been fired across the UK, in Gibraltar and at sea to mark the death of the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99. Buckingham Palace said Philip died peacefully in his sleep at Windsor Castle on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday, leaving the Queen and the royal family mourning his loss. Saluting batteries began firing 41 rounds at one round every minute from midday on Saturday in cities including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well from Royal Navy warships. Ships taking part included HMS Diamond, HMS Montrose and HMNB Portsmouth, while the Royal Gibraltar Regiment joined the salute from the British overseas territory, the Ministry of Defence said. The public were encouraged to observe the gun salutes, which are fired to mark significant national events, on television or online, rather than gathering in crowds to watch outside. The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrive at Windsor Castle (Steve Parson/PA) Edward and the Countess of Wessex spent around an hour at the castle and Sophie told reporters the Queen has been amazing as they left Windsor in a Land Rover. Two of his sons, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex, arrived at Windsor Castle on Saturday morning, while the Prince of Wales visited his mother there on Friday. Details of the dukes funeral, due to take place at St Georges Chapel, are also expected to be released this weekend but the ongoing lockdown in England will affect plans. Philip, famously described by the Queen as her constant strength and guide, was known to have wanted a minimum of fuss at his funeral. The Queen described Philip as her constant strength and guide (Owen Humphreys/PA) Buckingham Palace said: During the coronavirus pandemic, and in light of current Government advice and social distancing guidelines, modified funeral and ceremonial arrangements for His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh are being considered by Her Majesty The Queen. Details will be confirmed in due course. Speaking on a BBC tribute on Friday evening, all four of Philips children remembered him as someone who had encouraged and supported them. Charles described his fathers life as an astonishing achievement while Edward said his father had a challenging role but carried it out with the most extraordinary flare, and had never tried to overshadow the Queen. Members of the 104th Regiment Royal Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute in the grounds of Cardiff Castle (Ben Birchall/PA) The Princess Royal said she would best remember her father as always being there, someone to help with a problem or bounce ideas off, and the Duke of York recalled Philip reading to the family in the evenings. An online book of condolence was opened on the royal familys official website for the public to post personal tributes, while a steady stream of mourners left flowers outside both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle on Friday. The Palace asked members of the public not to gather in crowds, saying: Those wishing to express their condolences are asked to do so in the safest way possible, and not to gather at Royal Residences. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. The monarch may give a televised address in memory of her husband of more than 70 years the longest-serving consort in British history but details of any possible broadcast have yet to be confirmed. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Philip would be remembered for his Duke of Edinburghs Award scheme, that had shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people, as well as his steadfast support for the Queen. US President Joe Biden highlighted the dukes decades of devoted public service, Second World War service and environmental efforts in remembering his legacy. During coronavirus lockdowns, Philip stayed at Windsor Castle with the Queen for their safety, alongside a reduced household of staff dubbed HMS Bubble. People leave flowers outside Windsor Castle on Saturday (Gareth Fuller/PA) The couple are thought to have spent more time together during the past 12 months, shielding from the virus, then they would in a normal year a throwback to the early years of their marriage. Philip had returned to Windsor Castle on March 16 to be reunited with the Queen after spending a month in hospital his longest ever stay. He initially received care for an infection but then underwent heart surgery for a pre-existing condition. Union flags were flown at half mast at all royal residences as a mark of respect and Westminster Abbey where the Queen and Philip married in 1947 tolled its tenor bell once every 60 seconds, 99 times, during Friday evening. A period of mourning is expected and any planned official royal events that fall within this period are likely to be postponed. The Cabinet met at 5pm on Friday to pay tribute to the duke, and Parliament will be recalled from its Easter recess on Monday, a day earlier than its scheduled return. The week's major movers featured a number of energy plays Shares in PLC ( ) surged on Wednesday after the renewable energy firm updated investors on its operations. The firm said that it remains fully committed to the Uskmouth Power Station Conversion Project after the Welsh Government decided to 'call in' the planning application, meaning it will no longer be determined by the local council. In its tidal stream technology segment, SAE said it continues to work with UK Government to secure the necessary support mechanisms for the rollout, especially the next phase of the MeyGen project. It said it expects MeyGen will unlock significant international opportunity for further projects and continue cutting costs of the energy produced, in line with more established forms of renewable generation. The shares ended the week one-third higher than they started it. In the world of old-school energy producers, ( ) shot up 136% this week after the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources granted UKOG Turkey and Aladdin Middle East formal consent to drill the forthcoming Basur-3 appraisal well, located in the Resan licence AR/AME-UKO/K/M47-b1, b2. UKOG Turkey, a wholly-owned UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) subsidiary, has a 50% interest in the licence, which contains the potentially significant Basur-Resan oil discovery. As the adage has it, what goes up, must come down, as 88 Energy Limited shareholders discovered this week. Since the beginning of March, the shares had been chased higher from around 0.48p to a high point of 4.39p ahead of potentially high impact exploration well results at the Merlin project, onshore Alaska. This week the shares subsided by 62% to 1.525p after the company said drilling of the Merlin-1 well at Project Peregrine in Alaska provided encouragement but equipment failure had prevented hydrocarbon samples from being taken yet. Multiple prospective zones were identified, consistent with the shows and logs obtained while drilling, as part of the wireline programme's first run. The explorer said one of these zones is considered to be a new prospective horizon within the Nanushuk Formation that may be wholly within the Project Peregrine acreage and was not one of the pre-drill targets. The other zone is interpreted to be shared with one of the Harrier prospect zones, to the north of Merlin. Not so long ago, 88 Energys sector peer, Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) was a stock market star but that particular hurricane has blown itself out. The shares lost a fifth of their value this week after the publication of a summary of the competent persons report (CPR) on the companys West of Shetland assets. The summary of the CPR published today is broadly consistent with the estimates for Lancaster and Lincoln which we presented in September 2020, said Antony Maris, the companys chief executive officer. Away from the energy sector, FireAngel Safety Technology Group PLC ( ) leapt 76% this week after it signed a long term partnership agreement with a German energy and efficiency service provider for the property sector to provide a fully-funded research and development programme for a new generation smoke alarm. FireAngel has agreed to provide its German partner with a new 10-year connected smoke alarm based upon FireAngel's Gen6 platform. Both parties will have the right to use any foreground intellectual property resulting from the development of the new smoke alarm. Minds + Machines Group Limited ( ), which parted company with its chief executive officer and chief financial officer last October in the wake of an internal investigation about the always tricky subject of when to recognise contract revenues in the accounts, is to become part of the Go Daddy internet domain registration empire. The new management team conducted a thorough review of the underlying profitability of the business and the contribution of each top-level domain asset and concluded the best solution was to sell all of its assets to Registry Services, an affiliate of Inc., for US$120 million in cash. Amaravati/Tirupati, April 10 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has cancelled his election meeting in Tirupati on April 14 to campaign for the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party's (YSRCP) candidate for the Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll, amid a raging second wave of coronavirus. "Health and happiness is of utmost importance for me. Therefore, being a responsible Chief Minister, I have decided to cancel my trip to the poll-bound constituency," wrote Reddy in a letter to the Tirupati voters on Saturday. He was scheduled to address a large election meeting on Wednesday to garner support for M. Gurumoorthy, the ruling party's candidate for the Scheduled Caste-reserved Tirupati by-poll fixed for April 17. "As you all must be aware, I was hoping to reach out to each of you personally on April 14 by means of a public meeting that was scheduled. However, I'm having to write this letter after having a look at the latest health bulletin. The health of every single citizen matters to me," he said. Reddy said thousands of citizens could have turned up for the public meeting to show their love and affection for him, yet he chose to cancel the meeting because of the rising coronavirus cases. Referring to the latest coronavirus bulletin, the Chief Minister said infections are rising across the country and Andhra Pradesh reported 2,765 cases in the latest 24 hour period with a positivity rate of 8.67 per cent. "Chittoor district has reported the maximum number of cases with 496 infections. Nellore district has also reported 292 cases in just 24 hours. Out of the 11 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, four belong to the districts of Chittoor and Nellore," Reddy added. However, he took the opportunity to canvass for Gurumoorthy, a physiotherapist who walked with Reddy all through his 3,600-km long 'praja sankalp yatra', which propelled him to power in the southern state with a landslide victory in 2019. "Dear voter of Tirupati, my letter urging you to vote for our candidate Gurumoorthy in the upcoming Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll must have reached you," said the YSRCP founder. He exuded confidence that voters would support YSRCP after taking note of the state government's welfare activities in the last 22 months. "Even if I personally do not campaign or request for votes in public meetings, I know that for your children, sisters, villages and towns, for our Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Backward Classes and minority brothers and sisters, for our elders, you will support our government," the Chief Minister said. He reminded the voters of the personal letter he wrote to each family, listing the welfare schemes they benefited from. Reacting to the Chief Minister choosing to campaign for his candidate for the bypoll, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary and party's Andhra Pradesh co-incharge, Sunil Deodhar, earlier claimed that the ruling YSRCP was 'worried'. "Now Chief Minister, too, is coming for campaigning in Tirupati bypoll, which wasn't his earlier plan. This shows that YSRCP is worried about BJP-JanaSena Party gaining ground," said Deodhar. However, in the recently concluded rural and urban local body polls, Reddy's YSRCP won landslide victories without him asking for votes. Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll is the first decisive election after the 2019 General Elections in Andhra Pradesh, necessitated by the untimely death of YSRCP MP Balli Durga Prasad in 2020 due to coronavirus. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) The launch ceremony of the China International English Examination for Children (CEC), a test designed for global English language learners between the ages 4-12, was held in Beijing on April 9, 2021. The CEC will act as a platform for Chinese and foreign children to communicate globally by means of an effective and reliable language proficiency test. Leaders and experts from China International Publishing Group (CIPG), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Working Committee of Care for the Next Generations attended the launch ceremony. Yu Tao, vice president of the CIPG, pointed out that the launch of the CEC will facilitate the fostering of talents for international communication in his speech during the ceremony. The test will serve as a platform for foreign children who love Chinese culture to learn more about China and share their views on the country. Additionally, it will also encourage Chinese children to enhance their language ability from a young age and spread Chinese culture in a foreign language. Guo Zhenyou, former national chief inspector of the Ministry of Education and executive vice president of the Chinese Society of Education, stated that language acts as a bridge in building a community with a shared future for mankind and emphasized the importance of starting to acquire languages at an early age. Other speakers also expressed their congratulations on the launch of the CEC, including Huang Youyi, director of the National MTI Education Committee, executive vice chairman of the Translators Association of China, and former vice president and editor in chief of the CIPG; Wang Xiaohui, editor in chief of China Internet Information Center and deputy head of China Academy of Translation; Wang Jiyu, president of CATTI Project Management Center of the CIPG; and Chen Mingming, former Chinese ambassador and director-general of the Department of Translation and Interpretation at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All those involved believe that the test will be of crucial significance for strengthening China's international communication capacity and building a bridge for cultural exchanges between Chinese and foreign children via the tool of language. Representatives of co-hosts of the CEC in Malaysia, Australia, Canada and other countries also sent video messages. Dr. Michael Seamer, deputy CEO of the Institute of International Studies in Sydney, Australia, said via video that they are looking forward to devoting themselves to the promotion and organization of the test. "Global communications are based on and depend upon the skill and knowledge of language and cultural understanding of those people involved in the interpretation and translation process. In particular, it is the youth that represent the important pool of talents and the future of friendship between our two sides," Seamer noted. "Conducting the CEC test will play an important role in breaking down the language barriers in our international communications," he said. The CEC test will be co-organized by CATTI Project Management Center of the CIPG, the Talent Evaluation Committee of the Translators Association of China and China Internet Information Center, and joined by over 2,000 universities, primary and secondary schools, international schools and Chinese language and culture centers at home and abroad. Guests present at the launch ceremonyincluded Ren Xiaoping, former Chinese ambassador and vice president of China Foreign Affairs University; Wang Weimin, professor of translation, member of the CATTI English Expert Committee and member of the National Senior Professional Titles (T&I) Evaluation Committee; Jing Wei, deputy director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (formerly Hanban); Wang Dahe, former researcher at the Examination Center of the Ministry of Education; and Zhao Weiqin, former director of the Audio-Visual Center of the Ministry of Education. Philip Roth: The Biography Blake Bailey Jonathan Cape 30 Rating: Philip Roth was wary of biographers. Biography, he said, towards the end of his life, adds a new dimension to the terror of dying. He certainly had more to fear than most. By then, he had become Americas most feted novelist, his life, after retirement, a succession of lifetime award ceremonies, presidential medals, honorary degrees, birthday celebrations and high-minded literary symposia. But he had built his reputation largely on penning free-wheeling versions of his career as a deceitful, adulterous, cantankerous, predatory novelist. Philip Roth (above, in 2007) was wary of biographers. Biography, he said, towards the end of his life, adds a new dimension to the terror of dying. Along the way, he acquired a fair number of enemies, among them his second wife, the actress Claire Bloom. She had been upset by many aspects of their life together, not least his portrait of their marriage in the novel Deception, in which the remarkably dreary, middle-aged wife, an actress who, at least in the first draft, just happened to be called Claire, is forever making a scene about her husband Philips affairs with younger women. Roth wrote Deception in 1989, while they were still married, but kept putting off letting her read the manuscript. Having completed it, he confided to a friend that he was very worried about Claires reaction. He planned to tell her that it was mostly invented. Even if it is invented, said his friend, wont Claire be humiliated by everyones assuming its the truth? She knows what it is to live with a writer, replied Roth. Along the way, he acquired a fair number of enemies, among them his second wife, the actress Claire Bloom (above, with Roth in 1983. They wed in 1990) Roths life was divided between writing and sex, though he would often combine the two, and write about sex. Brought up in a doting Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, he began pursuing school cheerleaders in his early teens, and never looked back. In most literary biographies, sex is incidental. They are usually solemn accounts of books written and awards received. Even if the author in question is unusually libidinous, biographers are constricted by available information, so there are few details. But Roth is different. Not only did he present versions of his sex life throughout his 30-odd novels, but he also liked talking to his male friends about sex, and to his appointed biographer, too. Moreover, he left behind a never-ending trail of young women, satisfied or aggrieved, many of whom chipped in with their own accounts. Philip Roth was a sex fiend, wrote one of them, a former Playboy Playmate called Alice Miss July 1956, no less. He moved from tits to aaah! so fast I was breathless once he got there, he hung in long and steamy. Tepid men never move me. Philip was on fire, she recalled. Rarely has a literary biography read more like a roster of sexual conquests. Theres Ann, who he has in the local cemetery in his junior year of high school, and then theres Arizona, his only black girl, and Pat, who was once molested by a priest, and likes to dance for Roth in her underwear, and Maxine, with whom he enjoys strenuous sex games, and then crazy Maggie, who turns out to be a lot less fun. Roth readily accepts Maggies suggestion of a threesome with her lesbian friend Diane, but ends up feeling terribly left out. He then has an affair with a quiet, easygoing, plainish girl in Cape Cod, followed by Susan, the daughter of an orthopaedic surgeon, whom he remembers as a pain in the ass because she wouldnt go the whole way. Still with Maggie, he picks up a prostitute in Soho Square on a trip to London, before setting off for France where he enjoys a wonderful interlude with Swedish Monica, followed by another affair on the boat back to the USA. Maggie fakes pregnancy, and traps him into marriage by threatening suicide if he leaves. In Italy, she tries to drive them both over the edge of a cliff, but he manages to wrest the wheel from her. One night Roth and Maggie row about the correct pronunciation of the word orange, and she ends up whacking him with her shoe. He finally manages to leave her in spring 1963, and embarks on an affair with Susan, who liked to splash around in his bathtub, and then another Susan, who worked at the New Yorker magazine, and then a voluptuous Yugoslav Italian (who was also dating the actor Marcello Mastroianni). By now, Roth is determined to get a divorce, but Maggie is equally determined not to let him. Inviting herself round to his flat, she refuses to leave. Finally, he tried dragging her to the door, but she clung to the legs of the chair and began screaming Let me go! Let me go! writes his biographer. He dropped her near the fireplace and grabbed a poker: Im going to bring this f****** thing down on your head, he said or so he told it in one version. Roth by name, Wrath by nature. Later, in a novel, he has his hero beat her with the poker, causing her to foul herself. In life, he tended to take things too far, but in his novels he took them even further. His 1968 income after the success of Portnoys Complaint was the equivalent of $6,115,000 In any relationship, however awful, it is the writer who has the last word. Roth recycled Maggie in numerous novels as, in his words, a castrating, self-pitying monster relentless, half-insane, impossible to like. She died in a car crash in 1968. Roth was so happy that he would no longer have to pay alimony that he began whistling in a taxi, so merrily that the cabbie said: Got the good news early, huh? Looking at Maggie dead in her casket, he said to her: Youre dead and I didnt have to do it. Waste not, want not: he later put it all in his autobiography. At the University of Pennsylvania, he embarks on a series of affairs with attractive students, hand-picked for his course by the head of his department who likened himself, not inaccurately, to a pimp. By now Roth was 40; one of his lovers was 19. Perfect. As God meant it to be, he said. He later recalled that sex with students was one of the most desirable aspects of teaching back in the days when you werent hauled off in chains to feminist prison if you struck up a tender friendship with the smartest, most beautiful girl in your class. Small wonder that Roth became a bete noire to many feminists. He always bristled at charges of misogyny, claiming that lazy readers were forever mixing up the author with his characters. Though his respectful biographer does his dutiful best to toe this line, the facts keep getting in the way. For instance, in her damning and, to me, pretty believable account of their marriage, Claire Bloom writes of the two occasions on which he made advances towards a schoolmate of her daughter, attempting to French-kiss her. Roth called the story preposterous, offering as evidence, as only he would, I have never found the French kiss pleasurable. To go searching around the cavern of a womans mouth with a jutting, insinuating tongue was never my idea of fun. His biographer springs to his defence, saying a number of Roths old lovers were happy to corroborate the point. But later in the book, he embarks on a fling with Mia, who merrily reports: He seemed fine as soon as he got his tongue out of my throat. During his long relationship with Bloom, he had affairs galore, all closely chronicled by his biographer, including one with his neighbour, a Norwegian therapist, which lasted for 18 years. Bailey usefully informs us that the two of them would indulge their mutual addiction to sex in the woods between their two houses. Furthermore, when Claire was away in London, Roth would pick out one of her dresses, and a motif of his letters that summer concerned his tendency to ravish the garment in her absence. Of course, this biography also deals with Roths numerous novels. Having recounted the real events that gave rise to each of them, Bailey faithfully summarises their plots, critical receptions, and sales figures. Unlike many biographers, he does not shy away from mentioning money: I was fascinated to know that Roths income for 1968, after the almighty success of Portnoys Complaint, was $827,000, or the equivalent of $6,115,000 today. But something is absent from this long, long biography, and that is the art. Roth lived a messy, scabrous life, but transformed it through his exact and furious prose into something thrillingly bold and energetic and, perhaps above all, funny. He had a writing motto Let in the repellent. By giving his anti-heroes all of his most shameful impulses, he created works that will continue to have something to say about 20th Century man after the more wholesome fictions of his contemporaries have been long forgotten. Philip Roth: The Biography is diligently researched, clearly written, panoramic, sympathetic and lively. But is there really any need for it? Perhaps writing the biography of a creative artist is like pulling down a great building in the hope of discovering the secret of its creation; or like shooting a bird to discover how it flies.